If I put a Tube Screamer in front of the SY-1, SY-200 or SY-300, I find the articulation of individual notes within a full chord is significantly improved. As a subtractive synth, it loves the added balanced harmonic content of the TS, so it doesn't zone in on the dominant low frequency as much. Of course, if you are only playing bass lines and single note lead runs, then the dry guitar signal is best. The TS also balances out playing dynamics in a way that a compressor pedal before the SY can't. Again, that's because a compressor would focus on the dominant frequency too much. I'm sure the SY has an internal compressor to improve tracking, but it follows the dominant frequency to a fault, and this will spoil complex or ambient chords, etc. The SY series are my absolute favourite pedals, so I've worked around some of their limitations on my channel.
@@dindrone To a certain extent, but you gain and lose some advantages compared to the TS before the SY. If you completely shave off 100 and 200hz with an EQ, and I mean at least -24db, then it behaves similarly to using a TS before the SY - perhaps with even more chord clarity! But, if you completely cut the lows with an EQ or LP filter and you plan to blend your guitar with the SY, then the guitar will be too twangy, and they won't sit well together. I suppose you could correct the guitar's EQ in the effects loop of the SY, but I find the TS just blends better with the SY-1/200/300 as it is. One other thing to note is the TS before the SY evens out the input dynamics, whereas the EQ before would be more sensitive to your pick attack. Depending on what you are after, they can both work. Hope that helps.
whoa! when you kicked over to that bridge pickup tone at 1:07 you totally had me!!! Yeah, the synth pedal is cool too, but with guitar tone like that...who needs it!!!!! That's just killer all on it's own!
John, the Boss SY-1000 has 3 different synth engines and allows 3 different sounds at once. Also on the SY-1000, if you combine a Roland GK pickup with the Guitars 1/4 inch cable it enables an even greater amount of Dynamic and Articulation sensitivity with the Synth and Modeling sounds. Although all of this comes at a price. It's not an inexpensive pedal. Thanks.
This thing is incredible in the Helix's FX loop. Split the chain up, put a poly pitch and screamer in front and man it really gives it more lift and versatility
I got one of these right when they came out, I had wanted an SY-1 but really wanted to be able to save presets. It's a really fun pedal that I have running into my GT 1000 Core and then into an RC-5. Allows me to make some really fun sounds for looping.
Two things are consistent in the mornings, one my coffee and two Mr. Cordy playing filthy ass riffs that I undoubtedly think I can play but then quickly realize my only path to play them is at .50% speed 🤣
My current gigging board is an HX Stomp with the SY200 in the loop and an Eventide Ultratap in the loop of the SY200. I don't really use it for straight up synth sounds though. I like to layer it underneath my regular guitar sound. I've never loved any of the shimmer reverbs I've tried and much prefer having string synth preset sitting under my guitar tone to get that type of effect.
@@jackprice7828 pretty much. I really tend to like synth string sounds and having those blended underneath my regular guitar tone is really pleasing to me. Most of the time I have the mix between regular guitar and synth guitar at 70% regular guitar and 30% synth.
I got the SY-1 a while back and absolutely love it. With a buffer friendly fuzz in its fx loop (Tate FX Raise the Dead) and you have some excellent sounds. The only thing missing was midi presets……until the SY-200 came out. Can’t wait til I can spare the cash to get one on my board.
off topic ... could you do a vid showing how to cable up an hx stomp and an hx effects then showing how you would set up the signal chain? I'm struggling. no worries if not. 🙂
I've had mine for about 6 months now and I think I love it... I mean, its now a part of my set list so I can't get rid of it haha. I find some of the sounds rather 'grainy' however but I do enjoy setting it to 100% wet and using a volume pedal for some funky swells.
I find this pedal comes to life when used with other pedals... either in a chain before or after the pedal, or in the effects loop. Used on it's own, I find the sounds a bit too synth-y and same-y. Paired with fuzz, drive, delay, reverb and/or modulation pedals is where I find I can get some really cool sounds. Also the three parameter buttons really can make huge changes to the sound. When I do get a great sound going, though, it's like gold. It does take a bit of experimentation, though. If you aren't willing to do that or it's just not your thing, you should look elsewhere, IMO.
Thank you for the video - it convinced me that, if you want synth sounds, get a synth (with a keyboard). For me, I don‘t see the point of using a guitar as a „keyboard replacement“.
i put a compressor in front just to even out the notes. I found with some of the synth modes, the notes fizzle out quickly as you go high up the fretboard on the high strings.
It does! It almost has an analogue feel to it (if that makes sense). For comparison, I've found the SY to track better than the GR55 with a midi pickup and it's leagues ahead of the EHX synth pedal and the Eventide H9 synth algorithms.
It doesn't track at all actually. It uses something called harmonic restructure modeling. It actual morphs the sound of the guitar itself. Mindblowing DSP
Any word on trying their synth guitar ? I’d assume here if you can have momentary switches, this could also be hooked up via the Hxfx relay switches which are normally sitting there vacant, could offer a lot of possibilities if swapping to boards without midi.
Can you layer the presets? I mean really, for sounds like this, you want to run 2 or 3 of them together and mix them in to generate a very amazing and unique sound. Of course, you could buy 2 or 3 of them and blend them with a mixer or Old Blood Noise blender, but that cash is starting to stack in order to do that. In the US, you get 2 Sy-1s for $400 and then you can blend them and that will produce a combo of interesting sounds. For the Sy-200, well now you're out $600 or so. I'm really flummoxed about this. I have a Jamstik so I tend to dial in VSTs for it and I can mix/match several different synth tones. Although I'd think the tracking is not as good as what these guitar synth pedals can do if the combo of sounds can be obtained and not just one preset but layered stacks.
There are lots of first-impression videos with all thumbs up, but have that many people incorporated the SY synths as a permanent element of their individual and band sounds and used them for at least a year? I have the SY-1 and it is awesome for the Pat Metheny synth lead sound. But that's about the only thing I find it really useful for. For anything else it's just too harsh, and even for pads it's problematic, something like the EHX Superego+ works better.
Interesting - I think I've seen quite a good uptake in the Bass world? I really like the SY1 too but with the lack of presets I feel like the SY200 would be the way to go particularly if you're looking to dial in and recall pad sounds etc that you dig?
@@johnnathancordy My problem with the sounds is, they tend to make a stingy resonance squeak too easily, and individual chord notes in pads can randomly feel out-of-tune in a weird way. I don't know, I just don't feel entirely safe and comfortable playing the other sounds, besides the Metheny lead sound, which is great. Maybe the larger models would give more possibilities to tame the synthesis, but they're more expensive and physically too big. I'm still content with the SY-1 even for the one thing it does well, it is a completely new and different guitar playing experience.
Personally, I find these type of effects gimmicky. The sounds are rather lo-if. The guitar and synth/keyboard are different disciplines which I prefer to play separately. I have the SY-1, which is a bit of fun for messing around at home, but can’t see any use for playing live. In a three man setup, who would play the guitar while I’m using the synth pedal?
I think I can see some uses for this stuff, admittedly it's more of a creative inspiration type thing, or, potentially in a band where you are looking for some pads or something to thicken up the sound?
After a bit longer with this thing, do you feel like you can really get use out of it? I’d really like to see a vid pushing it as far as you can. Just about everything about it on RUclips seems to be a first look and that’s a huge red flag to me, as much as I want to like it.
funny how most of guitarists are not used to opening real synths and having an infinite range of presets available. The pedal is very usable. but outdated presets look like cheap synths
Great demo, John! Question: were you able to find the ability to have the sequencer or arpeggiator change 'steps' at all? Couple units out there do it (few), but LOVE to have ALL the other sounds offers, plus have any rhythmic syth 'work' with 3/4 or 6/8 time ...these all seem to be 'set' with even steps. Kinda dorky question I know. Looking at Sy-300 but even in those demos/manual I'm not seeing that seemingly obvious ability to edit that piece (kinda like this pedal's step knob: ruclips.net/video/C2x3RpnrBBc/видео.html) Thanks for your time if you have it on this one!
The best results with this pedal come when you split your guitar signal and process it separate from your guitar. Bringing 2 channels into your mixer (your regular guitar sound and the sy-200) you can blame the 2 and it gives you so much better tone and options
Honestly, I guess context is everything as usual, but if you're over a certain age, these sounds can be super cringey. To my 48yo ears these are all associated with worst of the 'cheap and nasty' '80s synths (that weren't always cheap) when I was a teen. They were considered tacky and were largely shunned by my cohort who looked back to the 70's for something other than the sounds we were being bombarded with at the time. :) I know it will do some '70s sounds too, but overall... I was relieved when the 80's were over! So it's ironic to me that they have returned, probably in the same way that there was a '70s revival in the '90s. I guess each generation can tend to romanticise the decade of their birth and just before; for me the '70's was "before everything got crap!" :) Musically, it's not strictly true of course; it's perspective. The '80s had some great stuff going on, but I do maintain that this pedal seems to offer sounds predominantly reminiscent of naff cheap home synths and 'Stock, Aitkin & Waterman' (the kings of cynical tasteless mainstream chart nonsense). I had a DX7 knocking about for a while back then, it was pretty cool. I'd expect that 35 years later a pedal like this might sound significantly better, not worse. 🤷♂ (Also, I swear my '90s Boss ME-8B sounded better than this (?), although I did program the fuck out of it.) I would suggest (perhaps unwelcomely ;) ) that if someone who doesn't remember a decade first hand want's to delve into what that decade had to offer, then they dig deep to discern what was the best and worst that era offered for context. Sure, you like what you like, and it's only inspiration, regardless of what how it was perceived then, but perhaps it's knowing a little more than everyone else that makes someone "hip" for want of a better word. Just my perspective.
Feel the same. Some of these sounds remind me a lot of a terrible Casio keyboard I had as a kid before ditching that for guitar instead. The tracking in this device is really good - I just wish the sounds were more to my taste.
I feel like it's more about context than much else. Phil Collins for example has some stone cold tunes that are full of "cringe" sounds, but if you dig it, you dig it. Equally, for someone who doesn't like more modern bands like the 1975 who are clearly evoking 80s aesthetics, I can see that it would sound cringe. But for me, I love the sounds of the 80s.
I think the point is the mix of different synths with the new pedals that exist today. A single device tends to sound monotone and old (except for the bass sounds), even the SY1000 patches are poor: they have to be reprogrammed! In my opinion I think you have to play in that way
Too many of the sounds are almost exactly the same. Go to a patch and go through variations and you'll find the exact same sounds as the last patch. And nearly every patch has some distortion on it. I would love the ability to turn take the distorted effect of some patches and use a clean version of some. Also, having to go through each preset, then select mode, and THEN select variants is the most inefficient way I've ever see a pedal laid out. It's backwards. Let me first pick all the pads, and THEN variants.
Im my oppinion this is Boss recycling the same shit from the 1980's. I haven't seen boss do anything relevant to this day and age. They just throw that same crap in a different case and call it new.
Seems better to me. Saving presets, nice lcd screen, more knobs and a modern new look. The SY 300 seems a lot better though with the 3 layers which sounds like three of these pedals with different settings.
If I put a Tube Screamer in front of the SY-1, SY-200 or SY-300, I find the articulation of individual notes within a full chord is significantly improved. As a subtractive synth, it loves the added balanced harmonic content of the TS, so it doesn't zone in on the dominant low frequency as much. Of course, if you are only playing bass lines and single note lead runs, then the dry guitar signal is best. The TS also balances out playing dynamics in a way that a compressor pedal before the SY can't. Again, that's because a compressor would focus on the dominant frequency too much. I'm sure the SY has an internal compressor to improve tracking, but it follows the dominant frequency to a fault, and this will spoil complex or ambient chords, etc. The SY series are my absolute favourite pedals, so I've worked around some of their limitations on my channel.
Could this be achieved with an EQ?
@@dindrone To a certain extent, but you gain and lose some advantages compared to the TS before the SY. If you completely shave off 100 and 200hz with an EQ, and I mean at least -24db, then it behaves similarly to using a TS before the SY - perhaps with even more chord clarity! But, if you completely cut the lows with an EQ or LP filter and you plan to blend your guitar with the SY, then the guitar will be too twangy, and they won't sit well together. I suppose you could correct the guitar's EQ in the effects loop of the SY, but I find the TS just blends better with the SY-1/200/300 as it is. One other thing to note is the TS before the SY evens out the input dynamics, whereas the EQ before would be more sensitive to your pick attack. Depending on what you are after, they can both work. Hope that helps.
whoa! when you kicked over to that bridge pickup tone at 1:07 you totally had me!!! Yeah, the synth pedal is cool too, but with guitar tone like that...who needs it!!!!! That's just killer all on it's own!
I can appreciate you reaching for that huge knife to lift off the lid. "Is that a dagger I see before me?" Either that or a potential strained back...
John, the Boss SY-1000 has 3 different synth engines and allows 3 different sounds at once. Also on the SY-1000, if you combine a Roland GK pickup with the Guitars 1/4 inch cable it enables an even greater amount of Dynamic and Articulation sensitivity with the Synth and Modeling sounds. Although all of this comes at a price. It's not an inexpensive pedal. Thanks.
This is awesome for ambient stuff and with propper tracking it can do bass synth as well.
This thing is incredible in the Helix's FX loop. Split the chain up, put a poly pitch and screamer in front and man it really gives it more lift and versatility
I got one of these right when they came out, I had wanted an SY-1 but really wanted to be able to save presets. It's a really fun pedal that I have running into my GT 1000 Core and then into an RC-5. Allows me to make some really fun sounds for looping.
Two things are consistent in the mornings, one my coffee and two Mr. Cordy playing filthy ass riffs that I undoubtedly think I can play but then quickly realize my only path to play them is at .50% speed 🤣
You have incredible chops and your voicing is beautiful! I received my SY200 two weeks ago and it is so addictive! Love it!
Absolutely beautiful playing..i love all your videos I hope your channel gets big ❤️ Love from Nepal
My current gigging board is an HX Stomp with the SY200 in the loop and an Eventide Ultratap in the loop of the SY200. I don't really use it for straight up synth sounds though. I like to layer it underneath my regular guitar sound. I've never loved any of the shimmer reverbs I've tried and much prefer having string synth preset sitting under my guitar tone to get that type of effect.
I like your approach. Do you use it for synth pads?
@@jackprice7828 pretty much. I really tend to like synth string sounds and having those blended underneath my regular guitar tone is really pleasing to me. Most of the time I have the mix between regular guitar and synth guitar at 70% regular guitar and 30% synth.
That Synth Pedal is amazing but, what really caught my eye there for a second was the knife. Did Crocodile Dundee lend it to you?
I got the SY-1 a while back and absolutely love it. With a buffer friendly fuzz in its fx loop (Tate FX Raise the Dead) and you have some excellent sounds. The only thing missing was midi presets……until the SY-200 came out. Can’t wait til I can spare the cash to get one on my board.
off topic ... could you do a vid showing how to cable up an hx stomp and an hx effects then showing how you would set up the signal chain? I'm struggling. no worries if not. 🙂
I've had mine for about 6 months now and I think I love it... I mean, its now a part of my set list so I can't get rid of it haha. I find some of the sounds rather 'grainy' however but I do enjoy setting it to 100% wet and using a volume pedal for some funky swells.
thank you I'm buying one asap!
I find this pedal comes to life when used with other pedals... either in a chain before or after the pedal, or in the effects loop. Used on it's own, I find the sounds a bit too synth-y and same-y. Paired with fuzz, drive, delay, reverb and/or modulation pedals is where I find I can get some really cool sounds. Also the three parameter buttons really can make huge changes to the sound. When I do get a great sound going, though, it's like gold. It does take a bit of experimentation, though. If you aren't willing to do that or it's just not your thing, you should look elsewhere, IMO.
upload something to youtube please
Thank you for the video - it convinced me that, if you want synth sounds, get a synth (with a keyboard). For me, I don‘t see the point of using a guitar as a „keyboard replacement“.
Love my SY-1
yes yes I'm buyin' it! lol
Awesome sound in your guitar!
i put a compressor in front just to even out the notes. I found with some of the synth modes, the notes fizzle out quickly as you go high up the fretboard on the high strings.
Mine is on order...😎👍🎸
It sounds like it tracks nicely.
It does! It almost has an analogue feel to it (if that makes sense). For comparison, I've found the SY to track better than the GR55 with a midi pickup and it's leagues ahead of the EHX synth pedal and the Eventide H9 synth algorithms.
It doesn't track at all actually. It uses something called harmonic restructure modeling. It actual morphs the sound of the guitar itself. Mindblowing DSP
how late in the chain can you place it before it screws up tracking?
Gotta try the Meris Enzo
That knive killed me.
What do you do with a huge knife like that... I wonder.
Just got me an sy200..love it but am struggling to use my helix to change patches by midi..any ideas
I’m having a hard time figuring out how to save my own modifications to the settings? Any tips?
They did such an amazing job in this pedal!
Can I do similar things with the fractal?
😀 I'm not gonna tease you anymore... U have a big Knife there...
Is it a keeper?
Can you separate sounds by string or by frequency range (similar to the OC-5)?
How does it perform when hooked up to a real synth?
Can this integrate with GX100 & take the BPM Tempo from GX100 patches ? Or always use external footswitch
Any word on trying their synth guitar ? I’d assume here if you can have momentary switches, this could also be hooked up via the Hxfx relay switches which are normally sitting there vacant, could offer a lot of possibilities if swapping to boards without midi.
Can you layer the presets? I mean really, for sounds like this, you want to run 2 or 3 of them together and mix them in to generate a very amazing and unique sound. Of course, you could buy 2 or 3 of them and blend them with a mixer or Old Blood Noise blender, but that cash is starting to stack in order to do that.
In the US, you get 2 Sy-1s for $400 and then you can blend them and that will produce a combo of interesting sounds. For the Sy-200, well now you're out $600 or so. I'm really flummoxed about this.
I have a Jamstik so I tend to dial in VSTs for it and I can mix/match several different synth tones. Although I'd think the tracking is not as good as what these guitar synth pedals can do if the combo of sounds can be obtained and not just one preset but layered stacks.
There are lots of first-impression videos with all thumbs up, but have that many people incorporated the SY synths as a permanent element of their individual and band sounds and used them for at least a year? I have the SY-1 and it is awesome for the Pat Metheny synth lead sound. But that's about the only thing I find it really useful for. For anything else it's just too harsh, and even for pads it's problematic, something like the EHX Superego+ works better.
Interesting - I think I've seen quite a good uptake in the Bass world? I really like the SY1 too but with the lack of presets I feel like the SY200 would be the way to go particularly if you're looking to dial in and recall pad sounds etc that you dig?
@@johnnathancordy My problem with the sounds is, they tend to make a stingy resonance squeak too easily, and individual chord notes in pads can randomly feel out-of-tune in a weird way. I don't know, I just don't feel entirely safe and comfortable playing the other sounds, besides the Metheny lead sound, which is great. Maybe the larger models would give more possibilities to tame the synthesis, but they're more expensive and physically too big. I'm still content with the SY-1 even for the one thing it does well, it is a completely new and different guitar playing experience.
Personally, I find these type of effects gimmicky. The sounds are rather lo-if. The guitar and synth/keyboard are different disciplines which I prefer to play separately.
I have the SY-1, which is a bit of fun for messing around at home, but can’t see any use for playing live. In a three man setup, who would play the guitar while I’m using the synth pedal?
I think I can see some uses for this stuff, admittedly it's more of a creative inspiration type thing, or, potentially in a band where you are looking for some pads or something to thicken up the sound?
Felt like the 80s! Are you ever going to try getting a Korg Miku? Don't think it's going to track your legato but I'm sure you'd get some laughs!
He did a few videos about a year ago with the Miku. Was...interesting.
I have the SY-1 and I've been keeping an eye on eBay to see if I can pick up an SY-200 "cheap" .... if you want to sell yours, let me know! :D
훌륭한 연주와 환상적인 패달이군요. 팻메스니 느낌을 구현할 수도 있을지 궁금합니다.
Can someone please answer this for me???!! Can this synth send MIDI notes thru Midi out?
No it cannot
You missed the perfect opportunity to play the legend of Zelda theme on one of those lol
After a bit longer with this thing, do you feel like you can really get use out of it? I’d really like to see a vid pushing it as far as you can. Just about everything about it on RUclips seems to be a first look and that’s a huge red flag to me, as much as I want to like it.
Rabea made it a part of his Neural DSP ampsim, so that says something!
funny how most of guitarists are not used to opening real synths and having an infinite range of presets available. The pedal is very usable. but outdated presets look like cheap synths
Why’d you whip out a machete, Mate?
Fascinating technology. If only it wouldn't sound atrocious in my ears.
02:08 was that some kind of inside joke?
It was inside, yes sir
Great demo, John!
Question: were you able to find the ability to have the sequencer or arpeggiator change 'steps' at all?
Couple units out there do it (few), but LOVE to have ALL the other sounds offers, plus have any rhythmic syth 'work' with 3/4 or 6/8 time ...these all seem to be 'set' with even steps.
Kinda dorky question I know. Looking at Sy-300 but even in those demos/manual I'm not seeing that seemingly obvious ability to edit that piece (kinda like this pedal's step knob: ruclips.net/video/C2x3RpnrBBc/видео.html)
Thanks for your time if you have it on this one!
Anyone have an opinion on whether to run this direct to amp or in an effects loop?
The best results with this pedal come when you split your guitar signal and process it separate from your guitar. Bringing 2 channels into your mixer (your regular guitar sound and the sy-200) you can blame the 2 and it gives you so much better tone and options
quite the unboxing knife ye got there eh! lol
The sounds sound like the same old thing. Mostly cheesy stuff IMO. I wish they’d come out with sounds that have more personality…
Honestly, I guess context is everything as usual, but if you're over a certain age, these sounds can be super cringey.
To my 48yo ears these are all associated with worst of the 'cheap and nasty' '80s synths (that weren't always cheap) when I was a teen. They were considered tacky and were largely shunned by my cohort who looked back to the 70's for something other than the sounds we were being bombarded with at the time. :)
I know it will do some '70s sounds too, but overall...
I was relieved when the 80's were over! So it's ironic to me that they have returned, probably in the same way that there was a '70s revival in the '90s. I guess each generation can tend to romanticise the decade of their birth and just before; for me the '70's was "before everything got crap!" :) Musically, it's not strictly true of course; it's perspective.
The '80s had some great stuff going on, but I do maintain that this pedal seems to offer sounds predominantly reminiscent of naff cheap home synths and 'Stock, Aitkin & Waterman' (the kings of cynical tasteless mainstream chart nonsense). I had a DX7 knocking about for a while back then, it was pretty cool. I'd expect that 35 years later a pedal like this might sound significantly better, not worse. 🤷♂ (Also, I swear my '90s Boss ME-8B sounded better than this (?), although I did program the fuck out of it.)
I would suggest (perhaps unwelcomely ;) ) that if someone who doesn't remember a decade first hand want's to delve into what that decade had to offer, then they dig deep to discern what was the best and worst that era offered for context. Sure, you like what you like, and it's only inspiration, regardless of what how it was perceived then, but perhaps it's knowing a little more than everyone else that makes someone "hip" for want of a better word.
Just my perspective.
Feel the same. Some of these sounds remind me a lot of a terrible Casio keyboard I had as a kid before ditching that for guitar instead. The tracking in this device is really good - I just wish the sounds were more to my taste.
I feel like it's more about context than much else. Phil Collins for example has some stone cold tunes that are full of "cringe" sounds, but if you dig it, you dig it.
Equally, for someone who doesn't like more modern bands like the 1975 who are clearly evoking 80s aesthetics, I can see that it would sound cringe.
But for me, I love the sounds of the 80s.
I think the point is the mix of different synths with the new pedals that exist today. A single device tends to sound monotone and old (except for the bass sounds), even the SY1000 patches are poor: they have to be reprogrammed! In my opinion I think you have to play in that way
Too many of the sounds are almost exactly the same. Go to a patch and go through variations and you'll find the exact same sounds as the last patch. And nearly every patch has some distortion on it. I would love the ability to turn take the distorted effect of some patches and use a clean version of some. Also, having to go through each preset, then select mode, and THEN select variants is the most inefficient way I've ever see a pedal laid out. It's backwards. Let me first pick all the pads, and THEN variants.
Sounded like the 1975
Some of m favourites!
Im my oppinion this is Boss recycling the same shit from the 1980's. I haven't seen boss do anything relevant to this day and age. They just throw that same crap in a different case and call it new.
Seems better to me. Saving presets, nice lcd screen, more knobs and a modern new look. The SY 300 seems a lot better though with the 3 layers which sounds like three of these pedals with different settings.
Yep. Boss is a garbage company, and all of their products are absolute garbage.