Many calls sent into the deepest reverberated reaches of space have been left unanswered. Today, the sonic stargazers of the world receive a response.
The Strymon Night Sky is a reverb pedal made to make dives into different modulated effect spaces. For use on stage and in the studio, the NightSky invites players to endlessly tinker and craft complex soundscapes.
Strymon has become a household name when speaking about the highest quality pedals available today. Never a brand to count out when it comes to crafting previously unheard guitar tones, the experts at the Strymon Store have proven again their unlimited imagination for groundbreaking effect pedals. The close encounters and jumps to lightspeed possible with the NightSky require an audience, and with its seemingly limitless reverb capabilities, one will not be hard to find.
Upon first look, the NightSky may seem like a daunting sonic mountain to scale. Its numerous dials and controls may discourage a player as to where to start, however, the NightSky is intuitively sectioned to carefully craft a tone from the ground up. Five overarching characteristics combine to craft a reverb tone, and through Strymon's intuitive interface, taking tone crafting step by step has never been more accessible.
Total Control
The NightSky features five different tonal sections to individually adjust:
MIX:
Adjust the input of the dry and reverberated signals
DECAY:
Adjust three different reverb textures to build the foundational reverb effect
- Length: control the reverb decay length in reference to the reverb texture selected
- Size/Pitch: control the size reverb structure formed, as well as its pitch in reference to the Quantize control
MOD:
Adjust the modulation characteristics of the reverb
- Three tonal parameters and six waveform shapes can be accessed to introduce different modulated voices to the reverb signal
TONE:
Adjust the high and low frequencies that pass through the reverb signal
VOICE:
Adjust the harmonics of the reverb
- Interval: Set the Shimmer effect to align harmonically with eight available intervals
- Shimmer: Add pitch shifting to the reverb an octave up or down
- Glimmer: Enhance low or high frequency harmonics
- Drive: Add overdriven harmonics before or after the reverb signal
Sequence to Infinity
Among the NightSky’s rigorous tone-shaping tools used to sculpt unique reverb to the smallest detail, an exciting supplemental device is featured in the pedal for a groundbreaking synthetic experience. The sequence function of the NightSky operates with eight buttons dedicated to storing quantized presets to create a pitch-bending line of tones when played in a series. By assigning eight step intervals, one to each button, the NightSky can automatically sequence the tones in a rhythmic pattern. The sequence can be customized to include all eight, or a selected assortment of the eight, steps to create pitch-bending quantized sequences.
Utilizing the NightSky’s Infinite function, the sequence can be programmed to produce chord or scale sequences that can be played along to using the NightSky’s dry signal control. Combined with all previously mentioned functions, real-time sequencing allows players to program up to eight quantized tones and interact with them by turning them on and off. The NightSky automatically accounts for the new step sequence and functions accordingly to play a sequence that correlates with the sequence arrangement. With this function, players are free to experiment with each button as the sequence automatically cycles, altering the sounds created in real time. These rhythmic sequences can create smooth interstellar ebbs and flows as well proper noise machine beeps and buzzes. The sequence feature has enormous boundaries in which to experiment, though the NightSky will always be able to return to a place that is constructive and musical.
Other Ways to Play
Accessibility of the NightSky extends out with a number of available control functions. MIDI inputs and outputs, USB connectivity, expression jack input, and Strymon Multiswitch Plus compatibility allow players to interact with the NightSky further remotely. Easily adjustable on the fly, the NightSky is responsively interactive during performance.
Conclusion
The Strymon NightSky is a pedal to get lost in. A motherboard-like interface is sure to quickly capture players and send them down a reverberated rabbit hole. Studio synthesists, shoegazers, and soundscape scientists alike are sure to find a home in the NightSky among the intricate reverb programming. As a fair warning, playing with the NightSky is a slippery slope. Each reverb voice discovered is sure to lead to another as players look up and wonder where the time went.
Tapping into another plane of tonal technology, the Strymon NightSky is an invitation to players to explore reverb in a way never before imagined.
