Synergy at NAMM?

[JKD]

Best NAMM Synergy Video I've found so far. Done by the guys from "That Pedal Show".

https://youtu.be/GapI0E_UfjA

Better video...but wtf are they playing into? Sounds eh.

Glad that MTS is getting a reboot...and with manufacturers onboard. :twisted:

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Agree with most of the comments here. The clips are obviously not mic'd and are " in the room" sort of deals so you won't hear the nuances. As always, (and with real amps too), there is lots of overlap between the modules. I mean the VH3 channel sounded fantastic to me but so does the Plexi... but then the dirty Fender module crunches up great too. The same thing will always apply.. how many modules do you need to do the same thing. I would say that i could be happy with a clean/dirty Fender something, an AC30 module, and a PLexi or Soldano module. The advantage in the unit is the "sag" feature, plug into yourFX loop while giving you another FX loop for your delays and verbs etc... I think it definitely is the next generation in the sense that feature wise and bang for buck (two channels each module), you get quite a bit. Sound wise, I am sure JF and Salvation modules will hang with these all day long no problem.

 

[chrismilne]

How much does it cost for them to get a big name person to demo this on youtube in a professional way (i.e Pete Thorn, Pedal Guys, Chapman, etc)? Good for marketing I would think...and put all of these speculations to rest. I am doubtful you will see these in all the stores, but maybe...i do remember Randall being in my store back in the day. Pete Thorn has done Friedman pedals and has an MTS system now so i would think he might be a good choice

 

[G-Man Music]

I'm sure Pete Thorn will do one in the future. He has a loaded M4 in the background of his studio that you can see in his videos.

I certainly would be interested in the SYN1 for recording and to add to my MOD50. Great to see this is happening!

 

[shawnee]

I am really interested in the Synergy gear but have a few questions:

1. On the 50 watt head- will it be able to take various tubes? (KT88, EL34, 6L6, 6V6)? Which tubes come stock?
2. Is the 30 watt head set up for 4 EL84's? 6L6's or EL34's cathode biased?
3. I heard it said that the Synergy equipment can take older MTS modules from Egnater and Randall but will the Synergy modules work in the Egnater and Randall equipment like a MOD50 or a RM100?
Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

[webrthomson]

2. Is the 30 watt head set up for 4 EL84's? 6L6's or EL34's cathode biased?
Thanks for any info you can provide.

The 30 watter is 2x6L6's

 

[iekobrid]

https://youtu.be/GapI0E_UfjA

@7:00 "Now watch, it's hot-swappable. Say a caveat: Occasionally you may have to turn it off. The circuitry tries to understand what module you just put in it. Sometimes it gets confused; you turn it off for half a second, turn it back on. But let's see, let's see what we got."

Wait, so the amps are 'reading' the modules and, one assumes, adjusting / compensating for each in some way? If so, what exactly are they doing? And what happens when you insert a Randall or Egnater module that lacks the whateveritis that talks to the amp?

 

[withmittens]

I see some breakage problems. wonder if a manual adjustment might be better

 

[chrismilne]

Does anyone know how you switch the 2 channel modules on a single channel Egnater M4 preamp?

 

[Mattfig]

Does anyone know how you switch the 2 channel modules on a single channel Egnater M4 preamp?

Hey Chris,

There's supposed to be a toggle inside the mods that allow you to manually switch between modes....You'd have to take the module out as I understand it, to switch it....

Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken...

Cheers,
Mattfig

 

[shawnee]

https://youtu.be/GapI0E_UfjA

@7:00 "Now watch, it's hot-swappable. Say a caveat: Occasionally you may have to turn it off. The circuitry tries to understand what module you just put in it. Sometimes it gets confused; you turn it off for half a second, turn it back on. But let's see, let's see what we got."

Wait, so the amps are 'reading' the modules and, one assumes, adjusting / compensating for each in some way? If so, what exactly are they doing? And what happens when you insert a Randall or Egnater module that lacks the whateveritis that talks to the amp?

In a normal amplifier you have a preamp "front end" (which is what these modules are) and then it goes into a phase inverter (driver) section which will typically be the 12AX7 tube next to the first power tube (which would be a tube in the SYN-001 or SYN-002 in this setup). There are different types of driver circuits like "long tailed" and "split load" that sound and react differently. My assumption (a wild guess) is that it will pick the matching driver for whatever font end is being used. The manual switch would allow you to choose a different driver than the standard for the preamp module you are using. EXAMPLE: A Marshall uses a long tailed driver so with a plexi type module, the SYN-001 would "sense" that and route the signal to the long tail driver. If you wanted to use a split load driver like a Fender Deluxe, you could manually switch it to do so). I COULD BE WRONG but that's what I am hearing them say if I understand them correctly. It would be great if someone from SYNERGY could Please confirm this or say that I am dead wrong and explain it to us!

 

[SynergyAmps]

Thanks to everyone that visited us at NAMM. The show was epic and everyone was pleased with all the improvements made in the last year.

The Synergy modules have a switch which provides three choices of cathode biasing choices on the internal 12AX7 tube. The modules will ship with the switch set to the position that most closely matches the amp they are based on. A user can experiment with different positions. This switch makes the modules more "authentic" to the actual amps they are based on. Older modules will work but only one biasing position can be selected (same as old hardware)

If using Synergy dual channel modules in old hardware, such as Randall that only allows for one channel per slot, only one of the two channels will work. For those Synergy modules that have different channels (top and bottom channels are not identical), we provided a switch alllowing you to choose which of the two channels you want to work when inserting into old hardware.

A few comments:
1) The VH4 and MetroPlex modules are still being worked on by Peter and George. They will be finalized soon.
2) A ToneKing module is in the works.
3) We agree the iPhone clips at NAMM are sub-par. No excuses but we had some equipment issues in terms of camera and MICing.
4) We are working on the site and it will have professional clips and videos.

The Synergy gear is now undergoing FCC (anything with MIDI) and CE testing. We are moving ahead nicely but launching his many products simultaneously is a big undertaking.

The waiting list is growing and the first production run will be spoken for soon so if you are interested please let us know at [email protected]

Soon our focus will shift to marketing, but for now we are buried in manuals, packaging design and website... getting there.

Thank you to ALL for the support - really cool!

 

[djd100]

Sounds great!

What are the dimensions and weight of the SYN-1?

TIA...

 

[iekobrid]

Thanks for the clarification !

 

[shawnee]

The Synergy modules have a switch which provides three choices of cathode biasing choices on the internal 12AX7 tube. The modules will ship with the switch set to the position that most closely matches the amp they are based on. A user can experiment with different positions. This switch makes the modules more "authentic" to the actual amps they are based on. Older modules will work but only one biasing position can be selected (same as old hardware)

Please forgive me but I still don't follow. Fixed or cathode bias would typically be a reference to the power amp and not the preamp. I am not trying to cause trouble here, I am very excited about this project and am just trying to understand how it works. I have built a few amps and know enough to be dangerous.

 

[frodgemo]

I believe they're talking about the cathode follower (second tube in the module, third tube in the preamp circuit).

 

[tschrama]

... mister synergy is talking about the solution of the common first stage driving the modules.. this would actually be a very good sofistication of the MTS technology.

and I have another tip for mister synergy..

 

[shawnee]

Oh ok, are you saying that the first tube is in the rack and the module contains the 2nd tube and the 3rd tube (driver)?
I was assuming that the module had the first 2 tubes and the rack had the driver.

 

[SynergyAmps]

https://youtu.be/GapI0E_UfjA

@7:00 "Now watch, it's hot-swappable. Say a caveat: Occasionally you may have to turn it off. The circuitry tries to understand what module you just put in it. Sometimes it gets confused; you turn it off for half a second, turn it back on. But let's see, let's see what we got."

Wait, so the amps are 'reading' the modules and, one assumes, adjusting / compensating for each in some way? If so, what exactly are they doing? And what happens when you insert a Randall or Egnater module that lacks the whateveritis that talks to the amp?

In a normal amplifier you have a preamp "front end" (which is what these modules are) and then it goes into a phase inverter (driver) section which will typically be the 12AX7 tube next to the first power tube (which would be a tube in the SYN-001 or SYN-002 in this setup). There are different types of driver circuits like "long tailed" and "split load" that sound and react differently. My assumption (a wild guess) is that it will pick the matching driver for whatever font end is being used. The manual switch would allow you to choose a different driver than the standard for the preamp module you are using. EXAMPLE: A Marshall uses a long tailed driver so with a plexi type module, the SYN-001 would "sense" that and route the signal to the long tail driver. If you wanted to use a split load driver like a Fender Deluxe, you could manually switch it to do so). I COULD BE WRONG but that's what I am hearing them say if I understand them correctly. It would be great if someone from SYNERGY could Please confirm this or say that I am dead wrong and explain it to us!

That is a very well put explanation... Avi (the owner) has a similar explanation... but essentially what you said is correct. HOWEVER, I have a call in to Dave Friedman to explain it more technically to me...so stay tuned, I'll be back with more info...Thanks!