always love it when someone successfully challenges my own biases about music and art in general. it's easy to say "just get a synth instead" but actually being able to play a riff on a keyboard the way a guitarist might be hearing it in their head takes some time and effort that a synth pedal can bypass
I am glad I was able to offer you a different perspective! Yeah it really is nice for saving time with writing synth parts for those of us who aren't great at synth.
Adding an expression pedal really opens it up, allowing control of filter sweeps, modulation and sequencer speeds, or pitch, depending on the patch. A volume pedal also helps as I've found the volume of patches can vary a lot.
Holy cow man. That was a hell of a song you made with just a pedal board and some midi drums! A refreshing break from the many blues noodling demos on UA-cam. I agree with what you said at the end- tone crafting with physical pedals trumps plugins, and it pays to know how to quickly adjust your tone in practice. I had a similar experience with the Zoom Multistomp synth effects- I got it to work live but had to spend time at home finding decent settings.
I don't think they are a gimmick but I just prefer to get a synth instead, whether its a free vst or hardware its get me out of my guitar playing style
I actually got one of these pedals for a while with the hope that it would replace my synthesizer in a much smaller package. Could it be a useful pedal? Absolutely. Does it replace a synth? Absolutely not.
Thanks for the really nice video. I got a Boss GP-10 last May because I wanted to use it as a MIDI controller to work on keys and other instruments in my little home studio. I am embarrassed to say I have yet to use it in anger. I find getting started with a home studio can be quite daunting. So many things to tackle: playing - or programming - bass, keyboards, drums. So much to learn before you think you can even start. After lots of video watching over the past year it is time to actually jump in. Your video about the SY-1 is inspirational as the GP-10 has many similar features. So I hope to use it as more than just a MIDI controller and delve into its soundscaping capabilities. And perhaps I'll get into a SY-1000 later on. But first I need to get to work. Thanks for the inspiration!
I've had the SY-1 a couple years and really enjoy it. I lean into the lead, pad, bass, and arpeggiators on the right knob. There's a lot of sculpting you can do with the tone / rate double knob. Plugging an expression pedal into it adds a lot of dimensions, as well. I tend to turn it on when I want to change things up. Live, it functions as an element of surprise. In the studio, I find it inspirational. In both circumstances, it kind of "breaks the chains" and invites something new to come through.
I've owned it for a couple of years. It's great when you have time to dial in the sound you want (especially like the arpeggios, etc. and on Bass guitar), but in a live situation you would almost need a separate one for every sound you want to use. So it's still in the studio, but never out live. If they had added a Preset knob, with 6 positions it would be killer! The electro-harmonics B9 on the other hand is always with me, connected through an expression pedal to control how much is added.
Yeah fair in a live situation it would defs be tricky to use if you. use more than one sound. Oh yeah a preset knob would be sick. Oh sweet that is awesome! That pedal is super cool
Another guitar synth that could lay claim to being the first is the ARP Avatar (also from 1977), which could either run the guitar output through the signal chain with the pickup sending each string through a separate preamp (with separate fuzz circuits for each string that could be summed to mono and run through the filters, or output in stereo with the top three strings on one channel and the bottom three on the other). The unit also had the capacity to convert the signal from the pickup to CV, which would allow control of synth parameters in a modular system and could, in theory, allow for pure synth sounds using the CV as an oscillator. It was however, not nearly as quick as Roland's solution and had a significant delay for the CV output.
Got a sy1 and loved it. I upgraded to the sy200 which is basically the sy1 but you can store presets and add a few little things. These synth pedals are awesome..it's a cornerstone of my rig.
i like the jam and the whole video, and have always had an interesting relationship with this pedal, but the most interesting and compelling part of this video is your psychological experience with synth pedals. the always wanting the roland as a kid, but then then having the extreme negative bias about the SY-1 without having tried it and giving your friend that kind of destructive advice like that. i have no judgement or answer i just find it interesting. and of course think its great to see anyone discover, admit, and challenge their own biases. well done.
I've never had one but I've tried controlling an MS-20 with a guitar. That was probably one of the first attempts (1978) at making a synth that could be controlled with an unmodified normal electric guitar, through its ESP module that can derive (monophonic) pitch, onset and volume from an external signal such as guitar or vocals. Let me tell you, it's pretty rough. You can't just shred over the full range of the guitar, since you have to use a low pass filter on the sound to mute any high harmonics that would throw off the pitch sensing, and the only way to change the cutoff of that filter is with a knob--it's not patchable. Any kind of transient in the signal has a tendency to throw off the pitch sensing, meaning if you pluck too percussively or if there's an accidental artificial harmonic, it'll try and interpret those sounds as pitches and control the synthesizer accordingly. But it actually does pretty well when you play a tightly-controlled lead part into it. It can even keep up with pretty drastic bends. Still, my holy grail is getting my MS-20 to do an envelope filter effect on a guitar signal.
I'm glad you outgrew your fascination with Roland guitar synthesizers. I bought a GR 55 and the GS pickup that's required to play it with. I was extremely disappointed because it's not particularly user-friendly and doesn't do what they claim. If you're still interested in guitar effects pedals, I'd suggest that you check out EHX 9 series pedals and maybe even a Boomerang looping system. The EHX pedals are fantastic for creating synth sounds, and the Boomerang is a good way to record a myriad of your favorite music. Granted they're still pretty expensive but I got mine on ebay for a fraction of their retail price.
@@coljimusic indeed. The Walrus Audio Fundamental Ambient reverb has a mode with a lo-fi reduced sample rate decay. A vibrato with that verb, mix at 100%, in one loop with the synth pedal followed by the Slicer in another and a Big Muff in the 3rd is lo-fi guitar god mode. No need for overdubs. You can also do highly squashed compressor >with or without vibrato>verb at a like 80 or 90% mix. It sounds massive.
This pedal is really great, I use it with another synth or sequencer and it can change things drastically. It’s harder to use in guitar but when you get it right(by using it wrong) it’s heaven.
I'm a great believer in, if you want to know have a go. What someone else thinks might no be the best fit for you. Yes ask people for their thoughts but how are ever going to know if its for you? The beautiful thing about what we do is are approach, we are all different. Keep making music guys because it the best job ❤❤
This pedal has been on my radar for years, I'm going to put it on my priority list now. And man, I love Discipline, but the best King Crimson album is Red, hands down, that's a true masterpiece.
Love guitar synth. My first one is a Kong SynthPedal stomp box, basically a way-way. Then an ARP Avatar my dad brought home from a swap meet (paid $50), still got that too. This led to a Roland GR300, Yamaha G10, G50, another Roland rack unit and a couple of Roland VG8s, but have been playing with software modeling and hacking a cable to take hex pickup direct into a DAW for independent channel processing.
Yeah, I’m glad I waited for this SY-1, before I bought one of the EHX pedals, along with several synth pedals I’d contemplated. I was joining a band, that wanted to play quite a bit of reggae, but had no organ player, and I was able to use it on a lot of stuff live. I can always get a unique sound for an intro, outro, or any song part. I’d like the 200, for recording, but the SY-1 works for a lot of things, that no other one small enclosure pedal does. One doesn’t even need to be able to play a guitar or keyboard, to have a ball plugged through this and a delay and/or reverb.
I would love one because I mostly use synth sounds to create eerie, heavily modulated and often lo-fi pads for guitar and vocal based tracks. For guys who are Fingerchops MacGee, I get that it might not have a "player's synth" appeal for them. I can't stand that kind of thing in my own music, so this is a great option, and I love the way you are integrating the sounds into musical context. Best demo I have heard of this pedal. Some I have seen looked like they were from guys who watched the "Jump" video a few too many times...😜 Give me something quirky, broken and real sounding any day over that horrible shite. My minilogue is my only go to for that, but its sonic palette is sometimes too limited. You have coaxed a lot of lovely sounds and parts out of it. Your music has got a thing I like: sounds and parts that work together in context. I am convinced.
Thank you for all the very kind compliments! I think for what you are looking for this pedal would be really great; it really shines in the heavily modulated/lofi pad sounds. If I purchased this pedal that is what I would be using it for. I say give it a go, I think you will dig it!
@@coljimusicI picked one up yesterday! Absolutely lots of possibilities with this one. Boss has put in some interesting and simple controls and a number of very useful connectivity options. I like the wet dry more than I thought I would. Best to rely on my ears and not so much what it is supposed to sound like or think it’s supposed to sound like. Cheers!
I bought the bass version back in the early 2000's also having always wanted a synth pedal. There use to be a vintage/used store in Hollywood on the next block down from Guitar Center. They had one that looked like it had never been used. After owning it for just a few days I realized why. I couldn't find any use for it. Maybe if it had been around in the 70's when I started playing bass and was into making weird noise I might have liked it better. I wound up selling it for what I paid so was happy. But I still wanted cheap access to that MuTron sound so bought a Digitech bass synth that was way more usable and not so temperamental and also worked with guitar. The Boss just went totally haywire past the 7th fret.
Nice sounds you coaxed out of that mate! Reminds me of some INXS and Cocteau Twins "Heaven or Las Vegas" tunes from last century (!) I clicked on your vid as I am into synths and looking to get a pedal or two to add to my 70CDR. Running synths thru guitar pedals is fun but the temptaion to try a few rather than save up for a Strymon etc is real... 🖖🎶💯
Been using a GR55 for many moons, only drawback being the size. It’s pretty cool having a guitar that can sound pretty much like any instrument you can imagine. Might be worth picking up an SY1 for compactibility, but seems it’s altering the guitar signal, rather than adding a sound, like with the GK3/GR55 combo that I’m using, in conjunction with an RC600 Loop Station… most audiences wouldn’t notice or even care about what’s going on, so it’s just whatever floats your boat, aye.
Cool thanks Hey the drum sounds your getting are good and I’m wondering what drum software that is ..? Or is it a drum machine. , and I like that your playing keys to trigger the different drums .. I need how to learn how to do that also
Hey there, I use Superior Drummer 3. I use it in my DAW and have a midi/usb keyboard plugged into my computer. Depending on what computer you have, if you plug a keyboard into it, the software should recognize it and let you control the plugin with it. I hope this helps!
I typically hate synth pedals (and I really hate the synthaxe) but I really enjoyed the song you created with it. I may have to give it a try. Thanks very much!
I have this pedal and the most annoying thing about it is the insane amount of reverb/ chorus that seems to be embedded into every sound. I just wanted a basic dry saw tooth synth sound. But the closest I found is muddied with reverb and I can't remove it.
Dude, a little while back I got a Boss SY-200 after spending months trying to decide if it's worth it or not. I was afraid it was too gimmicky. Holy crap. I've determined it's like, such an injustice to call it a synth pedal. I feel like there's a preconceived bias or interpretation of what a "synth" or a "synth pedal" is. If you can just view the SY-1 or SY-200 as a "tone altering" pedal and just take it for what it is, God damn. The thing is a creative masterpiece of engineering. There's SO MUCH to explore in these pedals. To view it as "a pedal that mimicks a keyboard" is such a disservice to what it truly is. It makes sounds that turn your guitar into a brand new instrument. It's marvelous. Loved the video too, btw!
Agree. The guitar becomes the interface to a completely different instrument that will require it's own technique. My looper rig uses 3 EHX-9 emulator pedals to mimic an ensemble. Best to you.
synth pedals have a unique sound that i enjoy. you can't really pull my preferred flavor of synth sound out of them (that early 2000s new wave revival sound the the Epoxies had,) but for big lush chords and atmosphere, synth pedals are wonderful
I've honestly never paid these any mind, figured they were kinda gimmicky or I'd hate the sound, but honestly that sounds cool as hell. I kinda want one now lol.
Got this 2 or 3 years ago, really like it, haven't used it as much as I could though. Mainly use it for adding more depth to my guitar based recording projects, and I'm thinking I might go revisit some of them now. I don't use the more time-based voices, though: just too much effort involved in syncing that time with a project's BPM. You can probably get close enough by ear for short bursts, though.
Fun pedal... tracks really well, and covers a lot of ground(sounds). I like using it for a simple octaver, as it tracks better than most of those I've had.
The first guy I heard was Alan Holdsworth. He actually had a synth axe. I always wanted the ability to do that type of sound just never bought a pedal.
Check out the EHX Mel9. That mellotron pedal is amazing and deserves a song and video by itself. Also the organ pedals (B9 and C9) by EHX and the Key9 electric piano pedal. All very usable tools in a guitarist's arsenal, shaping your tone to instruments other than guitars or synths. The thing I always had with synth pedals, is that I never liked them because I never liked synths as they sound cheesy and fake, but I love the ehx 9 series pedals for the mellotron and organ sounds, so pedals like the aforementioned mel9, B9, C9, Mooerham, Organizer, String9 etc. Will always be my favourite. I extensively use the mel9 in my work in Ankoth, to add some creepy, atmospheric textures to my thrash metal riffing.
As bassplayer you can get away without a rhythmnguitar in rock/pop/metal with the String or Pad sounds. If you dont play too riffy it just ads another layer with 5ths and octaves. You can even use the send and output to split the signal and mix them independently. Besides my modelling multieffectspedal it‘s the only pedal I have on my board. Most modelling pedals fail to provide such sounds with controls this versatile. I think it’s the Bassplayers best friend. Used correctly your band will praise you for another layer without using backingtracks
Smashed it in a rage at a gig years ago. A little too expensive nowadays, but I always dug the strat neck pickup and 5-way switch. Used that 2nd position for rhythm sounds. Cool guitar.
i think the term you were looking for to describe tracking problems is "glitch" (as in: i had the Roland Gr-30 and a boss bass synth and I looked like a dick when it would unexpectedly "glitch" on stage)
Actualy the GR 55 with hexaphonic captor are a MIDI guitar device that was made to control MIDI synth and sampler but it was a really old concept they already made arround 1986, Pat Methenny was also pionneering the stuff with a special piezzo pickup connect to a converter in to his Synclavier sampler synth workstation it was costly as fuck back then, but give acces to MIDI synth sequencer to guitar player .
I have a gr 55 and an sy 200 synth pedals arw one of my hobbies but not my usual guitar style or tone. I can say without a doubt the GR and SY pedals are totally different and do different things. While pluses and minuses to both. While the gr55 is amazing and can do so much more than the sy it used a special power pickup and can have some latency issues. The sy 1 or 200 don’t use a special pickup so while they can’t play any midi tone like the gr 55 there is virtually no latency for the money it’s hard to beat. My big problem is alot of synth pedals don’t sound a thing like synths just a fuzz or octave together especially most video game or chiptune pedals don’t sound anything like actual game systems synths or vsts I’ve always dreamed of a pedal you could list load any midi instrument to without using a laptop or daw to go between I don’t want to lug around all the junk just want to be able to play NES or SNES tones straight from a pedal. Now with the g55 I can use it to turn my guitar signal into a midi signal then trigger any midi sound but again that’s a bunch of things to plug in and setup every time. The sy has a lot of great tone options plug and play for price nice and easy. I collect all kinds of weird and unique pedals and definitely feel most synth pedals don’t really sound like any of my synthesizers these are two of the best.
@@coljimusic oh ok. I’ve been playing around with drum plugins recently. Just using free versions but looking to invest in a full package. Superior is so expensive but it seems to be the best. Thanks for the reply.
Tracking used to be an issue but with SY-1/200 this is solved it seems. If you like such pedal check on the SY-200 as well. Elephant Talk is on how I got into KC and found it sound a bit like Talking Heads (I did not know 😅).
Yeah it seems like this current generation has solved those issues. I think I will; it looks super cool! Nice! That's also how I got into KC! I could see that!
i am a huge belew fan . my wife and i have seen him many times. have you checked out his band mate rob fetters music ? rob has a band called the raisins , the psychodots and solo albums. he is something unique and very special music - some of the best .
Roland NZ brought me in to demo the GR 300/303 when it was launched and I still have it - I chose the FGN Strat over the more 'SG' one Fripp / Metheny etc. used. I bought the 55 (500?) a few years ago but never really got into it altho the MIM Strat has seen a bit of use. I'm mainly a studio person and the benefit for me with these is simply to fill out a pad or 'mock strings' if I'm writing and there's no keyboardist around 😅 The recent Boss one has some nice sounds but, again, mainly a demo / writing thing for me - the tracking issue on all these (apart from the original 300 in '81) is a concern. Not sure what McLaughlin uses these days but he seemed to do alright a few years ago with nice flutey solo sound . . .
That is really cool you got to demo the original one! Fair, those pad sounds are really great for studio work (especially without a keyboardist). Fair I don't know what he uses either, but it is definitely serving him alright :)
It's definitely different. This is what I would classify as a "garnish" pedal, not a "main course" like reverb or OD. Sometimes those are just what the doctor ordered when you're in a rut though. If it's
I got a Roland synth system I got two of the same modules I used to have a bunch of synth pedals the boss sy1 and the ehx mono synth and bass mono synth and got the source audio c4 synth so i sold the others since it can do everything the other ones can do but I don't know how to edit it properly same with the artifakt but I do want to trade one of my roland modules for a different one i got two gr-20 modules and i kinda want to get a boss sy200 or sy300 my friend got one and says it great but im tempted also to get an empress zoia its supposed to do everything also
Yeah! Here in Canada we have a big music chain called Long & McQuade and they have quite a decent selection of pedals for rent (Boss, MXR, Universal Audio, Line 6).
When i was younger, I felt like synth guitar sounds took it to the next level. This was before synths really launched back into style over the last few decades. When you’re playing in and hearing grunge knockoffs left and right, a synth guitar sound is a revelation. When everyone and their mother has a DAW with amazing synth sounds, a synth guitar doesn’t add as much. But, it doesn’t stop there. Synth guitar sounds aren’t usually just synth sounds; they’re *crappy* / weak / cheesy synth sounds most of the time. They’re like presets you’d skip over in Serum in your DAW without a 2nd thought. So to me synth guitar is really just giving you “bad” or “mediocre” synth sounds; while a guitar is already capable of “good” or “great” guitar sounds. Most of the time it’s better to just go with effects that work with the sound of the guitar and all its complexities vs trying to replace it with something half-baked sounding.
Haha it's a place called Long & McQuade in Canada! It is kind of like Canada's big box chain guitar store. They have lots of rental options which is really nice!
I couldn’t connect with this pedal at all. I think it shines as an addition to your dry tone, a texture kinda thing. I wanted it to be a synth but the tones just aren’t that good. Same goes for the Synth9. I may try the Meris at some point but for now, I’ll stick to my actual synthesizers.
Thank you! That is a 1990s CIJ Jerry Donahue Telecaster! It is an absolute beast of a guitar! I did a video on it a while back that talks about it more in-depth :)
The problem with synth pedals is usually that the people using them don't understand piano/keyboard phrasing. So they sound like they are playing guitar through a cheesy synth patch lol
always love it when someone successfully challenges my own biases about music and art in general. it's easy to say "just get a synth instead" but actually being able to play a riff on a keyboard the way a guitarist might be hearing it in their head takes some time and effort that a synth pedal can bypass
I am glad I was able to offer you a different perspective! Yeah it really is nice for saving time with writing synth parts for those of us who aren't great at synth.
@@coljimusicuse the send and return method when playing with a band , you will be more clarity
Adding an expression pedal really opens it up, allowing control of filter sweeps, modulation and sequencer speeds, or pitch, depending on the patch. A volume pedal also helps as I've found the volume of patches can vary a lot.
@robbolandsvids
I've been trying to find a volume pedal to create ambient sounds but find that most of them are too expensive for me.
Any suggestions?
A trick for the pitch stuff. Is either have headphones or be playing loud enough you can’t hear your strings clashing with the effected tone.
Holy cow man. That was a hell of a song you made with just a pedal board and some midi drums! A refreshing break from the many blues noodling demos on UA-cam. I agree with what you said at the end- tone crafting with physical pedals trumps plugins, and it pays to know how to quickly adjust your tone in practice. I had a similar experience with the Zoom Multistomp synth effects- I got it to work live but had to spend time at home finding decent settings.
You’re ridiculously talented brother. That was inspiring to watch.
I don't think they are a gimmick but I just prefer to get a synth instead, whether its a free vst or hardware its get me out of my guitar playing style
Fair that makes sense! I’m glad you have found an approach that works for you!
If you're on a budget get any of the arturia vst, I use their mini V and 2600 all the time in my recording and I think they sound great.
I actually got one of these pedals for a while with the hope that it would replace my synthesizer in a much smaller package. Could it be a useful pedal? Absolutely. Does it replace a synth? Absolutely not.
That's actually a really good point. That reason alone is why i like learning new instruments
@@b00ts4ndc4ts
Thanks, I'll have to check them out.
Thanks for the really nice video. I got a Boss GP-10 last May because I wanted to use it as a MIDI controller to work on keys and other instruments in my little home studio. I am embarrassed to say I have yet to use it in anger. I find getting started with a home studio can be quite daunting. So many things to tackle: playing - or programming - bass, keyboards, drums. So much to learn before you think you can even start. After lots of video watching over the past year it is time to actually jump in. Your video about the SY-1 is inspirational as the GP-10 has many similar features. So I hope to use it as more than just a MIDI controller and delve into its soundscaping capabilities. And perhaps I'll get into a SY-1000 later on. But first I need to get to work. Thanks for the inspiration!
Having the sy200, it truly shines with the technology we have now (hx stomp, m70cdr). It can make some crazy sounds
@@diontes1480 That is such a nice pedal (have not tried it) but on the fence...
Enjoy 🤠
The 200 really has those extra parameters, and could take someone quite awhile to really explore fully.
@@CorbCorbin With expression pedal must be a lot of fun 🤠
Awesome video. I have this same pedal. I gave up on it, but now I’m gonna brake it back out
You have a talent of making everything sound good. I'm so happpy I found you
Thank you so much! That’s very kind of you to say :)
I've had the SY-1 a couple years and really enjoy it. I lean into the lead, pad, bass, and arpeggiators on the right knob. There's a lot of sculpting you can do with the tone / rate double knob. Plugging an expression pedal into it adds a lot of dimensions, as well. I tend to turn it on when I want to change things up. Live, it functions as an element of surprise. In the studio, I find it inspirational. In both circumstances, it kind of "breaks the chains" and invites something new to come through.
I've owned it for a couple of years. It's great when you have time to dial in the sound you want (especially like the arpeggios, etc. and on Bass guitar), but in a live situation you would almost need a separate one for every sound you want to use. So it's still in the studio, but never out live. If they had added a Preset knob, with 6 positions it would be killer! The electro-harmonics B9 on the other hand is always with me, connected through an expression pedal to control how much is added.
Yeah fair in a live situation it would defs be tricky to use if you. use more than one sound. Oh yeah a preset knob would be sick. Oh sweet that is awesome! That pedal is super cool
that's where the sy-200 comes into its own
@@adrian144 Ah, wish I'd known that existed! I bought the SY-1 on a whim in a guitar shop.
Belew and Fripp a brilliant! They invented so many new ways of playing guitar. You have great taste in guitarists!
They truly are! So talented and forward-thinking. Thanks!
Another guitar synth that could lay claim to being the first is the ARP Avatar (also from 1977), which could either run the guitar output through the signal chain with the pickup sending each string through a separate preamp (with separate fuzz circuits for each string that could be summed to mono and run through the filters, or output in stereo with the top three strings on one channel and the bottom three on the other).
The unit also had the capacity to convert the signal from the pickup to CV, which would allow control of synth parameters in a modular system and could, in theory, allow for pure synth sounds using the CV as an oscillator.
It was however, not nearly as quick as Roland's solution and had a significant delay for the CV output.
That third sound was angelic
Got a sy1 and loved it. I upgraded to the sy200 which is basically the sy1 but you can store presets and add a few little things. These synth pedals are awesome..it's a cornerstone of my rig.
i like the jam and the whole video, and have always had an interesting relationship with this pedal, but the most interesting and compelling part of this video is your psychological experience with synth pedals. the always wanting the roland as a kid, but then then having the extreme negative bias about the SY-1 without having tried it and giving your friend that kind of destructive advice like that. i have no judgement or answer i just find it interesting. and of course think its great to see anyone discover, admit, and challenge their own biases. well done.
adding this to the buy list... ive always wanted one but you've convinced me totally lol
Nice man! I hope you like it!
I've never had one but I've tried controlling an MS-20 with a guitar. That was probably one of the first attempts (1978) at making a synth that could be controlled with an unmodified normal electric guitar, through its ESP module that can derive (monophonic) pitch, onset and volume from an external signal such as guitar or vocals.
Let me tell you, it's pretty rough. You can't just shred over the full range of the guitar, since you have to use a low pass filter on the sound to mute any high harmonics that would throw off the pitch sensing, and the only way to change the cutoff of that filter is with a knob--it's not patchable. Any kind of transient in the signal has a tendency to throw off the pitch sensing, meaning if you pluck too percussively or if there's an accidental artificial harmonic, it'll try and interpret those sounds as pitches and control the synthesizer accordingly.
But it actually does pretty well when you play a tightly-controlled lead part into it. It can even keep up with pretty drastic bends.
Still, my holy grail is getting my MS-20 to do an envelope filter effect on a guitar signal.
I'm glad you outgrew your fascination with Roland guitar synthesizers. I bought a GR 55 and the GS pickup that's required to play it with.
I was extremely disappointed because it's not particularly user-friendly and doesn't do what they claim.
If you're still interested in guitar effects pedals, I'd suggest that you check out EHX 9 series pedals and maybe even a Boomerang looping system.
The EHX pedals are fantastic for creating synth sounds, and the Boomerang is a good way to record a myriad of your favorite music.
Granted they're still pretty expensive but I got mine on ebay for a fraction of their retail price.
Really great video man and love your playing and style. Keep it up mate! Liked and subbed
Thank you so much!
Fun fact. David Byrne plays an early Roland guitar synth guitar as his main guitar throughout the film Stop Making Sense.
The SY-1 pairs perfectly with the SL-2. Also, I like to put that pair into a loop on an EHX Tri Parallel Mixer with full wet reverb in another.
That sounds like a wicked combination
@@coljimusic indeed. The Walrus Audio Fundamental Ambient reverb has a mode with a lo-fi reduced sample rate decay. A vibrato with that verb, mix at 100%, in one loop with the synth pedal followed by the Slicer in another and a Big Muff in the 3rd is lo-fi guitar god mode. No need for overdubs. You can also do highly squashed compressor >with or without vibrato>verb at a like 80 or 90% mix. It sounds massive.
sy-300,sl-2 re202 =insane Imo
I demo'ed the SY-1 before release and wanted to buy it on the spot, I was on the preorder list and have loved it on my board ever synth
I synth what you did there!
This pedal is really great, I use it with another synth or sequencer and it can change things drastically. It’s harder to use in guitar but when you get it right(by using it wrong) it’s heaven.
I had the same bias towards EMG 81 pickups- I grew up “hating” them only to discover late in life they were exactly what I needed.
I'm a great believer in, if you want to know have a go.
What someone else thinks might no be the best fit for you.
Yes ask people for their thoughts but how are ever going to know if its for you?
The beautiful thing about what we do is are approach, we are all different.
Keep making music guys because it the best job ❤❤
This pedal has been on my radar for years, I'm going to put it on my priority list now. And man, I love Discipline, but the best King Crimson album is Red, hands down, that's a true masterpiece.
Love guitar synth. My first one is a Kong SynthPedal stomp box, basically a way-way. Then an ARP Avatar my dad brought home from a swap meet (paid $50), still got that too. This led to a Roland GR300, Yamaha G10, G50, another Roland rack unit and a couple of Roland VG8s, but have been playing with software modeling and hacking a cable to take hex pickup direct into a DAW for independent channel processing.
Yeah, I’m glad I waited for this SY-1, before I bought one of the EHX pedals, along with several synth pedals I’d contemplated.
I was joining a band, that wanted to play quite a bit of reggae, but had no organ player, and I was able to use it on a lot of stuff live.
I can always get a unique sound for an intro, outro, or any song part.
I’d like the 200, for recording, but the SY-1 works for a lot of things, that no other one small enclosure pedal does.
One doesn’t even need to be able to play a guitar or keyboard, to have a ball plugged through this and a delay and/or reverb.
Idk if it’s just my rig or not(it probably is) but I can’t get any notes out above the 12th frett on the high E
Oh that is super strange? I never heard of that being an issue with that pedal.
I would love one because I mostly use synth sounds to create eerie, heavily modulated and often lo-fi pads for guitar and vocal based tracks. For guys who are Fingerchops MacGee, I get that it might not have a "player's synth" appeal for them. I can't stand that kind of thing in my own music, so this is a great option, and I love the way you are integrating the sounds into musical context. Best demo I have heard of this pedal. Some I have seen looked like they were from guys who watched the "Jump" video a few too many times...😜 Give me something quirky, broken and real sounding any day over that horrible shite. My minilogue is my only go to for that, but its sonic palette is sometimes too limited. You have coaxed a lot of lovely sounds and parts out of it. Your music has got a thing I like: sounds and parts that work together in context. I am convinced.
Thank you for all the very kind compliments! I think for what you are looking for this pedal would be really great; it really shines in the heavily modulated/lofi pad sounds. If I purchased this pedal that is what I would be using it for. I say give it a go, I think you will dig it!
@@coljimusicI picked one up yesterday! Absolutely lots of possibilities with this one. Boss has put in some interesting and simple controls and a number of very useful connectivity options. I like the wet dry more than I thought I would. Best to rely on my ears and not so much what it is supposed to sound like or think it’s supposed to sound like. Cheers!
I bought the bass version back in the early 2000's also having always wanted a synth pedal. There use to be a vintage/used store in Hollywood on the next block down from Guitar Center. They had one that looked like it had never been used. After owning it for just a few days I realized why. I couldn't find any use for it. Maybe if it had been around in the 70's when I started playing bass and was into making weird noise I might have liked it better. I wound up selling it for what I paid so was happy. But I still wanted cheap access to that MuTron sound so bought a Digitech bass synth that was way more usable and not so temperamental and also worked with guitar. The Boss just went totally haywire past the 7th fret.
Nice sounds you coaxed out of that mate! Reminds me of some INXS and Cocteau Twins "Heaven or Las Vegas" tunes from last century (!) I clicked on your vid as I am into synths and looking to get a pedal or two to add to my 70CDR. Running synths thru guitar pedals is fun but the temptaion to try a few rather than save up for a Strymon etc is real... 🖖🎶💯
Did Napoleon Dynamite have a younger, prog rock brother we didn’t know about? Kidding. Cool video!
Been using a GR55 for many moons, only drawback being the size. It’s pretty cool having a guitar that can sound pretty much like any instrument you can imagine. Might be worth picking up an SY1 for compactibility, but seems it’s altering the guitar signal, rather than adding a sound, like with the GK3/GR55 combo that I’m using, in conjunction with an RC600 Loop Station… most audiences wouldn’t notice or even care about what’s going on, so it’s just whatever floats your boat, aye.
Cool thanks
Hey the drum sounds your getting are good and I’m wondering what drum software that is ..? Or is it a drum machine. , and I like that your playing keys to trigger the different drums ..
I need how to learn how to do that also
Hey there, I use Superior Drummer 3. I use it in my DAW and have a midi/usb keyboard plugged into my computer. Depending on what computer you have, if you plug a keyboard into it, the software should recognize it and let you control the plugin with it. I hope this helps!
I typically hate synth pedals (and I really hate the synthaxe) but I really enjoyed the song you created with it. I may have to give it a try. Thanks very much!
I’m glad you dug the song! Give it a try you might be surprised :)
Please, another video with this pedal. I have the same
I have this pedal and the most annoying thing about it is the insane amount of reverb/ chorus that seems to be embedded into every sound. I just wanted a basic dry saw tooth synth sound. But the closest I found is muddied with reverb and I can't remove it.
Dude, a little while back I got a Boss SY-200 after spending months trying to decide if it's worth it or not. I was afraid it was too gimmicky.
Holy crap. I've determined it's like, such an injustice to call it a synth pedal. I feel like there's a preconceived bias or interpretation of what a "synth" or a "synth pedal" is. If you can just view the SY-1 or SY-200 as a "tone altering" pedal and just take it for what it is, God damn. The thing is a creative masterpiece of engineering. There's SO MUCH to explore in these pedals. To view it as "a pedal that mimicks a keyboard" is such a disservice to what it truly is. It makes sounds that turn your guitar into a brand new instrument. It's marvelous.
Loved the video too, btw!
Agree. The guitar becomes the interface to a completely different instrument that will require it's own technique. My looper rig uses 3 EHX-9 emulator pedals to mimic an ensemble. Best to you.
Get an attack delay before it and then it really is amazing
Great video! Excellent tune! Where can I find it on Apple Music?
synth pedals have a unique sound that i enjoy. you can't really pull my preferred flavor of synth sound out of them (that early 2000s new wave revival sound the the Epoxies had,) but for big lush chords and atmosphere, synth pedals are wonderful
I recently sold my sy-1. It’s great on bass, but I couldn’t find enough use for guitar.
I've honestly never paid these any mind, figured they were kinda gimmicky or I'd hate the sound, but honestly that sounds cool as hell. I kinda want one now lol.
Got this 2 or 3 years ago, really like it, haven't used it as much as I could though.
Mainly use it for adding more depth to my guitar based recording projects, and I'm thinking I might go revisit some of them now.
I don't use the more time-based voices, though: just too much effort involved in syncing that time with a project's BPM. You can probably get close enough by ear for short bursts, though.
Fun pedal... tracks really well, and covers a lot of ground(sounds). I like using it for a simple octaver, as it tracks better than most of those I've had.
The "weird" camera angle is actually the better one, imho
The first guy I heard was Alan Holdsworth. He actually had a synth axe. I always wanted the ability to do that type of sound just never bought a pedal.
I have the boss gt6. Is that close? Or...i just dropped using mine except for ambient noises.
Check out the EHX Mel9. That mellotron pedal is amazing and deserves a song and video by itself. Also the organ pedals (B9 and C9) by EHX and the Key9 electric piano pedal. All very usable tools in a guitarist's arsenal, shaping your tone to instruments other than guitars or synths.
The thing I always had with synth pedals, is that I never liked them because I never liked synths as they sound cheesy and fake, but I love the ehx 9 series pedals for the mellotron and organ sounds, so pedals like the aforementioned mel9, B9, C9, Mooerham, Organizer, String9 etc. Will always be my favourite.
I extensively use the mel9 in my work in Ankoth, to add some creepy, atmospheric textures to my thrash metal riffing.
As bassplayer you can get away without a rhythmnguitar in rock/pop/metal with the String or Pad sounds. If you dont play too riffy it just ads another layer with 5ths and octaves. You can even use the send and output to split the signal and mix them independently. Besides my modelling multieffectspedal it‘s the only pedal I have on my board. Most modelling pedals fail to provide such sounds with controls this versatile.
I think it’s the Bassplayers best friend. Used correctly your band will praise you for another layer without using backingtracks
What drums are you using for this? They’re super dope!
I use Superior Drummer 3! There is so many options with it, it is amazing software.
What drum Plugin are you using? :)
I am using Superior Drummer 3!
You going to see BEAT? I'm super hyped for the tour.
I wish I could go but they’re not coming anywhere near where I live :( Fair, the clips I’ve heard have sounded amazing!
I’m going Monday! Cool small venue. Super stoked
I wanna use the synth pedal with my synthesizer
That a JD Tele? Loved mine to death, as it sits smashed next to my recording console.
Yeah it is! Oh dang, what happened to yours?
Smashed it in a rage at a gig years ago. A little too expensive nowadays, but I always dug the strat neck pickup and 5-way switch. Used that 2nd position for rhythm sounds. Cool guitar.
Hey man, good stuff you're cooking here.
Thank you sir
i think the term you were looking for to describe tracking problems is "glitch" (as in: i had the Roland Gr-30 and a boss bass synth and I looked like a dick when it would unexpectedly "glitch" on stage)
Actualy the GR 55 with hexaphonic captor are a MIDI guitar device that was made to control MIDI synth and sampler but it was a really old concept they already made arround 1986, Pat Methenny was also pionneering the stuff with a special piezzo pickup connect to a converter in to his Synclavier sampler synth workstation it was costly as fuck back then, but give acces to MIDI synth sequencer to guitar player .
Ive got the sy300. Works great although i admit i mostly use it for all the internal Boss fx, of which you can have 3 per patch, in any order.
Oh wow I didn’t know that you could use it like that. That is a super smart way to use it!
@@coljimusic on the page that you choose waveform, audio in is the end option
Johnny Mojo makes that peddle sing
For me my love of synth guitar goes back to the band Orgy. That first album of theirs is amazing tones
watched a few videos and subbed, have a good day)
Great content!
I got a boss bass synthesizer pedal I should go play with thank you
I have a gr 55 and an sy 200 synth pedals arw one of my hobbies but not my usual guitar style or tone. I can say without a doubt the GR and SY pedals are totally different and do different things. While pluses and minuses to both. While the gr55 is amazing and can do so much more than the sy it used a special power pickup and can have some latency issues. The sy 1 or 200 don’t use a special pickup so while they can’t play any midi tone like the gr 55 there is virtually no latency for the money it’s hard to beat. My big problem is alot of synth pedals don’t sound a thing like synths just a fuzz or octave together especially most video game or chiptune pedals don’t sound anything like actual game systems synths or vsts
I’ve always dreamed of a pedal you could list load any midi instrument to without using a laptop or daw to go between I don’t want to lug around all the junk just want to be able to play NES or SNES tones straight from a pedal. Now with the g55 I can use it to turn my guitar signal into a midi signal then trigger any midi sound but again that’s a bunch of things to plug in and setup every time. The sy has a lot of great tone options plug and play for price nice and easy.
I collect all kinds of weird and unique pedals and definitely feel most synth pedals don’t really sound like any of my synthesizers these are two of the best.
Nice. Anyone know what drum sounds he is using?
I use superior drummer 3!
@@coljimusic oh ok. I’ve been playing around with drum plugins recently. Just using free versions but looking to invest in a full package. Superior is so expensive but it seems to be the best. Thanks for the reply.
Tracking used to be an issue but with SY-1/200 this is solved it seems. If you like such pedal check on the SY-200 as well.
Elephant Talk is on how I got into KC and found it sound a bit like Talking Heads (I did not know 😅).
Yeah it seems like this current generation has solved those issues. I think I will; it looks super cool!
Nice! That's also how I got into KC! I could see that!
"Discipline is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end."
King Crimson in the 80’s was going to be called discipline
Even with gm800 i still holding on to sy1000
Since if i want a keyboardist i could always just track it myself into backing track anyway.
Interesting although I prefer the Source Audio C4.. you can Program it yourself or download Presets
I have never heard of that one! I will have to check it out. Having presets would be super nice.
@@coljimusic Yes... User Created Presets as well as in-house Presets .. Works with Phone, iPad, Mac, PC etc
i am a huge belew fan . my wife and i have seen him many times. have you checked out his band mate rob fetters music ? rob has a band called the raisins , the psychodots and solo albums. he is something unique and very special music - some of the best .
You are very lucky to have seen him! No I haven't check out his much; I will be sure to check it out though! Thanks for the recommendation!
As soon as you said “boundary pushing guitarists” I thought Adrian Belew
Roland NZ brought me in to demo the GR 300/303 when it was launched and I still have it - I chose the FGN Strat over the more 'SG' one Fripp / Metheny etc. used. I bought the 55 (500?) a few years ago but never really got into it altho the MIM Strat has seen a bit of use. I'm mainly a studio person and the benefit for me with these is simply to fill out a pad or 'mock strings' if I'm writing and there's no keyboardist around 😅 The recent Boss one has some nice sounds but, again, mainly a demo / writing thing for me - the tracking issue on all these (apart from the original 300 in '81) is a concern. Not sure what McLaughlin uses these days but he seemed to do alright a few years ago with nice flutey solo sound . . .
That is really cool you got to demo the original one! Fair, those pad sounds are really great for studio work (especially without a keyboardist). Fair I don't know what he uses either, but it is definitely serving him alright :)
It's definitely different. This is what I would classify as a "garnish" pedal, not a "main course" like reverb or OD. Sometimes those are just what the doctor ordered when you're in a rut though. If it's
I really like that description of the pedal. I think that is exactly the best way to approach it.
are you double tracking the guitars or anything else? Awesome content man, sub'd before you blow up
I think I double tracked the chorus guitar but that was it! Thank you so much!
This pedal kicks ass with a Distortion pedal in front of it -
I got a Roland synth system I got two of the same modules I used to have a bunch of synth pedals the boss sy1 and the ehx mono synth and bass mono synth and got the source audio c4 synth so i sold the others since it can do everything the other ones can do but I don't know how to edit it properly same with the artifakt but I do want to trade one of my roland modules for a different one i got two gr-20 modules and i kinda want to get a boss sy200 or sy300 my friend got one and says it great but im tempted also to get an empress zoia its supposed to do everything also
I want one now
You can rent a pedal? Never heard of this.
Yeah! Here in Canada we have a big music chain called Long & McQuade and they have quite a decent selection of pedals for rent (Boss, MXR, Universal Audio, Line 6).
Keep waiting for you to say "You squashed my tots!"
Now to find a moog guitar . To any vst trolls, check out Jam origins midi guitar and leave the comment section alone
Of course it's a gimmick. But, that doesn't mean it's bad.
Discipline RULEZ! Album AND Song.
When i was younger, I felt like synth guitar sounds took it to the next level.
This was before synths really launched back into style over the last few decades.
When you’re playing in and hearing grunge knockoffs left and right, a synth guitar sound is a revelation. When everyone and their mother has a DAW with amazing synth sounds, a synth guitar doesn’t add as much.
But, it doesn’t stop there. Synth guitar sounds aren’t usually just synth sounds; they’re *crappy* / weak / cheesy synth sounds most of the time. They’re like presets you’d skip over in Serum in your DAW without a 2nd thought.
So to me synth guitar is really just giving you “bad” or “mediocre” synth sounds; while a guitar is already capable of “good” or “great” guitar sounds.
Most of the time it’s better to just go with effects that work with the sound of the guitar and all its complexities vs trying to replace it with something half-baked sounding.
where in the hell do you rent pedals for a week to check them out? sign me up for that program
that be a business i could get behind lol
Haha it's a place called Long & McQuade in Canada! It is kind of like Canada's big box chain guitar store. They have lots of rental options which is really nice!
So many options. Best to get 200 to return to good tones.
Shout out to Chuck Hammer, look him up
What do you think about this pedal for a bass guitar? Haha don’t judge me, I know I’m weird 🤪
This pedal is meant for both guitar and bass so it would work good!
I couldn’t connect with this pedal at all. I think it shines as an addition to your dry tone, a texture kinda thing. I wanted it to be a synth but the tones just aren’t that good. Same goes for the Synth9. I may try the Meris at some point but for now, I’ll stick to my actual synthesizers.
4:05 "over all im impressed i can handle more than one note at once". - long pause
Oh! he's talking about the sound. 😂
Deets on that Tele, please! New here... Great song!!
Thank you! That is a 1990s CIJ Jerry Donahue Telecaster! It is an absolute beast of a guitar! I did a video on it a while back that talks about it more in-depth :)
@@coljimusic I'll definitely look for that video thank you! It looks so exceptionally thin maybe it's just an angle on the video. Thanks again 👍
His Name Is Alive use synth pedals to create ambient soundscapes
The problem with synth pedals is usually that the people using them don't understand piano/keyboard phrasing. So they sound like they are playing guitar through a cheesy synth patch lol
Discipline is the best
When bro started chasing chicks ,he forgot all about this pedal...😂
Bruhbruh I don't think Adrian Belew has played for LITERALLY everyone.
The Boss SY-1000 is the absolute fcking king of ambient.
I don't doubt that! That pedal is a beast