The Syncussion goes berserk with Aly James' beastly SY-4X drum synth plugin
Aly James Lab lovingly recreates this classic analogue drum synth with heaps of new features, putting four Syncussion units in a single plugin
![aly james syncussion](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/T4U6j6QWGkJkuc6jMcyR8W-320-80.jpg)
Released in 1979, the Pearl Syncussion SY-1 was an analogue drum synth favoured by a long list of artists that includes Prince and Herbie Hancock, and later utilized by electronic music producers like Luke Vibert and Aphex Twin.
An OG Syncussion will set you back a pretty penny these days, but thanks to Aly James Lab, you can put not one, but four Syncussion modules into your DAW with the developer's new software emulation: SY-4X.
The original machine was a two-voice drum synth, but SY-4X quadruples that percussion power and gives you enough polyphony to dial in an eight-voice drum kit or four-voice polysynth. Along with the extra voices, the plugin also adds new oscillator modes, enhanced envelope control, a 'Berserk Mode' for clipping and bitcrushing, and more options for pitch-tracking and scaling.
Aly James has precisely recreated the SY-1's original circuits, allowing you to dial in an emulation of its CMOS-based oscillators that captures their sonic quirks, producing distorted waveforms and additional harmonics. The SY-1's unique filter design has been emulated, too, giving you a two-stage low-pass state-variable filter that models the original's distinctive tone and behaviour.
The six oscillator configurations offered by the SY-1 (single oscillator, FM, dual oscillator mix, dynamic oscillator mix, FM/Custom Ramp OSC, and pure noise) are joined by two new modes that cover oscillator sync and cross-ring modulation; a new trigger-controlled mode scanning feature can be used to switch to a random oscillator mode at a rate of up to 50 times per second.
SY-4's aptly-titled Berserk Mode turns the plugin into a "nastier beast" by introducing asymmetrical clipping before the filter or bitcrushing after the filter, with the option to reign in both effects through a Stability control.
SY-4X Syncussion will set you back €51 and is available now in VST3/AU formats for macOS and Windows.
Get the MusicRadar Newsletter
Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here.
I'm MusicRadar's Tech Editor, working across everything from product news and gear-focused features to artist interviews and tech tutorials. I love electronic music and I'm perpetually fascinated by the tools we use to make it. When I'm not behind my laptop keyboard, you'll probably find me behind a MIDI keyboard, carefully crafting the beginnings of another project that I'll ultimately abandon to the creative graveyard that is my overstuffed hard drive.
![All-access artist interviews, in-depth gear reviews, essential production tutorials and much more. image](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qALb3YUpxPT2TNZWNYvob3.png)