Which amp is more pedal friendly, Pro Junior or Blues Junior?

[J.LaGrassa]

I'm looking for a low wattage amp that I can use with my pedalboard, My 59 Bassman RI is much to loud for home practicing.
I'm leaning more towards the PJ because it looks like its a little closer to the Bassman tone, but whats Important to me is a descent clean tone with just a touch of grit so I can let the Pedals do the work, This amp is inteded for mostly practice and home recording.
My main OD is a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 and distortion is a Barber Direct Drive SS, Thanks for any advice.

[Dash_Doc]

J.


I can't compare the two for you but I have a Pro Jr, and a FDII. I think that it's a good combo, however in truth I rarely put any pedals in front of the PJ basicly because I'm lazy. The Pro Jr. sounds good enough IMHO as a home practice amp without pedals so I just leave it plugged into the wall, with a gutair cable pluged into it, grab a gutair throw the PJ's power switch and use the gutair controls to get different tones. The only down side I could see is that the PJ is a little noisy for a recording amp, it's not to bad; considering the price to me it's not an issue. I've got a Super Baby that I use for home recording. I would also say that the PJ is a good grab and go amp for open mic, and impromptu jam situations. If I'm using the amp out of the house I'll usually put a Zvex SHO in front of the PJ to get a little more dirt, and as a boost for soloing. I've had mine forever (7-8 years?) the volume pot is a little scratchy but other than that i"ve have had zero problems.

[Dan O]

I have a PJ, and i've never had any trouble if i've ever put a pedal through it (though honestly, it sounds so sweet, it doesnt really need any pedals)

[kev]

+3 in favor of the PJ. Loved it as soon as I plugged into the thing. I've had mine for almost 7.5 years with no problems. Never played a Blues Junior outside of a music store, but they've not moved me enough to purchase one.

[George Johnson]

+4 for the PJ but I'm sure either would be fine.

Kinda depends on whether or not you want reverb.

[Dan O]

Kinda depends on whether or not you want reverb.
...i have a Boss digital reverb pedal just in case i need a little every once in a while

[PaulO]

The reverb really fills in the tone on PJ. But don't be fooled ... cranked up its very loud ... can keep up with a RI Bassman (have on). Love the EL-84 tone also. But cranked, think Neil Young style.

For home practise, try a Johnson J-Station thru headphones .. you can get them cheap now and IMO sound better than a POD.

[J.LaGrassa]

I ended up going with a Blues Junior for the cleaner head room. If I werent a pedal user I would have gone with the PJ. This amp is only meant for practicing at home with any way and can serve as back up to my 59 BMRI but thanks for the input!

[bryanrheem]

I have a Blues Jr. and I really love the amp... but don't be fooled by it's small size. It has plenty of power to take to small gigs and jam sessions. I use a TS9 and a Barber Burn Unit in front of it but the Master/Volume combo gives some great OD sounds also.

[J.LaGrassa]

I may take the BJ to band practice to see how it works out, I have a Tonebone Classic distortion coming in today if the BJ can handle that pedal then I will definitely try it in a band mix.

[Mark]

I have a PJ. I bought this amp to play at home in place of my '65 Super Reverb RI. My PJ sounds much better with a pedal in front. I will have to say that at low volumes the tone of my Super Reverb just kills the PJ.