Strymon Big Sky Plugin

[Modular Manfred]

Valhalla Supermassive comes with 16 different algorithms, and the damn plugin is free and sounds better than the Big Sky plugin. SMH.

No, it doesn’t. It sounds like a plugin.

I hold a lot of respect for the Valhalla developer and by no means his products are amazing. But come on mate. Who are you fooling? Have you ever used a hardware reverb?

Strymon is 4x the price of Valhalla and let me reassure you that it sounds at least 4x better as well, if your measurement is how a hardware reverb behaves in a mix, even though taste in sound is subjective.

I hate these metaphors but Valhalla is like a VW (Someone else has said it here before me so I’m not taking credit). VW is really great value, right? Not the most expensive car, not cheap either, reliable, popular. Happy days. And most people can afford it. These people will look at all the Audi and Merc owners and think why spend £70k on a car when you can have a decent VW for £15k. But in reality they think ‘Man if I could afford it’. Because a Q7 is arguably better than a Golf, right? - Which in this example would be the Strymon. I know this is an awkward example because Audi is owned by VW.
And then you have those who can afford the Bentleys. Or Astons. Or Ferraris. What have you. I’m of course talking Bout the vintage Lexicons and Eventides and AMS. That no plugin can touch as of today.

The point is that there is no point because it doesn’t matter. You can make good music with the Valhallas. And just because you use hardware you won’t be a better musician. But let’s stay realistic with what actually sounds better and why.

[VitaminD]

The point is that there is no point because it doesn’t matter.

You typed a lot of rather passionate words to come to that conclusion.

[Goony]

No, it doesn’t. It sounds like a plugin.

And how does an effect plugin sound?

[vertibration]

No, it doesn’t. It sounds like a plugin.

And how does an effect plugin sound?

lmao

[whassup]

There are to much marketing experts at KVR obviously,
Tomorrows I will go to the Mercedes dealer and claim to get a SE for half the price because compared to Vplkswagen his prices are unreasonable.

Group buy anyone?

[vertibration]

Looks like a lot of people here needs tissues for their issues. Good on Strymon, but $200 is nuts for a reverb plugin.

[cryophonik]

No, it doesn’t. It sounds like a plugin.

And how does an effect plugin sound?

like hardware, but cheaper?

[perpetual3]

Eventide SP2016 retails for how much? And what’s the same price? And what’s the real price?

There will be a sale. At some point. And that’s the real price of this plugin.

[Modular Manfred]

No, it doesn’t. It sounds like a plugin.

And how does an effect plugin sound?

It sounds like a Volkswagen mate.

[ReverendLove]

No, it doesn’t. It sounds like a plugin.

And how does an effect plugin sound?

It sounds like a Volkswagen mate.

But not like the good old air cooled engine. That's analogue vintage. Plugins sound more like a Rabbit I. e. Golf

[foosnark]

Who are you fooling? Have you ever used a hardware reverb?

Whether Strymon or Valhalla sound better is a matter of taste (and probably how you're using it) and there's no point in arguing about it.

(Though one comment elsewhere was pretty insightful: Big Sky nails the sound of 90s shoegaze exactly. If you're using synths and doing something else, maybe Valhalla is the better option.)

But think about it: you're claiming that Valhalla "sounds like a plugin" and Strymon sounds better because it's hardware... and using that to justify why a Strymon plugin is better than Valhalla plugins.

You don't even have to know that Big Sky pedal is DSP running inside a little computer for the logical fallacy to be obvious.

[vurt]

No, it doesn’t. It sounds like a plugin.

And how does an effect plugin sound?

It sounds like a Volkswagen mate.

But not like the good old air cooled engine. That's analogue vintage. Plugins sound more like a Rabbit I. e. Golf

even the strymon plugin?

[vurt]

Who are you fooling? Have you ever used a hardware reverb?

Whether Strymon or Valhalla sound better is a matter of taste (and probably how you're using it) and there's no point in arguing about it.

(Though one comment elsewhere was pretty insightful: Big Sky nails the sound of 90s shoegaze exactly. If you're using synths and doing something else, maybe Valhalla is the better option.)

But think about it: you're claiming that Valhalla "sounds like a plugin" and Strymon sounds better because it's hardware... and using that to justify why a Strymon plugin is better than Valhalla plugins.

You don't even have to know that Big Sky pedal is DSP running inside a little computer for the logical fallacy to be obvious.

glad im not the only one who noticed this!

and i dont use valhalla, so its not about being an offended fanboy before anyone says it

[chk071]

No, it doesn’t. It sounds like a plugin.

And how does an effect plugin sound?

You know, as funny as such a statement sounds, but, I read a lengthy discussion once about hardware and software reverbs, with some very good points made by some of the people in that discussion (must have been on Gearspace). I can't judge, because I never used a hardware reverb, but, what I do know is that, in my eyes, software synthesizer developers struggled for a very long time to provide a sound which people were used to from synths like the Virus or the Waldorf synths. Not so much in terms of tech, because, obviously, soft synths never were inferior in that regard. Rather in terms of providing stuff which sounds great, in terms of sound character. Even today, when I listen to some more current soft synths, I wonder what kind of offense against good taste some people have that they think that stuff sounds good. Yes, it's all great, 100x anti aliased, and super clean sounding, but, where's the character?

You might find that as funny and ridiculous as the statement you quoted, but, the fact that people are still holding some ancient VA's in highest regard is pretty telling IMO. Software has come a long way, and is technologically superior in most cases, but, the taste of the developers and their audience is often pretty questionable. IMO.

FWIW, I owned both Valhalla Vintage Verb and Room, and sold both, simply because I prefer the sound of other plugins. They're not necessarily bad, I just find them to not sound as pristine and inspiring as other stuff. If anything, they sound a bit exaggerated in what they do.

Oh, what I totally forgot in my writing above is that, in the Gearspace discussion, the most frequent criticism about software reverbs I heard is that they sound somewhat separated from the dry signal, which I can confirm with some reverbs I tested. Some reverbs glue magically, while others just sound separated, artifical and off. Scientifically spoken. And some sound like a bathroom, no matter what you do. But, I wouldn't even name those in a serious discussion about that, because, mostly, those reverbs aren't highly regarded anyway.

[ReverendLove]

No, it doesn’t. It sounds like a plugin.

And how does an effect plugin sound?

It sounds like a Volkswagen mate.

But not like the good old air cooled engine. That's analogue vintage. Plugins sound more like a Rabbit I. e. Golf

even the strymon plugin?

Yeah, scientifically proven as I learned from the internet.