After the announcement and the official presentation of last mid-September, finally after 2 and a half months this pedal arrives in stores even if in a very limited number of copies. We are talking about a few specimens in the whole of Italy in the first wave, all sold off like hot cakes in a few hours.
We are talking aboutSY-200, a home stomp box format synthesizer Boss Can be driven by a guitar or a bass. A machine that adds to the now large number of guitar synths that appeared for the first time in the first half of the 70s. And here I explain the title of this article, the first guitar synths of the seventies were piloting analog oscillators which produced simple waveforms (Sine, Saw, Triangle e Square) through the direct output signal of the guitar, resulting to be monophonic. In the following 80s with the advent of digital i guitar synth they underwent transformations: they became polyphonic thanks to the hexaphonic pick ups to be applied to the instrument, MIDI technology and the wavetable technique were integrated.
With the SY-200 you have something of a return to the past thanks to the giant strides made in perfecting the pitch detection technique. You can do without the again hexaphonic pick up simply using the traditional guitar jack as in the early days, but this time without sacrificing polyphony. Furthermore, as for the first guitar synths, wavetables are not used but oscillators (this time digital) of Sine waves, Saw waves etc ... the past meets the future. For those interested in the history of guitar synths here is my article (Guitar and synth bass).
Having said this, however, I would like to review this product in a different way than usual, that is, not a simple description of its potentiometers, its connections and their functions. These technical details they can be found easily on the official website and in the instruction manual which has been available online for a long time. Instead, I would like to give you my practical impressions of a 30-year-old user of MIDI systems for guitar and bass.
First impressions
The machine looks good, gives a concrete sensation of solidity, has a metal body with an excellent paint job, an apparently insignificant detail but which is an indication of great quality and care for the product. The potentiometers are also of excellent quality and the retro-style monochrome display gives it a very nice appearance, an aesthetic choice that I really appreciated. Furthermore, its simplicity makes it very effective in use, a vintage aesthetic touch that is however very practical.
It can be powered either with the adapter PSA Boss to be purchased separately, either with three AA batteries. Even if properly powered, the pedal remains off until we insert the jack into its input. The switch On/off by default it behaves as a simple Bypass, its action is however programmable and can assume various functions that you will find described in the manual.
As mentioned in the introduction, the revolution of the SY series lies in the fact that it is a machine that works in a completely polyphonic way and has on board digital oscillators which are driven by the output signal from the jack of a guitar or bass. We therefore no longer need to use a hexaphonic pickup (the famous GK-3 pickups).
The sound
I turn it on and through its simple and intuitive menu select the "Guitar" mode. I start browsing through hers 128 memories of preset thanks to the potentiometer called "Memory" (function assigned by default also to the switch CTL1 in ascending direction). From the first sounds that jump out of the machine, I immediately find the typical incisive and scratchy but thick and "fat" timbre of home products Boss/Roland, at times pleasantly acidic and with a character of its own. The whole SY series is characterized by it. This is a tonal peculiarity of its digital oscillators that we remember dating back to the historic Roland VG and VB series.
We are talking about digital oscillators that produce traditional waveforms such as Sin, Saw, Triangle, Square with which to create timbres that refer to the sounds of historic synths such as Moog, Sequential circuits, Buchla etc. To be clear, we will not find among the presets and we will be able to recreate sounds such as pianos, winds, choirs or simulations of string instruments that are the prerogative of other synthesis techniques and that we find in products such as the Roland GR-55 and Boss GP-10.
The sound of the pedal can be mixed with that of the guitar or bass connected to it through the two knobs Direct Level ed Effect Level. This feature allows you to create tones with very interesting composite envelopes that use the sound of the instrument for the Attack and the sound of the synth for the rest of the envelope.
Field test
The first thing that strikes you is the accuracy of the signal transduction without perceptible latency. It is clear that everything also depends onADSR of the timbre in question, we cannot expect an immediate response from a sound that has a slow attack as its characteristic. Concept not always clear to many guitarists and bassists accustomed to the instant attack of their instrument and then complain about the latency of the transduction systems. In any case we are faced with a system polyphonic which does not produce any perceptible latency and which does not use hexaphonic signal detection systems. I also find an extreme accuracy of the touch detection that allows an excellent control of the dynamics, a very useful property for all those sounds that use this parameter to vary their tonal characteristics.
Try it on the bass
I just have to try it with the bass, the fateful black beast of these systems. I switch to the "bass”In the setting menu and check if there is latency. Nothing detectable to the touch that indeed becomes very sensitive by plucking the string near the bridge or with the use of the pick. As a bass player I am really satisfied with this technical aspect not to mention the polyphony here preserved and perfectly functional but usually almost always sacrificed in bass systems that do not use hexaphonic pickups.
Sorry that the MIDI ports on the side transmit inbound and only control change at the output e program changes but no midi notes. It would have been interesting to have this function (only present in the SY-1000) to drive other physical or virtual synths. The USB port is only for Firmware updates so the SY-200 cannot be used as an audio interface. Finally, ports can be useful SEND e Return for using external effects on the guitar tone and the “CTL2,3 / EXP” for connecting an expression pedal. Finally the switch CTL1 in addition to navigating through the 128 memories, when properly set it can perform pitch or Sustain pedal functions (Hold function).
The timbres and presets
Did I mention that the pedal has 128 memories to store a corresponding preset number. Those supplied by the house are very effective and allow you to get an accurate idea of the potential of the machine. We can start from these and then modify them according to our needs and finally store them in one of the 128 memories. But the most interesting part is the one concerning the “Type” knob which allows the selection of one of 12 different synth sound categories. Each of these 12 types has different timbral variants selectable through the “Variation” knob. The individual variants are unfortunately modifiable with only three simple parameters: Tone, Resonance e Depth through three dedicated knobs.
|
Type |
Description |
Number of variations |
|
LEAD |
Lead sounds |
30 |
|
PAD |
Pad sounds |
20 |
|
STRING |
Synth strings |
14 |
|
BELL |
Metallic sound |
12 |
|
ORGAN |
Organ sounds |
13 |
|
BASS |
Synth bass sound |
11 |
|
DUAL |
Fat sounds |
9 |
|
SWEEP |
Sounds with a characteristic vibration |
9 |
|
NOISE |
Noise sounds |
4 |
|
SFX |
FX Sounds |
22 |
|
SEQ |
Sequencing sounds |
18 |
|
ARPEGIO |
Arpeggio phrases |
9 |
The Types are on average all interesting but the ones that most caught my attention are LEAD, PAD, BASS, STRING e BELL. I also liked them SEQ e ARPEGIO but I don't know if I will ever use them since I will not be able to manually intervene on the arpeggiator parameters. The least successful in my opinion are NOISE e SFX always from the point of view of usability. I also obtained beautiful results in "BASS" mode by mixing my analog sound with its Synth basses.
Conclusions
I was positively impressed by this new product that was provided to me on trial by CasaMusicaleCavQuintoFabio so much so that I will buy it personally.
I want to give the reasons: I currently own Roland GR-55, Boss GP-10 e Roland VB-99 all machines of a higher level than the SY-200, with an excellent sound and complete features but which are more bulky than this pedal and above all that require instruments with hexaphonic pick-ups on board.
The priceless freedom that this machine allows compensates for some limitations highlighted especially when compared with its older brothers SY-300 e SY-1000. Limitations that we find in the lack of flexibility in the creation of timbres: for example, it is not possible to select the single waveforms in their pure state but you have to be satisfied with a sort of preset imposed by the house as we will see in the next example. Furthermore, there are few parameters available for intervention on the timbre and none on the envelopes. Not to mention the impossibility of intervention on the arpeggiators.
Some examples
In the image below we can see a normal SAW wave produced by a digital oscillator.
Next we observe a SAW wave produced with the SY-200 selecting Type “Lead” and Variation 1 (defined as “SAW LEAD” by the manual) with the parameters set by default: Tone 50, Resonance 50, Depth 50.
Finally, a SAW produced with the SY-200 by selecting the Type "Lead" and Variation 1 (defined "SAW LEAD") and with the following parameters: Tone 100, Resonance 0, Depth 100. Parameters chosen to get as close as possible to the sound of a normal SAW.
It follows that we will certainly have a beautiful saw sound rich in harmonics but not a real saw that can be modified to our liking from a whole series of parameters as in traditional synths. As already mentioned, the only parameters that the SY-200 makes available are:
Il Tone parameter: a low pass filter with adjustable cutoff frequency. So placing it at 100 will pass the whole band
Il Resonance parameter: resonates the wave at a frequency that cannot be managed by us but is preset
Il Depth parameter: which in the example of the preset examined above manages the opening of the low-pass filter
On the other hand, we have at our disposal a good number of well-selected and programmed timbres tailored to the guitarist and bassist on which to make significant and sometimes even drastic interventions. The three intervention parameters allow in any case a considerable number of timbral variations allowing us to give ample space to our imagination. A machine that makes its limitations in my opinion also one of its strengths: few parameters that if well studied and used allow you not to waste your creativity, to optimize times and not to get lost in a sterile and often fruitless timbre research. An ideal approach for users such as guitarists and bassists who are more inclined to an instinctive and immediate approach.
Furthermore, nothing prevents us from using it with other tools such as violin, cello or other stringed instruments. You can even think of driving it with your voice or with wind instruments using a microphone (passing through a dedicated preamp and adapting the impedance). With his colleague and friend, Eng. Umberto Sorbo we even tested it with a Chapman Stick and everything went smoothly.
Features we wish we had
*At least one separate output for the "direct out" (actually we can use the "Send" output for this function).
*The name of the Variations on the display whose list can only be found in the “Sound List” of the manual.
*Controls for ADSR and arpeggiators, more control parameters for oscillators, etc.
*A headphone output.
However, it must be admitted that all these requests stem from the fact that we really liked the car so much and we would have liked more. But it was designed for a specific market segment so for those with greater needs there are the aforementioned SY-300 and above all the more complete but also more expensive SY-1000. As for the use with the bass it is even exciting.
I thank Cav. Music House Quinto Fabio (SA) who gave me the machine to allow me to do this test and write the article.
Useful Information
Producer: Roland Boss
Distributor: Roland Italy
Model: SY200
Advised price: 349 Euro including VAT
