LR Baggs Synapse Personal PA System Is Still Alive & Kicking!

[SpruceTop]

I thought the LR Baggs Synapse Personal PA System was being phased out but Sweetwater has them in stock and at the new lower price of $1299. I love mine as it has all the features a singer and guitar player needs and it sounds great with wide dispersion. LR Baggs Synapse Personal PA System

[L20A]

First time I have seen one of these.
Looks like a nice set up.
If it's good enough for Ricky Skaggs!

[Murphy Slaw]

I've never seen one in the wild.

With their reputation, I bet they sound great.

[YamahaGuy]

I own one. When I'm playing solo, I love it. Phantom power. Nice bass. Wide dispersion. Feedback resistant.

If you're gonna use it with portable power, beware that it does drink a lot of watts.

A nice looking unit. A bit heavy compared to others, but it makes guitars sound great!!!

[guitaniac]

Is there any warning against running a bass through the Synapse? I ask this because my 1st generation Soloamp came with such a warning.

I realize that running a bass through the Synapse would be less than optimal, since the response range only goes down to 65 Hz. I’m just curious if it’s doable without harming the Synapse.

[YamahaGuy]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

Is there any warning against running a bass through the Synapse? I ask this because my 1st generation Soloamp came with such a warning.

I realize that running a bass through the Synapse would be less than optimal, since the response range only goes down to 65 Hz. I’m just curious if it’s doable without harming the Synapse.

I would not ever run any kind of bass through it.

I blew up a Peavey VYPYR VIP2 with a 5 string. And it was made for a bass!

The bass response, while very good on the Synapse, imho would not be suitable for a bass. Maybe a baritone guitar, but I advise against a bass. A used Fender Rumble 40 for $150 would be a superior alternative in every way.

The Synapse, while it functions like a PA, in my experience is an acoustic guitar amplifier -- not a bass amp. And I know that bass amps make for decent acoustic electric amps, so I can see why you'd want to try it.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

I would not ever run any kind of bass through it.

I blew up a Peavey VYPYR VIP2 with a 5 string. And it was made for a bass!

The bass response, while very good on the Synapse, imho would not be suitable for a bass. Maybe a baritone guitar, but I advise against a bass. A used Fender Rumble 40 for $150 would be a superior alternative in every way.

The Synapse, while it functions like a PA, in my experience is an acoustic guitar amplifier -- not a bass amp. And I know that bass amps make for decent acoustic electric amps, so I can see why you'd want to try it.

Thanks for the very thorough answer, YamahaGuy. If I understand correctly, there’s no warning from Baggs not to run a bass through the Synapse, but you wouldn’t risk it based on past experience.

I’m thinking of a situation which I often faced as an open mic host. Groups would show up with a bass player who didn’t bring a bass amp. I could run the bass through my main speakers (heavy duty JBLs which I purchased after blowing out several lesser speakers), but I couldn’t run the bass through the Soloamp which I used as a monitor.

Regarding using the Synapse with a baritone guitar, that should be quite doable. Baritone guitars are usually tuned from the low B1 at 62 Hz (using the A4 = 440 Hz pitch reference).

[guitaniac]

In the back of my mind I seem to remember a video where the Synapse is used to provide sound (using an external mixer) for an entire group in a low volume, small room setting.

I found the manufacturer’s guidelines in the user guide and it does say that bass, keyboards and recordings with low frequency content can be run through the Synapse. HOWEVER, caution must be taken to avoid running at a high enough level to frequently activate the limiter light. They also recommend lower volume levels with low frequency signals. Sounds a bit dicey.