strymon BigSky MX Multi Reverb Pedal User Guide

: June 1, 2024
: strymon

Table of Contents

strymon BigSky MX Multi Reverb Pedal
Product Information
Product Usage Instructions
REVERB TYPES

strymon BigSky MX Multi Reverb Pedal

Product Information

Specifications

Reverb Types: Impulse, Spring, Plate, Chamber, Hall, Room,
Cloud, Shimmer, Bloom, Chorale, Magneto, Nonlinear
Controls: TYPE knob, VALUE knob
Designed and built in the USA

Product Usage Instructions

Reverb Types

The product offers various reverb types including Impulse, Spring, Plate, Chamber, Hall, Room, Cloud, Shimmer, Bloom, Chorale, Magneto, and Nonlinear. Each type provides unique characteristics suited for different applications.

Controls

TYPE: Turn to select a reverb type. Push to choose Dual mode and select Reverb 1 or 2 for editing. Hold to enter the Save screen to rename and save the preset.
VALUE: From the Home screen, turn to select one of the 300 preset locations. Push to enter the PARAMETER menu.
Hold for 1 second to return to the Home screen. Hold for 3 seconds to enter the GLOBAL SETTINGS menu.

Using the Reverb Types

Each reverb type offers distinct characteristics:

Impulse: Utilizes Impulse Response (IR) files for recreating recorded spaces.
Spring: Provides customizable spring reflections of vintage combo amps.
Plate: Creates fast-building depth without early reflection cues.
Chamber: Offers dense medium room-sized reverberation with focus and clarity.
Hall: Features diffused reflections and versatile reverb density.
Room: Creates intimate environments with adjustable damping and scattering effects.
Cloud: Offers spacious ambient reverb with modern processing power.
Shimmer: Adds pitch-shifted tones for unearthly ambience.
Bloom: Provides slowly building ambient sounds that blend with the dry signal.
Chorale: Accompanies your music with customizable vocal choir effects.
Magneto: Offers multi-head magnetic media delay effects.
Nonlinear: Provides physics-defying reverb shapes for unique textures and effects.

REVERB TYPES

IMPULSE This convolution reverb utilizes Impulse Response (IR) files to create mathematically perfect recreations of recorded spaces. BigSky MX includes a collection of IRs, selectable from the PARAMETER menu. Importing your custom reverb IRs is also possible using the free Nixie 2 app.
SPRING Achieve the spring reflections of vintage combo amps and beyond with complete customization, from warm and mellow to splashy and dripping, with TONE, MIX, and DWELL options and a selectable number of SPRINGS.
PLATE A rich, fast-building reverb that creates depth without early reflection cues to a specific environment. Plate reverbs are suitable for any instrument, vocal, or percussion to augment the soundscape.
CHAMBER A generous and dense medium room-sized reverberation with excellent focus and clarity. Selectable tone options capture the effect of speakers and mics used in the chamber recording process.
HALL Diffused reflections and slower-building density are the hallmarks of this beautiful and versatile reverb. The CONCERT size is well-balanced, spacious, and warm, while the ARENA size is huge, enveloping, and booming.
ROOM A versatile room algorithm that creates intimate environments ranging from tuned studio ambience to larger nightclub acoustics. The TONE knob, DIFFUSION, and LOW END parameters adjust damping and scattering effects.
CLOUD A gorgeously spacious, ambient reverb that draws from late ’70s techniques but with modern processing power unheard of in those days. CLOUD obscures the distinction between reality and fantasy. Use ENSEMBLE to generate a harmonically rich pad reminiscent of a string section.
SHIMMER Two tunable voices add pitch-shifted tones for a resplendent, unearthly ambience. Select the FEEDBACK parameter’s Input shift, Regenerative shift, or Both for the ultimate shift experience.
BLOOM A classic ‘90s style reverb with a slowly building envelope that “blooms,” resulting in big ambient sounds that sit nicely with the dry signal even at high MIX settings. Use HARMONICS to add a layer of synth pad overtones.
CHORALE A vocal choir accompanies your music. Choose vowel ranges, intensity, and add a synthesized voice to customize the choir as it sings in venues that vary with the DECAY knob.
MAGNETO A classic multi-head, magnetic media delay (up to six heads) for simple slap-back to complex Ping-Pong delay effects. DECAY sets repeat times, and PRE-DELAY adds feedback from the last head, while the DIFFUSION parameter blurs the line between delay and reverb.
NONLINEAR Various physics-defying reverb shapes are available for special effects and unique textures. Choose from three “backward” shapes, add CHOP for tremolo, employ a GATE for abrupt cutoff, and more. A vast array of time-warping possibilities await your exploration.

CONTROLS

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TYPE
Turn to select a reverb type. Push to choose the Dual mode and select Reverb 1 or 2 for editing—the brighter LED indicates the reverb selected for editing (see DUAL MODES). Hold to enter the Save screen to rename and save the preset.
VALUE
From the Home screen, turn to select one of the 300 preset locations. Push to enter the PARAMETER menu. Hold for 1 second to return to the Home screen. Hold for 3 seconds to enter the GLOBAL SETTINGS menu.
DECAY
Controls the decay time of the reverberated signal. The range depends on the selected reverb type. For the Magneto and Nonlinear types, this knob controls the delay time.
PRE-DELAY
Adjusts the time between the dry signal and the onset of the reverb, from 0 to 1.5 seconds. For the Magneto and Nonlinear types, this knob controls the amount of feedback.
TONE
Adjusts the high-end content of the reverb. Lower settings create darker, warmer reverberation—higher settings are bright and crisp. Set at 12 o’clock for a nicely balanced top end.
MOD
Adds modulation to the reverberated signal. Modulation is off at minimum. Lower settings provide a subtle and natural movement. Higher settings tastefully add stronger modulation.
PARAM 1 / PARAM 2
Assignable for the current reverb type. To assign, push the VALUE encoder, choose the desired parameter from the menu, and hold VALUE while turning the PARAM 1 / PARAM 2 knob.
MIX
Controls the balance of your analog dry and wet signal, from 100% dry at minimum to 100% wet at maximum. 50/50 mix occurs when the MIX knob is set to 3 o’clock.
FOOTSWITCHES
Press A or B to engage or bypass the current bank’s preset. Press A & B to select a lower bank. Press B & INFINITE to select a higher bank. Hold INFINITE for Infinite Sustain or Freeze (configurable via the PARAMETER menu).
Optionally, set the FS MODE Global Setting to DUAL to configure footswitches A and B to independently enable/bypass Reverbs 1 and 2.

DISPLAY & DUAL MODES

DISPLAY
The high-contrast OLED Display offers bright, clear views for simplified preset navigation and editing. Use the Global Settings to adjust the display brightness and customize screens to best suit your environment and desired workflow.

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DUAL MODES
Dual modes allow the simultaneous use of any two reverb types for even grander ambience. Each reverb remains fully editable, with several routing options offered for subtle blends to dramatic soundscapes. Dual modes are accessed simply by pushing the TYPE encoder:

When Reverb 2 is off – Push TYPE to select between “RV2 OFF” and the various Dual mode signal routing options.
When Reverb 2 is enabled – Push TYPE to select between Reverb 1 and 2 to allow editing of the reverb’s knobs and parameters. Push TYPE again to select the routing mode option, then turn TYPE to choose the preferred Dual mode routing.

Dual Mode Options

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PRESET EDITING & SAVING

PRESET EDITING

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Push the VALUE encoder to access the PARAM menu, turn VALUE to select a parameter, then push VALUE again to choose its options. Each reverb type offers several unique parameters which are stored per preset. Shared parameters, indicated with the “1+2” symbol, are applied to both Reverb 1 and 2 of the current preset when in Dual mode. See the User Manual for the full parameter list.

Customize Infinite or Freeze – Configure the INFINITE parameter to set the INFINITE footswitch to perform either Infinite sustain or Freeze of the reverb.
Setup an Expression Pedal – Select EXP SETUP to assign one or multiple knobs for expression pedal control and customize the Heel and Toe values.
Expand your Stereo Image – Select PAN to adjust the Left-Right balance of the reverb—or independently for each of the Dual reverbs—to modify the width of the stereo spread.
Shape and Level – Utilize LOW END, OUTPUT LEVEL, and BOOST options to fine-tune presets for the perfect mix.
Copy Settings From Another Preset – Select COPY FROM and choose any existing preset to import its parameter settings and expedite preset creation.

PRESET SAVING

Hold the TYPE encoder to enter the Save screen:

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To save to the current preset location – Push and release TYPE.
To save to a different location – Turn VALUE to select any preset location, then push and release TYPE.
To rename the preset – Turn TYPE to move the edit cursor to underline a name character, then turn VALUE to edit.

GLOBAL EDITING

Hold VALUE for 3 seconds to access the GLOBAL menu, turn VALUE to select a setting, then push VALUE to choose its options. Global Settings affect BigSky MX regardless of the active preset, allowing optimization for various setups and workflows.

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Select a CAB FILTER for optional speaker emulation, employ SPILLOVER for seamless preset changes, configure the EXP jack and MIDI options to expand external control possibilities, and more. See the User Manual for the full Global Settings list.

CONNECTIONS

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LEFT & RIGHT IN
High impedance, ultra-low noise, discrete Class A JFET preamp inputs. Use LEFT IN for mono input. Add a RIGHT IN for stereo input. Use the GLOBAL SETTINGS menu – INPUT option to set the proper INPUT level.
LEFT & RIGHT OUT
Audio signal outputs. Connect to both the LEFT and RIGHT OUT for stereo output. Use the LEFT OUT for mono output. See the full User Manual for details.
USB
Connect to a computer for using the Nixie 2 app, MIDI control, and installing firmware updates.
EXP
Multifunction communication jack for external control of BigSky MX’s features and functions. Use a standard TRS expression pedal for continuous control of BigSky MX’s knobs, or use the Global Settings – EXP MODE options to configure the jack for MIDI communication or accessories, such as Strymon MultiSwitch and MultiSwitch Plus. See the full User Manual for details.
MIDI IN & OUT
Full-featured MIDI input and output supporting MIDI CCs for parameter control, Program Changes for preset changes, and more. See the full User Manual for details.
9VDC
Use a power adapter with a rating of 9VDC, center-negative, and 500mA minimum (sold separately).