I've seen a lot threads on here asking about how people can get a guitar tone like Syn or Avenged Sevenfold. While this tip won't get you all the way there, I figured I'd share this information with everyone since I have it.
Fred Archambault, who engineered on Waking The Fallen, City of Evil, Self Titled, and Nightmare, revealed to me a few years ago that a good chunk of Syn's lead tone is the Boss CS-3 Compressor Pedal. Fred and I also briefly discussed it a few months back when I bought the Bogner from him.
Before you run out and buy this pedal, please understand what a compressor is and what it does. If you go and buy one and plug it in and turn it on, you might be a little disappointed because you don't notice it doing much, unless you're on extreme settings. To put it simply, a compressor is used to control dynamics. The guitar is a relatively dynamic instrument, especially when playing leads. In order to control those dynamics and sort of even out the volume and depth of each note, people will use a compressor. Compression is generally a subtle effect, and most people have to train their ears to even hear and recognize compression, unless it's used drastically.
Here's a description of this specific pedal from Boss:
"The CS-3 Compression Sustainer pedal compresses louder signals while boosting lower signals, providing smooth sustain without degrading the original sound quality. Onboard Level, Tone, Attack and Sustain controls for precise tonal shaping, and the low-noise design allows super-quiet operation. This is the perfect pedal for guitarists and bassists who want to sound their best."
This thread isn't meant to dive too far into the science of a compressor, so please do further research if you'd like. I don't know Syn's settings on this pedal, but to me, his leads sound like they have a fair amount of Attack and Sustain, and not overdoing it on the actual compression. I'm sure he uses the Level as a slight boost in order to make the leads pop out a little. I also don't think he uses this exact pedal live anymore, as the Axe FX has built in compressors he can use. He did use this pedal at one point, and is a great price friendly option.
Sorry for sharing your secrets, @Syn Gates!
Fred Archambault, who engineered on Waking The Fallen, City of Evil, Self Titled, and Nightmare, revealed to me a few years ago that a good chunk of Syn's lead tone is the Boss CS-3 Compressor Pedal. Fred and I also briefly discussed it a few months back when I bought the Bogner from him.
Before you run out and buy this pedal, please understand what a compressor is and what it does. If you go and buy one and plug it in and turn it on, you might be a little disappointed because you don't notice it doing much, unless you're on extreme settings. To put it simply, a compressor is used to control dynamics. The guitar is a relatively dynamic instrument, especially when playing leads. In order to control those dynamics and sort of even out the volume and depth of each note, people will use a compressor. Compression is generally a subtle effect, and most people have to train their ears to even hear and recognize compression, unless it's used drastically.
Here's a description of this specific pedal from Boss:
"The CS-3 Compression Sustainer pedal compresses louder signals while boosting lower signals, providing smooth sustain without degrading the original sound quality. Onboard Level, Tone, Attack and Sustain controls for precise tonal shaping, and the low-noise design allows super-quiet operation. This is the perfect pedal for guitarists and bassists who want to sound their best."
This thread isn't meant to dive too far into the science of a compressor, so please do further research if you'd like. I don't know Syn's settings on this pedal, but to me, his leads sound like they have a fair amount of Attack and Sustain, and not overdoing it on the actual compression. I'm sure he uses the Level as a slight boost in order to make the leads pop out a little. I also don't think he uses this exact pedal live anymore, as the Axe FX has built in compressors he can use. He did use this pedal at one point, and is a great price friendly option.
Sorry for sharing your secrets, @Syn Gates!
The cringe is real!
