Synergy Owners Thread

aivoryuk said:
No it doesn't - I saw that video and that was my first thing to try - I'm going to send it back as I'm in my 14 day period and will prob get another module.

Just as a quick summary

I've run both modules into the return of the Friedman IRX for the power amp simulation and then into a FM3 dynacab and the feel is good but I think the EQ/impedance curve is tailored specifically for the Friedman as I have to reduce the bass and bump the treble on both synergy units (the Friedman IRX sounds great with the FM3)

I then tried the synergy with tubepre of the FM3 and that did sound better which maybe is due to the match impedance curve with the Dynacab. I'm not opposed to using the tubepre on the FM3 for power amp simulation but it makes me thinking why not just use the amp modelling and there is slightly more latency.

Having said that when comparing the synergy module to the Fractal fryette model I much preferred the Synergy and was very easy to dial in.

I am tempted to get the fryette powerstation and then it would be all analog system.
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Have you tried running the Synergy without poweramp modeling? Running the bassman module into my FM3 using the tube pre for “power amp
Modeling” honestly sounded (1) bloated and (2) significantly less like the actual Bassman model in the fractal. Will post some clips later.
 
Boudoir Guitar said:
Have you tried running the Synergy without poweramp modeling? Running the bassman module into my FM3 using the tube pre for “power amp
Modeling” honestly sounded (1) bloated and (2) significantly less like the actual Bassman model in the fractal. Will post some clips later.
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Yes - sounds good but slightly flat sounding for the modules I have. I really like that sag function on the synergy
 
I’ve been interested on the module thing since the Egnater days. I have no ideia I sold my M4 preamp a few years ago. I'm into the Synergy gear now and I wonder if the old BMAN module sounds are exactly the same on the new Synergy module. I suppose do but in case someone knows for sure, it will be helpful.

I bought the Vai module and someone from Synergy said on a Premier Guitar YT video that the first channel was based on the BMAN module but it's nothing like the old BMAN module at all. Second channel sounds cool, based on his Legacy amp, I guess.

Anyway, in case someone is interested on the Mashall-esque side of Synergy preamps, I’ve recorded some of them and just for a reference thing, I recorded my Marshall 1959HW head too. I used a Power Station as a power amp and a Celestion 4x12 Greenback IR. I hope it helps.

 
Boudoir Guitar said:
How are you deciding on where to set the gain and master volumes in the tube pre block?
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well i'm still trying to work this one out as far as I'm aware the fuller the headroom bar is the more the power amp is working - if it is at the stock setting it is barely lit up so it likes you have to crank it to get the power amp benefit - the general output has to be a lot louder.
 
aivoryuk said:
well i'm still trying to work this one out as far as I'm aware the fuller the headroom bar is the more the power amp is working - if it is at the stock setting it is barely lit up so it likes you have to crank it to get the power amp benefit - the general output has to be a lot louder.
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I'll caveat all this with: do whatever sounds good, obviously.

But for me, with the Bassman module, trying to figure out how to adjust the "poweramp" headroom in the FM3 is where I get stuck. In an actual bassman amp, the preamp is clean unless you are running it above like 7 or 8 out of 10. And even on 10, its just a very little crunchy. This can be confirmed by building a patch in the FM3 using the tweed bassman model and turning off power amp modeling in the global parameters. Yet, the Bassman amp itself is getting awfully crunchy at pretty low volume knob settings...because some part of the power amp gets overdriven pretty easily.

The Synergy Bassman preamp module, like the full amp model in the FM3, gets crunchy at pretty low volume knob settings. Meaning that the preamp module itself is voiced to sound a lot like a bassman amp, NOT like a bassman preamp. So if I have the Synergy preamp volume set on, like 4, what do I try to do with any "power amp modeling" I'm gonna try to add? I don't need to add any more clipping because the Synergy preamp module is already clipping/distorting as much as a Bassman amp would with its volume set on 4. Maybe I want to introduce some compression? -- how do I do that with "power amp modeling" without also adding in unwanted clipping (and isn't the preamp by definition already giving me compression if it is clipping?). Does the EQ seem off, lacking the bass boost that a tube power amp into a guitar cab can give? Not at all.

I set everything in the tube preamp block so I'm tickling the blue bar, but not pushing it too far, because anything beyond that just sounded like garbage -- WAY too much sauce in my sauce. Settling on that - how do I gain stage so that happens? Do I try to bring the output of the Synergy down to instrument level, or run it in at like level? Do I use the preamp gain or the "master" on the preamp module to adjust the headroom situation in there? All of this applies to the Plexi module, too, since there is very little clipping in the actual preamp of a plexi amp.
 
I spent quite a bit of time tweaking the “Fractal as power amp modeling” and I did manage to find some spots where I felt there was marginal improvement overall with the tube pre block engaged. The challenge is that - the settings that work differ depending on how the Synergy preamp is set (duh). And that’s just with one module.

My other takeaway was that yeah, the Synergy stuff sounds good in a slightly more modern way. But I dig the sound of the FM3 alone better :bag
 
Boudoir Guitar said:
I spent quite a bit of time tweaking the “Fractal as power amp modeling” and I did manage to find some spots where I felt there was marginal improvement overall with the tube pre block engaged. The challenge is that - the settings that work differ depending on how the Synergy preamp is set (duh). And that’s just with one module.

My other takeaway was that yeah, the Synergy stuff sounds good in a slightly more modern way. But I dig the sound of the FM3 alone better :bag
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The other thing I'll say about the tube pre model is there is only a high cut and not a presence control on the ideal tab which I find a bit annoying.
There is a jmp-1 style EQ on the EQ output but I don't know if it works the same way and you can set the frequency.
 
Strangely enough, out of all the modules, the Vai one is the most interesting to me.

For one, it's so well suited for the kind of "never-ending leads" playing Vai does in a way that the kinds of amps I usually go for are not. I tend to dial in stereotype tight rhythm tones into amps which usually means my setup sounds good for rhythm but thin for leads. But the Vai module is smooth and rounded off so doesn't get fatiguing when you play leads through it for a while, but it's also harmonically dense and bubbly sounding, while being very wide bandwidth as well. Despite the fuzzy rounded off nature of the module, those harmonics will probably make the sound pretty wide, which means although it will sound and feel different from big tight rhythm tones, I'd actually bet it probably won't have a wildly different EQ footprint if you dial it correctly, meaning it might not sound weird or inappropriate when swapped to from rhythm tone-dialed amps.
 
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Most reviews talk on studio use. Here's a quick report back from Taylor Danley after incorporating Synergy into his live rig.

 
aivoryuk said:
Just got the Powerball module today - liking it soon far and it is surprisingly very versatile.
I've always liked Engl amps and I used to have an Ironball and this doesn't disappoint.
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It’s my favorite Synergy module and what started me down the ENGL path for a while. There is a lot more in the module than just the brutalz. (Though it does slap hard too lol) Some really nice snappy rock tones available and a usable clean too.

:beer
 
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