Boss SY-1000 Impressions/Thoughts?

deakle

Experienced
So, I am considering either the new Boss SY-200 or a Boss SY-1000. I am leaning towards the SY-1000 as I feel that after using
the SY-200 I will find myself “wanting a little more”. I know I will need a GK pickup equipped guitar to make full use of the SY-1000 and that is not an issue. But I was wondering, those of you who own an SY-1000, @hippietim in particular, what are your thoughts on it as far as user friendliness and the difficulty/ease of creating a patch? Will I spend hours creating a patch or is it a relatively easy process? I am strictly a home studio player and was looking for something to create synth sounds for songs such as Rush (Tom Sawyer, Subdivisions, etc.) or later Van Halen, such as Jump. Would the SY-1000 be overkill? Should I consider the SY-200 more? I’ve been watching review videos of both and just find myself more confused.
 
The SY1000 has instrument modeling and alt tuning capabilities. If those are important to you; the 1000 is the way to go. I actually like the amp modeling on a few of the models in the GT/SY series as well (sorry Yek :) )

If I wasn't needing alt-tuning/instrument modeling capability; I would probably go for a used SY300. The sounds are a little cleaner and clearer on the 1000, for what it's worth. As far as interfaces go; Boss is fairly straightforward. If you can work with Fractal; you can certainly work with Boss. I will say I am not necessarily a fan of the effects loop in the SY(300 or 1000). It is easy to just keep it all in the box.

Here are a couple of demos I have done with the 1000:
More synth-centric stuff:


Alt-tuning and guitar modeling focused:
 
The SY1000 has instrument modeling and alt tuning capabilities. If those are important to you; the 1000 is the way to go. I actually like the amp modeling on a few of the models in the GT/SY series as well (sorry Yek :) )
@deakle, just wanted to make sure you understood the limitations of the SY series. My own experience has been to go the GR-55 route (not trying to push that-I was interested in the SY briefly). It's really dependent on your desires/goals. I find the GR-55 more satisfying from having a much greater arsenal of sounds/instruments available.
 
@deakle, just wanted to make sure you understood the limitations of the SY series. My own experience has been to go the GR-55 route (not trying to push that-I was interested in the SY briefly). It's really dependent on your desires/goals. I find the GR-55 more satisfying from having a much greater arsenal of sounds/instruments available.
+1 to this. I have both and I find the GR55 to be more usable because of the range of sounds (which are now 10 years old). I also like the alternate tunings capability.

FWIW, the Midi Guitar 2 tracking is REALLY good without a hex pickup and given that I don't see a GR55 update in the future, I may look to go this route.
 
If you want more "realistic" PCM-based sounds (pianos, horns, etc.); the GR55 is the way to go. I gig with it for those purposes. Or FTP or JamOrigin midi guitar, crossed fingers and an excellent sound library.
 
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