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Boss SYB-3 vs SYB-5 vs Behringer BSY-600?

#5
Wow, two totally different opinions on the Behringer gear. I've used their DJ/PA stuff in the past, always reluctantly, but it's hard to beat their features for the price. But the quality can be hit-or-miss. You also have to accept the fact that they don't innovate anything on their own, they just clone successful products. That said, though, I'm all for a product that does what it's supposed to do, even if it's not built like a tank. In this case I'd be looking for the most flexible option.
 
#6
No experience with the Behringer and the SYB-3.

But! The SYB-5 was always too bright and harsh for me. Only option to get this under control is with an expression pedal (connected to the "exp" jack). So, if you go with the SYB-5, keep in mind you'll possibly have to get the dedicated expression pedal later.

Not sure why'd you want a bypass loop - bypass (of course!) and blend options are already there.
 
#8
I have both an SYB-3 and an SYB-5. I have not used the Behringer pedal.

The SYB-5 with an expression pedal is the core of my electronica pallete. It may not track perfectly, but I do find what it does to be quite useable for drum n bass and dubstep type textures. I use it as a front end to a Line 6 M9, and can get some pretty wild combinations.

Setting 8/9 with expression in front of a delay pedal can be really cool as well for more house/ trance type stuff.

The SYB-3 w/o the expression pedal option is much more limited and I found it to be picky about power. I got mine in 98 or 99, when it was about the only choice.

I'd skip it now though.
 
#9
mcascone said:
Wow, two totally different opinions on the Behringer gear. I've used their DJ/PA stuff in the past, always reluctantly, but it's hard to beat their features for the price. But the quality can be hit-or-miss. You also have to accept the fact that they don't innovate anything on their own, they just clone successful products. That said, though, I'm all for a product that does what it's supposed to do, even if it's not built like a tank. In this case I'd be looking for the most flexible option.
Click to expand...

Generally I think their PAs and Amps suck, ony thing "bad" about the effects I've seen is less-than-desirable build quality. At $40 it's almost disposable though haha.

They serve a great purpose though. There will always be a need for cheap gear, in all areas. Everyone's gotta start somewhere.
 
#11
mcascone said:
I read that the Behringer sucks tone significantly worse than the Boss, so putting it in a loop avoids that.
Click to expand...

This is very true. I started out with the Chorus pedal, bass overdrive and octave. The Chorus stayed on my board longer than the other because it was a decent chorus, but as I got more critical of my tone I found that it was just sucking too much even when not on. A loop would be a good option for that problem, but the cost of the pedal+looper+cables+powering it+the space it takes makes a higer quality pedal make more sense.
 
#12
oerk said:
Not sure why'd you want a bypass loop - bypass (of course!) and blend options are already there.
Click to expand...

One reason is because the housing is very flimsy plastic and the footswitch sticks. A loop allows it to be left permanently on and maybe combined with another synth-dedicated pedal (compressor). That's how I use it.
It's an excellent pedal for $40. Great sounds but the tracking is DOGGIE POO! I've pretty much decided that it's a toy and that I'll never be able to make it do anything stageworthy.
 
#14
I've had all three. To me the bsy600 tracks the best, especially with a boost or compressor in front depending on how hot your pickups are. I also liked the sound the best. The only drawback is the footswitch is kinda hit or miss in that it can take a few stomps to turn it on or off. I just kept it in a loop to avoid this although I would like to try and rehouse it.

The syb3 and syb5 sound different to my ears from each other. The syb3 seemed to have a more funky sound whereas the syb5 seemed more for electronica. Neither one tracked particularly well for me
 
#17
I have an sb7 and syb5 as well as the bsw and have had the syb3
The ibanez is essentially an envelope an drive in one box. Has some cool sounds,
But not really a synth per se. The syb5 is good. I have never had any negative issues with tracking. It can show up inconsistencies in playing though.
The pedal really comes alive with the exp pedal though. In the manual it suggests you should use the boss exp pedal, but in reality any exp will do the job. I have even used it in the past with an insert cable and a volume pedal.
The syb3 had some cool sounds but did have tracking issues. It does have its fans but ime the 5 knocked it into touch.
The bsw is ok. I've only ever used it for the the sounds at the beginning of beat it though. Sounds ok, although my goto for synthy stuff is the syb5 and exp
 
#18
I was just checking out a demo of the SYB-5 on YT and was getting pummeled by that awful sample reduction tone it has. It's like it has a built-in bitcrusher. Of course my BSY600 has the exact same problem which is why I can't get it to be anything other than a toy.
 
#20
I have the Behringer, and it's absolutely killer. I had no problems with Behringer neither, I love their sound. But the pedal can be noisy. I mean, Behringer don't get hated for nothing! But their Bass Synth is absolutely genuine. I'd recommend it over the Boss, which gets a bit of hate, I think.
 

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