USER MANUAL ®
BigSky - User Manual ® Front Panel Controls VALUE: Turn for fine adjustment of Decay time when time is displayed. Scrolls through presets when bank or name is displayed. Push to access the PARAMETER menu, hold to access the GLOBAL menu. DECAY: Controls the Decay time of the reverberated signal. The range can depend on the selected reverb machine. PRE-DELAY: Adjusts the time between the dry signal and the onset of the reverb, from 0 to 1.5 seconds.
BigSky - User Manual ® Rear Panel INPUTS: High impedance inputs. Use LEFT input for mono. OUTPUTS: Use LEFT output for mono. EXP: Connect an expression pedal. See EXP Connections CAB FILTER SWITCH: Set switch to ON for a sophisticated speaker response curve. See Cab Filter. MIDI: Full featured MIDI input and output supporting CCs, Program changes, etc. See MIDI Specification section. POWER: Never plug into voltage higher than 9V DC. Requires at least 300mA of available current.
BigSky - User Manual ® In Depth: PARAM 1 & 2 controls The PARAM 1 & PARAM 2 knobs allow you quick access to any desired menu parameter of the currently active reverb machine. For example, DIFUSN on the Cloud machine can be assigned to one of the parameter knobs to allow for easier control over the reverb diffusion. ASSIGNING A PARAMETER STEP 1: Navigate to the desired parameter to be assigned. STEP 2: Press and hold the value encoder. STEP 3: While holding the value encoder.
BigSky - User Manual ® EXP Connections Connect a Strymon MiniSwitch for remote control of Pre-Delay (or Decay time with the Magneto and Nonlinear machines). Use a standard TRS cable to connect the external switch. Set the EXP MD global setting to TAP to use external tap. TRS ® OR Connect a standard TRS expression pedal for continuous control over any knob. To select the knob(s) controlled by the expression pedal, use the EP SET parameter in each preset. All knobs can be controlled simultaneously.
BigSky - User Manual ® Banks and Presets BigSky has 100 banks with A, B, and C presets in each bank. Banks are numbered 00 to 99 on the display. Note: BigSky ships from the factory with the first 100 presets (00A-33A) duplicated from 33B-66B, and again from 66C-99C.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Common Parameters All Reverb Machines share a set of parameters. These parameters are saved with each preset and include: Boost: +/- 3dB of boost/cut. This can be useful for level matching in your effects chain, or can be used as an effect such as boosting a solo with reverb. Persist: Turns on reverb persist “trails” which will spill over when the effect is bypassed. Use this if it is desired for reverb decay to continue after the effect has been bypassed.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Room A versatile room algorithm that creates environments ranging from well-tuned studio ambience to larger night club acoustics. The Tone knob, Diffusion and Low End parameters adjust the damping and scattering effects of room materials, furniture, and people. PARAMETERS: Low End: Affects the low frequency content and decay profile.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: 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. The Mid parameter allows for precise EQ tailoring of the reverberated sound. PARAMETERS: Low End: Affects the low frequency content and decay profile.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Plate The Plate machine is a rich, fast-building reverb that creates depth without early reflection cues to a specific environment. The Tone knob and Low End parameter are simple but powerful frequency shaping tools. PARAMETERS: Low End: Adjusts the low frequency content of the plate reverberation. Set lower for lighter, airy plate tones that won’t color the dry signal, or increase for richer plate tones. - Size: | + Selects from two plate sizes.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Spring The standalone spring tank became a staple of surf and spaghetti-western music that developed in the ‘60s. The Spring machine allows for complete customization from warm and mellow to splashy and dripping with its Tone and Mix Controls, Dwell parameter, and selectable number of springs. PARAMETERS: Low End: Adjusts the low frequency content of the spring tank. Higher values allow more low end reverberation.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Swell The Swell machine brings in the reverb gradually behind the dry signal for subtle evolving textures, like having a volume pedal on the wet signal. Alternatively, you can choose to have the dry signal swelled into the reverb, for maximum ambience and atmosphere. PARAMETERS: Low End: Adjusts the low frequency content of the reverb. Higher values allow more low end reverberation. - Rise Time: | + Adjusts the rise time of the swelled signal.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Bloom In the ‘90s, more diffusion blocks were added to reverbs to smooth out the sound. A side effect of this was the tendency of the reverbs to have a slowly building envelope that ‘bloomed’, resulting in big ambient reverbs that sit nicely with the dry signal even at high Mix levels. The Bloom reverb features a bloom generating section that feeds into a traditional reverb tank, and adds a unique Feedback parameter that expands the possibilities exponentially.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Cloud A gorgeously big, ambient reverb that draws from techniques developed in the late ‘70s. Using processing power not dreamed of in those days, the Cloud reverb machine obscures the distinction between reality and fantasy. PARAMETERS: Low End: Adjusts the low frequency content of the Cloud reverb. Higher values allow more low frequency content. - Diffusion: | + Adds diffusors in front of and within the reverb generator.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Chorale A vocal choir accompanies your music. Choose vowel ranges and intensities to customize your choir as it sings in venues that vary with the Decay knob. As the Modulation is increased, the choir becomes alive with multitude of voices. PARAMETERS: Vowel: Selects the vowel sound(s) that the choir will use to accompany you. The selections include traditional singing formants, AH, OH, OO and combinations of the two.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Shimmer Two tunable voices add pitch-shifted tones to the reverberated signal, for resplendent, unearthly ambience. The voices are carefully created from the reverberated signal itself to generate maximum radiance and beauty. The Amount and Mode parameters allow for a range of shimmer effects from laid-back and subtle to full-blown majestic splendor. PARAMETERS: Shift 1: Selects the 1st voice interval, from an octave down to two octaves up.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Magneto A new style of music emerged in the late ‘50s, featuring the guitar as the ‘lead voice’ enhanced by the reverberated wash of a multi-head echo. The Magneto machine sets up a multi-head echo with all heads on, while the PreDelay knob adds feedback. The Diffusion parameter adds a new dimension of ambience, smearing the response of the heads and blurring the line between delay and reverb.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Nonlinear A variety of physics-defying reverb shapes are available for special effects and unique textures. Choose from three ‘backwards’ shapes (Swoosh, Reverse, and Ramp), or a Gate and more. Feedback control, Late Reverb, and Diffusion parameters allow for a vast array of time-warped possibilities. PARAMETERS: Low End: Adjusts the low frequency content of the nonlinear generator. Higher values allow more low-end frequencies to pass through.
BigSky - User Manual ® Reverb Machines: Reflections The Reflections machine is a psycho-acoustically accurate small-space reverb that allows you to move your amp anywhere in the room. The Reflections algorithm precisely calculates 250 reflections based on the source position within the chosen room shape. The psycho-acoustic modifiers adjust for human auditory perception to create unparalleled ambient-space realism to dry instrument or vocal tracks.
BigSky - User Manual ® Globals Menu Global parameters affect BigSky regardless of what preset is currently active. Bypass Set-Up: Changes the bypass mode between True Bypass and Buffered Bypass. In True Bypass, electromechanical relays are used to bypass BigSky so that no components are touching the input signal. In Buffered Bypass the bypassed signal runs through a high quality analog buffer. TRUE BYPASS BUFFERED BYPASS MIDI Channel: Sets the MIDI Channel. Can be set to 1 - 16.
BigSky - User Manual ® Globals Menu (continued) Dry Signal: Turns the dry signal on or off. This is useful in a parallel effects loop when an effect level is necessary. NORMAL KILL - dry signal is muted allowing the MIX control to be used as an effect level Spillover: Allows the wet delay signal of a currently selected preset to “spill” into the next selected preset.
BigSky - User Manual ® Cab Filter BigSky provides a sophisticated Cab Filter for times when a guitar amp isn’t used. If you’re outputting to a full-range PA system, recording interface, or headphones, you can simply place BigSky last in your effects chain and engage the Cab Filter. If outputting to a guitar amp, set the CAB FILTER switch to the OFF position.
BigSky - User Manual ® MIDI Specification CC# KNOBS: Type encoder 19 Value encoder 20 Decay 17 Pre-Delay 18 Mix 15 Tone 3 Param 1 9 Param 2 16 Mod 14 Value Range 0-11 0-1 0-127 0-127 0-127 0-127 0-127 0-127 0-127 PARAMETERS: Boost 23 0-60 Persist Off/On 22 0-1 Freeze/Infinite 70 0-1 Expression Off/On 60 0-1 MIDI Clock Off/On 71 0-1 ROOM - Low End 61 0-20 ROOM - Size 59 0-1 ROOM - Diffusion 58 0-20 HALL - Low End 39 0-20 HALL - Size 40 0-1 HALL - Mid 42 0-
BigSky - User Manual ® Features • 12 hand crafted reverb machine algorithms for meticulous and nuanced reverb sounds • Ultra Low Noise, high performance A/D and D/A Converters • Premium analog front end and output section • Analog dry path for a zero latency dry signal that is never converted to digital • High Performance DSP • 300 presets, selectable via encoder, MIDI or on the fly via footswitch • Deep edit parameters on all reverb machines • Stereo Input & Output • Expression pedal input with selectabl
BigSky - User Manual ® Strymon Non-Transferrable Limited Warranty Warranty Strymon warrants the product to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from the original date of purchase. If the product fails within the warranty period, Strymon will repair or, at our discretion, replace the product at no cost to the original purchaser. Exclusions This warranty covers defects in manufacturing discovered while using this product as recommended by Strymon.
