LR Baggs Synapse?

Al Acuff · #1 10-12-2021, 09:18 AM

Recently I noticed there's been a price drop on the Synapse compact two channel PA. I'm curious does anyone know whether Lloyd is phasing out this product? Are they working on a replacement?

At my age the weight of the Synapse is a deal breaker and I suspect I'm not alone. It's unfortunate because it's got an ideal feature set. IMHO it sure would be nice if they came out with a similar product ten pounds lighter. My 2 cents is I'd be willing to trade off a little volume in favor of better portability.

A penny for your thoughts?

YamahaGuy · #2 10-12-2021, 10:02 AM

As a proud owner of a Synapse, I've gotta say that it is a fantastic acoustic guitar "amp." I much prefer it to my PA systems in whatever configuration when it comes to the tone of an acoustic guitar. As a PA, it is somewhat lacking. So, if you're looking for something to [equally] play program music/backing tracks, an acoustic guitar, and vocals, a lightweight powered speaker or compact PA may be better. However, the big selling point of the Synapse for me is that it has phantom power on both channels. My pedalboard has a PADI, which is powered off phantom and with the Synapse, I break out the Neumann KMS105, which also uses phantom power.

If you use a smaller speaker and need a mixer too, it kind of levels the playing field.

SpruceTop · #3 10-12-2021, 04:53 PM

I've got a Synapse and love it--Great Features & Tone! I'm not sure if Lloyd is phasing it out or is just lowering the price to be more competitive. It's kind of goofy-looking and he may be phasing it out because he didn't sell a whole lot because of its looks and original $1999 price. I paid $1799 for mine about 3 years ago by asking my sales engineer for his best price at that time.

leew3 · #4 10-12-2021, 07:51 PM

Al I'm with you here. I've found that putting a preamp (TC Helicon Play Acoustic in my case) in front of my Bose S1 gives me way more volume and great sound than I ever thought possible from a 15# 'amp'. We played a fairly large outdoor gig early in the month and running my vocals, guitar and mandolin through the S1 was plenty loud with the channel volumes under 12 o'clock. This might be a solution for you.

Al Acuff · #5 10-13-2021, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leew3

Al I'm with you here. I've found that putting a preamp (TC Helicon Play Acoustic in my case) in front of my Bose S1 gives me way more volume and great sound than I ever thought possible from a 15# 'amp'. We played a fairly large outdoor gig early in the month and running my vocals, guitar and mandolin through the S1 was plenty loud with the channel volumes under 12 o'clock. This might be a solution for you.

The S1 is surprisingly capable given it's small size and light weight. I heard a local player gig with an S1 in a noisy restaurant and it was loud enough and it sounded good.

My go to acoustic amp is an AER Compact 60. It sounds good on guitar and vocals. Some folks here don't like it on vocals but I think it's just a little fussy about microphones. I tried a few mics with it in search of a good vocal sound and the M88 works very well.

The Synapse is a brilliant idea but every review I've read mentions that it's weight is marginal at best. I'd sure like to see a Synapse II that is a little smaller and more portable.

It appears that for me the most practical way to cover larger rooms would be to add a powered speaker or two to my rig and drive them using the AER as mixer/monitor/DI.

Jinder · #6 10-14-2021, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

The S1 is surprisingly capable given it's small size and light weight. I heard a local player gig with an S1 in a noisy restaurant and it was loud enough and it sounded good.

My go to acoustic amp is an AER Compact 60. It sounds good on guitar and vocals. Some folks here don't like it on vocals but I think it's just a little fussy about microphones. I tried a few mics with it in search of a good vocal sound and the M88 works very well.

The Synapse is a brilliant idea but every review I've read mentions that it's weight is marginal at best. I'd sure like to see a Synapse II that is a little smaller and more portable.

It appears that for me the most practical way to cover larger rooms would be to add a powered speaker or two to my rig and drive them using the AER as mixer/monitor/DI.

Al, that’s exactly the approach I take, except rather than adding a powered speaker I add my AER Alpha Plus as a satellite speaker to my Compact 60. In theory, anyway…I’ve yet to find a room without a house PA that my Compact 60 can’t fill, but as a stereo rig the AERs sound lovely in rehearsal.

The Synapse sort of falls between stools a bit for me. Too hefty to have the convenience appeal of an amp, but too feature-light to have the versatility of something like a QSC K10.2 paired with an EAE Stompmix. I’ve not heard any demos of it that have convinced me that it offers any more potential satisfaction than the AERs which I’m delighted with, but I’d of course be open to trying a Synapse II if Baggs have one in the pipeline.

leew3 · #7 10-14-2021, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

It appears that for me the most practical way to cover larger rooms would be to add a powered speaker or two to my rig and drive them using the AER as mixer/monitor/DI.

Regarding the S1 and volume/dispersion, I agree. We played an indoor bar gig last month in a very long and loud room. My S1 on a short stand in front of me sounded great and was plenty loud without blowing away the people nearer us. As an informal sound check, a Willie Nelson fan held up the flashlight on his phone from the back of the bar as we launched in to Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain!

About covering large rooms:

I've recently gotten a wireless mic add on unit that I'm anxious to try out as a way to DI out to a remote speaker for a larger room. My only concern might be getting out of phase if it's too far away but it's something that sounds like fun to try.

Teleplucker · #8 10-15-2021, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

The S1 is surprisingly capable given it's small size and light weight. I heard a local player gig with an S1 in a noisy restaurant and it was loud enough and it sounded good.

My go to acoustic amp is an AER Compact 60. It sounds good on guitar and vocals. Some folks here don't like it on vocals but I think it's just a little fussy about microphones. I tried a few mics with it in search of a good vocal sound and the M88 works very well.

The Synapse is a brilliant idea but every review I've read mentions that it's weight is marginal at best. I'd sure like to see a Synapse II that is a little smaller and more portable.

It appears that for me the most practical way to cover larger rooms would be to add a powered speaker or two to my rig and drive them using the AER as mixer/monitor/DI.

I did a lot of gigs using an AER domino as a mixer into a powered speaker. The EV30M or 50M is a good alternative to that setup.