Review: Strymon BigSky MX

Not agelong ago I unequivocally declared Meris’ Mercury X (9/10, WIRED Recommends) the champion reverb pedal you tin buy. The precise time that reappraisal went live, Strymon, 1 of the pioneers of high-end boutique guitar pedals, announced the BigSky MX, an update to its legendary BigSky reverb.

To telephone the update monolithic would beryllium an understatement. While it inactive looks similar the BigSky if you squint, and you’ll find galore acquainted reverb algorithms connected its beforehand panel, the MX is an astir ground-up reimagining of what the BigSky tin be. And portion I’m not astir to accidental that Strymon has already usurped Meris, I tin nary longer accidental determination is simply a definitive “best” reverb pedal. If you're successful the marketplace for either, you're successful for a treat.

Into the Weeds

The BigSky MX is simply a peculiar breed of effect that tin crook disconnected players who similar their guitar pedals to conscionable person a mates of knobs and 1 oregon 2 ft switches. The piles of presets, the screen, and the extended array of knobs mightiness look excessively analyzable for immoderate astatine first, but portion of the quality of the BigSky MX is however elemental it is to use.

You tin scroll done presets utilizing either the Value knob successful the apical close oregon by utilizing the ft switches. And if you conscionable privation to commencement from scratch, there’s a knob successful the apical near that selects from the 12 reverb engines. The enactment of 7 knobs beneath that power each your astir important parameters: Decay, Pre-Delay, Tone, Mod, and Mix. Then 2 knobs labeled Param 1 and Param 2 are motor dependent. For example, connected Spring setting, param 1 controls the magnitude of debased extremity successful the reverb, portion successful Shimmer it controls the transportation of echo one.

Some parameters aren’t accessible straight from the font panel. For instance, if you privation to alteration the voicing of the Shimmer reverb from the hi-fi MX mentation to the classical model, you request to pat the Value knob to unfastened the parameter menu. But the fig of hidden parameters usually isn’t overwhelming. Some engines lone person 3 oregon 4 parameters to power successful total. And, if you determine you’d alternatively person power of the 2 parameters presently hidden distant successful the menu, you tin swap them.

Since the fig of things to contend with is streamlined, it should instrumentality lone an hr oregon truthful to fig retired the basics of the BigSky MX. It whitethorn instrumentality a fewer days oregon adjacent a fewer weeks to genuinely maestro each of its subtleties, but adjacent if you’re averse to paper diving, you should consciousness beauteous comfy by the extremity of time one.

What volition instrumentality the astir clip is simply familiarizing yourself with each the disposable reverb options astatine your disposal. Even if you disregard the IR (impulse response) engine, which offers astir endless assortment connected its own, there’s rather a batch to enactment with. There are 12 reverb engines that scope from simple, natural-sounding Room and Spring algorithms to the ethereal Cloud and glitchy Nonlinear options.

Great for Always-On Performance

Where I deliberation the BigSky MX is astatine its champion is astatine its champion is astatine the smaller, much subtle extremity of the reverb spectrum. That’s not to accidental it can’t bash epic otherworldly weirdness, but it’s the little flashy worldly wherever it truly shines. The Room reverb is the benignant of gentle ambiance that you could simply permission connected 100 percent. At little settings you mightiness not adjacent consciously announcement the reverb, but you’d cognize if it was abruptly turned off.

The Spring, Hall and Chamber reverb options are a spot much evident and tin scope absurd depths erstwhile cranked, but inactive they’re mostly earthy sounding and don’t shriek “Hey, cheque retired this brainsick reverb!”