GFI System Synesthesia Review and Demo | Secret Weapons

The GFI System Synesthesia is, potentially, the new gold standard for modulation devices. Much like the Specular Tempus; GFI’s first foray into “small box big boxes” the Synesthesia packs more than you could possibly imagine into an enclosure this size. Featuring 8 push-button knobs, 7 routing ports, and over 20 algorithms, this new dual engine modulator is a lot to be reckoned with. I got a chance to record a short set with the prototype of this device at the start of 2019 and have included that piece at the end of this video to show how far it’s come from the inception of this pedal. GFI does nothing halfway and the Synesthesia is no exception. The wide array of sounds, incredible pairing and routing options, and pure inspiration that this pedal generates makes it a top tier contender for pedal of the year in 2019.
For more info; visit; www.gfisystem.com
0:00 - Intro / Songwriting context
1:45 - Review
8:18 - Sound samples / Applications
Other gear used:
Jennings Voyager
Harmony Silhouette
Boss TU-3
Emerson Duke Silver Compressor
Benson PreAmp
Strymon Idiridum
Chase Bliss Audio Dark World
This is where the GFI Synesthesia sits in the chain
Empress Echosystem
GFI Specular Tempus
Neunaber Immerse
GFI Cabzeus
Chase Bliss Audio Condor used in effects loop of Synesthesia during polyphonic octaves.
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/ markjohnston

[@elijahshephardchurch8021]

Your work with this pedal sold me on it. I have a limited budget and saved up what I could to get a decent pedal to revitalize my board~ there are some other nice reviews of this out there, but you gave it the time and space to really show so many possibilities. I am patiently and eagerly waiting for my pedal to arrive. 3 years later and your demo is still winning people over. Nicely done.

[@eddieriviello]

Just pulled the trigger on a GFI Synesthesia because of your demos man. Really brilliant sounds, thanks for the great video!

[@BristanKellerUSAF]

Just bought one and am stoked to use it with my ES-5 and strymon pedals. Thanks for the great videos. David Roediger brought me to your channel.

[@scottolgard]

Oh my... this is one of the best sounding multi modulation pedals I've heard! It's majestic! Great demo

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate the kind words.

[@nooneknows3478]

Massively under subscribed channel! This is the demo I was searching for on this pedal, it's so refreshing to hear true excitement in someone's tone when speaking about a pedal, paid reviews have become so see through 🤦‍♂️ My Synesthesia should arrive Friday, I'm going to pair it with my Source Audio Collider and let the magic unfold 🤩 Thanks for your video, it really confirmed the Synesthesia as the right choice for me, Love from Australia 🦘❤😁

[@xav3ng3rx]

Just bought one! Came back to this while I wait for the pedal to arrive. Super excited!

[@Cesiumswimsuit]

Great demo, this is on its way to me and I appreciate the in depth look into this deep pedal

[@AnneSulikowski]

Really great work and fantastic sounds

[@jyryhalonen4990]

Relaxing demo, love the sounds

[@TonGregorio]

Delightful demo indeed! Love the sounds that you made! Makes me want to get one eventhough i play different style of music..

[@garymesser8679]

Finally, someone demos this thing properly, before you here something loaded up, essentially garbling your sound, just play the building blocks, one effect at a time, now I will probably buy this thing, I just wanted a beautiful chorus..... and other things that I might want to add to that, this demo finally let me here the chorus by its self, wow , now I’m impressed. Thank you

[@Micha925]

I really love the style of your videos, keep it up!

[@culturetrash3191]

You really killed the demo on this one man; just got a new subscriber here. Knew I liked the pedal after hearing other demos, but the way you dialed in the algos made me a fan of effects I've never been into (flanger, phaser). Kudos. Cannot wait to get mine!

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I had that exact same feeling. I never knew I would be into a tape flanger and now it's one of my favorite effects in this thing.

[@culturetrash3191]

Mine just came in the mail today. I've spent an hour straight just playing with a vibrato running into a harmonic tremolo.This. Thing. Is. Amazing.

[@SubinMathews]

Brilliant stuff bro.. surprised you have only 5K subs.. quality video and review 👍🏼

[@Darrell111]

Great video. I bought one partly from watching your video. Now i'm re-watching trying to figure out how to use this thing ha. It really is a great pedal.

[@rrotik]

ive never seen anyone talking about something with such enthusiasm hhaha

[@AndreaPirlo2023]

Great playing dude.

[@egusbagus]

Best synesthesia demo so far.. so deep & dreamy sounds.. love it!

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@bobisadrummer]

I've been waiting for this pedal since the Wavelogic Mk.II was discontinued. So glad it's finally out.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

When GFI updates something they do it WELL.

[@jasoncalderon5415]

Killer!! 🔥🔥🔥

[@dwaynekcampbell6312]

I just picked this amazing pedal up!!! I also have the Harmony Jupiter they are Crazy Good guitars!

[@blindianajones]

Like you, Ive avoided these modulation effects. Im debating how to add and create a simple pedal board. I saw how much you like the tempus, but what do you think of synthesia with specular reverb and clockwork delay? Then I can have them all going vs the tempus single option. Or would you add in a simple analog delay with the dark world or afterneath? Thanks for a great demo.

[@kristencapolino3082]

This sounds killer! I’m loving the Synesthesia! May I ask what desk you’re using for your board? I’m on the hunt for a nice table for my board for recording 😊

[@jim4588]

8:35 I think that signal chain goes way beyond anything that gets to end with "straight into" 🤣

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

My dad probably would have loved this pedal

[@andy_watt]

Mark do you know if there’s analog dry-thru on the Synesthesia at all? Can’t find anything stating it explicitly on their website. Absolutely wicked demo man!

[@UnleashDLion]

Hi mark. Whats the function of the lil box you have connected to the exp input?

[@ArtyShat]

Hey Mark, amazing review, do you know if its possible to have 1 effect in the middle of the chain (like chorus, etc.) and another at the end of the chain (like tremolo, etc) without need of switching pedals like Gigrig G2? My question is basically if you can use Synesthesia like 2 separate stompboxes and choose different chains? Thanks

[@markjohnstonofficial]

You can run 2 effects in series or in parallel, But I don’t believe you can have them any further from each other than one after the other.

[@kevinmusso2397]

I am mesmersized.

[@PackinForSuperbowl]

It's a good thing the music was so beautiful and relaxing because that usb cable was seriously causing me some stress. lol

[@micheledibella9375]

Can I use with expression pedal for pitch shifter like a whammy?

[@scottfranson4215]

2nd time for Me . Thank You .Sir

[@cardbored_]

Are the sounds we're hearing in this video ONLY from the Synethesia? It's really hard to tell, for instance at 9:23 it looks like the Specular Tempus is also on?

[@glassrush]

Amazing pedal and great demo. Can you share where your signal goes from GFI Cabzeus ? Thanks

[@markjohnstonofficial]

My recording interface and Logic Pro. It’s direct in.

[@gregs6424]

Whenever I use the slow volume, and sometimes the tape flanger, the LFO seems to end abruptly and then start over, kinda like it cuts out and starts over. Wondering if this could be because of the way I have my mono signal set up (I don't have a stereo set up). Wondering if maybe I'm only getting one side of the signal.

[@futurerockstaryoohoo]

Awesome device but I have a question, when you use the control jack with the accessory to change presets, can you use an expresion pedal or do you have to skip it?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I run all my expression control via midi so my midi controller would fwd all expression control on to the syn just fine.

[@aleksmayer5907]

I‘ve been testing a lot of modulation multi fx like the Mobius, the Wampler Terraform, the Poly Beebo, etc and I‘ve got the feeling that the GFI one here is the most natural and organic sounding one (still in 2022) when it comes to effects like chorus, etc - what do you think?

[@matheussalustiano9308]

That synesthesia pedal sounds perfect to me since i use a lot of harmonics

[@petrimusic]

Hi Mark, I'm torn between this and the Strymon Mobius. I've got their TimeLine and Big Sky and love how they preserve my tone. How does this compare to the Mobius in that respect? Does it make things sound thinner or different from what you run through it?

[@benjamincoggins6568]

I would get the Mobius if you already have the timeline and bigsky, especially if you have midi and play live. Can program them all together via nixie, and switch them all at the same time. They just play together so well. The major problem with this is if you play in stereo/ no stereo input, so all your stereo timeline deliciousness will be lost, whereas the Mobius is full stereo.

[@lijahfinch3949]

Just put the synesthesia in front of the timeline and you’ll get stereo and the repeats will have some razzle dazzle from the synesthesia!

[@davidberner1625]

Great video! Do you have any video reviews of the empress ecosystem and/or reverb?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

No “reviews” properly. I you dig back a couple years on my Instagram, though, you’ll find a LOT of content using both pedals. That’s about as much as I’ve got on those, though.

[@davidberner1625]

@@markjohnstonofficial Cheers!

[@UnleashDLion]

Mark, Id like to record beautiful guitar just like you do. I’m still confused about amp/cab sims. Whats the purpose of your Iridium in this rig if at the end you also have the GFI Cab sim? Sorry and any tips are very appreciated. I just ordered my Synesthesia btw :)

[@paulh1355]

As the amp...

[@EJH-jn6mo]

Am digging this pedal and needing something for modulation... is this one still on your board Mark?

[@jacintognomo2459]

It seems to be a difficult to use pedal. Did you try the wampler terraform? I know that it hasn’t all those options but it looks easier to use

[@playmoreguitar5393]

I think once you set it up with a Midi Device it will be incredible. No pedal with tons of features is easy to use on the fly. I look at Chase Bliss the same way, they are WAAAAY to complex for my motto (My name) I on the other hand want this pedal soooo badly!

[@austinrx2014]

Only stereo out, No stereo in? 😩 wish you could convert the ACE jack...

[@cfibanez]

SneakAttack by Malekko is the best "slow volume" (aka swell) pedal that I know of.

[@weathering8691]

Great videos man. Apparently we have a mutual friend after discussing your Morningstar video and are from the same general area. Also not sure why that USB cable in the GFI gives me anxiety.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

The USB cable is top tier, though. The GFI desktop editor is so much quicker than changing things on board; really makes putting together a video like this much easier. And you are from sac too? Thats awesome. Always good to see that some other gear nerds beyond Devon and I exist here.

[@weathering8691]

Tension on the USB just looks tight! I'm always afraid i'm going to break a jack or something by doing that haha. Yup! We're from Sac, and dude named Jordan played drums on our studio songs and recognized your name when discussing midi stuff the other day.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Haha yeah the cable was... a bit tight. But necessary for the purposes of this. and you mean Jordan white? Because I love that guy.

[@weathering8691]

That's the one! Talk about an insanely talented and incredible dude.

[@wheresallthezombies]

Did they ever fix their pitch shifting?

[@PinchTune]

So I have a Specular Tempus. It sounds spectacular (never heard that one before). I like it better than my SC Collider. Now, it does bother me that it cannot be set to true-bypass. Turns out, neither can the Synesthesia. I'm pretty strict about have one buffer at the beginning and one at the end. I doubt it bother you since you're running both on your board there.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Have never once cared about buffered vs true bypass. Vintage fuzz isn't my thing so I have literally no reason to.

[@PinchTune]

@@markjohnstonofficial Well, that's an interesting approach. Good though! Maybe people put too much emphasis on true-bypass being better, including me. Maybe I need to relax a little.

[@LukeDickins0n]

is this pedal Analog dry thru?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

A cursory google search tells me that it is

[@joeblack9307]

I have one of these pedals and as good as it sounds in a static sense (just hooked up with jacks) it is floored with dynamic issues. If either the use of an Expression pedal or even applying the same functions via midi (ie. CC numbers) after a couple of rocks back and forth the designated pedal the unit just locks up. I have been in touch with GFI for several weeks now and they say they don't understand the problem I'm having ... and yes I am running firmware version 2.0.6 (currently the latest). Please retry this pedal but this time with an expression pedal connected, then assign (from the editor ... easy enough) 2 or 3 functions ... say ... in preset 1a (Far Horizon) then rock the pedal back and forth for a minute or so and it will lock, this is not what I expected from such an expensive pedal! This needs to be recognised and addressed by GFI as the pedal is not stable enough to gig or even record with. The presets will change up and down with midi via. my Boss ES-8 and it will also accept clock (on the designated tap tempo presets) but that's all, once again any dynamics via an expression pedal will cause the pedal to just freeze/lock, although when it does lock it still provides the preset sound from its last dynamic attempt but will no longer load new presets or do anything until re-booted.

[@jessetoews2446]

😲

[@chrisloren9363]

Does this do stuff a zoia can’t do?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I mean. I think that there it TECHNICALLY almost nothing Zoia can't do. But this is much more plug-n-play than ZOIA and I think some of the modulation stuff sounds better here because it's just designed specifically for it rather than needing to engineer your ideal version of it from scratch.

[@romanukas]

How does it compare to Mobius?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

The Mobius is awesome and I really enjoy some of the bit and sample rate stuff it can do. Having said that, dual engines, ramping, a smaller footprint, and everything in this thing totally makes me prefer this.

[@romanukas]

Thanks. Listened more and I can say that I prefer analog pedals for modulation, there is something about digital pedals I don’t prefer. Walrus/Chase Bliss will do. For other craziness I found Meris Enzo.

[@kevinpaulalbis7165]

Jorge Masvidal on the guitars wow

[@Gusther37]

Where's the MC6?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Used it for some preset recalling in the opening piece, it was on the floor. I’ve also used it to trigger the ramping functions but it didn’t end up in this video.

[@bmitchellmusic]

Dang it, Mark

[@markjohnstonofficial]

You’re welcome.

[@ZacharySaucier]

Also here to say dang it mark

[@imjohnroman]

Can confirm. Dang it, Mark

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

So it's not really a synth pedal?

[@Bonedriven1984]

now all we need from GFI is Specular Tempus mk2 (with dual engine) or better... a multi-effect combining all their existing pedals into one board. that would be a thing of beauty.... PS. I'd love to see this pedal in use with Meris Mercury7

[@markjohnstonofficial]

The all-in-one would overdo it for me, but a ST V2 would be top tier and I would be such a huge fan of that.

[@leascaart]

I like this pedal, but it's extremely expensive.

[@davearooney]

Late to the game on this one. It seems like the pedal should have been called “this thing” - haha

[@jw112mail]

the only good demo of this pedal

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Oh man. I heavily disagree with that and encourage you to go check out the creative endeavor that is the Ponderer Sounds demo. It’s quite pretty. I do, however, really appreciate the sentiment and am glad you enjoyed it.

[@FStoppers]

Did you have any trouble with a ground loop issue when your pedal is plugged into your computer via usb cable? If so, any easy way to break that loop and reduce the hum?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

The syn isn’t sending audio via the usb cable, it’s only making parameters changes, and I have never experienced ground loops or hum due to usb in my pedalboard.

[@sifender56]

@@markjohnstonofficial great demo! I’m sold…just waiting for pay day 😎 How are you getting your signal to your interface? Direct jack connection from your last pedal??

[@johnbleeker8249]

I'm freaking pissed at you and Schibilla right now.....

[@youtubeblogger3088]

When doing a review of a product... Review the product by itself and not hidden amongst other effects and pedals. It's no way a true representation of the pedal.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Nah