Strymon Sunset Dual Overdrive

Having explored this pedal in as many configurations as possible I can say that this is an incredibly versatile drive unit. I play many styles and I need a pedal that can work in different gain ranges and work with various amp settings. Using settings like the germanium, Texas and JFET with low gain settings to push a clean amp on the edge of breakup into some natural overdrive works excellently. And due to the nature of the pedal you can stack a second drive on top to access more gain, providing you with 4 different tones from one device (clean, A, B, A+B). Having the switch to change the order of the two sides of the unit is very useful. For example you can add the Texas drive (tube screamer) before the hard clipper to achieve more gain without adding more volume. Or you can change the order to add more volume without adding too much more gain. Running the two sides in parallel achieves a similar effect as running a dual mono setup with two amplifiers with complimentary gain sounds adding together to produce a full and complex tone. The range of gain available in this unit goes well beyond the range of overdrive and into distortion and even fuzz territory with the hard clipping setting maxed out. However unlike completely analogue pedals that operate at their best within a small range of the gain available, this pedal sounds as if it is in the "sweet spot" at any gain setting I've used it in. So you truly can achieve great gain sounds from highly distorted to clean boost and everything in between. I underestimated the amount of control that the single tone knob would provide fearing that I would regret not having access to at least bass and treble or in fact a 3 band EQ to have as much control of the sound to best pair it with my amp and indeed just achieve a wider range of sounds. The way in which the tone control operates changes between drive settings in order to give you the control that is most useful depending on the type of drive you are using. For example the treble setting utilises the tone control as a means of reducing the amount of bass that is cut. This allows the setting to be used as a treble boost or a flat response boost depending on the position of the tone knob. As well as working to push an amp on the edge of breakup (the most common way I use my amp) this pedal works great into a totally clean amp to provide all of your gain. Remarkably heavy tones can be achieved using the hard clipper or 2 stage drive alone but when you stack them with a drive like the Texas drive the amount of gain you can achieve with a crystal clean amp sound is remarkable. Another great way I've used this pedal is with a distorted sound on my amplifier. When playing progressive styles of metal I would have previously relied on the amp gain alone from the dirty channel of my orange TH30 head. This channel features a "shape" knob which in practice sweeps from a pronounced mid hump with a bass and treble cut to a very scooped sound. This doesn't provide enough tone shaping for me and at times the sound isn't tight in the low end when using down tuned guitars. To get the best high gain tones I've found that by setting the shape knob with a little bit of added mid and hitting the front end with the treble boost to cut some of the bass (using the tone knob to control exactly how much bass I want) I can achieve big saturated tones with lots of clarity and tightness.
To summarise I believe this pedal is best suited for someone who wants versatility out of a relatively small package, excellent build quality, a pedal that can be adjusted to work with any amp and a tool which can provide considerable inspiration for your playing and for the types of tone you experiment with. This is a pedal that is a joy to get lost in for hours on end.
If I had any criticism it would be that for people who like to use presets there is limited preset functionality (a favourite setting can be recalled with an additional footswitch) other digital-analogue hybrid drive pedals offer more recallable presets which could be useful if you wanted to programme a live set for example. I personally don't even use the favourite switch so I therefore don't find this an issue. With this pedal and the riverside strymon have proved to guitar players that digital drive pedals are not only able to keep up with analogue pedals, but in fact provide unrivalled functionality and capability whilst providing incredible tones and familiar feel (thanks to the analogue front end). Couldn't recommend more highly.

So, after a few exchanged messages with guys at Strymon support team about how Sunset could work with bass and some of their testings done at that area I decided to get it. So as it stands in description there are two sides of pedal with 3 options each and they have an unlimited array of combinations and stacking. I personally use the A+B option, A on texas ot treble boost, B on hard and I mix the B channel on top of the cleanish A channel. Could not be more surprised how versatile and great this pedal is and how it reacts with my Jazz bass, definitely not leaving my board any time soon. If any of your guys consider to buy this to use with bass be sure there is a low possibility you will find more versatile overdrive/distortion pedal than this, so don't think twice, get it the first time ;)
Yeah also, a lot of hidden cool stuff in the product manual, so be sure to read that one when you make your first steps with Sunset!

Hi there,

I bought this Strymon Sunset and i was pretty exited to try it because all the review i read.
I hope it was like an overdrive / distortion Tone labs with many possibilities.

And indeed, there are a lot of combinations you can try. There is two part of this pedal:
- Side A with 3 settings: Ge(rmanium) / Texas / Tremble
- Side B with 3 settings too: 2 stages / hard / JFET
- You can decide if you run A into B, B into A or in parallel

It's also built like a tank so it will last for long.

So why such poor total rate ?
Having a lot of possibilities doesn't I like them and:
- I really like the Texas, 2 stages and Hard
- I found Ge OK but not great
- I dislike Tremble and JFET
- On both side of the pedals, i am not satifed with the tone knob. I couldn't reach the tone i want

Of course, it's just personal preference. Maybe you will try it and like it.

But with this price range, i cannot go on with a pedals I am not satisfied and after several hours of testing, i still have my first impression: I don't like it.

And this is why I am return it

This pedal was purchased to replace two pedals (OD and distortion, no cheap stuff) with one. When I took it out of the box, I set the buttons in the middle and then there was the WOW effect. How can two overdrive effects even together be so clear, clean and bright? Even the buttons on the "eleven" of both drives, every tone and note is distinct, no mud. The three options on the A and B side give many different options, and after some experimentation you will definitely find your own sound.
The four modes - Ge, Texas, 2 stage and hard - are decent overdrive effects. Treble and JFET are effects with a small overdrive and a crystal clear sound. Initially not so necessary for my style, but when combined with full overdrive you get a good boost. The purity and clarity of the Sunset pedal begged the question, could this itself become a problem? Too clear, too sterile? The tone knob helps reduce this, but the notes and frequencies are still audible. Maybe the pedal is expensive for some users, but in my opinion it is worth every penny.