Is a Strymon BigSky an embarrassment in 2021?

[Hired Goon]

Essentially has it become a victim of it's own success, a cliche?

There's a VST soft-synth, I'm sure many of you are familiar with, called Nexus. A popular one in which you can hit a single note and instantanly be presented with a complex orchestral, evolving deep full spectrum sound trickling with reverb and delay. It's as if you'd stumbled upon a movie sound track. It's typically derided by more of the hardcore synthesists and written off as a noob plug.

Is Strymon in danger of following suit? I see some of these giant boards with 4 Strymons (and 3 Analogmans) and it's starting to get comical.

 

[lakersrock]

Not all music calls for one, but if it does, it does. I see no need to hate on whatever inspires someone while playing.

 

[hafizimran]

I dunno if it’s an embarrassment but I think the BigSky got too much right too early. I have tried most of the big boy reverbs (and still own the BigSky, Collider, H9) and I cannot say that any of them are substantially “better” than the BigSky. Sure, I prefer the sound of some other reverbs over the BigSky (e.g. the Mercury7) but until another pedal reverb comes along that’s substantially “better”, my bet is the BigSky will stay relevant.

 

[jm9239]

The answer is no. The Big Sky is phenomenal and a modern classic. Is the Analogman Sunface an embarrassment? How about the Timmy? Smh...

 

[Buck Woodson]

It's an embarrassment that no other reverb pedal is even in it's class.

 

[carl_in_vain]

 

[Jazzandmore]

Essentially has it become a victim of it's own success, a cliche?

There's a VST soft-synth, I'm sure many of you are familiar with, called Nexus. A popular one in which you can hit a single note and instantanly be presented with a complex orchestral, evolving deep full spectrum sound trickling with reverb and delay. It's as if you'd stumbled upon a movie sound track. It's typically derided by more of the hardcore synthesists and written off as a noob plug.

Is Strymon in danger of following suit? I see some of these giant boards with 4 Strymons (and 3 Analogmans) and it's starting to get comical.

If people use the pedals, why is the pedal an embarrassment? There are lots of (insert name of car here) on the road and mostly in White, Black, or Grey. Does that make the device an embarrassment?

 

[Hired Goon]

Perhaps it's not the pedals fault, just the way it's overused. More just the effect itself although Strymon seems to be the poster boy for it. It's so often on YT with a slow chord followed by the big washy sparkly sound. Cool the first time, ok the second, and by the third time it's become a caricature.

 

[IanRubbish]

People with boards full of Strymons and Anlogmans are living the dream. The sound quality they are rolling with is anything but an embarrassment. Just like Lexicons still sound amazing, so too will these 10 or 20 years from now.

 

[Tri Pedal Reviews]

I can't even show my face in public anymore having owned it.

 

[Hired Goon]

The sound quality is not the issue. The effect is. You'll recall how Cher's voice sounded cool with the autotune effect 20 years ago and the effect became trendy for awhile and gradually fell out of favor.

 

[Hired Goon]

I can't even show my face in public anymore having owned it.

I promise not to laugh at you as long as I don't see you with a bottle of Strymon branded hot sauce.

 

[tonedover]

no offense, but this take is way more embarassing,

lemme guess, you stopped buying metallica records after AJFA too?

 

[Hired Goon]

no offense, but this take is way more embarassing,

lemme guess, you stopped buying metallica records after AJFA too?

Not offended.

Sorry not a Metallica fan, never did buy. I did cut my hair though

 

[redbrick]

It hasn't reached Boss Metal Zone levels of embarrassment yet.

 

[jaymeister]

OK, so some people use their BigSky to create the reverb equivalent of “chopsticks”...that doesn’t mean that there aren’t players out there who use it in unique and musical ways.

And if playing chopsticks makes someone happy, then that’s really all that matters.

I’ve never owned one, but grabbed a used RV-500 because it was cheap as it takes more tweaking to coax sounds out of it.

 

[dave12]

????

 

[stagolee]

I’m taking this as a commentary directed at players rather than the effect, because of the perceived overuse you seem annoyed by. There is nothing embarrassing about someone playing a guitar, even if they’re using an effect we don’t like, or seems out of place or to be a crutch in the moment. Just be glad people are playing.

(well, that LFO song someone posted here tonight was pretty dreadful, but you get what I mean)

 

[Hired Goon]

OK, so some people use their BigSky to create the reverb equivalent of “chopsticks”...that doesn’t mean that there aren’t players out there who use it in unique and musical ways.

And if playing chopsticks makes someone happy, then that’s really all that matters.

I’ve never owned one, but grabbed a used RV-500 because it was cheap as it takes more tweaking to coax sounds out of it.

Well that's what I'm getting at. Sweet Child Of Mine intro at guitar center.

Who am I to tell people what they can't buy/play/like. For me, I've just had my fill.

 

[TomBombadil]

It’s kind of cliche, specifically on worship pedalboards, but it’s definitely not an embarrassment by any means. I wish they’d make a V2 that’s much smaller. I’d probably jump on it.