Strymon Cloudburst Ambient Reverb Pedal

Based on the beloved “Cloud” algorithm from the best-selling Strymon BigSky reverb pedal, the Strymon Cloudburst Ambient Reverb wraps your tone in soft, flattering reverb that never sounds harsh or hollow. It may be half the size of Strymon’s other pedals, but this little blue box dishes up huge, lush sounds thanks to its advanced ARM processor, unique Ensemble effect, full stereo compatibility, and flexible expression pedal and MIDI control options.

With just five knobs, dialing in sounds is quick and intuitive. Adjust the reverb tail from 1-50 seconds with the Decay knob, add Predelay for rhythmic playing, fine-tune the treble with the Tone control, adjust the modulation depth and speed with a single Mod knob, and dial in the perfect blend of reverb with the nonlinear Mix control. Ensemble mode analyzes your input signal and adds musical harmonics to the reverb, resulting in a swelling string pad-like sound with two settings: mp for subtle harmonic richness and forte for a more pronounced effect.

On the rear panel, the routing switch features settings for mono, mono-to-stereo, and full stereo modes, while the convenient TRS I/O jacks carry the left and right channels on a single cable each. The expression input accepts a standard continuous-sweep expression pedal for controlling any of the main parameters, while connecting a Strymon MiniSwitch or MultiSwitch gives you access to Freeze and Infinite modes, providing static or responsive ambient reverb pads to play over. With support MIDI-over-TRS and a USB-C port for firmware updates and preset management, there’s a lot to explore in this small but mighty reverb engine.

SOUND DESIGN

DESIGN CONCEPT

With Cloudburst, Strymon had some very high goals in mind. Foremost was creating the best sounding single reverb algorithm they possibly could. They knew that at high decay settings, they wanted to provide the spacious experiences that are available from BigSky’s Cloud algorithm, and then set about tailoring the short end of the decay range to generate a huge variety of natural sounding, studio quality smaller spaces.

Second, Strymon wanted to provide a whole new variety of sounds never before heard from a reverb pedal with the addition of Strymon's new Ensemble effect. This effect’s design ensures a seamless, natural, and artifact-free interaction with the reverb and with your guitar signal. With the Ensemble switch in its mezzo piano (or “moderately soft”) position, it can subtly enhance the character of the reverberated signal, while in its forte setting, it can yield huge string ensemble effects reminiscent of vintage polyphonic string machine synthesizers.

Finally, Strymon wanted to create a pedal that was the most simple and intuitive to use of any product they'd ever designed. So with Cloudburst, there are no secondary or “hidden” functions. The pedal is controlled by just a few knobs and a switch exactly as they are labeled, so you can instantly dial up the perfect sound with no learning curve required.

DECAY

The Decay knob on Cloudburst does some seriously heavy lifting. Not only does it control the duration of the reverb tail, but it also dramatically transforms the character of the reverb via numerous continuous under-the-hood adjustments, allowing you to discover countless new musical and inspiring sounds at different points all along the dial. Even tiny adjustments of this knob can yield noticeable changes to the character of the reverb.

ENSEMBLE

Coudburst’s Ensemble effect works by continuously analyzing 48 different frequency bands from your input signal, and generating upper harmonic partials of what it finds in each frequency band as you play. Rather than generating a static, synthetic signal based on pitch detection, Ensemble is a dynamic, organic effect that generates harmonics based on your playing and that varies its sonic character depending on real time factors like where you pick, which pickup you use, and the volume envelope of what you play. The result is a gorgeous string ensemble-like expansion of your reverberated signal that creates a unique and unforgettable playing and listening experience.

MIX

Controls the reverb mix from full dry at minimum to full wet at maximum. A 50/50 mix occurs at approximately 3 o’clock on the knob. Additional power-up options allow for kill-dry (for use in effects loops) as well as an analog dry path option. Use moderate mix settings and darker tone settings combined with short decay times to create a variety of realistic small spaces, or soar through huge ambient cloudscapes with liberal mix settings and high decay times. 

PRE-DELAY

Pre-delay lets you add space between your dry signal and reverb — a handy tool for maintaining clarity when using higher Mix and Decay settings. Also useful for creating swells or blooms after notes or chords. With short decay times, Cloudburst’s pre-delay can be used to create reverberant slap-back echoes.

TONE

Controls the amount of high frequencies within the reverb, with a damped high end at minimum to no damping at maximum. Set the Decay knob to tailor the sound of your reverb, or control it with an expression pedal to create dramatic effects in combination with long Decay times and Ensemble.

MODULATION

There is a certain magic to the lush effects that can be created by modulating the lengths of the individual delay lines responsible for the reflections in a reverb tank. Cloudburst’s MOD control can take this a few steps further, especially when used together with Ensemble, where high MOD settings can create a fast, synth-like vintage science fiction pitch modulation.

MIDI

Cloudburst features full MIDI implementation, allowing you to control pedal parameters remotely by sending MIDI commands from your controller or DAW via Cloudburst’s EXP/MIDI jack or USB-C connection. 300 MIDI preset locations are available for loading and saving your favorite settings. Remotely bypass or engage the pedal, automate decay time or other knob adjustments in your DAW, recall unique presets for each song on your setlist — the possibilities with MIDI are limitless.

TRUE & BUFFERED BYPASS

Cloudburst lets you choose electromechanical relay switched true bypass for a 100% untouched, unprocessed signal when the pedal is bypassed (this is the default setting), or you can opt for premium quality buffered bypass that conditions your signal to preserve its integrity by preventing the high end roll-off that can happen due to longer cable runs.

JFET INPUT

Uncompromised dynamics and feel. Exceptional touch sensitivity and responsiveness. Cloudburst feels just as good as it sounds, thanks to a high impedance ultra-low noise discrete Class A JFET preamp input. 

STEREO IN AND OUT

No need to make compromises when it comes to signal routing or pedal placement — Cloudburst is a stereo reverb pedal with full stereo in/out capabilities. 

A single TRS input jack allows Cloudburst to keep its compact form factor while giving you the option to use a stereo input signal. A dedicated rear panel Input switch allows you to easily set Cloudburst for operation with a stereo (TRS) or mono (standard TS) input source. A single low impedance TRS output jack lets you use Cloudburst as a stereo effect with a TRS cable, or mono with a TS cable.

POWERFUL ARM PROCESSOR

Significant developments in mobile phones and computers have led to an evolution in technology that now allows Strymon pedals to perform more simultaneous processes with less power draw than ever before. That means more processing power for every sonic nuance with less power consumption on your pedal board.

CONTROLS & ROUTING

• DECAY: Controls the duration of the reverberated signal’s decay. Lower settings reduce the size of the reverberated space
• ENSEMBLE: Sets the amount of ensemble harmonics added to the reverb input
• MIX: Controls the reverb mix from full dry at minimum to full wet at maximum. A 50/50 mix occurs at approximately 3 o’clock on the knob. Additional power-up options allow for kill-dry (for use in effects loops) as well as an analog dry path option.
• PRE-DELAY: Sets the amount of time before the reverberated signal appears. For most natural results, use lower MIX settings when using higher PRE-DELAY
• TONE: Adjusts the high-end content of the reverb. Lower settings create darker, warmer reverberation. Higher settings are bright and crisp. NOTE: Also affects the presence of the ENSEMBLE effect.
• MOD: Controls the modulation of the reverb delay lines to create a variety of  lush effects. Turning the knob clockwise from minimum increases modulation depth for the first half of the knob’s range. Continuing to turn the knob past its halfway point increases the speed of the modulation.
• FOOTSWITCH: Engages and bypasses effect. RED LED indicates the effect is engaged.
• I/O MODE SELECTOR: mono (mono input, mono output); mono stereo (mono input, stereo output); stereo (stereo input, stereo output) - note: Stereo operation requires a TRS adapter or cable
• IN: High impedance, ultra low-noise, discrete Class A JFET preamp input. TRS adapter cable required for stereo input signal
• OUTPUTS: Low impedance stereo TRS output. Use TS for mono output or TRS for stereo output
• EXP/MIDI: Multifunction communication jack for external control of Cloudburst’s features and functions. Use a standard TRS expression pedal for continuous control over the knobs of the pedal (default setting). Can be set to operate in one of five modes: Expression Pedal, Favorite, Freeze, Infinite, or MIDI Mode. See User Manual for details
• USB-C: Computer connection for controlling via MIDI and for performing firmware updates
• 9VDC: Use the included power supply or an adapter with the following rating: 9VDC, center negative, 250mA minimum