Synergy a new beginning or the beginning of the end?

OK, gonna just call it like it is....We all hope Synergy comes out...

Anticipating it has all but killed a wounded market...Have you seen used prices? It's insane...

So my question is, will Synergy possibly be the end of MTS?

I just want to say that I am in the boat of hopefuls with Synergy but I also understand trends...

What say you?

I don't think we'll ever see it.

If it lives and is compatible and all, no reason for MTS to die. I bet the price point is designed for studios though. It's hard to compete with a made in China consumer market and why would you want to?

seems like larger interest in MTS is dying, or could be folks just have what they want and don't need to visit the forum so much..

I've even been looking at a new amp. a small little guy for pedals. I don't think I'll ever go with another big system. But if I did, my MTS could possible fund the next thing, that I would later sell.......I've got a small fortune in my rig. I'm sure it's nothing compared to what others have

I don't think I'll sell. I'll just sit on my crazy rig and love what it is. If the new stuff comes.....lets hope it's do-able

I guess it's unclear to me who the market might be

withmittens said:

I guess it's unclear to me who the market might be

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The ones who missed out on the MTS range

They're gonna need good promotion to make it work though
(because that was the problem with the MTS range in the first place)

I don't think it will kill MTS, in fact I'm hopeful it will give the modular thing a shot in the arm!

I agree it's not going to be cheap but at the time neither was Randall MTS and the modules that we have see thus far are from very high end US makers (Fryette, Soldano, Egnater USA and Friedman). There are plenty of people out there that cannot afford a Brown eye or a SLO but will be able to afford the modules especially if it's backwards compatible.

And, as I'm sure we all know from experience, once you have played a module you like if it rocks for you the likelihood is you will check out the amp its based on! It's how I ended up with a Diezel Herbert and I'm sure others have similar stories. I'm pretty sure the manufacturers know this too!

That's my take - fingers crossed!

Nightdare said:

They're gonna need good promotion to make it work though
(because that was the problem with the MTS range in the first place)

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Totally this - been discussed before but the whole Randall = Metal does not help!

I have said this before in earlier discussions....I am not a metal guy at all. I make a living doing studio stuff, R&B, C&W, Funk, etc. I got into MTS at the tail end by accident as it was never marketed to someone like me. People from Cyril Neville to Huey Lewis have commented on my rig(s) and none had the slightest inkling of MTS's existence. I just did a gig with a C&W star and our opening act was a world class guitarist who has played with everyone from Hall and Oates to John Denver. He was blown away by my Twin and Deluxe sounds (thanks Rob!) and had never heard of MTS. Look at all of the non metal mods out there: VoxLess, Maggie, Tweed, Lone Clean, Vybe/Deluxe, etc. These are selling and I assume that the guys buying them are non metal guys. Randall didn't have a clue. I hope this new line thinks about this huge untapped market. I mean I love my XMG, RVerb, Mesa mods, etc. but there is so muchmore to this.

webrthomson said:

Nightdare said:

They're gonna need good promotion to make it work though
(because that was the problem with the MTS range in the first place)

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Totally this - been discussed before but the whole Randall = Metal does not help!

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+1 on this too!

If they a) market this thing as versatile, as it is, and not make it LOOK like a bunch of gear suited to metal, b) make sure it is stressed that there is ZERO digital modeling, and c) come in at a reasonable price point (I think they should offer made in China and made in USA variants, along with commensurate pricing) then it could and should be a smash hit!

Let's hope...

Great replies...But the one question on my mind remains...

Does the prospect of Synergy make you hesitate to buy current MTS mods and such? I know the market has always been small but lately even our little community has become stagnant.

We will introduce some new mods very soon with the hope that there's still enough faithful MTS'ers out there looking for new stuff and not simply waiting on Synergy... 8)

Mattfig said:

Does the prospect of Synergy make you hesitate to buy current MTS mods and such?

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Not at all, I have the sounds I need and I'm content. I think a few of us who have tried nearly everything have settled with their standouts and are done playing the turn around game. I'm sure the new Synergy stuff will sound great but won't be any better than what we already have.

MTS has been on life support for almost 5 years now; in the form of the modders. Soon there will be no donor modules left and that will essentially be the cord being pulled from the wall and MTS being laid to rest.

I have as much, if not more, invested in MTS as anyone. The above "facts" don't change my mind about MTS; I find it to be as good as any of my other amps and far more versatile.

Synergy? My best guess is this will never happen. The E2 has been talked about since, what? 2008? We're still holding our breath? Call me a pessimist, but I don't see this happening. The window of opportunity has closed. The people that were interested have moved on. The people that might still be interested have a setup they are content with and aren't going to re-spend another fortune for an entirely new rig.

My $0.02

drewiv said:

MTS has been on life support for almost 5 years now; in the form of the modders. Soon there will be no donor modules left and that will essentially be the cord being pulled from the wall and MTS being laid to rest.

I have as much, if not more, invested in MTS as anyone. The above "facts" don't change my mind about MTS; I find it to be as good as any of my other amps and far more versatile.

Synergy? My best guess is this will never happen. The E2 has been talked about since, what? 2008? We're still holding our breath? Call me a pessimist, but I don't see this happening. The window of opportunity has closed. The people that were interested have moved on. The people that might still be interested have a setup they are content with and aren't going to re-spend another fortune for an entirely new rig.

My $0.02

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Wow. What a downer. 8) It's true but still depressing. There may yet be life in this though guys. I know for me, my rig is always evolving. Soon I will be adding a JJ Dirt, Dreadplate, fancy new MarkUS, and more. Just as excited as when I got my first mods...
The market for this stuff has never been strong for any length of time; But it won't die on our watch.

Figg, isn't Bruce down in Farmington, not far from you? Why not go have a talk with him? He seem approachable and open about things..maybe he'll let you in on when things might go down..

withmittens said:

Figg, isn't Bruce down in Farmington, not far from you? Why not go have a talk with him? He seem approachable and open about things..maybe he'll let you in on when things might go down..

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He's not far and is a terrific and open guy about amps and gear in general. But MTS is not a big discussion he wants to have I'm told. If you read this Bruce, we'd love to meet with you. We've reached out several times to no avail. Perhaps this will change in the future....We (MotorCity Mods) are passionate about the system he created and would love to work with him on making it a passion for more musicians than just the few who got in on the secret.

My biggest issue the randall amps I have now just are not reliable. I have a rm 100 that worked now nothing comes out and I go to turn on my rm 50 combo dead as a door knob ugh!!
Egnater mod 50 no issues. The jf and salvationmods rock; to have something with amp manufacturers on board awesome

drewiv said:

MTS has been on life support for almost 5 years now; in the form of the modders. Soon there will be no donor modules left and that will essentially be the cord being pulled from the wall and MTS being laid to rest.

I have as much, if not more, invested in MTS as anyone. The above "facts" don't change my mind about MTS; I find it to be as good as any of my other amps and far more versatile.

Synergy? My best guess is this will never happen. The E2 has been talked about since, what? 2008? We're still holding our breath? Call me a pessimist, but I don't see this happening. The window of opportunity has closed. The people that were interested have moved on. The people that might still be interested have a setup they are content with and aren't going to re-spend another fortune for an entirely new rig.

My $0.02

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I would be totally in agreement with this, however I have always been a serious gear addict/obsessionist, and I had NEVER HEARD A PEEP about MTS. Only reason I even found it is I tried an Egnater Renegade as my amp at the time blew on me and I needed something ASAP, and just 'borrowed' one from GC to get me through a couple gigs. I was impressed by the little thing & decided to look more into Egnater. Even then, it was total random that I caught someone on some forum mention MTS as something he had done in the past. Googled MTS, and bam, there it is, in all its glory, lol. I was immediately sold on the idea & immediately hooked once I heard how good it all sounded.

Given that, it is clear that MTS was horribly promoted (if promoted at all? Cuz I never saw it, and I'm prime target demo) and as a result, no one even knew it happened. Price of entry was prolly a little high too... In any case, if these issues can be resolved, it should have plenty of legs left for all those who have still never heard of it... Only time will tell, but I'm hopeful, lol.

Also, consider just how popular the API 500-series stuff is in the pro audio camp. It's the exact same concept but just in that realm. It's a thriving little sub industry. Given that there are prolly 20x as many guitarists in the world, if not more, then it only makes sense that MTS should be at least as popular among guitarists & pro audio guys alike.

I agree, except that guitarists are either gear nerds or plug and play. I am considered a gear nerd among most players I know and they obsess over guitars rather than amps. They do not understand why I would want so many amp flavors. Nor do they understand why my rig cost me 3k over the time I've been in MTS.

Studios should love the idea and I imagine many pro players knew about MTS for home studios when it came out. I saw it then but the price kept me away.

I will continue to collect mods but the amp, if there is a new one, needs to kick ***, on the level of a classic power section. It needs to be (stupid words) organic, responsive and tasty with power scaling and self bias options. If the mods give us the option of everything then the power sections needs to do the same, otherwise your playing an AC30 or HiWatt with 6L6 and it just sounds weird as hell

If it ever makes it to market it can't be priced in space and it needs to offer a convertible set of features. if this happens then MTS should live a long life.

I hate to be Debbie Downer here, but realize it took less time for the Space Shuttle to go from prototype to production.

I see no legs for this project; it's like deja vu all over again. Something modular shows up at NAMM, promises are made, deadlines are blown, and nothing but silence emerges from the hype. The E2 was supposed to be out summer of 2008. It's 2015, folks. I mean we're all sitting here like Bill Dauterive waiting for Lenore to walk in the door.

I analyze the situation and if Fryette, Friedman, Soldano, etc. are involved; what about that lineup says frugal, affordable or inexpensive? At best, a project with that many people involved is difficult to get up and going. Especially, when these guys all have lines of amplifiers that sell for $3K plus. So, they're going to focus their attention on an even smaller niche market to sell a modular version of their $3K amp for $500? I'm sure it's a top priority.

Hell, I hope I'm wrong. I've been waiting with bated breath for seven years along with the rest of you, but it's been SEVEN years and I'm ready to throw in the towel.

My MTS gear won't be going anywhere. I've been picking up gear through the years anticipating the end of production and that day may hath cometh.

I guess the ultimate question is, if Synergy lives, what will be done with the new line that will make me want to purchase something from it? I'm pretty happy with my current Egnater gear.

Friedman chimed in on HRI just a couple months ago saying it was all still happening. There's a new post asking about Synergy over there so I wonder if he'll say anything else? From what he has said in the past, he is taking the lead on the line and Bruce isn't really involved other than offering a couple new modules. It's all under Boutique Amps Distribution group that produces Friedman, Egnater, 65Amps, Morgan, Falvo and Bogner pedals.

I hear you Drew and fear you are correct. I'm still hoping this isn't the same thing in the past were Bruce has too much on his plate to make it all happen and the parent company is just beginning to see this to fruition.

I don't honestly see Synergy happening..if it doesn't then the platform remains a hobbyist/collectors piece.

As bad as Randall was at this, at least they were a big name sponsor...with Synergy, it's clearly a niche....but that's the only way it remains viable, otherwise it just fizzles away gradually (as has been happening for past couple of years or so...)

None of this undermines my particular interest in the platform nor my positive experiences with all the modders, big and small.....they are what's made this platform great.