The Strymon blueSky Reverberator is a DSP-driven reverb pedal from Strymon, first made available on June 10, 2010. It packs plate, room and shimmer reverbs into a compact stompbox with stereo inputs and outputs, and it puts a SHARC DSP chip to work on reverb alone. Strymon's design engineer Terry Burton described the thinking plainly: "We've taken a super powerful SHARC DSP and dedicated it to doing one thing only, the best reverb ever."1
The pedal is housed in a rugged, blue anodized aluminum chassis and was designed and built in the USA. At launch it sold for $299 (US), through the Strymon online store and select authorized dealers in North America.1
What it does and how you control it
The blueSky provides reverb tone shaping through dedicated low damp, high damp, pre-delay, decay and mix controls, so a player can set how bright or dark the tail is, how long it lasts, and how much of it sits under the dry signal. A Favorite switch saves a preset of your favorite settings for instant recall.1
The V2 revision, reviewed by Guitar World in 2026, lays out the control set as follows2:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Decay | Sets reverb tail length |
| Pre-Delay | Sets the delay before the reverb begins |
| Low | Low damping for the reverb tone |
| High | High damping for the reverb tone |
| Mix | Blends dry and wet signal |
| Shimmer | Controls the upgraded Shimmer parameter (V2) |
| Mode switch | 3-way selection of reverb types |
| Mod switch | 3-way modulation setting |
Guitar World also lists the V2's effect types as plate, room, spring reverb and modulation, and notes that a new spring reverb algorithm was created for the blueSky, along with a Shimmer knob added for the upgraded Shimmer parameter. The V2 adds 300 MIDI preset locations, mono/stereo MIDI, an ultra-low noise discrete Class A JFET preamp input, and secondary modes covering Boost/Cut, Respond/Ignore MIDI expression live editing, plus power-up configuration of input level, bypass mode, spillover mode and the EXP/MIDI jack.2
Guitarist Ben Monder, who used the blueSky on David Bowie's album Blackstar, described how he sets the two central knobs: "The mix and decay are set depending on how prominent or subtle I want the effect to be."3
The shimmer mode
Shimmer is one of the blueSky's reverb modes, alongside plate, room, spring and modulation. Strymon lists the pedal's effect types as Plate, Room, Spring Reverb and Modulation, with modulation available as part of the reverb voicing rather than a separate effect.4
Ben Monder used the blueSky primarily for the shimmer effect along with the plate reverb, and Strymon's Matt Piper relayed the reaction it draws from listeners: "This shimmer effect often evokes a reaction like 'what is that thing that sounds like a string orchestra playing along with you?'"3
Inside: SHARC DSP and 24-bit converters
The original blueSky's signal path is built around a SHARC DSP dedicated to reverb processing, with super low noise, high performance 24-bit 96kHz A/D and D/A converters and a 115dB typical signal-to-noise ratio.1
The same architecture carries through Strymon's larger reverbs. The BigSky uses a 333MHz SHARC DSP with 32-bit floating point processing, according to Guitar World's 2014 review, and Strymon's product page lists ultra low noise, high performance 24-bit 96kHz converters of its own.56
How it differs from the BigSky
The blueSky is the compact option in Strymon's Sky line. Pedal of the Day's 2014 review framed it against "a certain other Sky-related reverb pedal," the BigSky, which arrived in October 2013 as a full reverb workstation.78
In practical terms, the blueSky packs its plate, room, spring and modulation reverbs into a compact stompbox, with a Favorite switch to save a preset of your favorite settings.2 The V2 adds 300 MIDI preset locations and mono/stereo MIDI, giving players preset storage that previously lived on larger reverb workstations.2
What reviewers said
The blueSky was among Strymon's initial offerings reviewed by Premier Guitar in July 2010, in the company's first wave of pedals.9
Pedal of the Day's Mike B was unreserved in 2014: "This is a magnificent reverb pedal," calling it "one of the sweetest reverb pedals you'll ever play."7
Of the V2, Guitar World's Chris Gill wrote that "blueSky's reverbs remain as pristine and three-dimensional as ever," with a noticeable improvement in dynamic responsiveness and clarity.2
Players who used it
- Ben Monder used the blueSky on the main chordal pass of the title track of David Bowie's Blackstar, and on the atmospheric overdub on "Sue."3
- Friendly Fires used the blueSky "all over their new record," according to Strymon's 2010 artist feature.10
Videos
strymon
strymon
strymon
Questions
Is the Strymon blueSky true bypass?
Yes. The blueSky offers true bypass switching, and it can also run in an analog buffered bypass mode instead. Strymon's later BigSky uses the same arrangement, with electromechanical relay switching for the true bypass path, so the player can choose whichever suits their signal chain.
Does the blueSky have stereo inputs?
Yes. The original blueSky provides stereo inputs and stereo outputs, and Strymon's demo of the pedal was recorded running stereo into Pro Tools. The V2 keeps stereo outputs alongside a standard input, a TRS jack for an expression pedal and USB.
How is the blueSky different from the BigSky?
The blueSky is a compact stompbox with a SHARC DSP dedicated to reverb alone, while the BigSky is a larger reverb workstation with many more algorithms and preset storage. The blueSky keeps its control set small: decay, pre-delay, low and high damping, mix and, on the V2, a shimmer knob.
Does the blueSky have a shimmer mode?
Yes. Shimmer is one of the blueSky's modes, and Strymon's demo walks through several variations of the plate shimmer mode, from mild to infinite. Guitarist Ben Monder used the blueSky primarily for its shimmer effect along with the plate reverb.
Where is the Strymon blueSky made?
The original blueSky was designed and built in the USA, according to Strymon's 2010 press release. Guitar World's review of the V2 lists its origin as USA as well, so both versions carry the same country of manufacture.
What power supply does the Strymon blueSky V2 need?
The blueSky V2 runs on a 9V DC adaptor with a minimum of 300mA. That current requirement is well beyond what a typical battery or a small daisy chain can supply, so a dedicated 9V supply that can deliver at least 300mA is the practical requirement.
Sources (10)
- Strymon blueSky Reverberator Effect Pedal Now Available, Strymon, 2010-06-10
- Strymon V2 blueSky Reverberator and V2 El Capistan DTape Echo review, Guitar World, 2023-02-17
- This Week's Favorite: blueSky, Strymon, 2016-03-03
- blueSky reverb, Strymon, 2010-06-04
- Review: Strymon Big Sky Reverb Pedal, Guitar World, 2014-04-07
- BigSky Multi Reverb, Strymon (www.strymon.net), 2026-08-12
- Strymon blueSky Reverberator, Pedal of the Day (pedal-of-the-day.com), 2014-12-18
- Strymon Introduces the BigSky Reverberator, Guitar Interactive Magazine, 2013-10-17
- Strymon Big Sky Review, Premier Guitar, 2013-12-25
- Friendly Fires loves their blueSky Reverberator, Strymon, 2010-09-30
