Boss SY-1 Synthesizer Guitar Pedal

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This pedal sounds great by itself but once you start running it along side other pedals is where you'll see it really start to shine. For example, if you run the SY-1 with some good reverb sounds, it turns it into an entirely different beast. Without adding reverb to the SY-1, it still sounds good, but quality reverb adds so much to the SY-1's potential that I never play it without some form of reverb behind it. Also, the SY-1 having its on onboard effects loop is super handy. I had seen videos of people putting overdrive pedals into the SY-1 effects loop, and while I don't have any OD pedals, I did have a Ram's Head Big Muff so I threw that into the SY-1 FX loop... Super cool! When I have the SY-1 disengaged, I can still turn on the Ram's Head and it do what it does, but when the SY-1 is engaged with the Ram's Head it brings in that fuzz sound where your dry signal would normally be. And the direct knob on the SY-1 acts as a volume pedal for whatever is in the SY-1's FX loop, so you can subdue what's in your FX loop or bring it out in force. And all of this adds color and variety to the quality of sounds you're able to get. I think of it as having more "colors to paint with." And depending on how I have the volume and direct knobs set up, sometimes it feels like the SY-1 is coloring the fuzz, and sometimes it can feel like the fuzz is coloring the SY-1... And this is only with me using a Ram's Head in the SY-1 FX loop, let alone if I were to put anything else in that loop which would only expand my tonal options. Each of these voices can be adjusted on the fly via the Tone/Rate and Depth knobs, letting you fine tune your sound to taste, or even change the pitch on some sounds. BOSS SY-1 Guitar Synthesizer Pedal Specs The BOSS SY-1 Guitar Synthesizer Pedal is an all-new compact pedal from BOSS, which delivers an array of vintage and modern Synth voices for your guitar or bass. Journey to New Sonic Frontiers Dynamic Synth includes two 16-part step sequencers for evolving control of pitch, filter, and amplitude In addition to this you also have the option of connecting an external footswitch, for tap-tempo and octave-shift effects, or even an expression pedal for continuous Tone/Rate control. A Universe of Synth Sounds Inside

Includes a wide variety of analog-style synth sounds, from leads, basses, and layered organs to sweeping pads and arpeggiated sequences SFX 1/2: A variety of synth sound effects, including explosive one-shot sounds, animated pitch/filter voices, and morea) The SOFTWARE may use open source software and other third party software (herein referred to as "OSS, etc."). Roland grants you the following non-exclusive rights to use the SOFTWARE in accordance with the terms of this License Agreement. Its other sounds are pretty much useless in my 70's cover band, except for maybe some of the "lead" patches.

What's more, in true BOSS Compact Pedal style, the SY-1 occuppies the minimal amount of space on your pedalboard. Plug-and-Play and Latency-Free I feel that any Bassist interested in low end high quality synth type processing with an imagination and reasonable expectations for size, ease of use, cost and usability of sound will not be disappointed at all... Advanced Guitar/Bass Modeling and Poly FX: The SY-1000 doesn't stop at synthesis—it also features refreshed instrument modeling derived from historic BOSS and Roland GK gear. A large selection of electric, acoustic, and bass guitar types are available, each with independent tuning, EQ, virtual amp settings, and more. There's also a highly expressive VIO Guitar instrument, which alters the input signal's envelope and harmonic characteristics to create tones reminiscent of bowed instruments. Finally, the cool Poly FX instrument delivers richly textured voices with high-res definition only possible with GK processing. On a practical note, the SY‑1 should go either at the start of a chain of pedals or possibly after a compressor. It's fine after a buffer too, but if you put it after delay, reverb, modulation or distortion it just isn't going to work properly — it needs a clean signal to allow it to do its thing. Of course, the result isn't a typical guitar sound, and to my ears it tends to sound better played through a full-range speaker than through a typical guitar amp. Using the loop output to split the signal, so that the synth sound can go directly to the PA or to a small keyboard/acoustic guitar amp, will give the best-sounding result. How Does It Sound? Like the SYB-5 before it, the BOSS SY-1 features a whole host of voices for you to fine tune. With 11 different categories, and 121 total sounds to choose from, this pedal puts an enormous array of synth options at your fingertips.The SY-1 would fit in any standard signal chain but can also be used to create unique synth tones with its send and return function.So you can patch drive pedals into the loop and send the combined output to modulation and delay to process the entire signal. The send can also be used as a direct output as which allows you to route your synth and guitar sounds to separate destinations. Key Features AC adaptor (PSA series: sold separately) Current Draw 115 mA Expected battery life under continuous use Alkaline: Approx. 2 hours Unprecedented sound and expression with three simultaneous instrument types and advanced real-time signal processing Things get real interesting really fast with the sequencer and Bell categories. I've barely dipped into this thing but I'm finding it much more approachable than the Source Audio C4, although it doesn't support presets. Some of the organ parts are pretty shrill, but you can use EQ and the tone knobs on your guitar to take care of that. These figures will vary depending on the actual conditions of use. Accessories Leaflet ("USING THE UNIT SAFELY,""IMPORTANT NOTES," and "Information")

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Once you have created your ideal synth patch, you can then continue to scuplt your tone with the enormous variety of editing options within the effects section. It has all the effects that are within the flagship GT-1000, meaning they are incredibly high quality and easy to programme. Roland makes no warranty, either expressed or implied, with respect to any of the software, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

I've had this for about 2 months now and haven't even scratched the surface of all the sounds and effects it is capable of. 11 settings with 11 options on each one, then changes even more by adjusting the other knobs to enhance or change the settings. I have gone down the rabbit hole several times playing with all the sounds for hours at a time. It seems to have endless possibilities. I have decided that the footswitch makes more sense for me (Bass) than the expression pedal function. The A/B footswitch controls the HOLD and the other controls Octave Up/Tap Tempo functions. The "organ" sounds are really excellent IMO, and that's all I wanted it for. (Paul Butterfield and Dylan blues tunes sound great with it).