Strymon Cloudburst Ambient Reverb Guitar Pedal with Ensemble Engine, for Electric and Acoustic Guitar, Synths, Vocals and Keyboards

Prior to discovering the Cloudburst, I really had no particular interest in Strymon pedals. Too large, too expensive, too ethereal, and too impractical for the type of reverb pedal I would actually need and consider placing on a pedalboard. But the Cloudburst offers something entirely different. It would be easy to dismiss it as a just a stripped-down version of a single Big Sky algorithm, but that's not the case at all. The Cloudburst actually offers a handful of different reverb types across its simple control layout, and it does a lot more than just "praise & worship" ambient reverb.BUILD QUALITY & CONTROLS:First off, the Cloudburst is surprisingly compact. In pictures, I always assumed it would be a mid-size pedal - something like a Way Huge pedal. In real life, it has the width of BOSS compact pedal, but is actually shorter from footswitch to jacks. Also, it has top-mounted jacks, which allow for even tighter placement on pedalboards, though I will point out that real estate is tight up there with the I/O jacks, another 1/4" jack for external controls, a 9V jack, a mono/stereo switch, and a USB-C jack! Just keep that in mind if you use angled cables that you'll have to be a little creative to get everything to fit properly.The controls are very simple and similar to other reverb pedals. You have MIX knob that changes the amount of effect, a PRE-DELAY that changes when the reverb effect starts to come in, and controls for decay (length of reverberation), and TONE/MOD (modulation) controls. The footswitch is soft kind that started appearing on boutique pedals in the 2010's, and the knobs have a nice resistance to them. Everything feels great and is easy to access and adjust. The pedal itself has metallic blue enclosure, which I believe is aluminum. It's lighter than you'd imagine, but not so light that it will get kicked around.THE SOUNDS:The Cloudburst is based on the Cloud algorithm from Big Sky, and I'll happily disclose that I have never played a Big Sky and cannot compare. However, the development team indicated that the algorithm was redesigned and tweaked for this pedal, and the efforts show. This is not just one type of reverb. With MIX between 12:00 and 2:00 and the DECAY set low, you actually get an excellent room-style reverb. This gets into "hall" territory as you increase DECAY. The fact that they programmed this to also function as a straight, no-frills reverb that is also capable of ambient soundscapes was a major selling point for me. It transforms the pedal from "expensive one-trick novelty" to "useful musical tool".But the ENSEMBLE switch is clearly the differentiating feature of the Cloudburst, and its Strymon doing what they do best. As many reviewers have noted, Cloudburst really isn't a shimmer pedal, even if it can be used in that way. When you flip the mod switch to mP (mezzo piano) or forte, you get increasing amounts of what I would describe as "orchestral", synth-like accompaniment that trails your signal. The reverberated effect does have overtones with higher octaves, but that isn't the prominent feature like it would be with a shimmer pedal. In fact, if you find shimmer pedals too bright or grating, the Cloudburst might be a nice alternative to try out.The DECAY is capable of very long sustain times - I believe they say it is 50 seconds, but whatever it is, it's enough. You can also hook up an external footswitch that works like a "freeze" or "infinite" button. Play a chord, hit the footswitch after the effect comes in, and it will hold it like a beautiful orchestral drone. You can then play over this, but note that the additional notes will not the reverberated effect (unless supplied from another pedal in front of Cloudburst). The freeze effect works, but for a new user like me, there are some quirks to getting the timing right so that you hold the sound as you are intending. I can also confirm that while Strymon wants you to buy their $50 MiniSwitch to use with it, other momentary switches like the BOSS FS-5 do work.CONCLUSION:It's generally wrong to imply that any single piece of gear is a "game-changer", or that it will fundamentally change the way you play your instrument. Cloudburst is just a reverb pedal, but it's such a unique and beautiful approach to that effect that I do find it particularly inspiring. While I got primarily for electric guitar, it EXCELS with acoustic-electrics, and I'm sure could be used with any number of other instruments with great success. Strymon were smart in making a pedal that could be set to do more traditional and subtle types of reverb, in addition to the Cloud ensemble effect, which is truly incredible.

Although not an inexpensive pedal the level and variation of sounds make this a real bargain.Strymon's American made products are first rate and this offering is no exception. Very solid construction.The Ensemble mode was what convinced me to purchase but the normal reverb is exceptional as well.This is a more affordable version of Strymon's other reverb pedals and well worth trying it out.

This is my first Strymon product purchase and it has easily taken the top spot on my pedalboard and any pedal/stompbox I have come across or owned. The Ensemble feature is what sold me and blew my mind upon hearing various YouTube reviews and then playing my guitar with it when I finally purchased one. The Cloudburst will be extremely useful for me when playing at smaller churches where it may only be me providing the music. It fills up so much space and it sounds very natural. I would say this is a must-have for those guitar players on praise & worship teams and bands who rely heavily on that ambient reverb sound.When comparing size, it is about the same to any Boss guitar pedal. And the build quality is excellent using lighter-weight metal for the casing. If you want more info on the technical specs and other features, I would check out Strymon's channel on YouTube. Fantastic pedal and sound that is worth every penny, and then some. It is my number one and favorite pedal on my pedalboard. And I'm predicting this will be one of, if not, the top overall guitar pedal/stompbox of 2024!

The Cloudburst pedal is everything it's advertised to be. Yes, it's Strymon and yes; it's expensive. However, this pedal is no marketing ploy: It's everything it's cracked up to be! There are endless capabilities at dialing in your sound, it's simply amazing! If your budget allows, pair this pedal with Strymon's mini foot switch. You won't regret it!

This pedal gave me the sound and ve been looking for in our praise band. I love the “choral style” sound it produces. And then to hit the switch back to straight reverb gives me the “beefy” sound also. This product is everything they say it is and more. Just an fyi. The foot switch does not “click” when you tap it. At first I thought it was broke. But it’s a smooth transition from on to off so you don’t hear that “click” when turning it off and on.

Inspiring! All the BEST things that I love about chorus and reverb and delay all in one. The suggested presets are amazing, and a great place to start. I wish I had two.

Size was just right, priced reasonably, easy to get accustomed to, best pedal I purchased in years.

Short version: amazing reverb. Buy it. It’s solidly built, perfect size, tons of options. 100% worth the price and then some.I was looking to buy the universal audio golden reverberator for the second time, but I don’t really care for spring reverb, I like room/hall/ambient. I have a Friedman amp and I love the old school tones. This reverb came up in my search, and some people said it was a one trick pony… only good for ambient reverb. Dead wrong. Watch Pete thorn’s review. It does room and hall really good, and the ambient tones… sweet Jesus! This pedal does everything really well. If I was more than a home player with extremely expensive gear and a decent job outside of music, I wouldn’t tell a soul about this pedal. If you can work a reverb pedal, this one is as good as it gets. Unless you’re after spring reverb. If so, you won’t like this. While it won’t nail any specific room/hall, it will do them both exceptionally well. The ensemble is ridiculous. It’s built with quality. When I want spring reverb, I’ll use my fender amps