Synergy?

misterwhizzy

misterwhizzy

Well-known member
Are these actually becoming popular, or is it just marketing hype at this point? And what's the difference between these and what Randall and Egnater were doing ten plus years ago?

Don't get me wrong. I love the idea. Don't love the price. It comes across as basically a $1,000 20-watt power amp for the Syn-20 IR.
 
Sorry guys. I have been on a bit of a hiatus from posting on here. Really just watching from afar while work has been crazy, and my musical life has suffered a bit aside from playing at church a couple of times a month.

I have started adopting into the Synergy ecosystem a bit for the church gig. I am currently using that SYN-2 module through a UA Ox Stomp to run direct, and I am really like my results. The modules I have been using primarily for about the last year have been the OS (Overdrive Special) and the Plexi.

The OS gives me a really good clean tone. It may not be a perfect Dumble replica, but it sounds really good. I am not much of a fan of the OD channel on it, though. To get the sound level to match the clean channel, I have to run the OD level pretty low to get close to the tone I want and then pretty much crank the OD ratio pretty well cranked and then I feel like it gets too compressed and almost grainy. Pretty much the reason I bought the SYN-2 was that I knew that I would probably never find one module that I like for both clean and dirty.

The Plexi module does pretty well, but it is definitely higher gain than I anticipated, and I run the channel I and II volumes pretty low to get the touch sensitivity I want on the "clean" channel of the module. I run them a bit higher on the "overdrive" side of the module. Overall, I would consider this module more of modded Marshall than traditional Plexi, but it is fun to play.

In backstock, I have an original SLO module that I bought originally because I am a huge Soldano fan. Again, I feel like the module is a bit higher gain than my experience with my Hot Rod 25, Decatone or Astroverb, at least on the Normal channel. It does sound good though and again it is fun to play. I really need to swap it back in in place of the Plexi for a while. I'm starting to miss it.

My alternate rigs for church have been one of my Soldano's, or a locally made JTM 45 clone through a UA Ox Box.
 
Yeah, those are certainly expensive.

I guess it is for people who love the 'modular' idea of modelers (many amps in one box) but still want to keep one foot in the traditional tube amp world. So you can have, say 4 preamps for one power amp and switch between vastly different sounds. At that price point, though, I don't know what the advantage is over a modeler. Plus, a modeler has effects and hundreds of amps and cabs. And while technology has probably improved, it is the same idea that Randall and Egnater had.
 
Synergy is exactly the same design as Randall and Egnater, all designed by Bruce Egnater who licensed the tech to both Randall and Synergy, I believe they are interchangeable to some degree.
 
soulforger said:
Synergy is exactly the same design as Randall and Egnater, all designed by Bruce Egnater who licensed the tech to both Randall and Synergy, I believe they are interchangeable to some degree.
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Oh wow, I learned something today! I guess he isn't giving up that idea, even if the original companies did.
 
The old Randall MTS Forum is now called the Synergy, Randall and Egnater Forum, I had a Lynch Box 50 w combo about 15 years ago, the series with the green croc tolex, and mine had the Eminence 12" "Super V" Lynch sig speaker and a few modules, one of the pieces of gear I most regret selling! 2 EL34/KT77, some of George's sig modules were tweaked by Dave Friedman and every one I had sounded incredible!
 
soulforger said:
Synergy is exactly the same design as Randall and Egnater, all designed by Bruce Egnater who licensed the tech to both Randall and Synergy, I believe they are interchangeable to some degree.
Click to expand...

Yes, from what I can gather, the old Randall/Egnater units work well with the new Synergy modules. The Synergy modules work with the Randall/Egnater stuff, but without some of the footswitchable options.
 
I think there is merit to the idea, and I in particular like the idea of the SYN-1 housing, which could be used to add a second channel to a vintage single-channel amp. The housings are expensive, so there is a price for admission, but once you are there, the modules themselves are not unreasonable.

I have considered the Synergy stuff several times. If they ever made an ADA MP-1 module, which has a sound that is not really catered to by any amp today, I would probably get some stuff.
 
soulforger said:
Synergy is exactly the same design as Randall and Egnater, all designed by Bruce Egnater who licensed the tech to both Randall and Synergy, I believe they are interchangeable to some degree.
Click to expand...

Yes. The design is an evolution of the Bruce Egnater system with the addition of a couple of updated features like the ability to channel switch within the modules themselves and something they call the cathode select switch that sets a configuration that influences the low-end response of the module.

Also, I believe that the build on these is being through Boutique Amp Designs, who also build out the new series of the Soldano amps.
 
I was thinking of buying Synergy gear many months ago but the more I thought about it the more I figured perhaps a Kemper or such would be the better option in the end simply because of so many more options of amps avaliable.
In the end, I own neither.
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I'm only just now hearing about "Synergy" on Youtube and social media, as in literally the past week or two, and I have to wonder why...my guess is a marketing push
 
Also, Steve Vai just did a few rig rundown videos where he talks about his, so my guess is that some of the buzz comes from those.
 
Seems like there is quite the media/marketing push. I had the Randall MTS 100 setup about 15 years ago, it was very respectable, and far more budget friendly than Synergy - granted it's been a moment, but Synergy seems overpriced. While I wouldn't turn my nose up at it, there is a difference between the actual amp and a modular platform like this. Example, a VHT Pittbull has a 12AT7 driver before poweramp section (that also includes the typical balanced 12AX7 for phase invertor), a Recto and others do not. I would expect that Synergy is pretty good, the Randall stuff was too - but it's not a 1-to-1
 
Yeah, I don't see how it could be 1:1 at all, due to the size and the fact that power amps have a lot to do with the sound.
 
Binnerscot said:
Seems like there is quite the media/marketing push. I had the Randall MTS 100 setup about 15 years ago, it was very respectable, and far more budget friendly than Synergy - granted it's been a moment, but Synergy seems overpriced. While I wouldn't turn my nose up at it, there is a difference between the actual amp and a modular platform like this. Example, a VHT Pittbull has a 12AT7 driver before poweramp section (that also includes the typical balanced 12AX7 for phase invertor), a Recto and others do not. I would expect that Synergy is pretty good, the Randall stuff was too - but it's not a 1-to-1
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Haven't seen you around in forever. Even if you're just back for one post, it's great to see the one. Hope things are going well.
 
misterwhizzy said:
Haven't seen you around in forever. Even if you're just back for one post, it's great to see the one. Hope things are going well.
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Like John Wick......I'm thinkin' Im back!!!!

Divorce, kids, single dad for a handful of years, being a whoring slut, drinking too much, workaholic.....all that got in the way of the good things here. Re-married now (and she knows what she got into to as we dated for a decade), kids are doing well, still waiting for the ex-wife to die like my first ex-wife....I don't wanna ruin my track record.....but yeah, I'm back!​

Edit, thanks for the welcome back man! I see a lot familiar names still posting, Seymour has a far larger family than he can imagine.
 
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