Currently I am playing every Sunday at church with my Synergy rig (BB/BE and BE DLX modules) going direct. Starting in October I will be playing at a different church on Wednesdays 2 times a month. I only want one rig and would prefer it go direct. The synergy rig seems to be lacking a little kick, I think that is because I am going direct into the pa. I have an old Tubeworks 6L6 dual channel power amp feeding a Scumback equipped 4x12 if I want to mic it up instead. The problem is that in order to get a good signal to the board the amp gets too loud.
I watched an interview Dave Friedman did and he said something to the effect that the IR-X sounds a little better than the synergy stuff. Is the IR-X a better direct solution than the synergy rig?
Thanks in advance for your opinions!!
I’ve used a SYN1 attached to my pedalboard since it first came out. There are times it doesn’t sound as good and I think it’s really depending on the mixing board/speakers being used. Probably more the speakers.
You could always try disabling the emulated speaker output and try a CAB M or similar IR device.
I have the IRX and still prefer the tone of the Synergy. May have to give the IRX another try (I still own it). With the right PA the emulated output is good enough for me. I use the DLX module with a slighty broken up tone of hot hard and use an overdrive. Very flexible and easy setup from gig/gig, venue/venue.
I think the IR-X has a poweramp sim on it that the Synergy wouldn't have. You would probably need to run the Synergy into a poweramp sim / IR to get similar results.
I think the IR-X has a poweramp sim on it that the Synergy wouldn't have. You would probably need to run the Synergy into a poweramp sim / IR to get similar results.
Yes, exactly. The Synergy has an analog cab simulated output but it does not emulate a power amp, so that is almost certainly what you are noticing running direct. There are some solutions for getting a power amp + cabinet sim on the preamp's output that would be comparable to an IR-X (a number of boxes can do it with varying levels of quality, ToneX, NDSP Nano Cortex, Two Notes CAB M+, Mooer Radar) or you could run it through a real power amp into a load with integrated IR loader (i.e. Suhr RLIR, Two Notes Captor X, etC) ; but those won't be quite as compact/self-contained as the IR-X which has it all built-in in a pedal form factor.
At some point, I expect Synergy is going to incorporate the IR-XX back end they are using for these Friedman pedals into a Synergy dock or maybe as a standalone box. The editor and the power amp sim are actually branded as 'Synergy'.
For what it's worth, I thought the IR-X blew horse through an FRFR cab using the built-in cab sims. It was better through the power section of my Syn-50 head and a cab, but no better than the module.
Thank you for your input. Short changing my rig completely and perhaps going down the modeler rabbit hole, the IR-X may be the direction best for me. I can put it on my pedal board and use it at church and any other place I may play. I'll leave my existing Synergy rig at church and if Synergy does offer the IR-X back end at a decent price I can get it and use the Synergy rig again.
