Boss: SY-1 Synthesizer
/Boss are a mainstay in the effects pedal world and for good reason! New for 2019 is the Boss SY-1. Continuing the legacy of the SY-300 and SYB-5, Boss is opening the door to a wide variety of synth sounds. With 121 different modes, impeccable tracking, (meaning no more proprietary pickup!) it has never been easier to get into the unique, weird, and totally out there sounds that we love here at Pedals and Effects.
Photo credit: Boss
Every sort of synth sound you can imagine is packaged in the classic Boss enclosure. Moog leads, Chicago House pads, Dubstep bass drops, String/Organ/Bell tones, sound effects and even a drum machine, it’s all there in Boss SY-1. In a mix situation, because the tracking is so good it might be hard to tell what’s a vintage analog synth and what’s the SY-1! The tracking of the pedal is completely fluid, we barely if ever experienced a point where the pedal couldn’t keep up with what we were doing. With 11 different sounds to choose from, with 11 different variations of each, that’s a whopping 121 different sounds. If the larger SY-300 seems a bit daunting, the compact SY-1 is a great entry, and even staying point into the Boss synth world.
The Boss SY-1 is also unique in that it has an effects loop. There are send/return jacks so you can run another effects pedal parallel to the SY-1. Meaning, the effects loop only affects the dry signal (adjustable by the mix knob), so in addition to the crazy synth sounds, you can run a delay, phaser, or just about anything in parallel with the SY-1, in our video we run two in parallel! Wait, you want more? The SY-1 has a hold function, hold down the pedal and you can freeze/repeat the sweet synth sounds you conjure up.
