CBHScott
How did I get here?
Within $50 0f each other.
15W vs. 10W
EL84 (x2) vs. KT88 (x1)
10" Jensen vs. 12" Celestion 70/80
1 vol/1 tone vs. 1 vol/1 gain/1 isf/1 rev
1 channel vs. 1 channel + OD circuit
no FX loop vs. series FX loop
no reverb vs. digital reverb
no speaker out vs. speaker out
one really, really great tone vs. several really decent-to-great tones
cool factor (tweed) vs. modern utilitarianism
So, over the last couple of weeks I have been looking for a smaller tube amp that I can play clean at lower volumes, yet in certain occasional situations, can crank it up. I had the Vox AC10 for while, and loved it, but maybe not as much as these two. I have played through a bunch of newer, smaller tube amps, and these two really stood out.
It looks like Fender (finally) fixed the excessive hum/hiss issues that plagued the previous versions, and it is the most "Fender" sounding amp that they make with EL84s IMO.
The Blackstar has a really good, deep clean channel, and a MASSIVE OD channel, and takes pedals really well (the OD channel is a HUGE volume jump from the clean channel. I played this at Sweetwater the other day, and sticking a simple OD pedal in front of the clean channel gives you what you need volumewise). The Blackstar is a really versatile amp considering its simplicity, while with the PJ, you know what you are going to get by basically turning one knob, but what it does it does very well.
I really like the depth of the blackstar, but the coolness and clean tone from the PJ really pulls me in.
Feel free to say something, or say nothing - after all, we are all free humans.
