Are Strymon for Real? Can the Strymon Big Sky MX REALLY be worth £699?

[@justarthur1788]

The thing to remember is that while companies keep adjusting for inflation the vast majority of people's wages haven't been. So realistically we have all actually taken a pay cut. If your income is unchanged but a pedal (or any goods) costs more, it amounts to more of your income, a bigger piece of the pie so to speak. So the products feel more expensive because to the vast majority whose wages don't follow inflation they are more expensive.

[@nuthinbutlove]

Exactly. If wages had kept up I'd be inclined to purchase. Sadly being they haven't, I'm not.

[@JCroozy]

It's never to late to go back to your old Boss pedals. They still love you. 😅

[@jaspersquire5931]

MercuryX is its main competitor. Also allows 2 reverbs and delay. I bought the original Big Sky and primarily used its shimmer, cloud for ambient music. Now I run a GFI Skylar as it sounds a lot better than the now decade-old Big Sky. I might consider this or a MercuryX.

[@johnnylayton1672]

IMHO this pedal is pointed at the worship music crowd & I think its success will be a useful data point for that genre's current health -- hence the musical flavor of your excellent demo here. I think especially for its ethereal sounds it will do great especially as the current state of the world is promoting the "counterbalancing" of if only brief imaginary escapes as respite before facing reality once again -- and no doubt dreaming is unquestionably vital for one to be fully human.

[@johnnathancordy]

That and also I think there's a big use of Strymon gear in the soundtrack community?

[@trebleboost7]

@@johnnathancordy Probably so, as an insert on a mix-bus. Interesting observation. Even when a lot of reverb is probably applied in the box. But even their, they have the plug-in.

[@basiltiffani8850]

Inflation simply doesn't work the way most of youtube creators talk about it. They talk about prices like they magically rise equally across the board, but that's not the case. You also have manufacturers who take opportunities to price gouge and who knows when that's happening or not. As consumers you should always be skeptical of pricing, never just take it at face value that cost increasing are warranted and jusitifed.

[@nuthinbutlove]

This

[@michael_caz_nyc]

Still got my original Big Sky. It's an instrument-unto-itself. I get Lost-in-Music when I use it. (mostly for strings, pads, keyboard & synth parts on guitar). JNC - always enjoy your phenomenal playing. oNe LovE from NYC

[@Jimmy4Thumbs]

Had one. Never used its advanced features, and $680 use just too much of my guitar budget to have tied up in one pedal. Sold it for $90 less than I paid for it and bought an open box Walrus R1 and two drive pedals, and still had money in the bank. YMMV

[@mr.bluenotedoobop]

I love Strymon stuff, nobody denies they make the best reverb pedals around, but who is actually going to use all the features packed into this thing?

[@wessmitheal3936]

So it's not so much "we put tons of ingredients in this kitchen so you better make every dish you can think of" but rather "we stocked enough ingredients in this kitchen that it's almost guaranteed you'll be able to make your favorite meal exactly how you like it. And when your favorite meal changes to something else, you'll be able to make that too." The point of these kinds of "do everything" or "[effect] creation lab" type of pedals is not for any one player to use all its features, but instead they're built to be feature complete and flexible enough that any player can dial in a couple of sounds that are very specifically exactly what they want.

[@DrinkResponsively]

Just tonight I bought my first Reverb pedal. Would have been nice to have bought a big sky. I had chosen the walrus sloer "black version". And honestly what I paid for it is still expensive. While the walrus pedal, may or may not be the 100% best reverb pedal on the market.... I feel like it's still in the top tier list. And half the price. Also guitar is just a hobby for me. And I'm more than excited for what I did purchase.

[@netzarim1277]

I think their sales could increase if they retire the old big sky and lower the price of this new version for $525. This works as long as the older unit still sells at a decent rate.

[@nuthinbutlove]

🙌

[@nickgriffis3405]

I think the fact that the original strymon big sky was absolutely worth it at 479 for a lot of us, if the premise of "two alogorithms" is appealing or creatively inspiring to you, its basically two for the price of 700, which is "worth it" if you want to be able to stack reverbs with one pedal. If you use a lot of reverb live, strymon has some of the best tuning on their stuff as well.

[@trebleboost7]

Word on the street is the sonics are improved a bit too, but I'd bet it's splitting hairs in the live environment.

[@nickgriffis3405]

@@trebleboost7 yeah agreed. I have listened to demo's, and I can't tell a difference, and I am a reverb snob. I bet for 90% of people, it'll just be a double big sky with no significant improvement

[@trebleboost7]

When I was at Guitarfest (Sweetwater) this summer, I got talked into the Pog III - since didn't really have anything along that lines. But sometimes I think for the money it would have been more fun to purchase this or the Mercury X which I originally had on my short-list. Do have the Cloudburst already and it is a stallar pedal and I do love the Ensemble - for keys as well. Works almost better than a pad layer.

[@HArtDrawing]

It’s expensive for sure, but I agree with the idea that if you tried to build a board of reverbs that could do everything this could do the cost would be around the same, if not more than this, (and I’m sure that if we’re being honest a lot of guitarists have already spent about that much on different reverbs already, and they probably don’t add up to the functionality of this). So I personally feel like it’s worth the money for everything it offers, but at the same time I just don’t need everything it offers. There are so many features I’d never use, and parameters I’d never look into, that it’s clearly not the right pedal for me. I feel like a lot of guitarists are in the same boat, where your reverb needs can be entirely fulfilled by a different and much cheaper reverb pedal. If I was gonna buy a Strymon reverb I’d probably just go with the cloudburst instead.

[@mikeward1721]

I’d struggle to ever prioritise buying a reverb pedal in general mainly because it’s generally on the amp and dial most of it off. Despite saying all that, this sounds seriously nice

[@willgoodfellow3144]

Source Audio Collider (which I've got) allows for 2 reverbs at the same time or a reverb and delay or 2 delays. The quality might not be as good as the Strymon but it's half the price.

[@jamesnichols5998]

I got the Ventris. Both are epic and have crazy small footprints for what they do

[@martiboucat]

Wow! I thought it was just reverb+delay. So the Collider "can be" a Ventris or a Nemesis? The algorithms are the same?

[@jamesnichols5998]

@@martiboucat yes. The collider uses algorithms from both the ventris and nemesis. It's an epic pedal and you should buy one

[@worthmoremusic]

The MX is a beautiful pedal...just too expensive for me. I have the original BigSky plugin.....love it !

[@ThePlanarchist]

They sound lovely obviously......my only Strymon is the Cloudburst which is perfect on a couple of ambient-ish songs but otherwise doesn't get a lot of use. How do the Fractal reverbs and delays stack up against this? For the same price you could be getting a VP4 in a short time which also does other stuff?

[@duarteestelita7257]

Yes!.... i was gonna ask the same thing. For live gigs, unless a guy is playing a stadium, or arena..and when that happens it is NOT you, yourself, that buys the pedal..... I believe one should even get by with sth even cheaper than the VL4.. I'm curious to know your opinion on , yes, the new Fractal, VS the 'old' HX Stomp...VS even a Mooer P2, for eg. 1. Are Fractal's Delays and Reverb richer, and more nuanced, for a guy into atmospheric and ambience stuff, than Line 6's ? 2. How do cheaper options hold ? Thanks very much

[@cerebralsoundslive]

My one gripe/point of confusion is the lack of tap tempo or midi clock for things like magneto (the delay) or the trem style/lfo effects in the trails. I feel like this really could serve as an all-in-one reverb/delay solution if that were a feature

[@markconger8049]

I am still learning guitar (at 57!) or I’d buy one in a second. Think of the ambient music one can make with this.

[@snivleflips]

Just picked up the mx as new for £450 on eBay… so there’s hope for us all… glad I didn’t spent £700…

[@chrisjs6123]

40 ish year old men spend a lot on their hobbies. Boats, jiu jitsu classes, smoking meat, restoring cars. Compared to that, buying pedals and guitars isn’t that expensive. There’s enough of these guys plus the serious worship guys and the occasional pro who really “needs” the sound for a decent business model for strymon. Whether or not it’s worth it is a different question. I don’t judge I used to buy every new pedal going until I realised all I need is a tele into a Princeton to be happy. I still spend a fortune on jiu jitsu classes and trt though.

[@rogb3199]

I just got back from the golf range and my buddy hit my 7 wood. He immediately went in the shop and bought one. £250 impulse buy. I didn't tell him I spent nearly £400 at GigRig yesterday 😂. Old geezers... live for today

[@jermundargardsvik5122]

First! 😂 Yes, it's worth it..

[@tiomkinnyborg2289]

All these expensive devices. Does anyone honestly listen to a song and say 'Wow. I can hear [xxxxx] reverb. Much better than [yyyyy] reverb'? Or that distortion sounds like it is worth $1000, much better than the others I've heard that sound similar. Listeners hear a tune/music. Then they might ID the guitar type and amp style. Most will get it wrong but the guitarist will be happy they spent a fortune on expensive kit. A fool and his money.... Keep the vids coming JC, they are very entertaining.

[@jimandcathep9915]

Short answer - no. The audience doesn't care or know that you're even using reverb. And most of the time isn't listening anyway ! You could practically get a an FM3 or the new VP4 for the price of this reverb that can sound identical to this, plus all the other effects.

[@meljohnson5579]

Beautiful 😊

[@playmoreguitar5393]

No ways.. im over it. Over a lot of gear and I have plenty.

[@ShreddingFinn]

Ehh, doesn't move the needle. Plenty of cheaper options available that will get you 100% there in a live environment. I would go buy the plugin if I needed it for a studio use. I can also get through a gig with a pocket pod, and it doesn't cost 800 dollars

[@basvredeling]

I don't think the Empress reverb runs two reverbs simultaneously. Having the Impulse loader on the MX looks terribly useful. But then again, I'm not a gigging musician. So it's a lot of money for the novelty of something that probably gets lost on a stage anyway.

[@johnnathancordy]

Was that the Echo system that does two delays that I've misremembered?

[@basvredeling]

@@johnnathancordy Yes, indeed, the Echo System does two algorithms at a time. I own both. They sound great. I've been hoping Empress will release an updated Reverb with the same functionality (and a small screen).

[@LysanderLH]

I can visit any car dealer and negotiate better prices, discounted accessories etc etc and save thousands off MSRP. Paying MSRP ended long ago, so why not do the same at guitar shops?

[@TheGgreen100]

I know it's not the focus of the video, but man how are you getting that core clean tone with a strat neck pickup? When you dig in, your guitar has an attack that makes it sound like it's got a piezo in it.

[@picksalot1]

The Designers and Curators of Strymon Pedals have obviously done a great job and presenting beautiful sounds that musicians love. I think that's what people are paying for, not cutting edge technology or parts. It appears they've also made products with good designs and interfaces that are easy to use. Kudos for them for being so successful and understanding that many musicians look for instant gratification in pedals. In the world of Modelers, John has shown that similar results can be achieved on units like the HX Stomp, but you have to work for it. That includes discerning how the sound was probably created and now to reconstruct it on a different piece of gear. The number of guitarists that have the skill, time, perseverance, and motivation to do so is probably relatively small. Multiple Delays in the HX Stomp is easy. 😎

[@Arby82]

I'm a happy owner of this pedal - it's lovely. But let's face facts. When you're on a gig, if you're playing cover tunes for people that want to drink and dance, it's like bringing a shotgun to a knife fight. No one will hear the difference, or care. I've been so focused on gigging for the last few months, I haven't even plugged into the Big Sky MX. I can't wait to get back to it and make music with it, but the likelihood that it will be on my gigging board is practically nil.

[@yacreader]

I can’t listen to anything you say, all I can do is watching plastics and imagining I peel them off

[@johnnathancordy]

It's a loaner, I can't peel this thing bro

[@yacreader]

@@johnnathancordy you have them in your Helix too ¬¬

[@Adventuresingearland]

@@yacreaderI still have the plastic on the screen of the BigSky I got in 2017. “Still got the tagger on it.”

[@Lorneplumber]

I still have all The Plastic on my dx200 from 1999

[@89digits59]

Is it worth £699 is subjective - for a person who can afford it, and it does not bother him/her to spend so much on reverb - sure it's worth it - for the Average Joe who gigs a bit - does not probably need this for his bread-and-butter gigs - yeah it's nice to play those dreamy chords once in a while - but sooner or later we need to wake up - as life is not dreamy chords - its Rock and Roll power chords 🙂

[@trebleboost7]

A great all-around bread and butter pedal is the Source Audio Collider. It has some ambient flavours with the BigDome reverb and you can stack and combine reverbs and delays. It is also easy to set up and use and is analog dry through. Is it going to sound as rich? Probably not, but I have the Cloudburst to cover that when I need it.

[@89digits59]

@@trebleboost7 I'm Ok with the Reverbs and Delays in the Helix Stomp, that's actually all that one needs.

[@trebleboost7]

@@89digits59the updated ones are fantastic! I use with my nylon string and very happy.

[@heymrguitarman7637]

I don't have an issue with the price as buying it is optional. I'm not the biggest Strymon fan as I find them elite level priced for mid level quality. I rate eventide and Meris as far superior (relative). But units like the HX stomp and The new fractal unit are not comparable in my opinion.

[@JasonT-xp3kh]

You'd have to be a head trauma patient to pay $700 for reverb in this day and age. This thing just looks like a relic of the "before times". This thing is for worship bands and "professional" gear collectors/cork sniffers. The rest of us should know better.

[@Tigermaster1986]

I honestly can't see myself paying so much for one pedal that costs more than my guitars and my bass combined. Plus, I don't really like caking my tone in reverb.

[@gavinwalters8749]

What wireless guitar system are you using?

[@keithb5612]

Stacking more affordable Reverb pedals? Stacking x3 would in many cases be cheaper.

[@johnnathancordy]

Or 6 ha

[@keithb5612]

​@@johnnathancordy6?? I now need to buy 3 more Reverb pedals. Thank you JC❤

[@chrisdaviesguitar]

Sweet

[@yoshowa]

I’ll keep commenting this for all of these price videos, technology should get cheaper over time. In 2011 I could purchase a Mac mini for 699$, now with the m4 chip more ram a better graphics and sound card the Mac mini is 599$, 549$ on sale at certain retailers in the USA right now, we are being taxed for being musicians. Tonex is doing it right, line 6 is right there with them, but I think strymon is price gouging.

[@michaelogden5093]

Demos: I go straight to the price. If the price fits me, I watch the demo.

[@JBStreeter]

I still refer back to your HX Stomp - Strymon tones videos and could never justify paying that much for one pedal. It logically makes 0 sense to not at least buy a Stomp before forking out that much cash

[@nfsforever1989]

Honestly, I would take it for free just to sell it later. It's a good thing, but for most, the functionality is too big. Personally, Flint is enough for me.

[@marcushudson2911]

The two algorithms at a time don't move the needle when Boss 500 pedals have done that for years, are still solid enough, and are cheaper.

[@johnnathancordy]

I dunno that of the Boss algorithms I've tried in all their modelers necessarily get in the same kind of stratosphere as the atmospheric strymon stuff though?

[@marcushudson2911]

@@johnnathancordy Definitely not as atmospheric straight out of the box. But does the difference put the strymon stuff that far ahead? For some, I'd say it does. But for the majority, probably not. The other stuff inside the 500 pedals (assignable LFO, EQ flexibility) makes a huge difference though. It is very menu "divey", so that is a put off for some I guess.

[@adamalexanderray]

Too much money for me to even consider. A Boss RV-6 and a DD-8 (or equivalent) is a much more reasonable option.

[@jessenicholson1777]

You want to say “no was would I spend this much on a reverb pedal” and then you hear it and suddenly you’re justifying spending this much on a reverb pedal.

[@CharlesStratton-oi8ef]

Thank you for ditching the Silver Sky. Love the lighting

[@Watchdog_UFOtestpilot]

Strymon makes really awesome pedals, with great tones, that are designed and manufactured in the USA. Whether or not that is of “value” is a personal decision. I have a board with nothing but Strymon pedals on it and I love it. I could have saved a big chunk of cash and bought other stuff that is perfectly fine, but I chose to support Strymon for “big picture” reasons.

[@trebleboost7]

Volante and Cloudburst for me at the moment and I love them both.

[@Watchdog_UFOtestpilot]

@@trebleboost7 Currently running Compadre>Sunset>TimeLine>DIG>BigSkyMX>Flint>Iridium. On the fence with either Mobius or Ola for the last bit of real estate on the board though I rarely run modulation. I keep my volume and tuner off the board.

[@trebleboost7]

@@Watchdog_UFOtestpilotMobius is very cool. I decided on Wampler Terraform for modulation and for my use case it works fine. Not as deep though.

[@veciroker]

You are not crazy

[@isitreallyisitreally1756]

short answer .... er no

[@johnnathancordy]

Long answer...for me....Still not quite

[@rogb3199]

Overpriced. Great if you really need ambient swooshing controlled by MIDI though

[@peterjessop1878]

It probably is overpriced compared to the market, but Strymon do command a premium which personally I have never understood. I would put Meris and Empress above them.

[@theouterplanet]

My wife divorced me because she didn’t approve of my Reverb.

[@justarthur1788]

Hey John, I just saw this video about amp sims and input gain - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXuYapttrcupmqs - might be a good time to revisit the topic? Interesting anyway.

[@alangemmell5398]

NO.

[@Gibson1976uk]

700 is silly

[@hartlee1160]

Strymon cant explain why these deserve that much money. They dont have to because Musicians are silly Capitalism baby!! Get rich Strymon! You know youd still make money and sell more if that pedal was 300 bucks!!!! I still wont buy it but 😂

[@dnottis]

if these worship guys would just stop buying these overpriced reverbs...

[@1111undici1111]

Nah, waaay too expensive.