Finally trying Synergy

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ClintN667

Well-known member
Hey guys,
I've been using an FM3 for the past 6 months and I sold it with the thoughts of getting an FM9. A few days later I decided to try the synergy stuff instead so I got the Syn1 and the IICP module and holy hell I am enjoying it. Imho it sounds better than the current Mesa offerings.

Anyway I've heard there is a lot of overlap in tones with this system but I was thinking of getting an 800 and 6505 module. For you guys using synergy what are your must have modules?

I'm running this directly into my interface as well as through a KSR PA50. Next stop is to get another delay or effects processor so any recommendations there would be welcomed. I'm considering an HX Effects or H90.
 
Powerball - Amazingly versatile. Great cleans, crunch, and heavy tones
Uberschall - Probably one of my favorite heavy modules. Great vocal quality with that signature Bogner sound
BE DLX - Classic to hot rodded Marshall. Would take this over the 800 module, personally.
Pittbull - One of the more unique voicing models. Very versatile and cool sounding

SLO module is also killer, but it's due for an update. ETA unknown on when it'll be released, but it was teased years ago.

Rack effects depends on how much you want to spend
$100ish - Intellifex
$300ish - MPX1
$900ish - Eclipse
$1800ish+ - The world is your oyster. AxeFx, Eclipse + PCM81, on and on

For pedals, anything Eventide and Strymon is killer. I love my H90 to the point where I might grab an old Eclipse again just for "that" Eventide sound.
 
I thought about the Be Deluxe but one thing I don't like about Friedman is that they are a bit too polished for my taste. Does it have that characteristics? Surprisingly I got a really good crunch tone with the IICP.

So I'm definitely putting powerball and uberschall on my list.

I had the H90 and just sold it due to it not having an android app. I'm definitely leaning towards getting another one.
 
I currently have the SLO, 6505, Plexi, and 800 modules. I have sold a BE (too smooth for me), and a Vai and Deliverance. Should have kept those two. The 800 is on the block because I want to try something else.

The SLO, 6505, and Plexi are staying put. The Herbert is on the want to try list, and I am impatiently waiting on any word about the SLO updated module. I hear good things about the OS but not sure that is a tone that I would use all that much.

I think that overlap comes in mainly with the higher gain modules but I haven't played most of them. Only the ones listed above.
 
ClintN667 said:
I thought about the Be Deluxe but one thing I don't like about Friedman is that they are a bit too polished for my taste. Does it have that characteristics? Surprisingly I got a really good crunch tone with the IICP.

So I'm definitely putting powerball and uberschall on my list.

I had the H90 and just sold it due to it not having an android app. I'm definitely leaning towards getting another one.
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I can only compare it to the HBE model I tried. The HBE model was a bit too smooth and compressed. Wasn't a big fan. The BE DLX seems to sound slightly better and has more aggression in the high end? Could be a placebo due to a different room setup, who knows. I didn't do a proper back-to-back comparison. Check out some clips and see if it's for you, I guess.

One more tip - buy used. The modules are super reliable and they can get very cheap on the used market.
 
IICP & Uber have been my favorites. Plexi is cool, lots more gain on tap than I was expecting. Friedmans sound great but are kinda boring. I had the SLO twice. I really want to try the Drect but I haven’t seen any used ones pop up yet.
 
These are the ones I have:
  • IICP - You have that one already, so good choice. Side by side with my Mark III there's very little difference. The IICP is a bit smoother but the core Mark tone is strikingly similar.
  • Powerball - More versatile than you'd expect from an ENGL. I get great crunch and high gain tones out of mine.
  • Savage - I'm not to thrilled with this one. I like Ch2 well enough for searing high gain, but I can't get a decent tone out of Ch1. Ch1 always sounds like there's a wet blanket draped over it. And the shared EQ doesn't help matters either.
  • Pitbull - This is my 2nd favorite module right behind the IICP. Of all the high gain modules it's the one that stood out as having a more unique sound.
  • B-Man - I got this one mainly to use for bass and it didn't disappoint in what I was hoping for out of it. I can get anything from fat cleans to Lemmy distortion from it. I'm not a Fender guy on the guitar side of things so I wasn't expecting it to be my cup-o-tea. A pleasant surprise, I actually like it a lot more than I thought I would.
The other two I want to try/get are the 6505 and Drect. Everything I've heard from these two has sounded good. I don't have a burning desire to have the real amps, but would like those tones at my disposal. I think the modules will scratch that itch.

If the only thing I had was my Synergy setup I would likely get an 800 module as well. But I have Marshall tones covered in spades with my other amps.

Also don't forget about the older Randall MTS and Egnater modules. Some of them sound pretty good and Rob/Jaded Faith still does mods. He has his current line of mods, but will still do his older ones or one-offs if it's something the module can accommodate. This is a good way to go if you want something in particular that Synergy doesn't offer.
 
The new Z Wreck module seemed OK for a bit more jangly edge of breakup and rock stuff. Nielsen just did a vid on it.
 
skoora said:
The new Z Wreck module seemed OK for a bit more jangly edge of breakup and rock stuff. Nielsen just did a vid on it.
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I watched his video earlier today. Maybe it has too much jangle for my taste, but I though it sounded really thin.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
I watched his video earlier today. Maybe it has too much jangle for my taste, but I though it sounded really thin.
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If you’re more into heavier, modern tones, it’s probably just not your cup of tea. Sounds like the Z Wreck is putting out tones that shouldn’t really have a ton of low end.
 
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I recommend the Ecstasy or Uber, and Deliverance modules since you already have the IICP. Ecstasy has two switches under the shield, one is for 100/101B modes, and the other is Air, which is sorta like a more open top end if I describe that correctly. Channel 1 on Uber can sound exactly like Channel 2 on Ecstasy, but you can't get as clean on Uber Ch 1 as you can Ecstasy Ch 1, and since I don't really use Uber Ch 2 much, I prefer the Ecstasy module and might offload my Uber and SLO.
 
In the TGP Synergy Megathread the SLO has long been the stand out module that everyone loves but with the rumors of a true two channel version on the horizon that complicates whether it is a slam dunk. If you don't care much about resale you can get that module on the used market on the cheap because people are selling on the rumor. If you would be bummed/put off by a new one coming out and you have the OG, then you may want to wait on it, in spite of it being totally awesome. :p

The other 'everyone loves it' module is the Deliverance. Oddly enough it seems that folks here like the Pittbull a little more (which I kind of lean towards as well). It has a slightly more 'growly' voicing or something. You can't go wrong with either, though.

The Bogner modules slay. Nuff said.

My sleeper is the VH4, it does not get much talk, probably because the VH4 amp sounds different from the module and almost any power amp other than a Diezel FX return. ;) People might be expecting it to do the whole VH4 thing which I don't think it does; but into my power amp(s) it's own thing as a preamp can be quite cool.

Good Choice, re the KSR PA50. I have one of those too. They're a lot of fun with the Synergy and have a lot flexibility with all the controls, etc.
 
I didn't think about the B-Man for Bass(for some reason). These days I find myself playing bass a lot so I need to check that one out too.

Also thanks for the used recommendation. For some reason I was a bit sketched out on getting used.
 
Yeah, I like the Synergy system. I have the IICP, Uberschall, Powerball, 6505, Ultra Lead, BE-Dlx, and Drect. They all have their good parts, so it just depends on what mood you are in, and what you are looking for.

As far as effects, it depends on what you need, and what you are looking for. Do you want rack, or a multi-pedal, or individual pedals, etc... however, I will say I am picky about what I run the Synergy stuff through. It's defining characteristic is that is has a very tight, clear, punchy attack to it. I dont like to run it through anything that runs the signal through A/D/A converters. I find they make the feel laggy and make the attack blurry. Because of that I only run analog dry-through units, or I run it all through a parallel rack mixer. Kind of like the modules, I rotate a lot depending on my mood. I switch between an Axe Fx II, FM3, MPX-1, G Major 2, Intellifex, Replifex, and a bunch of pedals. All of those run through a parallel rack mixer, so the signal is never digitized.
 
ClintN667 said:
I didn't think about the B-Man for Bass(for some reason). These days I find myself playing bass a lot so I need to check that one out too.

Also thanks for the used recommendation. For some reason I was a bit sketched out on getting used.
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I use a couple of different modules for bass that are in an Egnater M4 and run into the FX return of my BV300. The M4 has been modded to accept dual channel modules.
  • Plexi-Bass - Unmodded Egnater SL with a faceplate graphic I made. Has Motorhead tones all day long.
  • Silverbass - This is the Bman that I made a new faceplate and silverface bassman graphic.
  • HW-103 - Jaded Faith modded Egnater module into a Hiwatt DR103/201. Definately the Hiwatt sound and very unique for bass.
  • JF200B - Jaded Faith modded Randall module into an Orange AD200B. This was a one-off I asked Rob for. He said he was able to make a 1 to 1 copy of the preamp into the module and was the best sounding bass module he ever did.
I have a couple of other Randall modules sitting on the sidelines that I eventually want Rob to mod into a Sunn 2000s and maybe Selmer T&B.

One thing to note if you decide to pick up a Randall module. Don't use any of the 1st gen ones with Synergy equipment. These are the ones that have the solid chrome faceplate; no black stripe on it. There's a known; but not broadcasted, compatibility issue with Synergy equipment. I found out about it after talking with Rob and Bruce Egnater when it happened to my SYN-2's. The module's board doesn't plug in all the way which can cause it to arc across the pins and fry the dock. Luckily Synergy repaired it for free. Though I did have to fight a little for that and have Bruce make a statement to them about it.
This is for the 1st gen modules only. All other Randall and Egnater modules are fine. These are the ones not to use.

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These are the one I'm using for bass. Bonus that they sound great for guitar as well.

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The Orange AD200B sounds really interesting. I also saw where there is an "Ampig" module that sounds really great in the demos.

I have a Hartke LH500 that sounds great for thrash tones but I would rather just swap out a module and just use one device for recording
 
I really like the AD200B module. I don't know how close it truly sounds to the real amp, but it for sure has Orange DNA. It at least sounds pretty close to to the clips of the real amp I've heard.

The Ampig is one of Salvation Audio's mods. Supposed to be based on a Ampeg B15N. I don't think Salvation is doing mods anymore, or if they are it's sporadic. I haven't seen an Ampig come up used yet. Salvation has the rep of doing great sounding mods. When they do come up for sale they usually don't last long. Pretty much the same thing with any Jaded Faith modded module. Unless the seller has it priced way too high they usually don't sit long. So if you happen to see either in the wild don't hesitate to grab it if it's one you'd be interested in. The good thing about Jaded Faith is Rob is still doing mods so all you need is a donor module.

Jaded Faith has an SVP module based obviously on an Ampeg SVT. If I didn't already have both SVP-CL and SVP-Pro preamps I would have had Rob do his SVP mod for me on one of my spare modules.

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MadAsAHatter said:
I really like the AD200B module. I don't know how close it truly sounds to the real amp, but it for sure has Orange DNA. It at least sounds pretty close to to the clips of the real amp I've heard.

The Ampig is one of Salvation Audio's mods. Supposed to be based on a Ampeg B15N. I don't think Salvation is doing mods anymore, or if they are it's sporadic. I haven't seen an Ampig come up used yet. Salvation has the rep of doing great sounding mods. When they do come up for sale they usually don't last long. Pretty much the same thing with any Jaded Faith modded module. Unless the seller has it priced way too high they usually don't sit long. So if you happen to see either in the wild don't hesitate to grab it if it's one you'd be interested in. The good thing about Jaded Faith is Rob is still doing mods so all you need is a donor module.

Jaded Faith has an SVP module based obviously on an Ampeg SVT. If I didn't already have both SVP-CL and SVP-Pro preamps I would have had Rob do his SVP mod for me on one of my spare modules.

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What is up with availability on the SVP Pro on the used market? I used one a lot in the late 90’s for recording and sold it after moving to another State, thinking I’ll just get another one later and for the last 10 years they’re almost impossible to find. Digging the look of the Hiwatt module.
…edit..I should have said impossible to find for a realistic price. They haven’t come up often but when they do I feel they are over priced.
 
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man i LOVE my synergy rig!!! it's my go-to live rig. Synergy bassman and XTC modules. About to get the plexi or metroplex module...maybe the dirty shirley?

Tons of options and sounds!
 
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