I’m ALWAYS the devil’s advocate on this topic here. But a lot of Syn’s tone can’t be emulated just by copying his sound. I’ve played on his actual stage gear before and I couldn’t make it sound like what I hear on the album or live at all. What I mean, is that Syn sounds the way he does because he knows how to work the tones with his fingers. I’ve seen players play on Syn’s exact set up and if you can’t PLAY the way he does, it’s not going to matter, you just end up sounding like someone with a really hot output. So make sure that as you’re on the quest for his tone, you learn how he makes it sound that good. Because even if you take Syn straight into an unplugged acoustic, you can still tell it’s Synyster Gates playing
He’s got a sharp attack, a good vibrato, great sustaining grips and connection in his fingers, and good clarity in his runs. I guess to make it more simple, is that you can have his EXACT set up all you want, but if you were to take someone like me or someone else who isn’t as skilled, it’s not going to sound the same. You can get a very CLOSE sounding tone just by dialing in the right settings and playing as best as you can
I know that wasn’t the answer you were looking for, but I feel it holds some merit