Any love for the SY300 in the GM800 age?

Started by SY.Borg.300, August 08, 2023, 09:02:04 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

SY.Borg.300

Does anybody want to stick up for the lowly sy300 now that the sy1000 and now the new kid in town the gm800 has come on the scene?
I haven't used my sy300 in awhile because I have been playing keyboard synths lately but I have a bunch of patches I bought off of brock I want to try.
But I wonder if I'm alone in SY300 world today.

Elantric

#1
Quote from: SY.Borg.300 on August 08, 2023, 09:02:04 PMDoes anybody want to stick up for the lowly sy300 now that the sy1000 and now the new kid in town the gm800 has come on the scene?
I haven't used my sy300 in awhile because I have been playing keyboard synths lately but I have a bunch of patches I bought off of brock I want to try.
But I wonder if I'm alone in SY300 world today.
Bill Ruppert still enjoys his SY-300.

I get distracted after spending 20 minutes attempting to program it, yet mine still sounds like a harsh early 1980s arcade game

Its secret positive traits are not on exhibition within the factory presets

gumtownadmin

#2
There are a few SY-300's for sale on my local eAuction sites, the resale value is not good.
And by mentioning you have not used yours for a good while does subconciously say something about it.

SY-300 in general is good, but the resulting output tone has something in it that is not obviously heard, but grates on my nerves, like a sound system AB amplifier with bad crossover distortion.
I'm sure a firmware update could have fixed it, but the SY-300 is seen as done and complete by Boss.
Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.

Brak(E)man

I still use mine with my electric and acoustic guitars without hexpu.
swimming with a hole in my body

I play Country music too, I'm just not sure which country it's from...

"The only thing worse than a guitar is a guitarist!"
- Lydia Lunch

Bill Ruppert

#4
I LOVE mine!
You couldn't pry the 300 or the 1000 from my fingers.
There are ways to make it sound wonderful, but people gave up too fast and never unlocked the secrets.
No latency issues here!
And I have some beautiful sounds that all feel like they are under my fingers.
Not me yelling down the hall to someone to hit a certain note or chord.

I have ZERO interest in the 800.
I want the guitar to be part of the sound. It's a "guitar synthesizer", not a guitar controlling a synthesizer.
Any keyboard player or someone with midi can plug into the 800 and get the same sound a guitar player can get.
Not so with the 300.
I do love the SY-1000 as well, but I really never use the 13 pin input.
It's just not as organic sounding to me as the 1/4 input.
It is what ever floats your boat as they say, and these float my boat.

BROCKSTAR

#5
I've had the sy-300 like 5 times since it came out haha... I do miss it being here again but not sure I would use it much with sy-1000 and gm-800 sitting here and I also have a mpc one that I can run into and use the synths and samples from it, so I think im good.

I made these for the sy-300




Elantric

#6
Quote from: BROCKSTAR on August 09, 2023, 08:32:25 AMI also have a mpc one that I can run into and use the synths and samples from it, so I think im good.


And MPC ONE, MPC Live, MPC-X all have a working USB Host port for direct support of Fishman Tripleplay USB receiver-no FC-1, no computer required

Could go Fishman Tripleplay > Akai MPC One > MPC One 5 pin MIDI OUT > GM-800 MIDI IN

SY.Borg.300

Quote from: gumtownadmin on August 09, 2023, 12:46:24 AM...And by mentioning you have not used yours for a good while does subconciously say something about it....

Yes and also no. The reason my sy300 has been in the box is that I tried to retire from playing guitar in bands because I am having more fun learning the new to me roll of B3 player. Unfortunately there is more call in my area for guitar so I have been forced to go back. But nobody wants to play the fun stuff like Floyd Animals where a guitar synth can be used. Plus when I do get to use synthy stuff the EHX string unit gets me there real fast. I've been meaning to combine the string9 with the SY300 but haven't yet. Maybe Bill?....


Quote from: Bill Ruppert on August 09, 2023, 06:11:51 AM...Any keyboard player or someone with midi can plug into the 800 and get the same sound a guitar player can get...


That was my first thought on the GM800, I got a Roland Keyboard that sounds like that. If I get a GM800 will I ever really use it for strings, Moog or sax? Maybe I would, maybe not, idk.

izayoi

I use the SY-300 with my nylon-string guitar because the SY-300 does not need the hex pickup. That just might be the SY-300's biggest attribute.

Elantric

#9

Quote from: izayoi on September 29, 2023, 11:13:45 AMI use the SY-300 with my nylon-string guitar because the SY-300 does not need the hex pickup. That just might be the SY-300's biggest attribute.

There is a work around to use divided mag pickups - using iron content classical strings

Thomastik-Infeld KR116 Classical Guitar Strings: Classic S Series Rope Core Set

https://www.amazon.com/Thomastik-Infeld-KR116-Classical-Guitar-Strings/dp/B00162VU7I?th=1

izayoi


SY.Borg.300

I'm betting a Saxophone with a clip on mic might do interesting things With the SY300. Or voice.

Elantric

Quote from: SY.Borg.300 on October 04, 2023, 09:24:17 AMI'm betting a Saxophone with a clip on mic might do interesting things With the SY300. Or voice.


Agreed

Trivia- from NAMM shows, I met Don Wilson of The Ventures, and he revealed the unusual instrument heard on "Walk Dont Run 64" (at 55 seconds) was a mic'ed Saxophone fed into a mic'ed Leslie Speaker, resulting signal fed into a Studio Reverb - results in a sound similar to Del Shannon "Run away"  - a current hit in 1964



EauDeCologne

#13
I still use the Sy-300 because the pedal has lots of potential, one just has to invest some time, brainpower & frankly creativity into figuring its tonal capabilities out. roland's early demo videos showcasing those terrible stock presets did not make a compelling case for the unit. and let's be real about it, most guitar players want ready-to-go live sounds, which is why so many of 'em gravitate towards les pauls with marshall stacks or strats with deluxe combos: not much knob twiddling to do, instead they can sound like their 60s/70s/70s guitar hero within seconds. at best they'll buy a couple of stock effects to sound even closer to [insert legendary dad-rocker here].

being in part a multi-effects pedal the Sy-300 can do that, too - but also a whole lotta more which is cool. yes, some of the default waveforms (e.g. saw & pwm) in this box sound like cheap early 80's arcades which is also why so many of the presets sound so cheesy. roland really messed that bit up, even on the sy-1000 funnily enough ::) . but that's when you gotta get yerself into subtractive synthesis as a musical design concept and put some work into making yer own presets (as many on this very forum have already successfully accomplished)  coz this unit is just that, a subtractive synthesiser coupled with a multi-effects pedal. look what a bit of effort & knowledge about synthesis can do with the sy-300 & ... beats anything those fusion nerds even on the gm-800 come up with by a mile: .
in short: using a detuned sawtooth or phased strings to play dusty old blues licks sounds rubbish, we know that much now thanx to 95 % of all guitar-synth demo videos on youtube.

now as I understand it, the gm-800 & sy-1000 have sampled stuff within them to recreate piano-/trumpet-/organ-sounds etc. which to me has little to do with synthesis, though to be fair, those units allow altering the stock sounds more so than the gr-55. and i'm not knocking anyone who's after those kinda sounds, so bless ya if you find enjoyment in the sy-1000 with that GK-thingy. but there's no way i'm gonna mount this piece of sh*t on my guitar coz i cannot be f***in around with a hex pickup, i need to be able to switch instruments quickly in a live setting.