Poor man's Strymon options?

Drew_TNBD

I've seen a number of comparison videos of the M5/9/13 and the Strymon stuff. In the video clips (a lot of them DI signals) the difference was not as dramatic as you'd imagine.

The main problem those M-series units have is poor converters and noisy AD/DA. If they upgraded those they'd be pretty unbeatable as multi-FX in front of an amp imho.

crunchman

They might not sound that different on a video clip, but there is a definite difference through a good amp.  It's not that they sound particularly bad.  The Strymons just sound better.

therose789

crunchman said:

therose789 said:

I have an M5 (now broken) you can get some really cool sounds out of it however after using it alongside a guitarist who was using both a big sky and a time line you can really hear the difference and it doesnt even come close.

The positive thing i will say about the M5 is that the reverbs are really flexible and you can get some nice sounds out of it, great for ambient kind of stuff, swells etc.... i really liked the particle verb until mine died (used the wrong power supply!) and i dont think you can get that same sound on a big sky! 

I currently have M5, Timeline, and Big Sky.  Have had Nova Delay and Boss DD6 in the past.

The Strymon stuff is on a different level to all the others tonally.  Even where they have the features they just don't sound as good.

The M5 is a great pedal for what it is, but it's not as good as the Strymons.  Likewise the Nova Delay is a perfectly competent delay (until it goes wrong) but the Timeline smokes it.  The DD6 is completely impractical.

Agreed, Even listening to a space vs a big sky. the space is great (one of the best) but the strymon just adds something to your tone, i cant explain it but no other pedal on the market that i have heard does it! 

Drew_TNBD

crunchman said:

They might not sound that different on a video clip, but there is a definite difference through a good amp.  It's not that they sound particularly bad.  The Strymons just sound better.

I don't agree. They sound different, not appreciably "better" that I can hear.

Also, I did own a Grenadier delay once. I thought it was pants.

Fusionista

I'm still hesitating on the Zoom MS-70CDR, because of the true by-pass/no through-dry signal issue but I guess I could stick it in my effects loop.  Really like to hear one being used in a live situation.

menamestom

I thought the Zoom Delays were great, I tried an El Cap recently and it did have greater clarity and detail but some people would just take that as the Zoom being more analog sounding because they certainly don't sound digital like cheaper effects used to. The MS-70CDR probably closes the gap with even better algorithms, I just wish they would bring one out with a proper tap tempo, el cap size. But got to say the El Cap is great.

leerocker

Fusionista said:

I'm still hesitating on the Zoom MS-70CDR, because of the true by-pass/no through-dry signal issue but I guess I could stick it in my effects loop.  Really like to hear one being used in a live situation.

I use one and its great , i bought it for some odd stuff that i dont need a standalone pedal for, the delays on it are fine as are the chorus models, its taken about 3 pedals off my board, best £90 ive ever spent, also use it in my fx loop and no tone loss to my ears. 

scarry67

I'd like to hear Andy from PGS blind test the Zoom MS70 against the classier delays.

Wazmeister

I'm a Strymon user of the Timeline and Big Sky...

I'm actually not a massive lover of 'using' the TL, and it's not always that instinctive. However, I got my hands on around a dozen of the best delays and compared them all... And the TL could sound like ALL of em. Even matched the 'feel' of some of em too...

The Big Sky is untouchable. Nothing comes close. It does add a little 'something'; never can describe it really, but it's like a little bit of Blackface 'shimmer', if that makes sense.

But its live where the Strymon really shine, as the signal doesn't get lost or mushy like some can...

So, you have to pay for this unfortunately.

Poor mans options ? 3 stand out for me...

1.) Subdecay Ananemesis

2.) Caroline Kilobyte

3.) Boss DD2

As ever, YMMV....

Fusionista

The compelling factor finally arrived: @Grunfeld was playing down my way so we met up and I bought his MS-70CDR. Despite my previous unhappy experiences with digital pedals, I will give the technology another go.  Perhaps the algorithms are improving.  If the reverb does cut it, the other programs will be bunce.  I will report back once I have tested it.

JohnPerry

I have a Big Sky sitting next to an M9. For reverb there really isn't a contest. The M9 has other assets which is why i still have it. But it is fair to say it is nervous

Gagaryn

I finally got my hands on the Big Sky yesterday - bought a Supernatural first as I was trying to save a few quid - big mistake, the Supernatural can be fun but sounds very processed so was returned. The shop sent a Blue Sky by mistake so I got to try that too, and as others have said, it suffers from the same problems as the Supernatural. But the Big Sky is in a different league! 

There is a lot of hype for this pedal and that worried me a bit - that can often be down to collective madness as people try to justify shelling out  £400 for a reverb pedal. I've not had it long but can confidently say that it is a magnificent beast. I had a Mobius previously and that put me off Strymon big format pedals as I found it took a lot of tweaking and a lot of diving down through menus to get the sounds I was after - the Mobius covers a lot of bases so knobs do very different things on different models. 

The Big Sky shares the same format but is much easier to use. And it sounds wonderful, the big sounds like Shimmer, Cloud, Bloom and Choral are great fun and sound so much better than the similar effects on the other two pedals I mentioned - I've still got the Blue Sky here so have tried them side by side. But where it really shines is with the more subtle effects - the Reflections model didn't get me excited from the demos and description but it is outstanding - it really makes your playing sound so much more alive, in a totally natural and transparent way. I'm yet to try things in stereo but am looking forward to doing so.

Here's a picture of my toys!

Wazmeister

^^^^^^

Three chords and the truth...

Great pics and a great review. I agree 100%. The 'versatile' setting is worth the entrance fee alone...

Gagaryn

Got stuff set up in Stereo now. Oh yes! :-)