Recording - July 2018 - 55

The reverb always feeds the saturator. You can have a clean reverb, a drive box, or a fully wet reverb with a touch of grit and hair
on its output. I enjoyed the unit best when I started to play with the
Mix in each section and blend them with the original sound in tandem. That makes it a parallel effect, which works best as an insert.

Verbwise

After multiple rewrites, I'm still finding it hard to put the Synergy
R1's reverb quality into words. It's not a lush deep-space box like a
classic Lexicon or my Strymon BigSky, and it's not a photorealistic
reverb like a classic TC or my Bricasti M7; it almost literally lives
somewhere in the middle.
It has a very satiny midrange, and when the Color control
is pushed toward the high end it dimensionally opens up, but
it never gets drastically over-the-top wide. It also has very full,
but still controlled, low end that never gets away from you. The
reverb is smooth, but still has a gentle fluttering metallic quality
that changes depending on algorithm and Color.
It's almost like someone stumbled upon a classic algorithmic
reverb from the 1980s with pristine sonics and an ultra-low noise
floor, but not one of the famous ones. There was a lot more sonic
diversity among those old hardware reverbs than in today's plugins, and this one doesn't sound like a slavish emulation of any
particular model, which I consider a good thing.

In use

Beyond the Synergy R1's unique sound is its ease of use; once
you get the hang of dialing in its blend of reverb and saturation,
and choosing the right space, it falls quickly into a mix. It works

great to provide everything from subtle ambiences to long tunnels,
from small claustrophobic rooms and distorted plates to spring
spaces. All parameters are automatable, and only fast and drastic
Color changes cause any zippering.
My favorite algorithm is the Spring, which is flat-out stunning.
I recently recorded a 1960s surf rock track, and for editing
purposes I needed to have the guitar player record his parts
dry, without his amp's reverb or his favorite pedal. I pulled up
the R1 Spring with a touch of brightened color and a 75%
tail for him to monitor through, and he was so blown away
by the sound that we kept it in the final mix. Plate, my second
favorite algorithm, is smooth and tight with a nice midrange
silk that's perfect on Vocals, snare and more.

Wrapping this up

The Synergy R1 is a great addition to the hardware reverb world.
Its ease of use, broad throw of sounds, modern enhancements, and
analog saturation give it a unique edge in today's market. It's a cool
idea to add analog saturation to digital effects in such a substantial
way, beyond many companies' attempts at "adding a tube" for distortion. I have it on good authority that there are more effects boxes
from Audified on the way, and I can't wait.

PRICES: $1399
MORE FROM: Audified,
www.audified.com; dist. by Eleven Dimensions
Media, www.11dmedia.com, NAMM Booth #208

http://www.audified.com http://www.11dmedia.com http://www.fluidaudio.net

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