Strymon teasing new pedal

[yeky83]

It'll tell me about how far the manufacturer could've potentially gone to reduce those kinds of artifacts.

No... it really doesn't tell you anything.

In my view, Fractal are every bit as good as Strymon but you really need to know what you're doing when faced with all of the control you have.

Agreed. Strymon's great at sound design, with "no bad sound in here" user interfaces. It took me ~30 minutes to replicate the "Volante sound" in the Axe-Fx, but the point is it can be done. I'd love for Pete Celi to just make a bunch of presets for the Axe-Fx.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

So? I have a Fractal, and Strymons, and still want an HX Effects. We’ve got no false dichotomies here. :)

OR BUDGETS!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jellodog]

@Orvillain I have similar feelings concerning pretty much everything you wrote there having owned much of the same stuff.

 

[Orvillain]

No... it really doesn't tell you anything.

So if a unit came on the market and it was advertised as having 16bit 18000khz sample-rate conversion, you wouldn't get any idea about the capabilities or sound of the unit from that bullet point?

Agreed. Strymon's great at sound design, with "no bad sound in here" user interfaces. It took me ~30 minutes to replicate the "Volante sound" in the Axe-Fx, but the point is it can be done. I'd love for Pete Celi to just make a bunch of presets for the Axe-Fx.

Yeah I managed to replicate my Helix oscillation tone fairly close on the Axe3 too, by using the DM2 delay with a customized EQ curve, a bit of drive, and tweaking the compander.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Nah nah nah nah here's a delay

 

[Orvillain]

 

[JiveTurkey]

 

[la szum]

I've never owned a Strymon pedal.

So, not a Churchgoer, I take it.

 

[la szum]

It wasn't a dig. I just had trouble following the thread. I get it now though. @paisleywookiee said he didn't think Line 6 nor Fractal were on the same level as Strymon. I agree and disagree with that opinion.

Strymon has some fantastic algorithms and indeed on our last album most of my delay and reverb was Strymon based. I used the Helix for some oscillation effects, because I genuinely think the Strymon Timeline doesn't really do nice oscillations. The Volante was a bit better, but it couldn't match the character I was getting from the Adriatic Delay. In many other ways though, I would say I do prefer Strymon over Line6 effects. The Lin6 ones are serviceable, but not often inspirational.

Axe3-wise... I genuinely think it goes toe-to-toe with the Timeline, Volante, and BigSky, which are the pedals I'm most familiar with from Strymon.

The difference with the Axe3 is, you have to turn about 5 or 6 different parameters.. whereas on the BigSky it's very often just tweaking the decay and tone and mix parameter, and you get something epic. But I'm willing to do the extra leg work with the Axe3.

One more thing about Helix and Axe3... compared to a board full of digital pedals, each with their own AD/DA noise floor that gets amplified higher and higher down the chain.... the Helix and Axe3 sound much nicer in terms of the raw guitar tone and noise floor.

Yeah, I don't do "sheen" very well and all the Strymon stuff has it. It is glorious! I was seduced by it
for a while (and have owned plenty of their pedals), but over time there is something fatiguing to
me with Strymon.

For comparison's sake, I never tire of hearing a big box Deluxe Memory Man---in spite of its warts
---while the Strymon delays I lose interest---even if they are more friendly and compatible.

 

[Orvillain]

The other thing about my GigRig based board ... I took a look at the money side of things. Bearing in mind I already had the Axe3.

For new acquisitions it was this (roughly):
HX Stomp - £550
Timeline - £400
BigSky - £400

So rough total cost was gonna be around £1350 plus the £1250 I'd already spent on the G3 controller....

And I was like ..... I've gotta futz around with cables... midi programming.... gotta make sure it never falls apart... etc etc... why not just get the FC12 controller for £740 and call it a day?

So that's what I've done. Wasted a good chunk of money on the G3 at the moment. Maybe I'll sell it, or use it one day. I don't know. What I know is the FC12+Axe3+Dual Recto are making a splendid rig!

 

[JiveTurkey]

Satan didn't need reverb. Duh.

 

[Orvillain]

Yeah, I don't do sheen very well and all the Strymon stuff has it. It is glorious! I was seduced by it
for a while (and have owned plenty of their pedals), but over time there is something fatiguing to
me with Strymon.

For comparison's sake, I never tire of hearing a big box Deluxe Memory Man---in spite of its warts
---while the Strymon delays I lose interest---even if they are more friendly and compatible.

You're not the first person to mention the sheen thing to me actually.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Satan didn't need reverb. Duh.

Hell is an anechoic chamber

 

[JiveTurkey]

 

[Orvillain]

Nah, Hell is a church with the reverberation freeze button turned on. Everyone tip toes to try and avoid adding layers.

 

[yeky83]

So if a unit came on the market and it was advertised as having 16bit 18000khz sample-rate conversion, you wouldn't get any idea about the capabilities or sound of the unit from that bullet point?

18,000 kHz? Yeah I'd think wtf. But we've been discussing 48 vs. 96 kHz, and no there's no useful info from those two specs about the capabilities or sounds of the units.

 

[Whizzinby]

Strymon's great at sound design, with "no bad sound in here" user interfaces.

Yep. There are the tones, and then there is the interpretive design of the control sweeps that makes them virtually impossible to dial in wrong. (While somehow being relatively deep in what you can do with them)

In many other ways though, I would say I do prefer Strymon over Line6 effects. The Lin6 ones are serviceable, but not often inspirational.

Agreed. I’ve tried the HXFX and DL4 and just never meshed with either. I never had the wow factor, even though I trust that there are some great tones in there given the popularity.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Nah, Hell is a church with the reverberation freeze button turned on. Everyone tip toes to try and avoid adding layers.

That's just, like, your relative view, maaaaan....

 

[yeky83]

A private echo chamber within a cosmic anechoic chamber.

 

[Achilles]

When I was a kid my dad worked at Western Electric and they had a really large anechoic chamber. I'll take eternity in a cavernous cathedral with huge reverbs over a anechoic chamber any day. It is bizarre as all hell inside of one of those things. Some people can't take being in one for more than a few seconds without freaking and needing to get out right away.