Thinking about jumping into the Synergy thing

  • Thread starter Thread starter GreatRedDragon
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I still have my MP-2 and TriAxis; I've been on the fence for a Synergy never purchased....

I did get an ISP Theta Pro Michael Sweet, and the smaller format ISP Theta MSX. Like '80s hair/thrash in a pedal format; reminds me of my old ADA rigs from back in the day


ADA-Main-Rack.jpg



ISP Theta Pro DSP MS.png



ISP Theta MSX.png
 
I owned the syn30 and a bunch of module for a bit. While it was cool to have access to modules of amps I always dreamed about having, I found that I was always trying to get the amp to sound like the tone that I hear in my head. Meaning, it didn’t matter which module I used, I would add a boost in front and some delay in the loop to get the lead tone. I always hear in my head.

In short, I always tried to sound like myself.

Sold it and the modules and ended up getting a Suhr PT. I haven’t looked back.
 
GreatRedDragon said:
The modules I'm eying up right now are the 800, the Plexi, the 6505 and the IICP. A lot of the name brand modules I don't know much about. Not really familiar with the boutique scene, always been about modded 800s.

Any insights on what modules would be good for a raunchy, pissed off Jose-style sound? Not looking for super chug modern metal, looking for that hot rod 80s sound in the Slash kinda vein. Anything flying under my radar?
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I have the Plexi and 6505 now, sold the 800, and have not tried the IICP. I also have the Killer Kali and SLOII. The SLOII is my #1 tone by a long shot. The Kali is good as well, but that one is easy for me to dial in bad tones and harder to get what I want out of it. The Plexi is cool too but the SLO and Kali have a lot more gain on tap. So I would say that the SLOII should absolutely be on your radar for those tones.
 
I Would definately recommend to check out the bogner modules. For me, this is all i have kept after trying and owning a few, and in an syn50, you will cover a lot of ground using these two.
Just a few days ago tested the slo II against the ecstasy and sent the slo II back afterwards. Not that different imo (or at least not different enough for me), but the bogner modules have a nice edge to the attack that the SLO or the 6505 lack. The pre eq switches work really well.
Now i am waiting to get the killer kali. Been difficult to get that one here in germany.
 
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GreatRedDragon said:
Been having a lot of fun using my FM9 as a digital preamp running into the loop return of my DSL100, running the X88 and JMP-1 models.

Now I'm thinking a tube preamp would be even more fun. Snooped at used MP-1 and JMP-1s, but a little more coin would get me a Synergy SYN2 with two modules. Learning the Synergy stuff is compatible with the old Randall/Egnater modules, and there's a whole modding scene with those, just helps seal that deal.

The other half of it is the power amp. Going into the loop return sounds great, but I'd love a dedicated rackmounted power amp and get off of heads entirely. Not for actual amplification, since I run into a Suhr RL and back into the FM9, but for tone and feel. The new KSR PA100R has a few features that draw my eye: EL34s, 2U size, dedicated guitar and hi-fi modes, dual masters with MIDI control and best of all a built-in reactive load for silent playing. So I could run the Synergy into a cranked 100w tube power amp and straight back into the FM9 for IR loading and post-FX.

Just spitballing.
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For me, the Synergy stuff is just the rebranded modular Randall gear. What it is. Old wine in new bottles.
 
Simon Dorn said:
For me, the Synergy stuff is just the rebranded modular Randall gear. What it is. Old wine in new bottles.
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As I understand it, Egnater sold the patent to Boutique Amps Distribution. So it's the same technology with a new brand, but the modules and hardware are new designs. Randall, Egnater and Synergy modules are cross compatible, but as I understand it the Synergy modules aren't mod friendly like the older ones are. The old community based on the MTS platform had tons of cool custom modules but those are harder to comeby now as you have to source the long out-of-production Randall modules.

It's a great concept and I feel like that's why it's had a resurgance with Synergy.

I would love it if there was an equivalent system for effects. A 19" 1U rack unit with slots for three or four effects. Rack unit would have stereo in and out, each module slot would have contacts for in and out, power and MIDI, and be on true bypass circuits. Modules could essentually be rehoused Boss pedals in terms of form factor: 1-4 controls plus an on/off switch and a tempo/mode button depending on the pedal. MIDI could be used for expression and external switch functions - tap tempo, mode switching, pitch shifting, etc. It would be pretty simple.

The rack unit would be a pedalboard shelf, loop switcher and power supply in one unit, the effects modules themselves would only have to worry about doing their own thing. You'd be able to have analog effects in a 1U enclosure, with routing and power handled for you, with front-facing controls instead of having everything buried in a drawer. And if you look at what Boss has been able to cram into one of their compacts, the possibilities could be endless: a Dimension D and SDE-3000 could live in the same enclosure.
 
fek said:
I have the Plexi and 6505 now, sold the 800, and have not tried the IICP. I also have the Killer Kali and SLOII. The SLOII is my #1 tone by a long shot. The Kali is good as well, but that one is easy for me to dial in bad tones and harder to get what I want out of it. The Plexi is cool too but the SLO and Kali have a lot more gain on tap. So I would say that the SLOII should absolutely be on your radar for those tones.
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SLO is definitely on my radar, I've gotten great sounds out of the X88 sim on my FM9. That's been my main sound since I got the thing.
 
Soldano X88IR is what piked my interest in the rack thing last year... led to my interest in the AxeFx, which led to my buying an FM9. In the FM9 I've spent most of my time using the X88 sim, go figure.

Now nine months later I've got a 12U rack on the way, I'm back looking at preamps and now I'm thinking about ditching my heads for a 100w rack power amp. Also sorely tempted to upgrade my FM9 to an AxeFX3 with controller (I've thought for a moment about switching to a Helix Rack and just using it for effects and IR loading - a lot cheaper than the Fractal rig). Of course I'm also looking at SPX90s, SRV-2000s, line mixers, all kindsa other shit I don't need.
 
Ready more into the Helix rack system. Surprised to see it has four effects loops built-in, plus analog amp channel switching, CV output, tuner output, even a dry analog guitar output.

I could get the rack + controller for probably the same dough as my FM9, but I'm not sold on the quality of its effects or flexibility of internal routing compared to the Fractal universe.
 
stratjacket said:
I’d say you’re onto something. Definitely recommend.

I just received a KSR PA100R last week, was using the PA50 but have other uses for that now.

I run pedals->Syn2 (a pair of them) -> PA100r -> Redseven EVO or Suhr RL -> AxeFxIII-> studio monitors.

I have the SYN2/PA100 on an amp switcher along with the 2 loads (Suhr and Redseven). Use the AxeFx for effects and routing into computer for recording and reamp.

Sounds glorious. I’ve played the Uber module in the Syn2 more than any other amp for the last couple month’s (with the PA50 before last week).
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I think I liked the uber module better than the rev blue uber head that I used to have
 
GreatRedDragon said:
SLO is definitely on my radar, I've gotten great sounds out of the X88 sim on my FM9. That's been my main sound since I got the thing.
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Owned a few weeks X88IR Soldano and return it because i get the same sound (all channels and mods ) with my FM9
 
DanTravis62 said:
All the clips ive heard sound great :dunno:

None of them i've heard sound 100% like this original, but in most cases thats a cool side effect not a problem - they all sound kickass and synergy is one of those things that if i had a much larger collection i would have tried already
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I was surprised at how much the power section influences the tone of an amp when I had the Synergy stuff.

I used the PBII module through a Powerball II FX loop that my other guitar player owns, and once we dialed them in and started switching back and forth, we couldn't tell which was the SYN and which was the actual Engl. I was floored at how identical they were because using the SYN1 through my PA50, it didn't sound quite like the Powerball. In the ballpark, but we couldn't get them identical.

Similar experience with the IICP module and the Mark VII 2C+ mode. Not really the same through the PA50, but we had a hard time telling them apart through the VII power section. Pretty impressive!

The Synergy stuff is cool. I would tend to agree with a lot of the PS100 comments here. You kill 2 birds with 1 stone. That said, I don't really like how clean the PS sounds as a power amp itself. I don't think this matters too much if you aren't really trying to use it as a standalone power section. The KSR PA50 sounded amazing, though. If I were looking into a power amp, I'd probably go with the PA100R.
 
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