Boss SY-1000 Guitar Synthesizer

The SY1000 has loads of functionality and delivers with strong vintage synth sounds. Also I was particularly impressed with the guitar to MIDI feature which works better than I had hoped. Downsides are the complexity of set up and editing and the lack of some obvious pre-sets for decent strings, flute, organ and piano sounds. The SY1000 synth waveforms don't really allow for this and, although you can always use guitar to MIDI into a sampled waveform synth to achieve the aim, it means more gear - making it less suitable for live use in a covers band where these sounds are often needed.