Strymon Cloudburst Review
Our Verdict and Review Summary
The Cloudburst lets you niche-down from the BigSky into a more traditional reverb stompbox. So while it's digitally modeled with modern reverb tones, there's also some simplicity that you always get with a single effects stompbox. Modulation and some added ensemble capabilities are the main selling points and its most distinctive feature.
BEST FOR: Ambience, clean layers, studio, subtle fills, worship/church, BigSky alternative, fans of reverb mixed with modulation.
TONE
93
CONTROL
88
FLEXIBILITY
90
PRICE/VALUE
85
- Forte cascading is beautiful
- Deep reverb sounds great with lower EQ profiles
- Lots of great subtle ambient settings.
- Bumping pre-delay up expands the sound a lot without being too messy.
- Lengthy decay trails sound awesome.
- No presets or "mode" selection.
- No tone banking.
The Strymon Cloudburst is a more focused and niched-down version of the BigSky, with some emphases on modulation and ensemble tones over top of the reverb models. It's a single mode stompbox but with a very flexible set of controls, so I got a lot of mileage out of it while testing. To be honest, the demo video could have been much longer (you can check it out below). For context, I tested the Cloudburst with a Kramer SM-1 electric guitar and Boss Katana 50 amplifier. I figure it's better to keep things simple and let the pedal do the work. Full Cloudburst review is below.
The Cloudburst is an ambient reverb that condenses some of what we love about the BigSky into a single, small-form stompbox.
Tone and Sounds of the Cloudburst
I got the most flexibility out of the pre delay and decay controls, which allowed me to create a much more expansive and dynamic reverb trail. Even without tinkering much with the mod knob, I could still hear an ensemble and chorus-esque quality of the reverb. The Forte switch engages a strings sound, which I absolutely loved. You can hear this effect closer towards the end of the demo video below.
All of the sounds were beautiful and crisp, certainly a good option for clean layering and creating a more ethereal vibe. From a tone quality perspective, it's what we'd expect from Strymon with no complaints at all.
Tone quality is excellent, per the Strymon norm.
So in this demo, I tried to mix in a little bit of the in-the-room sound that the camera picked up, just to give you a more realistic feel of what you would hear when you hook it up.
Control Scheme and Versatility
The controls here are pretty simple and easy to work with. As I alluded to earlier, you'll get the most mileage out of the decay and pre-delay controls. From there, the mix knob will balance the level of the effect you hear in relation to your dry tone.
That switch in the middle engages the Forte mode, which I think is huge part of this pedal's appeal.
Here's a rundown of the control scheme:
- Decay
- Pre-Delay
- Tone
- Modulation
- Forte Switch
- Mix
For the most part I left the tone and modulation controls at 12 o'clock. They were certainly less consequential, so I used them mostly as a fine-tuning mechanism for the effects.
The control scheme is very simple, but effective and flexible.
Price and Overall Value
I think Strymon is making these smaller stompboxes to target a lower-budget market. When you don't have multiple selectable modes and multiple footswitches, the price of a pedal will (in most cases) come down significantly.
At the time of writing this review, the asking price was $280, which is par for a pedal of this design and caliber.
Value increases if you like the ensemble aspect of the tone and certainly if you want a simpler reverb with some modern touches and Strymon quality.
Review Summary and Questions
There are really no downsides to the Strymon Cloudburst. In fact, there aren't many negatives with any of the Strymon products I've covered on Guitar Chalk.
Think of the Cloudburst as an affordable offshoot of the BigSky, designed to be more affordable and ideal for someone wanting a simpler ambient reverb solution. If that's you, it's potentially a very good fit.
If you have questions about the Cloudburst or my review, feel free to drop them in the comments section below.
More Strymon Pedal Content
Written by Bobby Kittleberger on Pedals & Roundups
Written by Bobby Kittleberger on Pedals & Comparisons
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