Boss SY-1 pedal turns your guitar into a synthesizer

The new Boss SY-1 is a polyphonic guitar synth pedal that will take your guitar or bass to new heights.

The Boss SY-1 is designed to be intuitive and very easy-to-use, simply plug any Guitar or Bass and tweak the parameters to your heart’s desire. The pedal has incredible pitch-tracking accuracy that converts the notes you play into pitch control for the synth. This allows Guitarists to create synth sounds without having to learn the ins and outs of keyboards and synths. The Boss SY-1 comes with a huge variety of built-in sounds from analog-style leads to bell and organ-like sounds – a total of 121 sounds categorized into 11 different types.

The parameters are thoughtfully categorized using dual-concentric potentiometers (double-story knobs) to control parameters within a category. The Boss SY-1 allows you to blend the original guitar signal alongside the synthesizer sound for more variety, it even has a parallel send/return loop allowing you to apply further effects to your Guitar sound without affecting the synth sounds. This allows you to create layers of sounds with a single instrument – it works with Guitar and Bass (There is a switch on the back to change modes).

Use an expression pedal for hands-free control while you shred…

The Boss SY-1 allows for real time control via an expression pedal input, giving you the ability to tweak your sounds hands-free. Or use a footswitch style pedal for octave switching or tapping in the tempo. There’s a hold function which is particularly great for the “sequencer” presets as it sustains the last played note.

The Boss SY-1 is set to retail at USD $199 (Around R2800 excl. duties) and like most boss pedals in this form factor – I’m sure it’s built like a tank. They’ve also got an interactive demo on the website allowing you to hear how it sounds in the comfort of your studio.