Roland Jazz Chorus With Pedals

[mspizziri]

I currently have a Blues Jr and am using pedals for gain and am finding it a little small sounding. I have been keeping an eye out for something a little bigger in the same price range

I came across a pretty decent deal on a used Roland JC-77, the 2x10 version. I have been reading up on it and there are some very mixed reviews when it comes to using it with effects
Some say that it is a very flat amp so it works really well with pedals, others say any gain pedals sound like crap

I mostly play at home and I use a Riot and a Timmy for my gain and OD

I was wondering if anyone had used a Jazz Chorus as a pedal platform and if it would be better than a Blues Jr

I also saw a used Peavey Delta Blues that was tempting, but I'm afraid with no master volume it might be way too loud for playing at home

 

[dewey decibel]

I had a JC120, and truth be told I like the JC77 more. But as a pedal platform I don't know about either...

It is fairly flat and your modulation and delay pedals will sound great through it. But as far as overdrives- keep in mind that the best overdrives play along with the preamp section of a tube amp to sound "organic", and of course the JCs don't have a tube preamp. So it's kind of a different game. Some ODs will sound OK and some will sound terrible, and I don't think anything will sound amazing.

That said it's all in what you're looking for. Some people like the tight feel and quick response an OD through a JC will deliver. I actually really liked my Rat @ through the JC for some things, and have heard a fair amount of blues and soul players use Rats or Boss OD pedals through them and sound good. But it's not going to be the organic, touch sensitive, dynamic kind of sound you'd get through a decent tube amp. You might want to look at one of the newish Traynors or maybe a Kustom Coupe for tube amps in the same price range. Also you can mod a Blues Jr (although a bigger cab maybe the best mod)- IMO, YMMV, etc...

 

[stevel]

I currently have a Blues Jr and am using pedals for gain and am finding it a little small sounding. I have been keeping an eye out for something a little bigger in the same price range

One very simple solution is to pipe out the signal to a 212 cab (8ohm total). I have a Pro Junior and though I'm starting with a smaller speaker to begin with, running it into a 212 really opens it up.

It's not "giant", but it is "bigger sounding" - 2 speakers equals more dispersion.

Steve