Madi Diaz is a singer and guitarist whose live rig was described in a Strymon pedalboard feature published in April 2015. Her setup is built around the Strymon BigSky reverb pedal, which she uses both for guitar and, at times, for her voice1.
Her signal chain, in her own words: "I play a 1959 Harmony Meteor through a Carr Rambler amp to a FullTone Full Drive 2, to the BigSky, to a DD-6 by Boss, to the PolyTune."1
The board today: Strymon BigSky and the Chorale machine
The centerpiece of Diaz's board is the Strymon BigSky, a digital reverb pedal with 12 reverb "machines"2. It runs on a 32-bit floating point DSP with a 366MHz SIMD SHARC processor core, offers true bypass through electromechanical relay switching plus an analog buffered bypass mode, and is designed and built in the USA3.
| BigSky specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Digital reverb pedal2 |
| Reverb machines | 122 |
| DSP | 32-bit floating point, 366MHz SIMD SHARC processor core3 |
| Bypass | True bypass via electromechanical relay switching, plus analog buffered bypass mode3 |
| Built | Designed and built in the USA3 |
The machines span classic types and more progressive modes2:
- Hall
- Room
- Spring
- Plate
- Chorale
- Shimmer
- Nonlinear
Diaz came to the pedal through her producer. "Lester Mendez (producer of the track 'Ghost Rider') showed me the BigSky as well as your delay pedals, and I was sold."1
Live, she uses the BigSky's Chorale machine as well as its Freeze feature on "Ghost Rider"1. The Freeze setting, which holds a sustained reverb tail under her playing, has become central to how she performs:
"I'm able to build two worlds at once, and really fill out song space."
"The freeze setting has been HUGE for that sort of thing. I'm pretty sure it's been the greatest investment of my chain so far."
The BigSky debuted in late 20134. Reviewers have described it as a studio-quality reverb in pedal form: Pedal of the Day called it "setting the standard for high-end, studio-quality stompbox effects"5, and Guitar Player counted it among the top stompboxes of all time, noting its 12 reverb machines2.
Guitar, amp and the rest of the chain
Diaz plays a 1959 Harmony Meteor through a Carr Rambler amp1. From the amp her pedals run in order1:
Everything sits on a Thon pedalboard she travels with, which, as she put it, "keeps the kids safe"1.
Vocals through pedals
Diaz runs two vocal mics in her live set. One is a Bullet mic that goes through a Holy Grail reverb pedal and into the house1. She has tried routing it through the BigSky instead, but the move cost her guitar sound the pedal, so the BigSky stayed with the guitar1. She has also run the Bullet mic through keys, an option she said she wants to explore further1.
The BigSky in Diaz's rig stays on her guitar. When she routed her Bullet vocal mic through it instead, her guitar lost the pedal, so she moved it back and sends the mic through a Holy Grail reverb into the house1.
Questions
What reverb does Madi Diaz use live?
Madi Diaz uses the Strymon BigSky reverb pedal live. She told Strymon in a 2015 pedalboard feature that she uses the BigSky's Chorale machine as well as its Freeze feature on the song "Ghost Rider," and that the Freeze setting lets her build two worlds at once and fill out song space.
What guitar does Madi Diaz play?
Madi Diaz plays a 1959 Harmony Meteor. She described her signal chain in a 2015 Strymon pedalboard feature: the Harmony Meteor runs into a Carr Rambler amp, then a Fulltone FullDrive 2, the Strymon BigSky, a Boss DD-6 delay, and a PolyTune tuner.
What amp does Madi Diaz use?
Madi Diaz plays her 1959 Harmony Meteor through a Carr Rambler amp. From there her chain continues to a Fulltone FullDrive 2 overdrive, the Strymon BigSky reverb, a Boss DD-6 delay and a PolyTune tuner, all kept on a Thon pedalboard she travels with.
What vocal mics does Madi Diaz use on stage?
Madi Diaz uses two vocal mics in her live set. One is a Bullet mic that runs through a Holy Grail reverb pedal and into the house. She has experimented with running it through the BigSky instead, but returned the pedal to her guitar sound, and has also run the mic through keys.
Sources (5)
- Pedalboard Feature: Madi Diaz, Strymon (www.strymon.net), 2015-04-09
- The Best Guitar Effects Pedals of All Time, GuitarPlayer (www.guitarplayer.com), 2021-06-25
- BigSky Multi Reverb, Strymon (www.strymon.net), 2026-08-12
- "BigSky MX will be replacing the BigSky as my go-to reverb pedal. I've heard nothing that covers all the bases with such pristine and detailed audio quality." We crowned the Strymon BigSky MX the champ of multi-reverb pedals, GuitarPlayer.com, 2025-03-05
- Strymon BigSky Multidimensional Reverberator, Pedal of the Day, 2022-02-18