What a surprise from Strymon! BigSky is a beautiful sounding reverb plug-in with 12, separate reverb (algorithms) machines with all the '70s and '80s reverb sounds I grew up with! In addition, there are also entirely new Strymon reverbs such as: Cloud, Shimmer, Ramp, Magneto and Chorale. Because of modern DSP, the 12 algos are on a rotary control switch for instant access and there is a parameter window for customizing the particular machine. It couldn't be any simpler—all the parameters you would be interested in are tweakable there—nothing less and nothing more. My first "test" with any reverb is to check how convincing the Rooms sound and BigSky comes through with a collection of very good room simulations. The Reflections machine simulates a small room by calculating up to 250 reflections based on where you place (with the mouse) a sound source within the geometry of a room. You can select a rectangular, square, or oblong shaped space and this is something I have not seen in other reverbs. Reflections worked the best for me when BigSky was an insert effect and not set up as a send/return. I used a rectangle room shape at nearly 100% wet—moving the dot controls its X/Y coordinates (which is automatable) of the source. I used it in a mix to place an arpeggio guitar part in the virtual room. Awesome enough that I will return to this trick effect soon! The included manual has many Tips & Tricks for each reverb machine. There are also some cool demos online and further explanations about how it all works.
The Strymon BigSky Reverb plug-in sells for $199 MSRP and I'm just getting into it and the swimming is fine!
strymon.net/product/bigsky-plugin
