Strymon Riverside User manual

USER MANUAL
Version 1.2

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 2
Technology Overview – Multistage Drive Topology
Riverside achieves its sound by passing the signal through a cascade of
individual gain stages. Dynamic complexity and additional harmonics
are generated at each stage as the signal travels from one stage to the
next.
STAGE ONE: Class A Analog JFET
Input Gain Stage
Touch response and dynamic
interaction with your guitar are
optimized with the class A JFET
input gain stage. This analog gain
stage is digitally controlled to
maximize headroom and noise
performance while adding as much
as 20dB of analog gain.
Read Before Using
This manual covers the feature set for Riverside pedals running
version 1.2 firmware and later. To check if your Riverside is running
version 1.2 firmware, follow the instructions in the note at the bottom
of page 31.
The User Manual for Riverside version 1.0 is available here.
Riverside version 1.2 adds the ability to remotely control your
Riverside via a MIDI connection.
If you wish to install the latest update, go to strymon.net/
firmwareupdate and follow the directions.

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 3
Technology Overview – Multistage Drive Topology (cont.)
STAGE TWO, THREE AND FOUR: Tube-Inspired DSP Gain Stages
Our analysis of tube gain circuits has resulted in a wide-band series
of cascading gain stages that are detailed, rich and full of complex
harmonics. At each stage, more harmonics are generated and the
signal dynamically evolves as the inter-stage circuitry optimally
conditions the response for the following stage.
VARIABLE CIRCUIT TUNING
Riverside’s continuously variable circuit
tuning dynamically tweaks multiple
parameters as you adjust the Drive,
optimizing the signal path to sit in the
‘sweet spot’ at any gain setting. This
results in a super-versatile drive pedal
that is equally comfortable providing sparking clean and mildly-
overdriven tones, to high-gain lead and heavily saturated distortion.
3BAND EQ
Riverside’s 3 band EQ, with
independent Bass, Middle and
Treble knobs, is designed to
complement your amp’s tone
with the flexibility needed to dial
in your sound effectively and
efficiently. The controls are post-
drive, meaning they effectively
sculpt and shape the harmonics
generated in Riverside’s gain
stages.
Controls and Connections – Controls

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 4
PRESENCE SWITCH
The minus (-) position provides clarity with a controlled
top end that works well with many amps that have
a brighter voice or extended top end character. The
enhanced (center) position extends the top end to allow
for more sizzle on high gain tones. This works well with amps that have
a warmer voicing, or if you want enhanced detail in the uppermost
frequencies. When plugging directly into a power amp, the plus (+)
position further increases high end detail that may be required. The
plus (+) position will also deliver extended high end detail to the
darkest amps.
PUSH SWITCH
Adding a mid-band EQ push just after the analog front-
end gain results in pushing the subsequent drive stages
harder, and tightens up the response. This works
great when looking for fat drive tones, or for pushing
a distorted or on-the-edge amp into further breakup. For cleaner or
more transparent tones, select the ‘normal’ position.
GAIN SWITCH
The ‘low’ channel selects a gain structure that allows
for a wide range of low to medium gain sounds while
still getting heavily overdriven at maximum Drive
settings. The voicing is dynamic and touch-sensitive,
and at high Drive settings is slightly ‘loose’ like a dimed vintage amp.
The ‘high’ channel increases the gain throughout the signal path and
tightens things up. While still staying clean at lower Drive settings, the
‘high’ gain mode goes to heavy crunch and high gain as the Drive knob
is increased.
Controls and Connections – Controls (cont.)

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 5
Controls and Connections – Front Panel
• GAIN
Toggles between the low
or high gain channel.
• DRIVE
Adjusts the amount
of gain applied to
the signal. Employs
continuously variable
circuit tuning to adjust
many circuit parameters
as you turn the knob.
• BASS
Active shelving/
parametric low
frequency control.
• FAVORITE
Used to recall a single stored on-board favorite setting, which consists
of all knob, switch, and noise gate settings.
RED LED indicates that the on-board Favorite setting is selected.
Press and hold FAVORITE switch for 2 seconds to save a new on-board
favorite sound.
COMPARE MODE
With FAVORITE on, LED turns from RED to GREEN if current position is
identical to saved favorite.

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 6
Controls and Connections – Front Panel (cont.)
• PUSH
Toggles between flat
or enhanced midrange
frequencies.
• LEVEL
Controls the output volume
level when the effect is ON.
• TREBLE
Wide-ranging high frequency
active shelf control.
• MIDDLE
Parametric mid boost/
cut control with optimized
frequency center.
• ON
Bypasses analog and digital gain
stages. Defaults to relay based
true bypass, but can also be set to
buffered bypass mode in which the
volume pedal and boost functionality
are preserved.
NOTES:
Saving Presets works differently when using MIDI. (See page 31 for
more info.)
When using MIDI, RED LED still indicates that the on-board Favorite
setting (MIDI Preset 0) has been selected, and AMBER LED indicates
that any other MIDI Preset is currently selected.
Pressing the FAVORITE switch while any MIDI preset is active will
return back to the manual (knobs and switches) setting of Riverside.
The FAVORITE switch will always toggle between the MANUAL MODE
setting and the on-board Favorite setting regardless of whether a
different MIDI Preset was previously selected.

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 7
Controls and Connections – Rear Panel
• POWER
Use an adapter with the
following rating: 9VDC center
negative. 250mA minimum.
• PRESENCE SWITCH
Tailors the top end character of the output
to match your amp. Try minus (-) or center
in front of an amp. Try plus (+) when
plugging straight into a power amp.
• IN
Mono instrument input.
• OUT
Mono signal output.

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 8
Controls and Connections – Rear Panel (cont.)
• BOOST
Can be used in one of four ways:
Boost Switch Mode – Use an external Favorite switch to toggle up
to +6dB of post boost on/off (See page 14 for setup.)
Favorite Output Mode – Connect to the EXP input of another
Strymon pedal set to work in Favorite EXP mode to toggle the
Favorite setting of that pedal with Riverside’s on-board FAVORITE
switch. (See page 19 for more info.)
Expression Pedal Mode – Allows continuous control over any of
the knobs with a standard TRS expression pedal. (See page 20 for
more info.)
Volume Mode – Allows control of the output volume of the effect
with a standard TRS expression pedal. (See page 22 for more info.)
• EXP
Can be used in one of four ways:
Expression Pedal Mode – Allows continuous control over any of the
knobs with a standard TRS expression pedal. (See page 20 for more
info.)
Volume Mode – Allows control of the output volume of the effect with a
standard TRS expression pedal. (See page 27 for more info.)
MIDI Mode – Allows a MIDI connection for remote preset changes and
control messages. (See page 18 for more info.)
Favorite Input Mode – Use a Strymon MiniSwitch to remotely toggle
the saved Favorite setting on and off. (See page 18 for more info.)

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 9
Live Edit Functions – Noise Reduction Threshold
Riverside has a variable-threshold noise reduction feature
to tame hum and buzz when you’re not playing. A downward
expander with advanced signal detection techniques creates
a seamless transition to noise reduced silence with all types
of input signal dynamics, including staccato bursts and slowly
sustained notes.
Press and hold the ON footswitch
until the LED rapidly blinks.
Release the ON footswitch.
1

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 10
Live Edit Functions – Noise Reduction Threshold (cont.)
Turn the DRIVE knob past the 12
o’clock noon position to engage
the noise reduction.
The FAVORITE LED will change
from GREEN to AMBER to indicate
the noise reduction has been
engaged. Turning DRIVE past
12 o’clock increases the noise
reduction threshold for louder and
noisier setups. The FAVORITE LED
will change from AMBER to RED
to indicate the increased noise
reduction threshold level.
Press the ON
footswitch to store
the new noise
reduction setting to
Riverside.
32
NOTE: The noise reduction setting can be saved independently
for the onboard Favorite setting, MIDI presets and the MANUAL
settings of Riverside.

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 11
®
TRS
Connect an external footswitch with a TRS cable to toggle the
boost of up to +6dB on and off.
Live Edit Functions – Boost Level
Press and hold the ON footswitch until the
LED rapidly blinks.
Release the ON footswitch.
OR
2
1

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 12
+3dB
+6dB
Live Edit Functions – Boost Level (cont.)
Turn the LEVEL knob to set
the amount of boost up to
+6dB. As you turn the boost
amount up, the color of
the blinking LED changes
from GREEN for low boost
settings to RED for high boost
settings.
Press the ON footswitch to
store the new boost level to
Riverside.
3
4
NOTE: The Boost setting
is saved globally to the
Manual, Favorite, and
Bypass settings of Riverside.

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 13
Power Up Modes – Bypass Mode Selection
Press and hold the ON
footswitch while powering
up the pedal. Once both
LEDs flash, release the
footswitch.
Press the ON or FAVORITE footswitch to store
The Bypass mode and begin using Riverside.
1
3
Turn the LEVEL knob to select
True Bypass or Buffered
Bypass
2
GREEN -True Bypass
(default)
RED -Buffered Bypass:
Using Buffered Bypass allows
Volume mode and Boost
Switch mode.
Setting Riverside to Buffered Bypass mode preserves the high
frequency response of your guitar signal through your pedal chain
and long cable runs.

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 14
Power Up Modes - BOOST Jack Options
Select what the BOOST jack will do.
FAVORITE (Press and hold the
FAVORITE footswitch while
powering up the pedal.) Once
both LEDs flash, release the
footswitch.
1
NOTE: If version 1.0 firmware is
installed, Expression and Volume
modes are not available. Please
refer to the Riverside version 1.0
manual at strymon.net/support/
riverside.

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 15
Power Up Modes - BOOST Jack Options (cont.)
Turn the DRIVE knob to set the BOOST jack mode.
GREEN – Expression Pedal Mode
(See page 20 for more info)
RED – Volume Mode
(See page 22 for more info)
AMBER – Favorite OUT Mode
(See page 19 for more info)
PURPLE – Boost Switch Mode (default)
(See page 11 for more info)
2
Press the ON or FAVORITE footswitch once
again to store power up modes and begin using
Riverside.
3

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 16
Select what the EXP jack will do.
Turn the LEVEL knob to set the EXP jack mode.
GREEN - Expression Pedal Mode
RED - Volume Mode (default)
AMBER - Favorite IN Mode: Toggle the Favorite preset on and
off remotely.
BLUE - MIDI Mode: Remote preset changes and control
messages via external MIDI controller. (See page 27 for more
detail about using MIDI.)
Press and hold the
FAVORITE footswitch while
powering up the pedal.
Once both LEDs flash,
release the footswitch.
Power Up Modes - EXP Jack Options
2
1

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 17
Press the ON or FAVORITE
footswitch once again to store power
up modes and begin using Riverside.
Power Up Modes - EXP Jack Options (cont.)
3
NOTE: Power up modes are saved for all future
power ups until they are changed again with the
steps above.
NOTE: If version 1.0 firmware is installed, MIDI mode
is not available. Please refer to the Riverside version
1.0 manual at strymon.net/support/riverside.

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 18
Connect a MiniSwitch with a TRS cable to toggle the on-board
Favorite preset on and off.
External Control – Using Favorite Input
Ensure that the EXP
jack is configured for
FAV IN. (See page 16
for more info.)
Connect a Switch
with a TRS cable
to the EXP jack of
Riverside.
Dial in a setting
on Riverside
using the knobs
and switches
for your desired
sound.
Press and hold Riverside’s on-
board FAVORITE switch for 2
seconds to save this setting as
a new on-board Favorite sound.
1
2
3
®
TRS
NOTES:
The on-board FAVORITE switch will not toggle the Favorite preset
when Riverside is set to Favorite In mode and a MiniSwitch is
connected to the EXP jack.
Saving Presets works differently when using MIDI. (See page 31
for more info.)
OR

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 19
Use Riverside to recall the Favorite setting of another connected
Strymon pedal.
External Control – Using Favorite Output
EXP
INPUT
9VDC
+-
RIGHT OUTLEFT OUT
Configure the BOOST jack to
send Favorite Out messages.
(See page 14 for more detail
about configuring the Boost
jack.)
Connect the BOOST jack of
Riverside to the EXP input of
another Strymon pedal with a
TRS cable.
Make sure the connected
pedal is set to Favorite EXP
mode.
Please refer to the favorite
switch setup section of
the connected pedal’s
owner’s manual for details.
All manuals available at
strymon.net/support.
Save a Favorite setting on the
connected Strymon pedal.
OPTIONAL STEP: Store a new
Favorite setting on Riverside
to go along with the Favorite
setting on the connected
Strymon pedal.
Pressing the FAVORITE switch
on Riverside will toggle the
Favorite setting on both
Riverside and the connected
Strymon pedal as well.
1 2
34

Riverside - Multistage Drive ®
pg 20
Use a TRS Expression pedal to control the knobs of Riverside
Press and hold both FAVORITE
and ON footswitches for a few
seconds until both LEDs begin
blinking GREEN.
Connect the Expression pedal to
the EXP jack of Riverside using
a TRS cable.
NOTE: It is also possible to
assign the BOOST jack as the
input for Expression mode.
This is useful if you wish to
connect MIDI to the EXP jack,
but still wish to use a pedal to
control Expression. (See page
14 for details about assigning the
BOOST jack.)
2
1
External Control – Expression Mode