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Bluesky or Nimbus?

D

Diaz

Oct 18, 2013
41
1
37
Mexico
#1
Hey guys! I'm thinking the next pedal i'll buy will be a reverb, i'm thinking of using it mainly for a jazz trio to fill in audio space and to give the bass a more jazzy space projection, since we're probably going to be playing in very dead spaces.

So i've checked both the Strymon and the Iron Ether out on the internet, but i still want your opinions comparing both directly!

To me, Bluesky Pros:
  • Pre-delay and Decay control!
  • More tonal options for the different reverb (norm, mod, shimmer)
  • Stereo!
Cons:
  • $100 USD more expensive
  • From the 3 types of reverb, i don't like spring reverbs and i'm not sure plate would be my first choice for what i'd be using it more often.

Nimbus Pros:
  • You can control the room size! Which kinda makes up for not being able to choose the reverb "type"
  • Cheaper
Cons:
  • No stereo (recording scenario)
  • Is it me, or does the reverb tail sound grittier the bigger the room is dialed up?
  • Apparently IE are going back on business until a month or so


Any input is much appreciated! :)
 
#2
I love reverb tones and have used a ton of verbs, including both of these. The Nimbus is still on (and will probably never be removed from) my board.

Room size is a killer function. The filter is the unsung hero: it makes reverb on bass more viable than on any other pedal I've used.

No, it doesn't have stereo, but that's OK. In any tracking I've ever done with bass, I've never wished to be running a stereo rig—even on the tracks where I'm playing with the nimbus on and 100% wet.

The reverb tail doesn't really seem to sound grittier the bigger the room size. Maybe a little. I also run my amp a bit dirty, so it can be hard for me to tell. It does sound beautiful.

Basically, Strymon makes killer gear and the Bluesky is an alright reverb. The spring and plate settings sound alright, but better verbs are out there for those settings. The shimmer is fantastic but not worth the extra cash. Though it's pretty, it's not entirely practical. Reverb to reverb, I think the Nimbus is a superior pedal (for bass application).
 
#4
I LOVE REVERB!!!! I've had a few of the nice reverb pedals: Nimbus, Bigsky, Space, Wet, and the Dimension reverb and tried a bunch of others. IMO the best by far is the Bigsky. Now at almost $500 it better be lol.

For pure sound I liked The Wet. The Wet is the smoothest reverb I tried. SO CLEAR AND SMOOTH! Only reason I got rid of it was the limited controls. I like to twist knobs so it bothered me. Also presets go a long way with me...

As far as the Nimbus vs Bluesky, I feel like they are completely different. The Bluesky is somewhat hollow and thin in sound while the Nimbus is much fuller. The Nimbus does have a buzz sound to it which I never noticed until I tried a few more pedals, namely the Wet. The Wet is the smoothest reverb I tried. SO CLEAR AND SMOOTH!

That being said, I think the best bang for your buck and the overall most logically reverb to get is the Source Audio Dimension Reverb. I just picked one up for a second time and it is just amazing. Just all around great. Plus you get some delay sounds out of it to...not to mention the presets!!!


If you're waiting a few more months to pick up a reverb I'd keep an eye out for the Walrus Audio Decent. It looks like a real well thought out, full featured reverb with once again...PRESETS!!!
 
#5
Aside from the others that have already been mentioned, I feel like the TC Electronic Hall of Fame/Trinity is worth a look. It ticks the same pros you listed for the Strymon (stereo, pre-delay and decay control, different modes, etc). It's certainly less expensive. I think it sounds great (I use the Trinity). But all the others sound great, too. I think there is a wealth of great reverbs out there these days. I wish you the best of luck in finding the one that works best for you.
 
#8
I just sold my Nimbus. It's a great reverb for sure. I'm going with the HUB setup with the Source Audio pedals so I have a Dimension reverb on its way. I've never tried the BlueSky but it sure gets a lot of love here on TB. FWIW the Dimension reverb is a lot more affordable and available than both the BlueSky and the Nimbus. It may be worth considering. Good luck whichever way you go!!!
 
#9
I like the Nimbus but it is a bit noisy when engaged and disengaged, I hear a lot of similar comments for other owners of this medal. I think the Nimbus is absolutely amazing on bass. I truly is a brilliant bass-specific reverb. The real disadvantage, in my eyes, is that it is not as flexible as some other reverbs that can be set to different variations of reverb (SA, Strymon, etc).

The Nimbus also has such a small footprint on your board compared to similar quality reverb pedals.

As much as I like it, I am really considering the SA Dimension because I truly think that their midi hub setup is a game changer considering the price point. I would just have to see if it can truly retain all lows like the Nimbus does.
 
#11
The Nimbus is great, and it's one of the few reverbs that I think is useable both for typical reverb purposes as well as a "sound effect" -- with the room and reverb-level knobs on high settings, it has a great ambient/swell/slow-gear sound that really does interesting stuff, particularly with gain and/or modulation added.

However, I will say that the Nimbus has what I would call more of a "cavern"-type reverb sound, with more of a hard-edged/metallic/reverberant quality. I consider this distinct from a more "airy" or "open" reverb sound, which is likely more the BlueSky's style. I used a Nimbus for a time and loved it, but I've lately switched to a Dispatch Master because I just prefer the "airy" reverb sound more for general use.
 
#12
SA Dimension Reverb is king in my book. So much in the way a variables and the 2 presets are great and if you get into their Hub system for all their SoundBlox2 pedals, you can hook up to 5 of those pedals and use the midi Hub to create 128 presets in ANY combination.

I will be picking up another SA DR to use with my upright or NS when those occasions come up. Just so I don't have to drag the big board with the upright.
 

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