Synergy 50/50 vs Fryette LXII Power Amp Shootout w/Langner DCP-1

Рет қаралды 14,017

2 жыл бұрын

An unboxing turns into a comparison of two popular 1U 50W 6L6 power amps. Things get more interesting as I add in the rare and legendary Langner DCP-1 guitar preamp to the mix.
Fryette LXII & Synergy 50/50 Front Panel Comparison 1:37
Fryette LXII & Synergy 50/50 Back Panel Comparison 5:10
Gutshots 7:50
Guitar reveal (Gibson Chris Cornell ES335) 8:03
Langner DCP-1 reveal 9:05
Lead Channel Playthrough 10:13
Clean Channel Playthrough 15:18
Conclusion 18:45

Пікірлер: 78

@pazuzudemon4 Жыл бұрын

I was sitting on a back order for the LXII and this convinced me to cancel it and grab a used SYN off Reverb for $800. Thanks for saving me a bunch of money. Good job.

@tone-talk 7 ай бұрын

Always great to see your videos!

@jjshouseofjams522 2 жыл бұрын

Happy Holidays Michael . Great demo . Cheers and rock on

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you and Happy Holidays to you as well!!

@blackroyaltoni 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Excellent comparison and very, very useful. Seem that you’ll be able to make them sound relatively close to each other it seems that LX II sounds bigger and clearer. Suprisingly enough.

@youvsyou945 2 жыл бұрын

The switchable depth/presence jack on the LX-II is pretty great. For my setup, A/B a slaved head and a preamp(BE100 on a load box for gain and a Mesa Studio Pre for cleans) that's a very handy feature as I'd like flat for the slaved head, and the depth/presence when I'm running a preamp. Very cool feature.

@Bricklinsv1970 2 жыл бұрын

Very cool. The best setup I ever heard was a Mesa Boogie strategy 500 running 4x4/12 cabs with a adamp1 pre amp. The volume on the Mesa on both sides on 8! Was almost scary powerful!

@glanum3 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for doing this video. I got a syn 50/50 because of those features. I needed/wanted separate volumes. I'm using helix and running W/D. I'm surprised at the differences in sound. LXII is brighter and seemingly more alive (assuming this is the case in room). Not unhappy with the synergy but I guess that is what about $200 will get you.

@scottpeters4401 2 жыл бұрын

I have been looking at these…I saw that Malcontents episode where Steven Fryette said the LXII has a more expensive,paper layer wound transformer,and some other component differences….I currently have a Power Station,PS2 and PS100,but for my stereo rig,I am using an old 1989 Marshall 9005 Tube power amp..the big 4 rack space one…it’s huge,weighs a thousand pounds,but it sounds great…it would be nice to have something a little smaller and more portable…..The LXII did sound clearer..Great video..

@raygringo 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this demo. I just subscribed because 1) your videos are great and 2) you subs number was at 999! lol! So, I'm the 1000th subscriber!

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much!!

@therealdealblues 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for posting. I have the Syn50-50 and have been wondering about the LX II. I actually find the Syn50-50 to be too bright with my Syn-2 preamps and speakers. I usually have to keep the presence almost off. Sounds like the LX is a lot brighter so I think I am better off staying with the Syn50-50. So yeah, thanks for saving me a grand…lol.

@d77sauce 10 ай бұрын

LX-II flat: 10:13. LX-II Presence and depth (mystery settings): 11:03. Syn 2 middle settings: 12:06

@chopfather09 2 жыл бұрын

Great video once again!! Have you ever considered like a monthly podcast? Talk about your gear and just shoot the crap? Happy holidays to you and your family

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

That's a great idea. I will have to look into that. Happy holidays to you and yours as well!

@zenamplification 2 жыл бұрын

Now that's a rack! Holy moly, excellent.

@nialld2638 2 жыл бұрын

Great content ! I’m currently looking to add a simul class 290 to add as a power amp to my rack preamps. Prices have gone insane. Strongly thinking about either of these plus they are new as well.

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

The 290 is an awesome power amp but sadly the market is crazy high. You can't really go wrong with either of these two.

@nialld2638 2 жыл бұрын

@@michaeltoren thanks very much Michael keep up the good work !

@joshsmith7033 Жыл бұрын

Thank you.

@SlimeyGuitarStrings 2 жыл бұрын

Cool video! I was actually wondering what the difference was between the syn and Fryette single space poweramps. I saw Steve Fryette talking about the single space power amps and realized he designed both the Fryette and the Syn 50-50 which got me wondering. I think you just made the definitive guide on these poweraemps. I like the Fryette Poweramp better, but the controls seem like weird choices on it. I supposed it's probably good for a touring musician though.

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! It was a rabbit hole I needed to go down and report back.

@SHREDTILLDEAD 2 жыл бұрын

The lx ii is pretty complicated, and I have owned power amps and tube amps before. I still have no clue how to run it bridge mono, so just use one channel at a time to protect it. But it is a very loud amp at 50 watts, it will hold it's own against my mesa power amp , and iic+ 60 watt power section.

@SlimeyGuitarStrings 2 жыл бұрын

@@SHREDTILLDEAD Mesa amps are almost never as powerfull as they say they are.

@SHREDTILLDEAD 2 жыл бұрын

@@SlimeyGuitarStrings I know , they are more powerful at less wattage than most amps. Thanks for clearing that up.

@Max-The-Axe Жыл бұрын

I was thinking on buying an engl e 530 pre amp and running it into my mesa 2x12, and was curious if the lxii poweramp would sound any good with a tube pre amp or is it made only for modelers?

@Danthehorse 2 жыл бұрын

I'm surprised you don't demo the cleans with strat in between tones and some landau like playing.

@deadinside0586 Жыл бұрын

Michael... Could you compare your two Soldano SP--77 preamps, please? USA vs Japan, both channels. I'm looking for this comparison for years.

@nikolavuksan2029 2 жыл бұрын

Torn! I like the Fryette as well but man that internal pots is a lame feature. Even if you're touring you might want to adjust depending on the room. The Synergy is a lot more practical it seems!

@SHREDTILLDEAD 2 жыл бұрын

I have the lxii and it is kind of intimidating with all the load configurations. I have yet to be shown how to safely hook up every load configuration the amp provides. If you do not build or service amps you are pretty much stuck with mono a or b or stereo a, and b. The amp can be bridged and also has 3 outs per channel and an impedance selection option, but like I said they have yet to print a manual that explains the load config in detail or make a video for it. They just keep emailing me page numbers from the manual which the amp does not ship with.

@leonardosalomao6855 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot ! Great review ! In both units you must use a loadbox/cabinet right ? What did you use ? Congrats !

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I have an amp switcher with multiple cabinets. I recorded this demo using a Divided by 13 4x12 cab with Greenbacks and V30s.. The mics I used are an AT4050 and a Fathead. For the unused channels I have a load resistor on a 1/4" jack.

@jakedibiase7404 2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like you have a ground loop issue. Both units sounded good just slightly different.

@SolarWarden88 2 жыл бұрын

You're not crazy Dr. Rack... If that normalcy could be achieved easily, I'd be normal as fuck lol. Great stuff man.

@Guitar9235 2 жыл бұрын

Nice video. What would be pros/cons of using synergy power amp or Fryette ps2/ps100 with preamps?

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

I have a Fryette Power Station but have yet to use it as a power amp. Michael Nielsen used them this way with great results. I would assume that the PS is very similar in character to an LXII but it is worth a look. I think the biggest pro would be that the PS can be a power amp and load box, if you have amps as well. The con would be that is is 2U (with the rackmount kit) while the Syn 50/50 is 1U.

@MrPinkStrat Ай бұрын

There must be Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars Worth of Gear Behind Him ....WOW !

@cshortlife9179 2 жыл бұрын

HI I noticed you had an Engl E580 in the rack a few vids back. How is the volume output on your unit? Mine with the volume and the master cranked just manages to clip the +4db ceiling on my Switchblade GL switcher, while all my other preamps can do that with about half their potential output. My Amp Tech cannot see any problem with it and you are the first other person I have seen with one, so it would be good to know your experience. Also, I highly recommend you try some Radial Stagebug SB-6 Isolator boxes. I have a whole bunch of the in a 24U rack, they are the best thing I have found for killing off all the noise gremlins in your studio.

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

My E580 suffers from the same problem. I took it to a tech as well and they couldn't find any issues (other than some shipping damage). It's strange as some of my preamps play nice and then some (Mesa) do not. I am still working out the kinks but thanks for the tip!

@cshortlife9179 2 жыл бұрын

@@michaeltoren Sounds like they are working as intended, good to know, even if it seems bizarre. Thanks for letting me know.

@cshortlife9179 Жыл бұрын

I eventually fixed the volume issue with the Engl E580. I left it set to the line level output setting on the back and then put an Ebtech line level shiftier between the Preamp and Poweramp . Now it has the overall level of the Preamp volume is good and the Volume and Master controls on the Preamp are useful.

@Cpt_Adama 29 күн бұрын

@@cshortlife9179 Hmmm, very strange indeed. Is that with the line level pot on the back all the way up to 15db of gain?

@cshortlife9179 28 күн бұрын

@@Cpt_Adama The line level pot you are referring to is for the frequency compensated line outs that are use for direct recording, not the standard line out that goes to the power amp.

@adamstaysick 2 жыл бұрын

Hey mike. Power amp noob. I’ve always been a head guy. But I’m putting together another rig using a sms classic preamp. It has one output jack. Can I go out of that into the lx2 and then split to stereo out? Thanks

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

Congrats on the SMS Classic. There are a few ways to get stereo out of a mono preamp. Simplest would just be a Y-cable to split the signal to the 2 channels of the power amp. If you are using rack effects you can find a unit that has mono in and stereo out. If you do this I would recommend getting one that you can bypass the effects without altering the tone, like a Rocktron Intellifex. If you want to go one step further you could get a line mixer, then you can run multiple effects units and blend the signals.

@schlagdog Жыл бұрын

Where did you get your Langner? Somewhere out in the world someone has my old Langner preamp I had modified by Bogner I traded to Denver guitar center when I was young and dumb.

@michaeltoren Жыл бұрын

I got one from a seller in San Francisco and the other was off of Reverb. I can't imagine how cool a Bogner modded Langner would be. Holy crap!

@schlagdog Жыл бұрын

@@michaeltoren Someone out there has it and doesn’t even know. Todd made me one when he was working at ADA. I bet it was one of the first ones he made. Then I sent it to MakeNMusic to try and get the Antrax mod done to it that Bogner was doing there for the Fish Preamps. I didn’t know shit about tone then. I ended up trading it for a new marshall 4x12 or something stupid. I was young and had no idea what a good tone was. That is the 1 piece of gear I wish I had back or even knew the serial number. I was smart enough to buy a Klon new though for $350 when they came out and keep it. It’s my break glass in case of emergency piece of gear.

@kellydirk629 2 жыл бұрын

Could you do this using the syn pre amps?

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

I plan on doing a MTS platform (Egnater M4/Randall RM4/Synergy Syn2) review and can try to work that in.

@vibrevtonez2421 2 жыл бұрын

Alot of the Synergy demos sound pretty disappointing, but I suspect that’s because the synergy power amps are pretty underwhelming. A good power amp is crucial. The Fryette stuff is worth the investment.

@Cpt_Adama 29 күн бұрын

Is not the Synergy 2 50/50 designed by Fryette? So both units are designed from the same manufacturer.

@vibrevtonez2421 29 күн бұрын

@@Cpt_Adama yes, but they are quite different internally and even feature wise.

@sounds_like_matt 2 жыл бұрын

So, am I right that having a line out from the power amp is still just sending the signal from the preamp? Like, you're not somehow capturing the power amp tone with that, are you?

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

That's a great question. I checked the manual and its "A line level version of the speaker output sound .." So you do get the power amp flavor in the line out.

@sounds_like_matt 2 жыл бұрын

@@michaeltoren Interesting! I've always wondered about line outs from preamps, like the syn2 has, and how we seem to not consider it a big deal that we're missing the power amp tone. But we'll go crazy about someone powering their modules with a solid state power amp, haha.

@hotroderdk 2 жыл бұрын

Ain’t nothin’ wrong with buying poweramps😉😍

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

Except that they take up a lot of rack space!

@hotroderdk 2 жыл бұрын

@@michaeltoren Mmm good point... But for a VHT Poweramp, I would make an exception Lol

@Burkhimself 2 жыл бұрын

I’ve heard the synergy adds a little more color to the preamp…..fryette has supposedly less color & slightly higher quality inner components….

@michaeltoren 2 жыл бұрын

I heard that as well. Fryette talked about it on one of his Malcontents vids and said the same thing. I just wondered if he was being diplomatic (even though he designed both).