BOSS: SY-200 SYNTHESIZER - A closer look and listen

www.boss.info/...
171 sounds divided into 12 type-groups, instant control over most of the important parameters, 128 presets, MIDI control, EXP control, FX send/return, no special pickup required and LOADS of fun. Boss have taken their SY-1 to the next level with the SY-200 and it sure delivers!
Ed Lim's fantastic video: • 20 Iconic Synth Riffs ...
Today's tools:
Guitar: 2021 Charvel Pro Mod HH So-Cal Burgundy Mist
Amp: Axe-FX III MKII running Cygnus FW 19:00 - Fender Concert (brown face) combo model + delay and reverb
Cables: BOSS
Power Supply: Eventide PowerMax by Cioks
Mic: Samson Airline77 (me)
Camera: iPhone 11 Pro and Canon D60
Soundcard: PreSonus Quantum & Fractal Audio Systems Axe-FX III MKII (guitar, mixing and bouncing).
Desktop Monitors: PreSonus R80 R-Series Active AMT Studio Monitors (www.presonus.com)
Computer: 2017 Apple iMac Pro, 2.5 GHz 14-Core Intel Xeon W, 64 GB 2666 MHz DDR4, Radeon Pro Vega 64X 16 GB
Software: Logic Pro X, Apple Final Cut Pro X, Compressor.

[@chrissilverhand1]

Blimey...I could lose days playing with that thing! Certainly makes me smile, thanks Brett.

[@moogdome2562]

The best demo I've ever seen. Thank you.

[@squirelova1815]

Wow. You truly did a wonderful job of displaying its capabilities here. Very well and musically done. Thank You!

[@martinmaccauley]

Mind blowing what they can fit on a small box! I really enjoyed listening to your explanation of the functions as well as your playing.Thank you Brett.

[@heavybrett-al4082]

That organ sound was fantastic!

[@retromacman620]

These sounds hit nice in-between a digital synth and analog, like a digital synth with a solid engine. I've been messing with synths for nearly 20 years now, and this will hit the spot for things.

[@radio.wolfman]

Best video I’ve seen about the SY-200, bar none. Thank you so much!

[@bluessumlin...7067]

Hours of fun great demo!🎸

[@bassedtaz]

Wow the tracking is impressive.

[@GenePerry]

You're the best Brett, another great and informative video bruv.

[@adamfriend4986]

Amazing review as always Brett!

[@TheMetalVagabond]

Just ordered this pedal this week, can't wait, you do great demos with enough clean tones, but plenty of gain which is appreciated! thanks

[@pytheus]

Bergs can make anything sound amazing, which inspired some purchases which i could never really get to sound as good. No fair! Kidding! But this SY-200 is a major triumph!! Thanks for another great vid!!

[@jcwm01]

Excellent demo mate. Cheers!

[@gabrielkesslau]

Very good playing! One of the best reviews!

[@KTGHATS]

The baseball game organ sound at the intro was amazing

[@michael_caz_nyc]

Nice . . . I didn't know whether it was Rick Wakeman or Brett Kingman??? Seems like it tracks very-well, with hours-of-fun. Love the arpeggiator & freeze-function.

[@TremorBear]

Very cool! Plus...your playing makes it that much more better. Cheers

[@BrionSwansonAmeture]

Yeah...." Much more better". ( Grammar much? ) lol............;)

[@ptmich333]

Sounds fanBrett! Best with humbuckers or single coils, bridge or neck positions? Thanks!

[@siulunglee]

Saw your reviews on SY-1, and this one and Moore E7. Stimulate me right away go to Guitar store to try out all of them and even rent a SY-1 to play with my band. Final verdict, I bought SY-200, affordable (SY-1000 and other equivalents are too expensive) but still quite versatile and truly like keyboard synth. Especially when you play blues, man, the organ are so tasteful. Other lead and pad has very high quality and react that I can really fire the keyboardist when play other genre. More important thing, its presents (127 customize-able and re-writable present, and the digital display are important in performance) !! You can't jam without it. Realistically, it is too hard to change the setting during song (for me), and even in between songs.

[@Widdy5150]

Been using the SY-1 for ages for those 80s synth solos...Nik Kershaw style & this looks like a great upgrade. Great demo 👍🏻👍🏻

[@lw1391]

Nik Kershaw is the man! You might have just sold me on this pedal by connecting the dots there.

[@jamesflack8624]

Does this pedal do subtle? Cheers 🍻

[@isitreallyisitreally1756]

Quick question , the midi out , does or can this control midi data to an external keyboard or synth module , so the SY can be used as a polyphonic midi controller , or is it just for changing data ? Many thanks , enjoying your content .

[@Madmax-rz5hz]

Great demo for non techies, thanks mate

[@theamazingofhumanbody3847]

Hi sir, greetings from indonesia... May i ask..... Can i get piano sound on this effect? Thanks! Jesus bless

[@drums2313]

Sounds awesome! Is there any information how the tracking works?

[@sfernando1]

No wind instruments, like trumpet, clarinet etc? Is there a floor unit that can produce guitar FX and wind instruments, ALL IN ONE?

[@jarobainaguevara]

The best rewieu ever. Top

[@robertclarkguitar]

I would get lost with something so capable of ambient pads etc. Hahaha. Awesome.

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

Take Brett out to the ballpark... Definitely better than the previous vids I've seen. I had a high end Roland Synth in the 90's or 2000's, and while interesting, I found zero practical recording use for it... $300 and no need for the special pickup is a huge step up.

[@rubberbandlevin]

Hi, Do you know if these sounds are in the boss katana? I know it has a limited amount of boss synth type effects but I wondered if there is a basic organ sound I can get out of it like the sound you had during the intro. Thanks.

[@BrettKingman]

No synth algorithm in the Katana that I know of. If it's just organ-like stuff you're after, there is a Rotary effect in there that will at least give you the Leslie.

[@tarzanino77]

Hi, To switch from one stored effect to another you can in real time while playing?thanks

[@NanoverseProductions]

Can someone please answer this for me???!! Can this synth send MIDI notes thru Midi out?

[@talaniel]

Not 100% sure, but I strongly believe this does not send out notes, just PC and CC

[@steve--smith]

Can I trade in my rig? My wife wants to know...

[@BrettKingman]

😂🎹

[@jamiemorgan4146]

LOL 😆 First thing, never ask or tell her. I just buy. I’ve trained her to only roll her eyes when she sees new gear. 👀

[@EhFookinShark]

I hear I want to break free by queen in so many of those tones

[@Axeyard]

Problem is there is little scope for expressiveness. Compare with Roli keyboard.

[@alanredversangel]

I think I'd still want to use a hex pickup for stuff like this, even though a lot of the tech is converging to be honest. But you can do a lot more with hex.

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

What's a hex pick up?

[@johanneschristopherstahle3395]

It's a pickup with individual coils for each string. So each string can be tracked separately. Roland GK for example.

[@TexasGuitarist]

The sounds seem better than the sy 300 I have and enjoy. Does it have a distortion pedal in the chain if I needed it?

[@danielsheffield445]

Where would one place this in their signal chain or rather what is the optimal placement? After Dirt and before Delay/Reverb? Or at the very end right before the amp?

[@johanneschristopherstahle3395]

Usually at the beginning of the chain. Some argue that comp or maybe a tiny bit of overdrive would improve the tracking. But you definitely don't want to drown your signal in distribution before sending it to the pedal. It has a loop built into it, so you can have distortion on your guitar sound while not affecting the synth output with it. Modulation, Delay, Reverb asf can sound really great with synth sounds, so you would usually want them to be placed after the SY. If you wanted to go really crazy you could completely split your usual guitar sound and process it differently than your synth sounds.

[@dkasto7429]

hi brett, i have a few questions. can this sy200 edit or create new arpeggio? like sy300. because for boss sy1 we can't do editing or create new ones. can you please make a short video about arpeggio editing/creating on boss sy200? thank you dkasto

[@BrettKingman]

Hey! These are fixed arpeggios, I'm afraid. No creation facility here.

[@dkasto7429]

that's too bad.. sy200 can't do editing/creating. i have no choice to not buy it. thank you for your attention to answer my question. also thank you for all of your awesome videos that can help me with guitar effects. keep creating brett thank you

[@jamiemorgan4146]

I’ve had the SY300 for many years and created many patches, but the 200 seems to get you to many different patches more easily than the 300. Does anyone have a Sysex dump of the 200 patches???? Thanks...I still may buy this too..

[@WandersonBomfim]

How about Pat Metheny sound. Can you do it on this sy200?

[@jamiemorgan4146]

Yes... There’s a patch on KZbin .

[@WandersonBomfim]

@@jamiemorgan4146 i couldnt fins it. Do you have the link? Thanks for your help and vídeos.

[@BrokenArrowSchoolofModernMusic]

I was like wow someone finally fixed the Fender Stratocaster oh wait it’s a Charvel! 😂😂😂

[@johnhennessey5]

Fixed in what way?

[@Kazyman]

Pretty cool sounds but I've always loved the Roland GR-33. More practical sounding patches for performance and even recording modes. This seems more like a Moog or Arp Synth type, but again...cool.

[@alexotaola]

Same here man… Got a GR-55 and I can’t explain how or why but the 33 felt nicer to play!

[@brettjames9088]

Mad!

[@paulweyer4339]

How are we supposed to bring back keytars when pedals like this exist!? Lol just kidding, great demo!

[@650thunderbird]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@ephraimwarrior6766]

i got me a 4 track cassette for making 60s rock songs i wont this for sounds and record some organ tracks lol.

[@zoomosis]

As a guitarist I love that tech like this exists but I'm torn on how useful it is musically. Compared to a real analogue synth (or an emulation) the sound coming from it just lacks any "soul". Even the sounds in Ed Lim's video just seemed cheap. Maybe I'm in the minority though. Also on guitar there are some chords and note sequences you just can't play because of physical limitations. (And vice versa, trying to authentically emulate a guitar on a keyboard will always be very difficult.)