Conventional wisdom is that for espresso you need a bimodal or trimodal grind distribution, but for filter, unimodal is optimal. I know that when you grind more coarsely with an espresso grinder, it does shift from bimodal towards unimodal, but in general I get the impression that people are unsatisfied with filter from an espresso grinder. I was pretty satisfied with the filter from my Rocky, but I get the feeling that it's more of an 'all-around' grinder. I'm concerned that if I decide to upgrade to a better espresso grinder, it might be more 'optimized' (or something) towards espresso, and less good at the filter end. If this is the case, the cheapest upgrade I can think of would be a used Super Jolly and a Baratza Maestro Plus. Which is possible, although budget and counter space is tight.

Fortunately I'll be borrowing a Super Jolly soon and I'll get to do some filter tests, which should help me decide, but in the meantime, does anyone who has faced a similar situation or have a similar setup have any thoughts on this?

You are not going to get a bad cup of drip or french press from an espresso grinder; but it won't be as good as from a bulk grinder. A bulk grinder, on the other hand, can't do espresso at all. If it's one grinder, it's a commercial espresso grinder (or the little vario)

Personally, I think commercial espresso grinders (and the little Vario) do better for brewing than the lower cost home conicals or most hand grinders, but there are others who disagree. Whoever is right, it's really close. If you want convenience, you can get one of these for brewing, but it won't rock your world compared to using the espresso grinder.

There is new ProM Espresso grinder out; maybe worth to try, although owners of Vario seem pretty happy with that machine.

I could never get something I liked out of my espresso grinder when making drip/press pot. I tried a lot of grinders and in the end kept my LaCimbali Max for espresso and got a BUNN bulk grinder for drip/press pot. Made a huge difference.

As I mentioned in my other thread on the problems I'm having with my Rocky, I have tried the Vario, and liked it mainly, with the exception of the grind adjustment. The little notches for both the coarse and fine adjustment levers seem soft and floaty (and there's no numbers or anything to help you easily get back to a previous setting), and because at least with the one I borrowed, it needed to be regularly 'calibrated' using a hex screwdriver provided by Baratza, I just don't trust I'm getting back to the same grind I dialed in when going back and forth from espresso to filter, as I do all the time. I loved just spinning the hopper on my Rocky and knowing the burrs were now precisely the same distance from each other as the last time I was at that setting.

I'm currently testing out, on loan, an old used Super Jolly that was buried in the storage of a friend's café. It took me a few days to clean it, remove the non-functional doser and rig up a pop bottle doserless mod, and get it dialed in, but I finally had a good cup of drip today. Might be even better with new burrs, hard to say. The first few espresso pours I had were not great looking, but I'll keep trying. It certainly is less clean and easy to use in comparison to my Rocky, although that might improve if I did the official mod to doserless using Mazzer parts. Would be fun to compare to a Maestro Plus -- anyone in Montreal feel like loaning me one?

I had someone ask me the other day whether the Pharos would be suitable for regular brewed coffee if they didn't have any intention of making espresso right now, but wanted to keep the option open for the future. The alternative is the usual lower-end Baratza grinders, which aren't at all suitable for espresso, obviously. I wasn't really sure what to say. Any thoughts?

The Pharos does a great drip.
Pharos + Chemex = transparent flavors. No muddiness in the cup.

I would second the Pharos. I actually bought it for Chemex use (with the capacity for future espresso use), and am extremely happy with the results.

I'm currently using a OE PFP for Aeropress & the Pharos for espresso, this combo works well for me.