Strymon BigSkychat_bubble_outlineFrom real comments

Many commenters flag the price, especially the MX at roughly $679, as a lot of money even while acknowledging the sound quality. Some say it exceeds their budget or wish list threshold.

@Unusednickname_1970

This thing sounds amazing, and the demo is really great, as always. \n\nThis pedal is $679 USD. Not saying it’s not worth the asking price, but $679? Holy sh*t. \n\nI love my Strymon Flint and Volante. Expensive, but worth every penny to me. \n\nBut $679 is just a lot of damn money for most, I would think. \n\nThis is not even on my wish list at this price. Sorry Strymon. You’ve exceeded my limits. Wishing you continued success.launch

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June 18, 2024

@Topsy_Krett

Strymon is pretty bold to charge almost $700 for this updated pedal. As an owner of the BigSky, I can hear that most of the reverbs in the MX are still kinda bright and sterile, and seemingly not vastly improved from those in the aging original. Perhaps the worst part is that Strymon likely has not fixed the slight tone suck that is a common issue with their gear... The \"Class A JFET preamp\" is something they apparently added to address this but it doesn't totally fix it (which I have confirmed in other Strymon pedals).launch

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May 3, 2024

@philipatoz

You know, I could be wrong, but I've not heard any sounds from this unit that could not be reproduced by a quality digital delay and a good Alesis reverb pedal - both of which you can get used for a fraction of the cost of this machine. It does sound and look very nice - it's just a \"bang for your buck\" issue.launch

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November 7, 2016

@ReviewMovieWorld1

I'm trying to find a good deal on this pedal because every where I look, it's so expensive, but of course such a great pedal would be expensive. If I could only have one pedal in the world, it would be this.launch

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July 15, 2015

One long-term owner and a MX owner both note the reverbs can sound bright and hi-fi, requiring the tone knob rolled back for pleasing results with distorted or brighter amps.

@Topsy_Krett

Strymon is pretty bold to charge almost $700 for this updated pedal. As an owner of the BigSky, I can hear that most of the reverbs in the MX are still kinda bright and sterile, and seemingly not vastly improved from those in the aging original. Perhaps the worst part is that Strymon likely has not fixed the slight tone suck that is a common issue with their gear... The \"Class A JFET preamp\" is something they apparently added to address this but it doesn't totally fix it (which I have confirmed in other Strymon pedals).launch

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May 3, 2024

@Telorchid

I have one.  It does a lot, it can sound really good, but you really have to roll back the tone for it to sound pleasing with distortion with a brighter amp IMO.  (It's very hi-fi sounding like their other stuff; 12:00 + on the tone knob is not really usable for me.)  Really nice with clean ambient guitar and synths.  I think in general delay is probably better for guitar in a lot of straight up rock situations than reverb though.launch

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November 8, 2013

A prospective buyer notes the BigSky lacks the high-damp knob found on the smaller Blue Sky, unsure if the tone knob serves the same function, calling it a potential dealbreaker.

@ai4nlp

On \"Blue sky (smaller unit)\" there is a very useful \"high damp\" knob, which helps removing highs from the reverberated signal, while I noticed on \"Big sky\" apparently this knob is absent and a tone knob exists. Is the tone knob on big sky the same as high damp or it is simply a tone-EQ knob that affects both clean and wet signal (like the one on T.C hall of fame)? Are those param knobs high/low damp? \n\nNot having a high/low damp can be a real set-back for me to get the Big Sky. \nThanks!launch

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October 17, 2017

A user notes that in freeze mode, anything played on top of the frozen sound stays completely dry rather than getting reverb applied.

@LisetteLowe

Shhh, you spoiled the secret ;) Great video, inspiring to see how you use it! My main issues with this one is like you mentioned, in freeze mode anything on top will be dry signal. I wish it could have the same reverb on it, just not sustained. And it would be cool if I could do this without having to strain my foot to keep the switch pressed the whole time, but that is probably just higher order complaining and where a looper would come in.launch

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May 10, 2023

One user experienced a live gig failure where the pedal lost power intermittently on a power strip and reset all saved preset names, calling it concerning for live use.

@tribebrian

I need help!!  Last night on the gig my Big Sky took a shit!  I had all my pedals on a Furman power strip for two weeks with no problem at all...I get to the gig and NO power to the pedal..Kept doing little flashes then would come on..Nothing at all connected wrong anywhere..The only way it would work was to plug it into a cheap power strip..Now i have lost almost every sound i saved and all the names have changed on the settings back to preset names..WTF??  If this thing is gonna be that sensitive to live situations i can't deal w it!  Help!launch

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April 13, 2014

A user notes the lack of a display or indicator lights makes it hard to remember current knob settings without visual cues.

@steffenpfau4303

The most meaningful BigSky tutorial I have seen so far. Especially as far as the functions and the handling of all those knobs is concerned. I think the BigSky is not just sounding great, it's also enormously versatile - if you know how to handle it and get out all the possible sounds. The only important thing missing is imho some kind of additional display or at least some lights over the knobs that inform you about where you are right now, what settings you are currently using. For it's hard to memorize the current settings without some optical hints. Using a pedal shouldn't demand a masters degree in abstract imagination or engineering.launch

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October 28, 2014

An MX owner worries the new LED display will burn in or change brightness over time, leading them to unplug the unit when not in use.

@TomsonTheOne

Nice review and overview... As someone who was in the market to buy a reverb pedal anyway, I immediately grabbed the BigSky MX. I was using the Line6 Helix reverbs before. They can sound wonderful, but I am amazed every single time that I play through the BigSky, how it is close to impossible to dial in a bad sound with it... Even dialed up to 20 seconds (!) the reverb does not sound overly muddy. With the Line6 reverbs I had to fiddle with the virtual knobs a lot more to get them how I imagined it. I was either going for the CXM or a Neunaber (fck UAFX's phone apps and horrible user support; that's why the \"Golden\" never was an option). I didn't want to buy the imo outdated old BigSky (the new algorithms sound so much better btw), so the MX came exactly at the right time for me... The one thing that I worry about is the new display... These LEDs will burn through and change their brightness significantly over time. That's why Strymon put in those scrolling screen savers. I unplug mine, when I am not using it, which is mildly annoying.launch

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June 28, 2024