Strymon Flint Tremolo & Reverb Black Knob Edition

The Strymon Flint Tremolo & Reverb Black Knob Edition is the standard Flint tremolo and reverb pedal with one visible change: black knobs in place of the usual cream-colored ones. Strymon announced it on 30 November 2020 as a stopgap rather than a new model. A supplier issue left the company without its cream knobs, and instead of halting production while a new knob was tooled up, Strymon shipped Flints with black knobs for "the next few months."¹

What changed, and what did not

Strymon's Ethan Tufts put the difference plainly in the announcement: "Are there any other differences between Flint and this limited Flint 'Black Knob Edition'? Nope, just the knobs are diff[erent]." The circuit, the controls and the sound are those of the regular Flint, which the maker describes as its take on "iconic tremolo and reverb sounds."¹

For players, the Black Knob Edition Flint is the same pedal Strymon sells today: the maker states that it is sold direct and available for dealers to stock worldwide.³ What carries over is the pedal itself, which Strymon still presents through Jon of Guitar Noize's video review and article on the Flint Tremolo & Reverb.⁴

Why the knobs changed

The Black Knob Edition came out of a supply problem, not a redesign. Strymon said it chose "a bold new solution" rather than stopping Flint production while a new cream-colored knob was tooled up.¹ A few practical points from the announcement:

• Black-knob Flints were sold direct and available for dealers to stock worldwide.¹
• Players who wanted cream knobs could buy from a very limited supply of replacement knobs sold separately.¹
• Strymon also invited owners to email support@strymon.net with when and where their Flint was purchased, and their location, to arrange replacement knobs.¹

The Flint family

The original Flint has been on the market since at least early 2013, when Jon of Guitar Noize reviewed it in a video and article, and Strymon says it has since "received many awards and found its way onto pedalboards around the world."²¹ Strymon later released a Flint Tremolo & Reverb V2, which Pedal of the Day described in 2022 as bringing "all the sonic glory of the original into focus, along with a slew of new upgrades."⁵

If you are comparing tremolo and reverb pedals more broadly, the Flint sits alongside Strymon's reverb-focused pedals such as the BigSky, blueSky, NightSky and Cloudburst, and you can see the wider field on the Tremolo Pedals and Reverb Pedals pages.

Videos

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