Strymon BigSky MX

The Strymon BigSky MX is a stereo reverb pedal from Strymon, the successor to the long-running BigSky. It carries 12 reverb machines, seven of them brand-new algorithms alongside enhancements to the classics, and it can run two reverb engines at once with Series, Parallel or Split audio routing¹. Strymon describes the result as "springs that drip and splash, physical spaces you can really feel yourself in, and the sweetest possible musical response to every note you play"¹.

Under the hood it is a digital pedal built around a tri-core 800 MHz ARM processor with 32-bit floating point processing¹, which guitar.com's reviewer noted is more than double the horsepower of the original BigSky's SHARC brain². It was announced in April 2024 after what Strymon CEO and co-founder Gregg Stock called "the better part of four years" of development³⁴.

What it does: twelve reverb machines, two at once

The 12 reverb machines are Room, Hall, Plate, Spring, Bloom, Cloud, Chorale, Shimmer, Magneto, Nonlinear, Chamber and Impulse⁷. Ten of them carry over from the original BigSky, with Chamber and Impulse created specifically for the MX⁷. A rotary type knob in the upper-left corner selects between the 12 voices⁸.

The dual-engine design is the headline feature: you can switch between reverb engines with a single button press while editing, and route the two reverbs in Series, Parallel or Split¹. A dedicated Infinite/Freeze footswitch creates lush pads to play over or infinitely sustains held notes for atmospheric effects¹.

Several machines have new handcrafted algorithms while still giving access to the original BigSky voices for each one⁹:

The new MX algorithms feature multi-modulation, which varies the delay times of individual reflections; Pedal of the Day found that turning up the Mod knob gives "a natural sense of movement, more like the movement of air in a room than an obvious modulation effect"⁹.

Seven parameter knobs give instant access to Decay, Pre-Delay, Tone, Modulation and Mix, plus algorithm-specific and user-assignable Parameter 1 and Parameter 2 controls¹⁰. A value knob enables effect-level manipulation on the OLED screen and selects between the classic algorithms and the seven new ones⁸. Pushing and holding the value encoder for three seconds opens the Global Settings menu¹¹.

Power and connections

The pedal runs on a 9V DC center-negative supply of 500mA minimum through a 2.1mm connector, with the adapter sold separately⁵. GuitarPlayer's 2026 reverb guide lists the draw as 300mA at 9V DC⁷¹², so the published figures differ, but either way this is a high-current digital pedal that wants its own supply, not a shared daisy chain.

Connections are full stereo, with discrete Class A JFET input preamps on the inputs that Strymon credits with clean tone and less sensitivity to long cable runs¹⁷. Input impedance is 1 Meg Ohm, output impedance 100 Ohms, and maximum input level is +10 dBu, with signal-to-noise of 116 dB typical⁵.

MIDI is deep: full control for changing presets and controlling parameters via USB-C, TRS or DIN connections¹. The USB-C jack also handles firmware updates and connection to the Strymon Nixie 2 editor software⁵. A multifunction EXP jack takes a TRS expression pedal, a MultiSwitch, MultiSwitch Plus, or a TRS MIDI connection⁵. GuitarPlayer notes the original BigSky offers just DIN MIDI, so the MX adds USB and TRS options⁷.

Premier Guitar's reviewer summed up the connectivity: "The programmability and connectivity are also superb"⁸.

Firmware updates

Updates are handled through Strymon's Strymon Update software¹³:

1. Download and install the Strymon Update software.
2. Connect the pedal to your computer with a USB-C cable.
3. Strymon Update automatically detects the pedal.
4. Click "Check for Updates" to verify whether a new firmware version is available.
5. If one is available, click "Install Update"; the program shows "Your device is up to date" once the update completes¹³.

The current release is firmware v2.14 from June 2025, which fixed Line Level Input headroom and mapped the MIDI Clock sync parameter to MIDI CC 31 for Reverb 1 and CC 32 for Reverb 2¹⁴. Earlier releases added an adaptive limiter to accommodate reverb buildup with extra-hot input signals (v2.02, July 2024) and fixed MIDI response on all MIDI channels (v1.98, May 2024)¹⁴.

How it differs from the original BigSky

Strymon says the BigSky MX "expands on the original design in every facet"³, and guitar.com's reviewer found it "completely redesigned from the ground up" with a host of updates and enhancements². The most visible change is the control panel: a new single-line knob layout replaces the two rows of knobs and three switches of Strymon's earlier big-box pedals². A crisp OLED display shows clear information about the currently loaded preset³.

On the bench, Recording Magazine's reviewer compared algorithms side by side and concluded¹⁰:

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar found that "the core quality of the reverb sounds themselves are excellent, and the sheer variety is astounding," and called the experience "utterly hypnotic and addictive once you settle in and work a little more intuitively"⁸. The same review offered a caveat: the pedal "will be flat-out too much horsepower for the guitarist that needs a few traditional sounds and, perhaps, a few more spacious options"⁸.

Guitar Pedal X named the BigSky MX its GOLD award winner among 2024's best new spatial and time-based effects¹⁵, and Guitar World has called it "the premium reverb workstation to beat"¹⁶.

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