About to Join the Family...A Few Questions

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JHTorch

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Hello All:

I'm a long time player & studio owner and about to join the Synergy family. I do a fair amount of compositional work for film/TV and some sessions work, so I need flexibility. So I need an amp setup for everything from mellow jazz to down-tuned metal and everything in between. Right now I'm using a variety of solutions: 11R, Bonger Line 6, direct using an Avalon 737 tube mic-pre, etc.

Question 1: What's the best module for "extreme" metal but can still sound good clean (richness with chime)?

Question 2: How easy is it to replace the tubes?

Question 3: Opinions on the cab simulation of the Syn-1?

Looking forward to hearing from all Synergy users. Thanks. 8)
 
If you want clean and metal in one module, I think you oughta look at the Engl Powerball
 
STT86 said:
If you want clean and metal in one module, I think you oughta look at the Engl Powerball
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the recommendation! I'm sure that I will be getting other modules over time but this will be my "virgin" module. Will probably be plunging in within the next 2 weeks.
 
Question 2: Not very hard, take two screws out of the cage and wiggle them out. I’ve seen some post on FB with someone whining about how hard it is, but seriously, come on. I’m an idiot and I never went crying on social media about how it is a deal breaker.

Question 3: Actually not bad, but it is still speaker emulation. If you run a studio or have decent recording skills, you should be able to make it sound great. Again, I’m an idiot and record my lousy music on very dated equipment, but I considered it a useful option amongst real microphones, speaker cones, and other artifacts from barbaric times.

As for question 1, power ball (which I own), or the vai which I have never played. Honestly, your best bet is a syn2 with a module for clean (tdlx) and then the module for loud (engl, Uber, slo, vh4)
 
If you are getting a SYN-1, there's no single module that covers the full gamut of squeaky-clean, mid-gain & extreme metal, so you are going to have to do some swapping based on your project. the Synergy BE-BB module has great clean & great mid to high gain, but not extreme metal. The Synergy OS module (Dumble) has a gorgeous clean channel & low gain. The Synergy BMAN shocked me much I liked it for clean & low to mid-gain; the newer Vai module is probably more flexible for your purposes and covers similar ground. I don't have the Engl module others talked about, if you go that route, I'd still look for a good mid-gain dual channel module to fill in the blanks.

There's still a pretty decent used market here & eBay/Reverb for used modules, can find lots of deals. If you only own 2 modules, you are really not getting the value of the MTS interface.

Tube changing is very simple, no issues at all, just be gentle & careful like you should with any tube socket. It is downright agonizing to change tubes on some of my amps, the MTS modules are dead easy, you can see everything you are doing, don't have to jam your hand inside cramped headshell/combo.
 
9985 said:
If you are getting a SYN-1, there's no single module that covers the full gamut of squeaky-clean, mid-gain & extreme metal, so you are going to have to do some swapping based on your project. the Synergy BE-BB module has great clean & great mid to high gain, but not extreme metal. The Synergy OS module (Dumble) has a gorgeous clean channel & low gain. The Synergy BMAN shocked me much I liked it for clean & low to mid-gain; the newer Vai module is probably more flexible for your purposes and covers similar ground. I don't have the Engl module others talked about, if you go that route, I'd still look for a good mid-gain dual channel module to fill in the blanks.

There's still a pretty decent used market here & eBay/Reverb for used modules, can find lots of deals. If you only own 2 modules, you are really not getting the value of the MTS interface.

Tube changing is very simple, no issues at all, just be gentle & careful like you should with any tube socket. It is downright agonizing to change tubes on some of my amps, the MTS modules are dead easy, you can see everything you are doing, don't have to jam your hand inside cramped headshell/combo.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. Most appreciated. Yeah, I have a feeling that I'll probably end up getting at least 4 of these mods when all is said and done. I've been very curious as to whether there will be bass modules in the future as well. I'd love to see a design based on the Ampeg SVT preamp.
 
I have a lot of modulesand the coolest one by far is the Steve Vai green one, Channel I is like a tweed bass man and Channel II is like hisLegacy. What makes it so cool is for the first time a modle has separate ex’s for each channel!
 
WOW! Bad transfer on the spellling on the last post. I meant Separate and module instead of modle. Sorry
 
STT86 said:
If you want clean and metal in one module, I think you oughta look at the Engl Powerball
Click to expand...

+1. I have the Powerball, Savage, SLO, Uberschall, 800, BEBB, Ecstasy. The only one of those that can do serious metal and genuine cleans is the powerball. The BEBB has a great clean and the 800 can do clean but neither of those will do serious modern metal like the powerball. None of the others have what I would call a true clean channel and the Powerball, being one of the newer modules has separate EQs and two switches per channel to shape things.

For tube replacement, it is straightforward, you have to remove the shield which is two screws and removing the tubes you want to be gentle because the boards are a tight fit, but compared to an amp it is super easy on the module. For the V1 or the power amp tubes in the other units, it is probably a major pain once it is racked.

For the cab out, it is quite good for an analog out. Definitely good enough for an FOH feed live; for recording you could always add an IR with a plugin for more options.

Everything feels very high quality to me.
 
ricky said:
I have a lot of modulesand the coolest one by far is the Steve Vai green one, Channel I is like a tweed bass man and Channel II is like hisLegacy. What makes it so cool is for the first time a modle has separate ex’s for each channel!
Click to expand...

Sweetwater just delivered this morning the Friedman HBE. They only had 1 left and the Steve Vai module. I will likely go with the Vai module down the road as I am a big fan of his playing and tone (my old drummer claims that my lead style is a lot like Vai's too :roll:). I had the Syn-1 delivered to a friend so I'm picking that up today. Can't wait to dig in.
 
warmachine67 said:
Question 2: Not very hard, take two screws out of the cage and wiggle them out. I’ve seen some post on FB with someone whining about how hard it is, but seriously, come on. I’m an idiot and I never went crying on social media about how it is a deal breaker.

Question 3: Actually not bad, but it is still speaker emulation. If you run a studio or have decent recording skills, you should be able to make it sound great. Again, I’m an idiot and record my lousy music on very dated equipment, but I considered it a useful option amongst real microphones, speaker cones, and other artifacts from barbaric times.

As for question 1, power ball (which I own), or the vai which I have never played. Honestly, your best bet is a syn2 with a module for clean (tdlx) and then the module for loud (engl, Uber, slo, vh4)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I run a studio; however, here in NYC, about 80% of our clients are hip-hop or R&B and thus little demand for guitar. Most of the guitar recordings I do are either for my own projects, scoring, and some sessions work. I'll mike up an amp for my stuff most often. But to save time, I will often use an emulation from my Line 6 Bogner Spider Valve 112. I can get pretty good results. Here's a track that I did with a couple of students of mine using the Line 6 cab emulation. (I'm playing the lead throughout and the first solo):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6roriO9mlg

I've got some great analog gear, such as a Manley Massive Passive & an Avalon mic pre/channel strip. So I can certainly sweeten things in the mix. My plan is to get a Mesa Boogie cab and the EH power amp.

Since I don't really play live anymore, it's not really a big deal to swap out the mods. So I'll likely stay with the Syn-1 unless I start gigging again.
 
I have an updated recommendation for you to consider if you want one module for clean to extreme:

Fryette deliverance

I got mine recently and after playing around with it, I’m very impressed. It can be set up for clean on one channel and all the gain you will need on the second.
 
I have the syn 2 , returned the syn 1 and grabbed another module , so I’m using the bb-be for clean and dirt , and the slo for crunch and leads . I also purchased a gold lion cv4004 tube for the syn 2 , hoping it will add some fairy dust magic to my tone haha . I’m also considering getting a matched pair of these for my be-bb , so far the slo is my favorite , the be-bb is also very good , but seems pinched or not as fluid as the slo hoping some better tubes will cure this deficit . The slo has a pop when switching from red to blue channel which sorta blows , but according to synergy they designed it this way , only god knows why ? My other module doesn’t do this . I’ve also had another member on here telling me theirs doesn’t do that so I’m not sure what to think , my guess is if this is truly part of the design then this said member is full of $h1~. Either way it’s not a serious problem because I’m using this setup in the studio , snd I don’t usually switch channels mid recording , but if I ever do I guess my track will be featuring a loud a$$ pop , sigh ;/ . I’m thinking my next syn 2 setup is going to be a Morgan ac and Steve vai sig , or a bassman , deliverance , not sure . Make sure you grab a synergy r5 if your going to get a syn 2 as it’s the only ergonomic way to switch between channels on the fly .
 
I've had 8 modules, 4 active now. Fav would probably be the Deliverance. No noise or switch popping on any of my stuff. I have high end buffers, Furman master power conditioners and 1SPOT PRO's also EBS gold jack patch cables. Very quiet system. Seems certain pedals in stacking can create gain hiss but I have a Revv G8 I can kick on if needed. In general the system is very quiet. I work very hard on my impedance issues and combination of bypass and buffered. I have been hearing the SLO pops but I have not used that one. The Deliverance ranges any sort of Marshall one could imagine and has more low end thump kick without mud than anyone I have had. Fryette designed a Depth and Presence circuit into the module that none of the others have.
 
Surprised nobody mentioned the IICP. Like the amp it's not going to do both the cleanest clean + the most evil gain but you can get close enough on both channels with the right settings.

Powerball as well as XTC/Uber can get cleanish and extremely brutal.

The new 6505 might be able to get there as well.
 
mr-scary said:
Surprised nobody mentioned the IICP. Like the amp it's not going to do both the cleanest clean + the most evil gain but you can get close enough on both channels with the right settings.

Powerball as well as XTC/Uber can get cleanish and extremely brutal.

The new 6505 might be able to get there as well.
Click to expand...
Awesome thanks for sharing ! The iicp does look tempting :) . I’ll watch some demos .
 
Metz said:
I have the syn 2 , returned the syn 1 and grabbed another module , so I’m using the bb-be for clean and dirt , and the slo for crunch and leads . I also purchased a gold lion cv4004 tube for the syn 2 , hoping it will add some fairy dust magic to my tone haha . I’m also considering getting a matched pair of these for my be-bb , so far the slo is my favorite , the be-bb is also very good , but seems pinched or not as fluid as the slo hoping some better tubes will cure this deficit . The slo has a pop when switching from red to blue channel which sorta blows , but according to synergy they designed it this way , only god knows why ? My other module doesn’t do this . I’ve also had another member on here telling me theirs doesn’t do that so I’m not sure what to think , my guess is if this is truly part of the design then this said member is full of $h1~. Either way it’s not a serious problem because I’m using this setup in the studio , snd I don’t usually switch channels mid recording , but if I ever do I guess my track will be featuring a loud a$$ pop , sigh ;/ . I’m thinking my next syn 2 setup is going to be a Morgan ac and Steve vai sig , or a bassman , deliverance , not sure . Make sure you grab a synergy r5 if your going to get a syn 2 as it’s the only ergonomic way to switch between channels on the fly .
Click to expand...
Yeah the R5 foot switch is a must, I've got two of those puppies, makes life much easier.
 
mr-scary said:
Surprised nobody mentioned the IICP. Like the amp it's not going to do both the cleanest clean + the most evil gain but you can get close enough on both channels with the right settings.

Powerball as well as XTC/Uber can get cleanish and extremely brutal.

The new 6505 might be able to get there as well.
Click to expand...
I had the IICP and it is very good, seemed a little hard to dial in for me, same with the Pitbull couldn't seem to get it where I wanted. Others like the 6505 and my fav Deliverance just don't have a bad setting.
 
Steve Fryette (designer of the Deliverance, Pittbull, and IIC modules among other things) did vids on dialing on the IIC and Pittbull.





I prefer the Pittbull over the Deliverance for heavier stuff, personally. Modules with EQs like that are more flexbile but require more effort to dial.
 

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