Strymon have steadily been taking the DSP algorithms that power their renowned effects pedals and making them available as DAW plug-ins, and the latest pedal to be treated to a virtual counterpart is the NightSky. Said to be unlike any other reverb plug-in, the new arrival delivers everything that its hardware sibling has to offer, and comes packed with features that will be welcomed by keen sound designers.
The company describe the new plug-in as “a reverberant synthesis workstation and a powerful platform for experimental sound design”. Users are presented with a set of parameters that make it possible to control the pitch, processing rate and size of the reverb — changes in pitch can be smooth, or quantised to a range of musical scales, allowing incoming signals to be completely transformed as they pass through the processor. Further tonal shaping is provided by a synth-style resonant filter bank that can be modulated using a variety of different wave shapes.
Three distinct reverb ‘textures’ are provided: Sparse, Dense and Diffuse. Sparse creates reflections that are far enough apart to be audibly distinct from one another, allowing longer phrases to ring out while staccato notes trigger individual echoes. Dense then provides a smooth-sounding reverb that shares some similarities with a plate reverb, while Diffuse creates a slow-building atmospheric wash that Strymon say is perfect for ambient, swell and reverse-like sounds.
Other built-in sound-design tools include a Shimmer control, which shifts the signal’s harmonic structure by selectable musical intervals; Glimmer, which can be used to dynamically enhance high- or low-frequency harmonics; and Drive, a versatile overdrive that’s capable of either reacting dynamically to the input signal, or acting as a soft-clip limiter at the plug-in’s output stage.
Compatibility
NightSky is supported on PCs running Windows 11, and Macs running macOS 14.8 or higher. VST3, AU and AAX plug-in versions are available.
Pricing & Availability
NightSky is available now, priced at $99. a seven-day trial version is available.
