rottingcorpse
Well-known member
It wasn't just the modules. And some of the Jaded Faith mods were good. The loop sucked.
I used the head version and it's power amp was weak sauce too.
If I'd had a Mesa power amp I'm sure it woulda had more thump.
If you were going to purchase a Kemper, AXEFX, or Synergy gear…
- Thread starter Dimebag11
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I used the head version and it's power amp was weak sauce too.
If I'd had a Mesa power amp I'm sure it woulda had more thump.
MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
I went through the same decision process and ultimately went with Synergy/Randall.
Kemper was tempting, but didn't want to rely on other peoples' profiles. I stayed away from Axe Fx because I know myself and would have spent more time fiddling with it than playing.
Synergy sounded great and was plug and play. I use a modded Randall RM100 and a couple of Syn2's. I have some Synergy modules. Also picked up a few MTS modules and sent them to Rob for mods. Module + mods costs about the same as a new Synergy module. All sound great.
Nothing is going to get you 100% to owing the real deal. I think that Synergy/Randall gets you at least 97% there and has the feel of a real tube amp; because it is.
Kemper was tempting, but didn't want to rely on other peoples' profiles. I stayed away from Axe Fx because I know myself and would have spent more time fiddling with it than playing.
Synergy sounded great and was plug and play. I use a modded Randall RM100 and a couple of Syn2's. I have some Synergy modules. Also picked up a few MTS modules and sent them to Rob for mods. Module + mods costs about the same as a new Synergy module. All sound great.
Nothing is going to get you 100% to owing the real deal. I think that Synergy/Randall gets you at least 97% there and has the feel of a real tube amp; because it is.
MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
I have a RM100 with the full set of mods including MM transformers and choke. It's night and day difference from stock. Between that and the modded modules from Rob it's what the mts line should have been from the start.
I never said I had trouble with it.
The only point was if you are comparing Synergy vs. Modeler it's no contest which one more user friendly.
Wish I had a $20 for each time I've read a Fractal user say:
"Yes, you can fall down a rabbit hole with all the options, but just use the simple controls instead."
I know for a FACT that every single one of them spent a LOT of time down the rabbit hole.
Anyway, ease of use?
Synergy >>>>>> Kemper or AXE
tallcoolone
Well-known member
I can only speak for myself—my only issues getting up and running with the AXE was dealing/adjusting to monitoring differently. I was hesitant about jumping into the tech because I read on forums how complicated it was but I found it incredibly intuitive and the AXE edit easy to work with. Prob why I’m usually quick to respond to ‘spend long hours reading the manual’ takes lolI never said I had trouble with it.
The only point was if you are comparing Synergy vs. Modeler it's no contest which one more user friendly.
Wish I had a $20 for each time I've read a Fractal user say:
"Yes, you can fall down a rabbit hole with all the options, but just use the simple controls instead."
I know for a FACT that every single one of them spent a LOT of time down the rabbit hole.
Anyway, ease of use?
Synergy >>>>>> Kemper or AXE
I’ve never owned a Synergy but I looked into the older Egnater module stuff which is why I am assuming it is expensive. Is Synergy backwards compatible with the older tech modules? Never liked the premise of the Kemper myself either but people seem to be happy with it. I went away from Fractal b/c of form factor, the limited bandwidth floor units weren’t released yet and IMO this stuff absolutely NEEDS to be self contained on the floor. Still scratching my head over the decision to make the new flagship 33% bigger
Brings up another thing to point out, and I'm sure you'll agree.
Using an AXE without it tethered to AXEedit royally sucks if you need to do some deep editing.
Not a big deal since it's so easy to tether these days but it needs to be mentioned.
tallcoolone
Well-known member
Wouldn’t even attempt it. Sounds like absolute torture
tallcoolone
Well-known member
I just got an Eventide H90 and IMO it’s much more complicated and tough to get my head around than the AXE. Again—the AXE with the editor
MatrixClaw
Well-known member
Yes, you can use all the MTS modules with Synergy rigs.
Lots of cool Synergy accessories out in the wild too.
https://reverb.com/item/53484218-bu...ck-synergy-randall-egnater-mts-preamp-modules
https://reverb.com/item/53484218-bu...ck-synergy-randall-egnater-mts-preamp-modules
I know this has fallen out of vogue based on the promises they didn't deliver on but having owned a Quad Cortex, a few line 6 devices, and a Kemper. The Quad cortex was probably my favorite based on my personality and playing style. I don't want to fiddle with a bunch of settings or go down any settings rabbit holes. So the Quad Cortex was user friendly for me and kept me from getting too crazy with changing stuff. The Kemper I was always tone chasing, buying profiles etc.
Nowadays I'm just using the Helix Native on my computer if I'm not using an actual amp
Nowadays I'm just using the Helix Native on my computer if I'm not using an actual amp
griff10672
Well-known member
I don't do anything digital in my signal chain .......... I have a Syn2 running into a Mesa Strategy 400 ..... Uberschall & Pitbull are my favs !! and I've tried just about all of them .... The Slo would probably be my third pic
PBGas
Well-known member
It is but once you get it, it works great. Are you using the H90 app? That makes it much easier. They have one issue with the dual routing they need to change up and make available in the app.
Do you have an issue with the noise floor of the H90 when running in front of a dirty channel of an amp? I’ve noticed the amount of background white noise increases significantly if the amp is really gained out. I set the bypass mode to relay for now but that disables spillover.
jabps
Well-known member
That was me with Fractal, took the deep dive. Half a day later I'm still sitting there programming, fine tuning and strumming a couple chords. 20 years ago I would have been in heaven tweaking, this point in my life, nope.
So for that reason to answer the OP, I'd go Synergy.
PBGas
Well-known member
I don't notice any extra noise to be honest with you. Mine is running in relay mode as I don't need any spillover effects. That was the one thing that I really liked about this unit is the fact that for the first time in a long time, I'm not getting and ground loop issues running in 4CM. However, I just tried switching between the 2 modes and there is no extra noise introduced.
Question...do you have the USB C cable plugged in as well at the same time?
Sometimes that can introduce noise as well but you probably already know this.
Any other noises I have noticed are the usual with my studio area and the wiring in my house
Monkey Man
Super Moderator
Yup, and using a USB mouse can introduce a stream of clicks every time it's moved. Probably the incremental positional-update steps generated by its movement.
No USB cable was plugged in when I was using it at the time. I was running it into a VH4 with a lot of gain though. I know each preset has In/Out Gain parameters. I'll try messing with those. Maybe I just need to gain stage it properly.
Findthetone1
Well-known member
Synergy. I hate spending time editing. I've avoided it for now. I hear it can be quite the financial rabbit hole once you get into it.
Extremely bad flashback.
Figure in all I've probably wasted a year of actual playing time 'programming' instead.
Like you, much too old now. These days it's plug and play!
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