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Availability:
Only 3 left in stock, order soon!
Arrives
Tuesday, Sep 23
Style: Guitar/Bass
Features
- Polyphonic Synthesizer Effects Pedal f Guitar Bass
- Expression/Switch Input
- With Send/Return Loop
- Hold function for playing normal guitar over sustained synth voices
Description
Boss SY-1 Guitar Synthesizer Pedal
Brand: BOSS
Style: Guitar/Bass
Color: Blue
Item Weight: 1.2 Pounds
Voltage: 9 Volts
Item Weight: 1.2 pounds
Product Dimensions: 6 x 3.75 x 2.65 inches
Item model number: SY-1
Batteries: 1 9V batteries required. (included)
Date First Available: July 10, 2019
Color Name: Blue
Signal Format: Analog
Battery type: Alkaline
Power Source: Corded Electric
Voltage: 9 Volts
Frequently asked questions
The BOSS SY-1 is a bass synthesizer guitar pedal that offers a wide range of synth sounds, from leads, basses, and pads to arpeggiated sequences. It has 121 total sounds divided between lead, pad, bass, sounds effects, strings, and organ categories. It's highly versatile and offers two optional modes for inserting synth sounds into your normal playing.
Yes, the BOSS SY-1 is designed to work seamlessly with the frequency range of a standard bass guitar. While it offers various synthesized effects, it effectively considers the unique frequency range of a bass guitar, ensuring the produced sounds are always clear and musical.
The BOSS SY-1 is designed for easy plug-and-play use. The pedal features simple, intuitive controls for Variation, Tone and Depth, enabling a player to quickly dial in preferred synth sounds. Its usability does not require any background in music technology, making it user-friendly for even the novices.
Absolutely! The BOSS SY-1 has been designed with live performance in mind. Its latency-free performance ensures instant sound tracking, meaning the synth sounds will play exactly when you strike a string. Moreover, the SY-1 offers separate send/return insert functionality for blending the synth with your normal bass tone, providing a highly balanced and unique output during live performances.
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🚀 Abunda's Overview
This is our summary and key points to consider based on customer reviews.
The BOSS SY-1 Synthesizer pedal is seen as an advanced and compact piece of technology that offers enjoyable synthesizer effects for guitars and bass. Many users appreciate the product's quick note tracking, and some found it fun to experiment with. However, some noted the pedal's lack of control over sound shaping and its limited types of sounds. A few users also have experienced occasional note tracking issues.
Pros
- 🎛 Fast and accurate note tracking
- 🎶 Operates polyphonically, allowing users to add complexity to their sounds
- 🔌 Compact and familiar BOSS pedal design
- 🎸 Transforms sound from your guitar or bass, enhancing musical possibilities
Cons
- ⚖ Limited control over sound shaping and types of sounds offered
- 🔊 Some users reported occasional fading in and out of tracking
- ☠ Pedal does not have MIDI and no preset options
- 🚀 Can be difficult to adjust settings during live performances
Should I Buy It?
If you are interested in significantly expanding your musical range with your guitar or bass and are willing to navigate some quirks and limitations, the BOSS SY-1 Synthesizer pedal could be a fun and unique addition to your setup. Just be prepared for a learning curve and potential limitations in live performance settings.
I bought this because my band doesn't have a keyboard player and there are key spots in some songs where some soft orchestra music would be very beneficial. This fits the bill beautifully. By adding an expression pedal I'm able to fade the effect in and out as needed. The sounds are very authentic and high quality. Realistically it only has about three sounds that I'll for the kind of music that I do, but I feel confident that there's something in there for everyone. I used it at our last jam session and it was the star of the show. At least one of the people who heard has ordered one and I'm sure there will be more. I'm very happy with this purchase.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2025 by Louiethelizard
Boss may be pricey, but the build quality is renowned. There are over 90+ effects you can have on this one pedal and it's been a real game changer. A definite "must-have" for your pedal board. The design is pretty self-intuitive.
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2025 by dante
I can play keys okayish, but I'm mainly a guitarist and bassist. I use synth and guitar on a lot of the music I do, and I've always wanted a simple solution to switch between synth tones and guitar. I've tried several types guitar synths, and none of them have had a good combination of versatility, tone, and easy of use. This pedal does close everything I'd need it to and it's small and compact. Sure, some of the sounds are more convincing/all around better than others, but in the mix, it barely matters. Additionally, the ability to use it inline with other effects so easily smooths over a lot of the minor deficiencies you might find. Also, I'd say it's better for bass than guitar, but great for both. You can get some great classic synth bass sounds out it with relative ease. The worst thing about it is it has so many sounds and so much versatility that you might need to develop some way to mark down what you're doing to get the tones and sounds you like the most! Definite give it a shot, especially if you're a bassist in a band that needs some occasional synth bass sounds!
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Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024 by chilaquiles
I've had mine for a little over a month now and I'm still finding cool things to do with it. It does all the stuff I hoped it would do. Pairs well with reverb pedals. I wouldn't recommend it if you're new to pedals or don't have specific effects in mind. Great if you're into classic synth sounds. The Send and Receive adds another level to what you can do with it. I would recommend watching demos on YouTube before you buy so you know what you're getting into. Luckily there are dozens of videos to help with the learning curve.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024 by M. Biggs
I really struggled with my final rating for the BOSS SY-1 Synthesizer pedal because while it does have a few shortcomings that warrant the 4-star rating, it's also an incredibly advanced (and compact) piece of effects circuitry and a lot of fun! When it comes to the basic concept of the SY-1 and technical execution thereof, the SY-1 is a 5-star product. Pretty much since the birth of MIDI (or the development of analog synths prior to that), there have been efforts to translate guitar playing inputs into real-time synthesizer tones. Many of these early efforts were plagued by horrible tracking (meaning that the synth note sounded does not correspond to guitar note played), latency, and unwieldy or expensive setups. The BOSS SY-1 suffers from virtually none of these problems. It fits into the familiar compact BOSS pedal footprint, has only a few control parameters promising just over 100 different synth tones, and the note tracking is stunningly fast. Even more impressive (and setting it apart from recent synth pedals from EHX and others), the note tracking is polyphonic, meaning that you can sound pads and other synth tones using chords, as long as you don't get too complex. It's really quite amazing how the SY-1 will completely transform the sound of your guitar or bass into a completely different instrument. I've had hours of fun already messing around with a looper and layering different sounds and note combinations on top of each other. You can suddenly create soundscapes (or approximate them, at least) that previously might have led you to pull out a synthesizer and laptop DAW. Where the SY-1 starts to run into a little bit of trouble, however, is in the types of sounds offered and limited control over sound shaping. My knowledge of actual synthesizers is pretty limited, but ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release) is a critical aspect of sound design, and one completely lacking in the SY-1. You can pick lead, bass, etc. preset from the SY-1, but then the only option you have to modify that is to adjust the tone (basically a low-pass filter, but very useful), and then the Rate/Depth of the waveform. So you have no control over whether your notes are punchy/percussive versus slow-building/swelling. In fact, my primary complaint about the bass sounds and may of the lead sounds is that while the note-tracking technology seems almost instantaneous, the actual resulting sound has a built-in attack that cannot be modified. And many of those notes sustain and cannot be cut off abruptly, even when palm-muting. Perhaps part of this is user error, and there are playing techniques you can develop to get more out of the pedal. Also, I really wish we could have gotten 1/4 to 1/2 as many of the bell and sound FX pages in exchange for additional "banks" of lead, bass, or pad sounds. I'm not sure how many users set up a $200 FX pedal in their signal chain just to make an explosion sound or whatever, and do nothing else until you change the settings. An entire bank of the Lead sounds, and several of the Bass ones involve musical fifths - those are certainly useful in a lot of synth context, but completely unusable in others, and I would have liked a wider variety of sounds instead of a half-hearted harmonizer feature. Finally, it should be noted that the pedal does not have MIDI, and there are no presets, so if you do find a particular sound that you like and want to come back to, you'll need to bend over and twist the knobs until you have it. That's pretty limiting in a live context. I am not sure of my complaints are fair or realistic given the price point and form factor, but I think they need to be known by prospective buyers of this pedal. This effects pedal is NOT a full-on substitute for a standard synthesizer. But it's a TON of fun, and I like to give extra credit for effects pedals that offer sounds I simply can't get from anywhere else. I can imagine ambient or praise & worship having a field day with this one, especially the pads, which are quite good and can be used with the Sound Hold feature (holding down the switch locks in and sustains the sounds, similar to the feature on the BOSS Tera Echo). The SY-1 is an amazing piece of technology that I could see growing increasingly fond of the longer I have to work with and adapt to its quirks. UPDATE (03/24/21) - I've owned the SY-1 for just over a year following the review above. My impressions of it are largely unchanged. What I will say is that are something it does quite well, and some things I have not been able to get it to do. Polyphony is great, and the note tracking (even on accurately-played chords) is great for pads, strings, etc. It can do some leads. But the sounds are just presets, and very...BOSS. I'm looking at the Source Audio C4 Synth, which is a very different take on a synthesizer pedal. It uses monophonic tracking, but has a much better emphasis on bass notes and single-note leads. It also has a robust online/mobile editor with community presets. I can't actually say that one looks "better" than the other, but I think they could complement each other quite well.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2020 by StormJH1
I have men using EHX “9” series pedals to create Live Loops for my one man band gigs. I thought they were great until I tried this SY-1 to cut down on pedalboard real estate. I have already found some very useable sounds. The bass sounds are great as are the organ and “bell” sounds. I have not yet found a string or pad that works in my set’s but I have only scratched the surface. The one thing this does not do that the Bass 9 does is have a split patch so I can comp and play live bass. That’s a drag sometimes but for making loops in the fly it just means I can’t play bass and shorts simultaneously. For what is does without a divided PU, it’s spectacular. I use this with Nylon String Guitar.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2024 by Just Me
Tracks quickly and accurately. Love the organ and synth sounds.
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2025 by J Bishop