Strymon Nightsky Time-warped Reverberator - Sonic LAB Review

‪@strymon‬ is a brand synonymous with lush expansive reverb algorithms as well as other time-based algorithms and the latest pedal - Nightsky Timewarped-Reverb, does not veer from the path.
It’s in a fetching blue chassis - think Modal Cobalt8 blue and you’d be on the right track, it has:
3 algorithms - Sparse (granular), dense - plate and diffuse - a more complex modulated space
Plus a shimmer and glimer section, drive, filtering and an LFO/envelope.
More examples on our / sonicstate page
#soniclab
#strymon #nightsky
00:00 intro sounds
01:21 Introduction and features
05:46 Algorithms sparse and dense
08:20 Filter
09:08 Shimmer and glimmer
09:57 Drive
10:59 LFO and infinite
13:11 diffuse algorithm
15:24 Morph and examples
18:50 rear connections
19:06 Expression pedal
21:51 Sequencer and MIDI input
26:03 Envelope
27:20 summary
28:26 playout
Frozen Reverbs Racks for Live: bit.ly/freezemachines
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[@lordundhimself1310]

Need more pedal demos from the synth perspective. You guys are awesome

[@Duskmos]

Shameless self promotion but that's what I do on my channel! Check it out if you feel like it ;)

[@lordundhimself1310]

@@Duskmos Dude that’s awesome. SUBSCRIBED. Notification bell: ACTIVATED.

[@Duskmos]

@@lordundhimself1310 Haha thank you! I love sonicstate, so not trying to poach - only trying to help the community learn about some of these amazing devices. =)

[@dalelaushman8749]

Thanks! great walk thru!!! I wish Strymon would create a multi-FX rack unit!

[@TwitterAR3]

How The F*** does this channel NOT HAVE a million subs?

[@Barefoot_Joe]

Because it's an old channel with old followers, they arent gaming youtube, just making quality content for over twenty years. I was watching SonicState videos long before youtube existed.

[@joeyfloress1131]

This paired with a monosynth will inspire a new generation of cinematic composers I’m sure. Very reminiscent of Tron and Bladrunner!

[@kingtrance307]

This paired with the Cobalt sounds very cinematic and ethereal.

[@expandingknowledge8269]

Nick, I always look forward to your comprehensive evaluations on equipment, Fantastic presentation! 🎹 🎶 😎

[@alexallredmusic]

I was already going to buy this pedal. This is the affirmation I didn't even need. This might be the ultimate synth pedal.

[@Hummelsbusch]

This is the kind of sound, where I usually get cross-eyed and zone out. Beautiful!

[@thomasfokas]

I’m a guitar player but this is a fantastic review and it shows off a lot of features that other reviewer‘s don’t show.

[@RichardGroulx]

Definitely the ultimate blue combo! BTW Nick, I love the new studio setup!

[@gurtana]

Wow, the Nightsky was powerful it was even modulating Nick's voice! Awesome kit.

[@RobertAdachi]

At one point in the beginning, it sounded like “Strymon’s nice guy” to my ears, haha. Thank you for the great review, Nick. Makes me want to add the nice guy to my production team.

[@nearcoincidental]

You got your shimmer, your glimmer and your Zimmer!

[@Nospoon777]

@ErsatzMoose then eat it for dinner!

[@7ofseven633]

I couldn’t think of another rhyme. I’m obviously dimmer

[@davebellamy4867]

When you buy it, your bank balance will be slimmer.

[@DierenBrigade]

@@davebellamy4867 and thinner 😂

[@vvhalefccd]

I tested this on my lunch break at a music store and was really impressed. After work I'll go pick it up to use with my Argon8x :)

[@consciouscoma85]

that's what i love about this little box ....its a synth for all and any electronic /electric or amplified acoustic instruments. its makes things trippy.

[@bonbondolly]

Instant 'Bladerunner-meets-Faithless-Bruno Benassi' epicy!! Thanks for this great review!

[@bassplayerfunk]

Just ordered mine, hopefully it’ll be in my mits this afternoon, can’t wait to run me Subsequent 37 cv through it 😁

[@josephbutler8772]

Beautiful intro!

[@mmhcreates]

10:10 "that's nice". Indeed it is. Thank for you sharing.

[@t4ttyt3ddyr0ck3r]

I've never wanted to spend over £400 on a pedal before. But damn Nick you have made me reconsider that stance for this beautiful thing! Also when you say it is like a synth in terms of playability, it highlights to me how it is actually the filters and FX section of synths that make them stand out. As you said, feed any Oscillator into this thing and it sounds amazing

[@muzikman2008]

Awesome.. Love my big sky & timeline.

[@Psychlist1972]

Nice review, Nick.

[@mbilca]

This is the first piece of gear to make me think I could live without my Lex 224 if I absolutely had to. It's probably been said before, but this is deep Blade Runner territory... Excellent piece of gear, excellent review, as always. Thanks Nick!

[@tablaninja]

Oh damn. Yeah, this review has sold me! Now what can I sell in order to get one! Just lovely. Wow

[@jm6734]

You can stick any mediocre synth through it and you’ve got cinematic ambient bliss in a wiff :D Thanks for the vid. Your gear reviews are the best. The only reason manufacturers prioritise those deadline riders are cause they’re spineless aggregators spewing it out -everything is great.

[@davebellamy4867]

8:48. Epic length ... on the reverb. The reverb unit has become the synthesizer effectively.

[@josephfelice601]

was going to write this one off, but Nick really know how to open up the multiverse in everything!

[@Twinthumps]

Excellent just bought one

[@broklee]

Nick's laugh @ 7:36 is priceless

[@mike_qbik]

Lovely. With Nicks touch its super must buy sexual tempting cant live without box. 7:36 says it all ) You know what, I am buying it, its just lovely and superbly presented. As always. Now , thanks to Gaz, the Volante has my attention too... and I thought my H9 can do it all. The hands on control just beats me to it ... nice review

[@theaudioeng]

Excellent review Nick (as is always the case!). Would love this for the synth rack, but as you point out, usual Strymon premium £... maybe if Santa wears a mask / gets priority vaccination jab, he'll deliver the goods this year!! 😁👍🎹🎶🍻

[@simonfenn3791]

Best review of this unit by far. This is a stomp box for synth heads, not even a shoegazer would have this on the floor. Do I need it? NO, but I sure as hell want it.

[@Gainn]

It does seem more aimed at electron pushers. A lot of the guitar players I know are kinda meh about it.

[@fortheloveofnoise9298]

I want this but already have the BigSky...that would just be overkill....or no?

[@Gainn]

@@fortheloveofnoise9298 My inner GAS monster said buy one. Not had it long, but so far no regrets. I have a BigSky too and they're very different beasts. The BigSky is that finishing touch that makes things just sound right.. The NightSky is a creative/performance tool. Also fun. Which is great.

[@RandomNoise]

Amazing

[@blipblip88]

I was really hoping he was going to play that 5 note sequence from Close Encounters of the Third Kind...ah well. Thanks. Nice review.

[@martinofenzi858]

this rev make justice to this wonderfull EFX.

[@Temporalmixproductions]

Nick got his hands on some reverb again!

[@brianreilly6545]

Sold, thx!

[@regplasma7906]

Fab demo Nick.Hope your throat clears up .Reg Plasma

[@Stadsjaap]

This thing is like one giant sweet spot.

[@Haegen1]

This is the best review of the Nightsky I‘ve seen so far (I‘ve seen a bunch).

[@BURG]

19:21 \m/

[@Jason75913]

lol

[@Sunflowrrunner]

I really want to play an electric piano though this thing.

[@davebellamy4867]

14:48 Bring on the Close Encounters spaceship.

[@CaptainProton1]

If Eventide had actually ported the H8000 Black Hole preset properly into the vst and pedal version there would be no need for this. Strymon have knocked this out of the park

[@fuenstock]

Does this have vst software editor like the bigsky and eventide space? I want a reverb pedal that I can control with my daw?

[@rahard]

I want one!

[@DaraM73]

Well, Nick. Pre-ordered the Cobalt X...so that’s one half of a video covered

[@Wagoo]

Congrats :D

[@simonfenn3791]

Good combination, simply all you need !

[@DaraM73]

@@Wagoo thanks Wagoo!

[@DaraM73]

@@simonfenn3791 ...and some whiskey.

[@simonfenn3791]

@@DaraM73 Cheers!

[@friendlynoise]

It is true stereo or both inputs are summed into mono signal for internal processing?

[@MichaelRohaly]

I'd like to have seen hotter levels go in to the Night Sky, because my Big Sky starts going flaky when it's overloading, which is not a lot of fun. If they put a clipping circuit in it could all be solved, but evidently they didn't bother there, and I don't know if they did on the Night Sky either.

[@RottenMechGaming]

Sold! Also the beard suits.

[@Goettel]

Strymon could at least have printed those hidden features on the unit.

[@rapfreak7797]

I don't know why Strymon won't just build a proper desktop/rackmount unit.

[@rdean150]

Yeah, a simple [Alt Function] label can go a looong way in making a device more usable. Frankly they took a step backwards by moving away from the screen of the Big Sky, but I'm guessing that decision reduced the price and necessary size significantly, which is good considering the already-hefty price tag.

[@Trottelheimer]

@A_ L_ M_ So have I. Even sent them some design ideas, since they seem to need it... :)) Would buy a Strymon multi FX with multi I/O for sure!

[@Trottelheimer]

@A_ L_ M_ I agree, simply doing rack version would also be fine. Do you hear, Strymon?

[@rdean150]

@@Trottelheimer Agreed. I've got more free rack space available than tabletop space at this point, too. And most of my Strymon usage is set-and-forget, which is perfect for rack mounting. This Night Sky may be an exception to that pattern, but if they could came out with 1u versions of the Big Sky, Timeline and Mobius I'd snatch them up without hesitation. Probably Deco and El Capistan, too, but that almost seems like 1u is way too big for those. I bet they could even fit a Big Sky + Timeline into a single 1u chassis if they kept all jacks in the back.

[@apislapis]

How I wish Nick had had a crack at the Strymon Volante when it came out, which is a similar form factor to the NightSky. It would be interesting to know if he felt that the Volante was like a synth too? Still there's always Friday Fun. Hint ;-)

[@farben_]

Quite liked that cascading effect 6:37 , Aphex Twin used a similar effect in AFX serge fenix Rendered 2 and quite a few other tracks, I can't remember the track where it sounds just like that.

[@KILLAGORILLA7000]

I believe you could be thinking of Fenix Funk 5 from the analogs series?

[@farben_]

@@KILLAGORILLA7000 Yeah that might have been it!

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

Nick stole my thoughts...yes..I think of this Nightsky as a synthesizer. A MicroBrute and Nightsky for $650.00 just might blow away a $2000.00 mono synth with sound the expensive synth could never make. Also highly tweakable for tweakers and modular live jams. 2020 is the year I have dedicated to effects programming adding to my subtractive and FM sound design skills...it has been a great year adding my own designed effects.

[@MrBothandNether]

Circuit monoStation & this pedal are all I have been playing for the last week, this pedal is an instrument in it's own right. - size pitch knob to be replaced with a bigger knob.

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

@@MrBothandNether Yes, it is certainly an extension of a synth. All ambient this week or are you trying all genre's?

[@ShakaLakaMTB]

8:26 WOOOOW!

[@mntlpics]

Yeah, my first out of body experience with it was when I paid that much for a reverb pedal. Then it showed up, I hooked it up to my Cobalt 8 and took off into ambient heaven for a few days. Now, I think it's under priced! That's a lot of cerebral stimuli for the money.

[@Jason75913]

badass

[@ruz8099]

still waiting for your album....

[@nested_King]

24:25 I can absolutely think of what to do with that!

[@gtralive-2024]

Thought I was tapping my foot to "2001 a space odyssey" for a sec!

[@tonywharton5220]

She will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine!

[@TheUnknownization]

Could you, please, let me know where you got that blue shelf (under the Nightsky)? Thank you!

[@sonicstate]

IKEA!

[@mjstecyk]

Some of the sounds remind me of the old Digitech XP300 Space Station, especially when you play with the interval settings. The XP series in general were pretty wacky and not very popular. This thing is obviously much more programmable and customization.

[@_Pinion]

Yet again, another excellent review by the Battman. Nightsky seems to be a must have!

[@LoVeAmBiEnT]

Hmm this or the big sky if you can do those huge epic reverbs (cloud etc) on this pedal then I'm getting this pedal...

[@astralboy]

what analog mixer would you recommend when using Send/ Fx say one for delay + reverb fx units ?

[@el_dani]

Anyone with two aux sends

[@ToyKeeper]

Strymon watched Toy Story a few too many times... "To infinity and beyond!" Start with an infinite reverb, and then add more. Infinity brought a "plus one" to the party.

[@TheJonHolstein]

Not sure why they didn't make it slightly bigger, and added some of those shift functions as dedicated functions, I thought this was supposed to be a more hands on and dedicated hardware. I hope they at least considers making a Controller-expander for it. The shift functions are available as midi CC, but it would be much nicer to have a matching partner to it rather than using a generic controller, and if a generic controller is used (in part) to control it, then software or other hardware with less hands on controls, could be used as well.

[@Kablehead]

That's what i always disliked about the Strymon pedals. Shift functions on a pedal should be prohibited by law. :)

[@infindebula]

All those secondary functions mapped to the reverb level knob makes this unit seem underdesigned. Recognizing that they are slightly lesser-used functions, perhaps they could have added a few smaller knobs to the panel, even if the whole unit had to be a bit bigger. If I bought this, I'd be putting little stickers on to remind me of all those shifted reverb knob functions. And if I used it in the studio I'd probably create a little programmer in Logic or Lemur to fully control all the settings. This is so close to being the coolest toy I've seen in a long time. It certainly sounds great. But for the price ... Strymon really should have done a better UI job. Christian Henson sums it up quite well in his review - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqu8hKhvhLmdp8U

[@Barefoot_Joe]

The control isn't backwards Nick, it's a Low CUT, not a Low PASS, so it should work that way around.

[@kentxx12]

I just have to mention it,Time warped Viberator :)

[@Radar23]

nice

[@qwe1231]

INXS "Don't Change" vibes at 11:45

[@Formal-DeHyde]

This is going to take multiple attempts to view completely. The pretty reverb trails are making me sleepy.

[@moondog297]

Any chance you could get one of these customise?

[@laurentluigi2461]

"We're getting Zimmer !!!" ....And Vangelis !!!! ;)

[@rafaelikenaga]

can you sync modulation speed to midi sync?

[@nitromeda]

Hasn't dropped in price yet ... mine arrives today for 459 Euros from the "Big T" (December '21) and I'm going to enjoy it with my baritone guitar 🥰

[@blueworm99]

How is it 1 month on? I'm back and forth between this or the Big Sky.

[@nitromeda]

@@blueworm99 sorry for the late reply! I returned it, but bought it used again 3 days ago. It has 'too many' features, but that is part of the fun! I never tried the big sky, so no comparison from me, sorry!

[@reginaldbraithewaite5833]

Nick: I'd love to know which reverb Nick the Reverb Connoisseur, meaning you, likes best sonically. I say that without sarcasm or any desire to offend. You *do* seem to have a special relationship with reverbs. When you said you weren't impressed with the Nightsky's sound until you got into using it, that made me wonder which reverb pedal stunned you the first time you heard it and keeps on stunning you. I have to wonder whether the Nightsky sounds full enough for you when you compare it to the Valhalla Shimmer, but say the Nightsky has more features and great hardware. Valhalla plugins sound fine, and the price is right, but they aren't the greatest reverbs I've ever heard. What's your favorite hardware reverb ever? I'll probably buy the Nightsky for its versatility, though. I grew up playing synths with a Lexicon PCM 70 routed to my mod wheel and pedal, so I was spoiled from the beginning re lushness and options. The Nightsky's most "limited" features and options sound fun and useful to me.

[@reginaldbraithewaite5833]

The main issue with the sequencer applied to the reverb is that you expect to hear tails from a reverb and the sequencer removes them. (We use reverb on sequences to avoid that!) What would make the reverb sequencer useful is if it were gloved in a second reverb. It would be great to have that in this pedal or a version of it, since we don't expect a reverb to need reverb. You could add reverb to the Nightsky's reverb sequences in the studio, but I wonder about live playing. A guitarist would have to have another portmanteau pedal like the Meris LVX, the Audio Lore, the H9, the Collider, the Specular Tempus or any other multiple effects pedal mounted on the pedalboard, and would definitely need a pedal switcher with multiple routing options. But a reverb (or diffuse delay) after the reverb sequencer could sound cool.

[@Barefoot_Joe]

I don't think they invented Shimmer, my Alesis quadraverb 2 had shimmer presets in 1994

[@spankenheim]

damn you Nick, I didn't even make it to the end of the review before I bought one.

[@LoVeAmBiEnT]

After having the nightsky. It seemed to always sound metallic. Just wasn’t “nice” enough. Or clean enough of that makes sense. I felt like it got in the way of the notes you were playing. Even the black hole sounds better on synths in my opinion . This Reverb just seem like there was too much tone in the Reverb if that makes sense Just my opinion I’ve tried and tried. I’ve sold it and bought one Again. Ended up disappointed again. lol. Sold it and bought the mercury x. Which is perfect. It’s so good.

[@kai-vd5485]

I can't reproduce what you are doing at minute 24: Playing notes on a ext. keyboard effects the "Size/Pitch". I'm trying hard, but the notes I play on my keyboard don't effect anything. I have the right MIDI-channel - but it just doesn't work - tried a factory reset - tried other MIDI-channels - no success! What am I doing wrong? And I can't even find this function mentioned in the manual! It's driving me crazy!

[@sonicstate]

Check the MIDI channels and also it only works on the lower octaves two down from middle C (I think)

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

I just purchased three Zoom MS70CDR effects pedals for the same price as one Nightsky. These Zoom pedals are incredible and with good programing make the best effects pedal for synthesizers you could ever imagine. The Zoom pedal allows you not only design each of your effects in a chain, but decide on the chain order..i.e....you make the algorithm too! So for all you starving artists (like me) there is an excellent alternative to the Nightsky, Bluesky and Eventide Space. Take the time to learn how to program the Zoom and you will be adding to your sound design skills of synthesizers with sound design skills of effects....and end up with the perfect effect for your synth sound design...and the Zoom effects sound fantastic.

[@sonicstate]

Fair point. Though not as good for live tweaking.

[@Goettel]

I love my Big Sky, but the Zoom is a great backup on anything. It can do much of what you'd expect any professional effects unit to do, with excellent sound quality. Programming it stand-alone is actually doable, it feel durable and sturdy and is priced to sell. But I still want a Nightsky ;-)

[@simonfenn3791]

Really good advise. I sometimes us an old Zoom bass effects pedal with my synths. There are definitely different solutions to consider to get the desired result. I would definitely go down the effects rabbit hole, rather than eurorack one.

[@lardosian]

Now theres an idea, need to buy a keyboard stand on thomann but was trying to think of something small to buy to kind of offset the delivery cost if ye know what I mean, cheers.

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

@@Goettel Yea, for those who have the budget, it looks to me a better device for synths than the BlueSky. Once you get the shift switching down, you should edit on the fly in just a minute on so.

[@chemicalBR0]

oooft this thing sounds lovely thomann have it priced at £369 that brings it into the realm of serious consideration for me

[@chemicalBR0]

@@malcolmgerald I would be using it with Synths not guitars so yeah I'd be using my hands

[@ampism]

But if you’re in the U.K, you need to add 20% vat to that.....Thomann’s prices are exclusive of vat. A Brxxit thing...

[@inter-linked]

I just bought one for the GR-1 & Soma Terra - I fear I may never leave the house again…

[@sonicstate]

Yeah it's something to stay in for

[@JGW-im3nf]

Can you save the sounds inside

[@suga4all]

Who needs a CS80...!

[@davebellamy4867]

15:14 Now that's great with those harmonics.

[@edmontontech2008]

I got this pedal cause there are just some things that my Zoia cant do.

[@michaely1377]

Mix knob moves by itself @ 14:09, I wont sleep for days.

[@TwitterAR3]

I thought I was just HIGH... LOL

[@christopherecatalano]

Ha ha jump cut edit...

[@Keysounds0]

Sadly premium is no longer $400-$500. Chase Bliss/Meris reverb pedal, CXM 1978( lexicon 224 “inspired”) runs for $900

[@kalubandali2241]

fuck paying 900 bucks for a pedal

[@davebellamy4867]

@@kalubandali2241 Right! The pedal has become the synthesizer now.

[@cardoman3986]

What a reverb...

[@davebellamy4867]

Sometimes I feel reversed out, like you can create any crappy sound in the cheapest synth and put in one of these things and make it epic. Then at 12:20- WOW.

[@Stadsjaap]

Shimmer + Glimmer = Zimmer. I'll see myself out.

[@danpreston564]

Is there anyone who doesn’t use those IKEA stands? Asks he sat on his bed with an Analog Rytm sat on the same Ikea stand.

[@Gainn]

People with 3D printers. Other than that.. Probably not.. 😁

[@basstradamus1]

"fast enough I suppose" :)

[@stevehagen8694]

hope loopop will check it, so we can really understand how it works… bad prepared Nick

[@g1rlchild]

Honestly, this totally sounds like a $429 instrument. This plus a cheap synth is going to sound way better than a nicer synth through an ordinary reverb.

[@simplestickman5513]

Dry sound sounds detached from wet signal.

[@ImplosiveCatt]

Valhalla