Fryette Power Station PS2

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cryptcrusher

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Just wanted to provide my experience with this unit in case anyone with a Synergy setup was curious.

Prior to receiving the PS2 I had been using FX loop on my Marshall JVM 410H with pretty good results. I chose this head over others that I own because of the presence and depth controls, which IMHO are absolutely necessary in getting the right girth and grunt from the Synergy stuff.

I had no complaints with this setup, but also nothing to compare it to in order to determine if I was getting the most out of it.

I settled on the PS2 because:

  • 50 watts is the perfect amount of power for stage and studio
  • Presence and Depth Controls
  • Ridiculous amount of functionality at this or any price point (attenuator, power amp, fine tune controls, fx loop, etc)
  • Amazing build quality...it is a tank

I currently have a Friedman HBE, Soldano SLO and a Jaded Faith Snakebite (courtesy of retropete). I hooked the PS2 up to my Mesa OS Straight 4x12 loaded with V30's and started with the HBE. After a little fiddling with the volume controls on both units and dialing in the presence and depth controls it was clear that this was the way to go. Not to say that I was unhappy with what I was getting through the Marshall power stage, but the clarity and definition of each of these preamp modules was noticeably improved. Highs were more open, lows were tighter and heftier...the whole sound just seemed to "breathe" better.

I really don't know the specs on the JVM's FX loop or if I might have gotten better results with a different amp/fx loop combination, but I am sold on the Fryette PS2 for a preamp based rig. Next up to try is my Engl 530 and my Darkglass Alpha/Omega.

If you have been considering this unit for your Synergy setup, don't hesitate!
 
Nice review - I agree the PS2 is a great little power amp for the modular stuff

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cryptcrusher said:
Just wanted to provide my experience with this unit in case anyone with a Synergy setup was curious.

Prior to receiving the PS2 I had been using FX loop on my Marshall JVM 410H with pretty good results. I chose this head over others that I own because of the presence and depth controls, which IMHO are absolutely necessary in getting the right girth and grunt from the Synergy stuff.

I had no complaints with this setup, but also nothing to compare it to in order to determine if I was getting the most out of it.

I settled on the PS2 because:

  • 50 watts is the perfect amount of power for stage and studio
  • Presence and Depth Controls
  • Ridiculous amount of functionality at this or any price point (attenuator, power amp, fine tune controls, fx loop, etc)
  • Amazing build quality...it is a tank

I currently have a Friedman HBE, Soldano SLO and a Jaded Faith Snakebite (courtesy of retropete). I hooked the PS2 up to my Mesa OS Straight 4x12 loaded with V30's and started with the HBE. After a little fiddling with the volume controls on both units and dialing in the presence and depth controls it was clear that this was the way to go. Not to say that I was unhappy with what I was getting through the Marshall power stage, but the clarity and definition of each of these preamp modules was noticeably improved. Highs were more open, lows were tighter and heftier...the whole sound just seemed to "breathe" better.

I really don't know the specs on the JVM's FX loop or if I might have gotten better results with a different amp/fx loop combination, but I am sold on the Fryette PS2 for a preamp based rig. Next up to try is my Engl 530 and my Darkglass Alpha/Omega.

If you have been considering this unit for your Synergy setup, don't hesitate!

Thanks for the post Web! I purchased the PS2 prior to pulling the trigger on the synergy system with SLO and HBE modules and I am very happy using the Fryette as a power amp. I posted a thread in this forum asking the same question about using the PS2 as a power amp but received no response, so I contacted Fryette and the man him self responded, he explained to me that the PS2 was used in testing of the SYN 1 & 2 before going to market.
 
I just picked one up, and will put it through its paces this weekend. Playing with it here and there for the last 2 nights, and so far, really liking it.
 
Hi guys, I´m gonna buy some modules and the SNY2 but as beginner with racks and modules I have some doubts.

I´m considering to buy a Fryette Power Station PS1 as a power amp, but:

Does it works with the SYN2 as a power amp ? I see a rack with the SNY2 running into the Fryette PS2, so i think that the PS1 will work but I´m not sure.

The PS1 has a FX Loop and the SYN2 has one too, where do I have to connect my eventide stompboxes, and how can I connect them in stereo?

Can I change the modules and eventide stmpboxes all them bia midi?

Does the Randall, egnater modules work into the SYN2?

Thanks a lot, guys.
 
Yes- Randall and Egnater modules generally work in the Synergy stuff.

Yes, the Powerstation can be a poweramp for any of these things. Swiss army knife!
 
Yes!!! I use it as my power amp for my Synergy. A great unit. It's also an attenuator, in case you find a head that doesn't have a master volume :mrgreen:
 
I know this is an old thread but hoping I might get a reply.

So when you all use the Power station as a power amp for the Syn system is there a way to tap the post Fryette PS2 power amp signal and send that out to a DAW to record?

When I look at the PS2 manual all of the outputs seem to be pre PS2 power amp meaning you cant capture the sound of the Fryette power amp and syn preamp together unless you mic a cabinet and feed that signal to be recorded.

I know there is a trick to feed the speaker output of the PS2 back into the amp in of the PS2 which does give you the combined sound at the line outputs but in this scenario you cant run your signal from the Fryette into a guitar cab at the same time to monitor yourself while recording. It's either one or the other.

So with a Ps2 if you want to use a guitar cab to monitor yourself playing the syn and you also want to have a proper syn plus tube power amp guitar signal to be recorded at the same time you will need some sort of Tube power amp option feeding into the Fryette.
 
Has anyone compared the PS2 as a power amp to the Syn 50-50 or Fryette LXII as a power amp? I have no need for stereo so I am leaning towards this over one of those two. I just wasn't sure how it compares as a power amp.
 
I wanted to share my experience with the PS2. After a lot of consideration, I bought the PS2 and I was very disappointed in the results, so I sent it back just as quickly. First let me say this is a great product and used for its primary intention, it is the best way to attenuate a loud amp. As a power amp for SYN I was not a fan. The reason is that the power amp is very neutral sounding almost hi-fi in a way. Which makes sense if you take an amp output (power tubes and all) and lower to line level to amp it back up, you don't want the amp to color the sound. It just didn't work with the modules as I was used to. To compare I plugged it into the effect loop of a Rivera R30 and that sounded like I would expect. I think it is better suited for modelers and clean sounds, but for dirty amp sounds, it wasn't right.

I have purchased a KSR PA50 and hope it works better for my needs. I use the SYN system for recording / home use so I didn't need a large heavy stereo power amp. I also liked the hi-fi switch, which means I can turn that off for SYN and on if I ever used a modeler. Having the external bias option, EQ and negative feedback loop is all a bonus, allowing me to tune the amp for my needs.
 
@hblu - I love the KSR PA50. With the hi-fi switch off, it is just voiced better for preamps. The NFB also allows you to fine tune the amp to taste. I am so glad I bought one.
 
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