Boss: SY-1000

Hi everyone, Max here. I’ll be taking care of things here to the best of my ability while Juan is recovering. Strap yourselves in because this is a big one! This may be, the be all-end all of synth pedals., it’s the Boss SY-1000. At first glance, the SY-1000 might be a little intimidating, and to be honest, there’s a bit of a set up and learning curve. Once you clear those hurdles, you can get some of the biggest and craziest synth tones that rival any huge analog, modular synth setup. Ditch the backing tracks, and do it live with the SY-1000.

Photo credit: Boss

As you might imagine, the SY-1000 is the most comprehensive synth engine that Boss has put out. It can do everything the SY-1, and SY-300 can do and more. If you’re familiar with amp modeling like the Axe-Fx or Kemper, it’s like diving into a synthesizer version of that. It can seem like a daunting task, but it’s not as complicated as it may seem. The interface and layout is simple enough for the casual user, but deep enough for the enthusiast. Mono vs polyphonic, oscillation control and so much more. The SY-1000 is capable of multiple sounds, simultaneously and the options are infinite. Big Moog drops, EDM pads, Kraftwerk blips are all possible in the box.

While you can plug right in and get going, the Boss SY-1000 heavily benefits from having the Roland GK pickup installed on your instrument. The tracking for the SY-1000 is already good, but with a MIDI pickup installed you have the option of programming sounds for each individual string. On guitar, you can program piano sounds on the treble strings, and synth pads on the bass strings. On bass, you can have a drum kit on the lower two strings, and Moog sounds on the higher two. The possibilities are endless, and you can get as nuanced and weird as you like. What’s more is you can share your settings online, and download and check out what other musicians have come up with!

All of the sounds Nick, and Juan conjured up in this video are available for you to try out!

Nick’s presets: http://bosstonecentral.com/liveset/detail/how_is_that_guitar_by_nick_reinhart/

Juan’s presets: http://bosstonecentral.com/liveset/detail/bass_reimagined_by_juan_alderete/

This was a big post, for such a big pedal. The possibilities and sonic combinations you can come up with our endless. Please bear with us as we hold down the fort in Juan’s absence. Juan is such an inspiration for creativity and moving out of your creative comfort zone to come up with new things. Keep him in your thoughts, as we do our best to continue and encourage creativity like he has.

-Max