mctallica1
Well-known member
Well, I am pretty much past the honeymoon period with this amp and I’m still very impressed. Coming into this with a lot of experience with the old Egnater/Randall modular stuff, I had a baseline expectation that has been exceeded. I loved the old stuff, but a lot of the modules ended up sounding similar. I am not having that issue with the Synergy modules. The 5 I own all have their own thing going on.
The amp chassis itself seems to be built solid, as does the foot switch. Master volume works great and the effects loop works well for what I use.
Two disclaimers:
I boost EVERYTHING, so all of my opinions are based on that. Currently, I’m using an OD 808, but sometimes I use an SD1. Have tried a bunch of modded and boutique boosts, but always come back to these two.
I also ALWAYS have an EQ in the loop. Historically it has been an MXR 10 band, but I’ve been using a Master Effects PM EQ for quite a while. I don’t actually EQ much, just cut a smidge in the mids, I like the flavor the EQ itself adds to my sound
Another disclaimer, I believe good preamp tubes make a difference. I know it is really just the last few % of getting to the sound and feel I’m looking for, but that last little bit has huge impact on my enjoyment. FWIW, prior to discovering Harmony Central decades ago, I never knew what tubes where in my amps, but once I experienced the difference, I was hooked.
With that said, given the modern technology involved with this amp and modules, I wasn’t expecting them to be as sensitive to tube changes as they are. I am currently running all NoS Mullard i63’s in the chassis, except the PI, I left it stock.
Now to the modules.
I currently own:
IICP
Pittbull Ultra Lead
Powerball
Uberschall
SLO II
I have owned multiple variations of all these actual amps and the modules do a good job of emulating their namesakes.
Absolutely love the IICP, Ultra Lead. Like the Uberschall and Powerball a good bit and the SLO II is pretty much what I expected after owning 3 of the actual amp. It is a bit too round and polished when compared to the others, for the modern, thrashy tone I go for. If I play it with fresh ears, it is really good, but when I rotate between the other modules or my Cherry Bomb, it lacks some of the nastiness I like.
All modules come stock with JJ preamp tubes. YUK
I have Mullard i61’s and i63’s in the IICP, Uberschall and SLO II. I want to try a Tung sol in module v1 of the SLO II. I seem to recall those tubes being a bit nasty, in a good way, but I don’t have any right now.
The Ultra Lead…just like the real VHT’s and Fryertes I’ve owned seems to like Sovteks. Adding NOS tubes doesn’t seem to make much difference to my ears.
The Powerball was the hardest module for me to settle on. I owned an original Powerball as well as a II. The original was very processed and compressed to my ears, but usable. The module was over the top in both these categories. I’m actually somewhat surprised so many people like it. I was about to off it when I decided to try an RCA black plate in v1 with a Mullard i61 in v2. This made a HUGE difference and now I love the thing.
On a side note, the IICP and Ultra Lead modules do not have a cathode select switch. The others do and interestingly, the recommended setting is not the setting I ended up using in any of them.
The switches on the front of each module give you a ton of tone shaping flexibility while still keeping the character of the module.
Overall, I think this is a great progression from the old school modular stuff and plan to get at least 2, possible three more modules. I want to try the Recto….not sure what that one is called, the 6505 and maybe even the 800. My Cherry Bomb more than covers the Marshallish tones I want, but checking out the 800 seems interesting to me.
Off to jam on it now…
T
The amp chassis itself seems to be built solid, as does the foot switch. Master volume works great and the effects loop works well for what I use.
Two disclaimers:
I boost EVERYTHING, so all of my opinions are based on that. Currently, I’m using an OD 808, but sometimes I use an SD1. Have tried a bunch of modded and boutique boosts, but always come back to these two.
I also ALWAYS have an EQ in the loop. Historically it has been an MXR 10 band, but I’ve been using a Master Effects PM EQ for quite a while. I don’t actually EQ much, just cut a smidge in the mids, I like the flavor the EQ itself adds to my sound
Another disclaimer, I believe good preamp tubes make a difference. I know it is really just the last few % of getting to the sound and feel I’m looking for, but that last little bit has huge impact on my enjoyment. FWIW, prior to discovering Harmony Central decades ago, I never knew what tubes where in my amps, but once I experienced the difference, I was hooked.
With that said, given the modern technology involved with this amp and modules, I wasn’t expecting them to be as sensitive to tube changes as they are. I am currently running all NoS Mullard i63’s in the chassis, except the PI, I left it stock.
Now to the modules.
I currently own:
IICP
Pittbull Ultra Lead
Powerball
Uberschall
SLO II
I have owned multiple variations of all these actual amps and the modules do a good job of emulating their namesakes.
Absolutely love the IICP, Ultra Lead. Like the Uberschall and Powerball a good bit and the SLO II is pretty much what I expected after owning 3 of the actual amp. It is a bit too round and polished when compared to the others, for the modern, thrashy tone I go for. If I play it with fresh ears, it is really good, but when I rotate between the other modules or my Cherry Bomb, it lacks some of the nastiness I like.
All modules come stock with JJ preamp tubes. YUK
I have Mullard i61’s and i63’s in the IICP, Uberschall and SLO II. I want to try a Tung sol in module v1 of the SLO II. I seem to recall those tubes being a bit nasty, in a good way, but I don’t have any right now.
The Ultra Lead…just like the real VHT’s and Fryertes I’ve owned seems to like Sovteks. Adding NOS tubes doesn’t seem to make much difference to my ears.
The Powerball was the hardest module for me to settle on. I owned an original Powerball as well as a II. The original was very processed and compressed to my ears, but usable. The module was over the top in both these categories. I’m actually somewhat surprised so many people like it. I was about to off it when I decided to try an RCA black plate in v1 with a Mullard i61 in v2. This made a HUGE difference and now I love the thing.
On a side note, the IICP and Ultra Lead modules do not have a cathode select switch. The others do and interestingly, the recommended setting is not the setting I ended up using in any of them.
The switches on the front of each module give you a ton of tone shaping flexibility while still keeping the character of the module.
Overall, I think this is a great progression from the old school modular stuff and plan to get at least 2, possible three more modules. I want to try the Recto….not sure what that one is called, the 6505 and maybe even the 800. My Cherry Bomb more than covers the Marshallish tones I want, but checking out the 800 seems interesting to me.
Off to jam on it now…
T
