$100 vs. $300 Reverb Pedal - Strymon Blue Sky vs. TC Electronic HOF mini

**McJazzer** · 08-07-2019, 04:17 PM

A few might have seen a video I did awhile back where I demo'd a $400 archtop vs. a more expensive $2,000 option. It seemed to be popular so in the interest of keeping that going, this week I shot a video I've been wanting to do ever since - a comparison between the Strymon Blue Sky and the TC Electronic HOF mini.

I speak a bit at the beginning about the benefits/drawbacks of having more knobs available and preset storage on the Blue Sky vs the super compact HOF (that you can still go real in depth with editing on the computer). I even did a playing example to demonstrate the aural difference between a mono reverb signal vs one with a stereo spread (you'll definitely need headphones to appreciate it). Later on in the video I started playing the pedals back to back with similar settings. My goal wasn't to try and make them sound identical, but to show off just how well the Hall of Fame stands up to the coveted algorithms in the Strymon Blue Sky. There are a few modes where the Strymon excels in my opinion (spring, and the fact that the HOF doesn't do shimmer verb) but in general I think most people will be happy with the Hall of Fame.

Both pedals sound great and for a few years I actually used them side by side on my board but I thought I'd post here incase it helps anyone decide if the Blue Sky is worth the extra money. Hope this is useful to someone down the line.

**DMgolf66** · 08-08-2019, 04:16 PM

Thank you for posting!

I just got my Gibson GA-18 up back from the tech and I love the sound, but it has no reverb. I was hoping for a relatively inexpensive pedal that might do the trick. Sounds like I will give the HOF a go!

**McJazzer** · 08-08-2019, 08:06 PM

I bet that sounds amazing. Glad I could help

**TedBPhx** · 08-08-2019, 10:40 PM

The TC HoF 2, don’t have the mini, works for me.

**docsteve** · 08-09-2019, 04:44 AM

Same here. The HoF 2 has a shimmer reverb that I like a lot, plus a great tone print by the forum’s own Uffe Steen. I mostly use just a tad of spring reverb that makes guitar and amp come alive.

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**McJazzer** · 08-09-2019, 02:28 PM

Ah that's right - the HOF 2 does have shimmer verb. That was one of the updates. The TC stuff honestly always impresses me. I've heard of people having problems with switches breaking and stuff but I've never ran into that. I've had 8 different pedals by TC by now. Corona chorus (regular and mini), Flashback delay (X4, regular, and mini) HOF mini, Ditto (X2 and mini).

**Skip Ellis** · 08-09-2019, 03:38 PM

I tried the HOF but sent it back. On the advice of a steel player friend, I went with the Earthquake Systems Dispatch Master. I've been using a cheapo Behringer DR400 combo reverb/delay for many years but wanted something better. I'm very happy with the Dispatch Master run through the effects loop of my Evans RE200 - the reverb is very adjustable and you can add a little delay, if needed (I use it on Chet stuff). I hear the Strymon is very good, also but Have not tried one.

**Spook410** · 08-09-2019, 04:06 PM

If all you want is a little reverb there are many good choices. Even most amps are fine. If you want a better reverb the TC HoF works just fine. Have used mine for years. However.. there is a world of requirements in between good enough and great when it comes to reverbs. If you want a nuanced reverb and are interested in depth and space or you want a 63 spring reverb just like mom used to make then you need something with more processing and the best algorithms. If you are interested in ambient. If you record at home and want some outboard capability. If you are running high fidelity amplification instead of a guitar amp. Then you hear it and it's worth getting something better.

**McJazzer** · 08-14-2019, 05:34 PM

Spook - too true. There are a lot of different types of verb and it's one effect that I couldn't see myself owning too many of.

Skip - I haven't gotten to try the dispatch master but I love the simplicity and the idea of a verb/delay mixture

**73Fender** · 08-15-2019, 07:04 AM

Another reasonably priced option is the Topanga. I was looking for something that imitated the old school Fender spring reverb, it does a nice job, very organic for lack of a better word. Not a lot of bells and whistles. I got it to use with a 5E3 amp when I wanted a little reverb.

**McJazzer** · 08-16-2019, 12:45 AM

One of my favorite guitarists at the moment has been using the Catalinbread Topanga - Joey Landreth. He uses it on his fly-board when he has to rely on backline amps and sometimes they don't have a reverb tank in them. Very cool, simple pedal if you like spring verb.

**dwparker** · 08-16-2019, 01:39 AM

Originally Posted by McJazzer

Spook - too true. There are a lot of different types of verb and it's one effect that I couldn't see myself owning too many of.

Skip - I haven't gotten to try the dispatch master but I love the simplicity and the idea of a verb/delay mixture

I love the Dispatch Master, it is an almost always on pedal for me with very subtle settings dialed in. But a heads up, it is hall reverb and not spring, which you mention above you like.

**Jehu** · 08-16-2019, 03:27 AM

While we're throwing out recommendations, I've been quite enjoying the Mr. Black DeluxePlus. It's a nice spring reverb/tremolo combo, and looks mighty cool to boot!

0 vs. 0 Reverb Pedal - Strymon Blue Sky vs. TC Electronic HOF mini-downloadfile-jpg

0 vs. 0 Reverb Pedal - Strymon Blue Sky vs. TC Electronic HOF mini-downloadfile-jpg

**McJazzer** · 08-18-2019, 02:24 PM

I like the idea of those combo pedals but it always bugs me when I don't have footswitch control over each individual effect. I'm probably not going to ever play an entire song with tremolo on, so it'd be nice to have one switch for the reverb and one for the tremolo.

**Jehu** · 08-18-2019, 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by McJazzer

I like the idea of those combo pedals but it always bugs me when I don't have footswitch control over each individual effect. I'm probably not going to ever play an entire song with tremolo on, so it'd be nice to have one switch for the reverb and one for the tremolo.

Ask and ye shall receive...

0 vs. 0 Reverb Pedal - Strymon Blue Sky vs. TC Electronic HOF mini-mrblack_deluxe-plus-deluxe_003-jpg

**McJazzer** · 08-19-2019, 05:52 PM

Wow. Okay hahaha I guess you got me

**DMgolf66** · 08-26-2019, 09:33 PM

For those who have the HOF Mini, what is your favorite setting for Jazz? They all seem "too much" to me so far.

**docsteve** · 08-31-2019, 10:14 AM

I use the spring reverb on my HoF 2 most of the time. For jazz, it‘s always on.

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**Jonathan0996** · 08-31-2019, 11:33 AM

Two nice pedals. Good demo. I can see why some people love the Strymon. If I were doing a lot of recording with a lot of different sounds, I'd want that one. For just about every other application, the HOF probably gets the job done.