Strymon BigSky Settings Guide
The professional benchmark for reverb pedals. 12 reverb machines with full parameter control, stereo operation, MIDI, and expression input. Used across recording studios and live rigs worldwide.
Used by: David Gilmour, The Edge, Carlos Santana
The best Strymon BigSky settings start with: Decay at 4/10, Pre-Delay at 20/10, Mix at 30/10, Tone at 5/10, Machine at 2/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Blues / Country: Decay 3/10, Pre-Delay 10/10, Mix 25/10, Tone 5/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Decay | 4/10 | Short → Infinite |
| Pre-Delay | 20/10 | None → Long |
| Mix | 30/10 | Dry → Wet |
| Tone | 5/10 | Dark → Bright |
| Machine | 2/10 | Room → Nonlinear |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Spring machine, short Decay and Pre-Delay, subtle Mix. The BigSky Spring algorithm is considered the benchmark for digital spring simulation — the BBD-modeled spring character is noticeably more authentic than most digital competitors.
Cloud or Bloom machine, long Decay, significant Pre-Delay for a sense of space between the note and the reverb onset. High Mix for atmospheric immersion. The Cloud machine produces an infinite, granular texture that continues indefinitely at full Decay.
Plate or Hall machine, moderate Decay and Mix. Studio-quality reverb that adds dimension to Les Paul and humbucker tones without dominating. Pre-Delay at 15ms gives the impression of a recorded room without smearing pick attack.
Shimmer machine — pitch-shifted reverb that adds octave-up harmonics to the reverb tail. At high Decay the shimmer builds into a sustained harmonic wash. Use with long notes and chords; fast runs become muddy under the shimmer. Excellent for ambient lead passages.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
Gilmour's live rigs have used the BigSky for Plate and Hall algorithms on lead tones. Moderate Decay, Pre-Delay at 20ms for presence without smear, Mix at 35% — the reverb is a spatial foundation under sustained lead notes. He runs it after his delay units so the delay repeats feed into the reverb tail.
Hall or Room machine at low Mix — the Edge uses reverb as secondary ambience behind his delay-heavy signal chain. Pre-Delay longer than usual creates distance between the dry signal and the reverb onset, keeping his rhythmic delay patterns clear while adding hall space.
Santana uses hall reverb at a higher Mix than most guitarists — the reverb is part of his tone, extending sustain and adding the warm, spatial quality his singing lead lines require. A high Mix here works because his playing is primarily single notes with long sustain rather than busy rhythm parts.
Also in Our Rig Database
Guitarists who feature this gear in their documented rig — explore their full setup.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- Pre-Delay is the most underused control on any reverb — 15–30ms separates the dry signal from reverb onset, dramatically improving clarity of the dry tone while keeping the reverb character.
- The MIDI implementation allows preset recall from a MIDI controller or switcher — assign one BigSky preset per song for exact recall at every gig.
- The BigSky's stereo output creates enormous apparent width on a two-amp or stereo rig — the Room and Hall machines in stereo sound noticeably larger than mono.
- Bloom machine: starts with a short reverb that grows over time — the opposite of a normal reverb decay. Used for ambient swells where the reverb builds behind playing rather than fading immediately.
- The expression pedal input can control Decay in real time — assign a sweep from 3 to 9 for a foot-controlled reverb size from tight room to infinite space.
FAQ
Strymon BigSky — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Strymon BigSky: Decay at 4/10, Pre-Delay at 20/10, Mix at 30/10, Tone at 5/10, Machine at 2/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Blues / Country: Decay 3/10, Pre-Delay 10/10, Mix 25/10, Tone 5/10. Spring machine, short Decay and Pre-Delay, subtle Mix. The BigSky Spring algorithm is considered the benchmark for digital spring simulation — the BBD-modeled spring character is noticeably more authentic than most digital competitors.
For Post-Rock / Ambient: Decay 9/10, Pre-Delay 50/10, Mix 55/10, Tone 4/10. Cloud or Bloom machine, long Decay, significant Pre-Delay for a sense of space between the note and the reverb onset. High Mix for atmospheric immersion. The Cloud machine produces an infinite, granular texture that continues indefinitely at full Decay.
Decay: Reverb tail length. All 12 machines respond to Decay differently — Bloom and Nonlinear machines are most dramatically affected. (Short to Infinite). Pre-Delay: Time before reverb onset after the dry signal. Longer Pre-Delay increases the sense of distance and prevents reverb from smearing the attack. (None to Long). Mix: Wet/dry balance. 20–40% is musical for most applications; full wet for ambient texture. (Dry to Wet). Tone: High-frequency character of the reverb tail. (Dark to Bright). Machine: Reverb type: Room, Hall, Plate, Spring, Swell, Bloom, Cloud, Shimmer, Magneto, Nonlinear, Reflections, Chorale. (Room to Nonlinear)
Pre-Delay is the most underused control on any reverb — 15–30ms separates the dry signal from reverb onset, dramatically improving clarity of the dry tone while keeping the reverb character. The MIDI implementation allows preset recall from a MIDI controller or switcher — assign one BigSky preset per song for exact recall at every gig. The BigSky's stereo output creates enormous apparent width on a two-amp or stereo rig — the Room and Hall machines in stereo sound noticeably larger than mono. Bloom machine: starts with a short reverb that grows over time — the opposite of a normal reverb decay. Used for ambient swells where the reverb builds behind playing rather than fading immediately. The expression pedal input can control Decay in real time — assign a sweep from 3 to 9 for a foot-controlled reverb size from tight room to infinite space.
David Gilmour settings: Decay 5/10, Pre-Delay 20/10, Mix 35/10, Tone 5/10. Gilmour's live rigs have used the BigSky for Plate and Hall algorithms on lead tones. Moderate Decay, Pre-Delay at 20ms for presence without smear, Mix at 35% — the reverb is a spatial foundation under sustained lead notes. He runs it after his delay units so the delay repeats feed into the reverb tail.
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