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Boss SY-200 Synthesizer
- Thread starter doran.dragic
- Start date
i hope they’ve changed the bass section on the sy200… that was pretty much a guitar oriented section that in bass mode didn’t sound that great.
I ended up picking up he 200. The display alone is worth the upgrade.
Quickest pedal flip I've ever done was the C4. I didn't enjoy the presets, and when I went to the site to try to download other users presets I nearly took out my ears. I really don't want to have to hook a pedal up to my phone... trying to adjust dials on a touchscreen *yuck.* And I don't want to have to drag out a laptop to find a tone either.
I do want a pedal that does the synth thing. Looking at the SY-200 with the ability to create and save some presets, and the fact that it isn't converting anything... so it's genuinely polyphonic and has no latency... makes it sound like this is a viable option.
I do want a pedal that does the synth thing. Looking at the SY-200 with the ability to create and save some presets, and the fact that it isn't converting anything... so it's genuinely polyphonic and has no latency... makes it sound like this is a viable option.
Finally got my 200 hooked up with midi, such a cool sounding pedal and now I can use it a lot more freely
Better keep looking then.
Sorry, couldn’t resist. Not trying to be that guy, I’m just still salty that the pedal is astounding from a usability point and yet it has zero sounds that I want from a bass synth.
I thought the SY-1 sounded very "meh" (as the professional term says) in the demos. Once I tried it in person, there was still a lot of "meh", but there are some cool AND useful things in it as well. There are some organ settings that sound really good, even with the band, there are bells and filters that add value. The sequensers can be a saving grace for fast 16:th note EDM. I have better bass synths and pads in FI and C4, but with the fantastic tracking in SY-1, I COULD use it live for synth bass too, if I did not have access to the FI.
I recently come across this - there's definitely some usable stuff:
1.02 cut-through synth tone
2.44 decent filter
3.13 MJ Thriller-esque
3.45 Use of arpeggiator likely to be much easier for live use now that we can pre-set the rates to match the original drums - then be up to the drummer to lock in, haha!
4.07 Korg Miku sound but much less glitchy
4.24 decent synth sound
1.02 cut-through synth tone
2.44 decent filter
3.13 MJ Thriller-esque
3.45 Use of arpeggiator likely to be much easier for live use now that we can pre-set the rates to match the original drums - then be up to the drummer to lock in, haha!
4.07 Korg Miku sound but much less glitchy
4.24 decent synth sound
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Yes solo'd in the bedroom and maybe even in a rehearsal room with a full band. BUT I suspect the flip side is that it will cut through in a band mix with a live audience? I l love some of the synth tones I can get from my FI, but when I recently used it in a live band mix they were simply lost.just sounds like the reason I dislike using my sy1… far too resonant / shrill
Bear in mind the SY-200 has adjustable resonance, which this fella may well not have tweaked. This is over and above what we can do on our SY-1s.
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I think the point of reference with regards to audio has shifted in recent years. Some of the proven, well liked pedals are now considered too bold/loud/aggressive... I think there is nowadays a large number of basement dwellers that do not use the pedals in a band context, and they do not care if a pedal cuts on stage or not.
To me, an example is the Digitech BSW, and although the VOLUME is excessive on some settings, the actual sounds do work well in the mix, even though they are fairly "unrefined" compared to the FI or C4. Same goes for the stock C4 Oberheim (EDM swell), brash at home, but really imitates the original, in my opinion.
So in a mix, the "cheesy", obnoxious, over the top sound might be exactly what you need.
Or else, a more refined pedal, with a more capable, better sounding bass rig. I know that the big, fat, deep MOOG sounds from my FI will definitely turn some heads, if played through my Markbass LM Ninja, and an EBS tuned Ampeg SVT-410HLF.
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Great post! Out of interest are the MOOG sounds on your FI preset stock patches or have created them yourself via the PC editor?
Thanks. Not much gigging right now (for different reasons), so I am happy using the stock sounds, tweaking the given parameters. I like (in no particular order) 1, 4, 5, 21, 23, 34, 38, 41, 42, 89, 94 to name a few. (I hope the numbers are right!) The complex ones at 60/61 are very cool, but I have no use for them.
No laptop available, might get one, as the demos of custom sounds have piqued my interest in doing more.
Just managed to snag me a used SY-200! 
Only had a brief opportunity to try it out / make sure it's all in working order. But very quick observation is that layering it with my VTDI, for some of the sounds, added a really tasty additional depth and punch which brought an immediate smile to my face and I thought, particularly following on from our discussion immediately above, I could see me enjoying that both in my basement AND making for use of it live!
Only had a brief opportunity to try it out / make sure it's all in working order. But very quick observation is that layering it with my VTDI, for some of the sounds, added a really tasty additional depth and punch which brought an immediate smile to my face and I thought, particularly following on from our discussion immediately above, I could see me enjoying that both in my basement AND making for use of it live!
Maybe a bit of a revival, but has anyone had footswitch issues with theirs? I had an FS7 that worked fine, but I am downsizing and changed over to a Mission TT-2 due to space constraints. When I hit one of the switches, the memory goes up or down seemingly endlessly. The TT-2 works fine with everything else I have used it with, not sure what's happening here.
That had happened to me, and I think still is happening but I haven't gone back to look at it in a while... But I thought it had something to do with how the sy200 had it's ctl2 and ctl3 setup, maybe it's set to do program changes, so sending "on" to it would be continuous and thus what you described. Maybe.
Looks like that's what it is. Got an email back from Mission, the TT2 switches are Normally Open, Boss requires Normally Closed.
Oh well. Here's hoping Saturnworks is able to get me a new switch that'll fit in the new setup.
Just got one of these. Says to use a special Boss power adapter that was not included
I think this is 9V but the polarity is not shown on the pedal itself. Is this compatible with standard, common pedal power supplies? I have a multi output brick I'm using for my other pedals.
I think this is 9V but the polarity is not shown on the pedal itself. Is this compatible with standard, common pedal power supplies? I have a multi output brick I'm using for my other pedals.
It just uses a standard boss style connection, polarity is on the back, def in the manual. I use a strymon Zuma it’s a slightly hungry pedal tho so check your supply can give it enough juice
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