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Topic: Strymon vs Benado |
Marty Holmes
From:
Magnolia ,TX USA
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Posted 4 Jul 2020 8:28 am |
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| What are the pros and cons between the two companies.What is the best sounding pedal? |
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Michael Butler
From:
California, USA
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Posted 4 Jul 2020 8:30 am
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took wide ranging of a question. what kind of pedal are you looking for?
play music!
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Marty Holmes
From:
Magnolia ,TX USA
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Posted 4 Jul 2020 8:42 am
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| I absolutely love strymon but there's a lot of players like Paul that like benado I'm just curious what's the difference in two which one sounds better. Effects like Reverb/Echo delay chorus that's mainly what I seen pedal steel guitar players use |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 4 Jul 2020 9:12 am
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I'm very happy with the Strymon Lex and DIG pedals, and with their Ojai power supply. The price of Benado has scared me away.
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Mike Auman
From:
North Texas, USA
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Posted 4 Jul 2020 10:25 am
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I own Strymons but not Benados, so I can't do a head-to-head comparison for you. However, from what I know about their technologies, I see two major differences.
(1) Strymon primarily uses digital signal processing, which can get you a wide variety of modulation sounds with no audible degradation (reverb, delay, echo, etc.) Benado says they're analog, which means their delays and reverbs they use an older digital sample-and-store chip with a more limited palette of sounds and delay times, and degraded signal quality with longer delay times.
(2) Many (not all) Strymon pedals are single-purpose, while Benado bundles several effects into one unit. The per-effect price for a Strymon and a Benado are not that different if you divide the Benado price by the number of effects in one box (3, 4 or even 5.)
In the end, you have to try both and take home the one you like!
Mike
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Long-time guitar player, now wrestling with lap steel. |
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Asa Brosius
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Posted 4 Jul 2020 11:40 am
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| You should try both. Strymon is a bigger more established company with a much bigger market- you'll see them on pedalboards in multiple genres for multiple instruments. Their pedals per unit have a lot more sonic options than Benado- pro or con. Their resale value is very high outside of the steel world, should you want to experiment- they always go quick. I like the Benado all-in-one portability, but I also like having the possibility of variation- if you're building different effects chains for different gigs/tours, it's hard to beat a traditional board set up- it all depends on the sounds you want to make- and the $$ you want to spend. |
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George Seymour
From:
Notown, Vermont, USA
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Posted 4 Jul 2020 4:21 pm
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I've had both, and like the Strymon better for delay and Nueanaber Wet Reverb.. but opinions are like you know what... really what sounds good to YOU is the answer
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 4 Jul 2020 5:33 pm
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Where does one go to test drive these units, prior to purchasing?
Click Here |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 5 Jul 2020 4:43 am
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The only thing I can contribute to this conversation:
I had a Strymon El Cap. It sounded really good. For all the tape simulation capabilities, it could also serve as a very good, simple delay.
But I came to feel that for my limited needs, the huge amount of tweakability was overkill. I needed a cheat sheet any time I wanted to mess with it. Every knob has a secondary function and some have tertiary assignments. Very cool but way more than I needed.
If I dealt more in soundscapes and ambient stuff, it would be a powerful tool. Otherwise, the only thing I look for in a delay, beside it sounding decent, is a switchable modulation function, just to bring in a bit of that warble when I want it.
I've never used a multi-effector where I didn't eventually want to change out at least one element. Adding pedals to a multi-effector rig sort of defeats the purpose so as tempting as the Benados have always been, they just aren't made for me. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 5 Jul 2020 6:12 am
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I'm with b0b.
I always felt that you were paying a lot for a Benado for what you were getting.
Erv |
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Mike Auman
From:
North Texas, USA
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Posted 7 Jul 2020 8:43 am
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| Lee Baucum wrote: |
Where does one go to test drive these units, prior to purchasing?
Click Here |
Hey Lee, there aren't many places close to you to try out a Strymon, but here is their dealer map. https://www.strymon.net/dealers/ However, retailers like Sweetwater carry the whole Strymon line and have a no-fault return/refund policy if you don't like something, usually 30 days, just pay the shipping. I've sent pedals back to Sweetwater for no other reason than they didn't work well with my rig.
For Benado, I'm not aware of any dealers other than the company website, but they do have a 7 day no-questions-asked return/refund policy for regular priced items bought from them, less shipping.
Also, used Benados and Strymons do turn up on Reverb from time to time, and some sellers may have a 7 day return policy, although you have to read each seller's policy page. Mike
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Long-time guitar player, now wrestling with lap steel. |
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Dale Rottacker
From:
Walla Walla Washington, USA
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Posted 7 Jul 2020 9:21 am
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I can't speak to the Strymon, but after wanting a Benado for some time, finally pulled the trigger on a barely used on here on the Forum.
I'd been using the Lexicon MPX 1 for several years now and like them so much I ended up with 3.
I now have sold 2 of them and have one left. The thing I find with the Benado and that I really like is the way you can easliy shape your Reverb and Delay, from the amount of each you want as well as the Tone you want. Being able to Brighten or Darken it to me is pretty valuable. And if you're into an OverDrive type of sound that's there as well, and again very easy to shape. There's also a Warmth to the Benado that is just really nice.
I always tell my wife when I buy something new, that I can always sell it if it doesn't quite fit what I'm after. I have a LOT of stuff like that, cause sadly I'd rather buy than sell. The Benado is something I think I'll have for a long time to come, because it seems to suit me quite well.
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John Macy
From:
Rockport TX/Denver CO
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Posted 8 Jul 2020 7:17 pm
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We have have a huge collection of pedals at our studios, including all the Strymon stuff. They are great and I’ve used them in many configurations, yet when I plug in my Benado unit, it just has a clarity and glue that I don’t get anywhere else. With the Steel Dream, a lot of the times I have additional pedals in the loop for sessions or gigs that might require them. I’m sure excited about getting the PF-6 that I have on order, as it will have most everything I need for most work, and can easily loop in any extra stuff that might be occasionally needed. I also like the internal connections and no cables, and maybe the lack of them and plugin connections contribute to the clarity of the sound. Plus knowing Sage and his great customer service is a great bonus. Pricey, yes, but well worth it in my book.
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John Macy
Rockport, TX
Engineer/Producer/Steel Guitar |
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Jim Cooley
From:
The 'Ville, Texas, USA
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Posted 8 Jul 2020 7:36 pm
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| I also have a Steel Dream. Considering that it includes reverb, delay, and overdrive, I would most likely have paid more for those three individual pedals by other manufacturers and not experienced the quality I hear from the Benado unit. I have other pedals with those same functions. Sometimes I use one of them, then go back to the Steel Dream. For me, though, there is no comparison. As Dale mentioned above, there is a wide range of tone shaping options. It's also very easy to set the Nutra Drive (overdrive) to achieve a good nice clean boost. Sage's customer service is among the very best. |
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billy tam
From:
baton rouge, louisiana
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Posted 15 Jul 2020 4:11 pm Strymon vs Benado
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| I’ve had a steel dream for several years now and have never had any issues. Sage is the most consumer oriented builder I’ve experienced, actually calling me from overseas to answer and solve a hookup mistake on my part. May be pricey initially but a great value in the long run. My opinion only. Billy |
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