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I’m kinda surprised there isn’t already a VCA, or at least something that provides some sort of soft attack volume swell, since its such a common feature among modular synths. Perhaps there’s already something in the editor that would do that in a less obvious place?
Just to be sure about things, I just sat down and listened to the SY300 isolated square wave a few minutes ago. I did the same with the C4. One sounds like a clean square wave (or as clean as such a thing can get). The other one does not. Those who have both should try this test. It is the most clear indication that the fundamental building blocks of these pedals are different and, hence, the sounds they make at the end of the chain are going to be different.There are pros and cons to both approaches. I know you would likely say the SA approach is better, but I wouldn't... just because I don't think either is better than the other.
The simplicity of the SY1 is a big bonus. Sure, you can't save presets. However, there are only a few parameters to tweak when you go to a different sound, so it isn't a terrible burden. It's also a big perk to be able to just look at the top of the pedal and say, "here are my 'string' synth sounds." Twist one knob and, boom, you're on them. There's a strong appeal to that, especially for people who don't know anything about how to set up a modular synth. But, there are cons too. I've used pedals like that, and what I have run into is a lot of, "wow, I'd love this sound, if I could just tweak a couple extra things..." Pros. Cons. Trade-offs.
The C4 looks amazing. The tracking, the depth, the tweakability, the presets. So much awesome in one pedal. At an amazing price for what's packed in there. But...cons. It's complicated. A lot of people will be completely lost when trying to create sounds. And a massive userbase uploading custom sounds has the downside of requiring users to sift through garbage, or stuff they aren't interested in, or that just doesn't mesh with their rig or band or whatever. And a lot of people won't know what little tweaks they need to perfect their sound. I personally have run into cases where every tweak I made took me further from what I was looking for. Pros. Cons. Trade-offs.
I owned 2 SY300s. It's an amazing pedal. I hope to get an SY1 at some point. It looks every bit as cool as the C4 imo. Just...different. For now, C4 for me. And I'm excited.
To each their own. To me...both, hopefully.
In a more general comparison of the FI and the SY-300, I found the same thing to be true. The FI just sounds "fatter" and sharper for monophonic notes. If technique is sloppy, you get the occasional glitch. The SY-300 pretty much always sounds "softer" or "airier"; the degree of that "softness" ranges from not particularly important to kind of annoying. However, the tracking is impeccable---I've never once heard it sound like it was glitching even when throwing a polyphonic mess at it.
There is the option for using External Loop(Pre-Processing) routing (page 34-35 in the manual) which might be up your alley. This way you can basically get the "freshest" dry sound into the c4 for tracking, but then loop back into your dirt and whatnot and then go back into the c4. I briefly tried it but then decided to go back to my original setup for now because, at this point at least, bypassing the c4 means you won't have access to the efx in the loop.
The FI and the C4 determine an actual number for the pitch to drive the oscillators. Its does not appear that the SY uses this approach. There is no other way to explain the low latency and the poly performance. This probably explains why the oscillators sound less "pure".
Yeah, I had assumed this much, although I'm not clear on what the "other" method that the SY uses is.
Here is an external loop template for adding external dirt in a filter application. The envelope triggers off the clean signal. The filter works on the wet signal. We should probably put this in the manual.
Yes, that is what we think too. It is very clever, but it does not sound right.
This is the point that I have been getting at. The SY and the C4 are going to sound very different. For some it might be OK, but for others it will not be OK. You are clearly hearing exactly what we are hearing.
This feature could absolutely kill my Groove Regulator with Mastotron in loop. Is there a way to still use a pedal in the FX loop of the C4 without the C4 engaged? That's one flexible feature I still get out of my GR.
