Boss is back with an addition to their robust line of synth pedals. SY-200 picks up where SY-1 left off, featuring all the unique sounds, easy-to-navigate interface, lack of perceivable latency, and seamless polyphonic tracking. There are a few important improvements that make this pedal worth checking out or even upgrading to if you already own the SY-1.
Let’s talk about the synth engines first. SY-200 includes all the great sounds from SY-1 and then adds a few new favorites. New synth engines include Arpeggio, Noise, Dual, and Sweep. Each of these synth “Types” includes numerous “Variations”, which is Boss’ way of offering numerous choices within each engine. This expands the sonic palate and leaves us with a total of 171 synth sounds to explore.
SY-200 ships from the factory with presets already loaded and ready to go. This ensures that you’re getting great sounds right out of the box. Boss also provides a total of 128 preset slots for you to save your favorite sounds and all the parameters that you carefully select. These presets are accessible via midi or the Memory footswitch.
Boss uses the larger pedal format as an opportunity to address one of SY-1’s greatest limitations; the lack of latching with the S.Hold option. No longer do you need to physically hold down the footswitch to sustain sequenced synth pads. Simply press the CTL 1 footswitch and SY-200 will sustain indefinitely. This added footswitch can also be configured for pitch-shifting, tap tempo, or scrolling through Memories (presets).
With all this in mind, it’s important to remember that Boss is still focusing on providing us with pre-made synth sounds. You can control the Tone, Depth, and Resonance, but if you like to tinker with presets, SY-200 might not offer a deep enough experience for you. SY-200 is also mono only, so if you’re looking for a stereo synth pedal, this pedal isn’t for you.
So who is SY-200 for? Like SY-1, I’d say SY-200 is perfect for those who want great synth sounds out of the box without too much fuss. With SY-200, you won’t find yourself spending a lot of time tweaking parameters. Instead, you will likely find sounds you like, save them as presets, and have them for when you need them. Let’s also remember the addition of pitch-shifting, S.Hold latching, and the addition of new synth types. This should be plenty of reason for someone who was on the fence with SY-1 to finally make the leap to SY-200.
