Today I want to take a look at the KMA Audio Machines Cirrus.
Mine is the limited blue version, which is probably part of the reason I finally bought one. I had wanted this pedal for a while already, but when I saw that finish, I knew I was done. Some pedals just look too good to ignore, and this was one of them.
This is also not a sponsored post. I bought this pedal with my own money. KMA Audio Machines has sponsored some of my NAMM trips and I have worked with them before, but this is not one of those cases. I am writing about the Cirrus simply because I really like the pedal and wanted to share how I have been using it.
And that last part is important.
This is not going to be one of those articles where I explain every single switch, hidden function, and internal setting in detail. The Cirrus can do a lot, and there are already excellent deep-dive demos out there. What I want to do here is something a bit different.
I want to look at the Cirrus in a musical context.
That is how I tend to think about pedals like this anyway. I record music in my home studio, and the thing that matters most to me is not whether a pedal has 37 cool features on paper. What matters is whether it inspires me, helps me create parts, and gives me sounds that end up on actual songs.
The Cirrus absolutely does that.
What Is the KMA Audio Machines Cirrus?
At its core, the Cirrus is a combined delay and reverb pedal.
The delay section lives on the right side and the reverb section lives on the left. You can decide whether the delay feeds the reverb or the reverb feeds the delay, which already makes a big difference. There is also an FX loop, expression control, tap tempo, and a bunch of dynamic functions that respond to your playing. Officially, the Cirrus offers three delay voices and three reverb voices, with additional modulation and filtering options built into those sections.
That all sounds impressive on paper, but I think it also explains why some players get the wrong first impression of this pedal.
The Cirrus can look like one of those pedals that only exists for massive ambient wash and endless soundscape stuff.
And yes, it can absolutely do that.
But that is not all it does.
My Approach With the Cirrus
When I first started using the Cirrus, I realized pretty quickly that this is not just an “ambient intro” pedal.
It can do the big cinematic thing really well. In fact, that is probably what makes people notice it in the first place. You can get those huge modulated delays, dreamy reverbs, and washed-out textures that make one note feel much bigger than it should.
That part is great.
But what made me keep the pedal was the fact that it also works in more normal musical situations. It can do sounds that sit inside a song without taking it over. It can add movement, depth, and character without turning everything into a cloud.
That matters a lot to me, because I do not want a pedal that is only useful for one very specific trick.
The Cirrus Sounds Great for Ambient Guitar
Let’s get the obvious thing out of the way first.
Yes, the Cirrus is fantastic for ambient music.
If you like those big atmospheric guitar parts where the delays and reverbs become part of the composition, this pedal is extremely inspiring. It makes it easy to create parts that feel emotional and cinematic, and it invites you to keep playing because the sounds themselves are so enjoyable.
That was the first thing I loved about it.
The Cirrus has a way of making simple guitar lines feel bigger and more alive. That is always a good sign. A great pedal does not just process your sound. It changes how you play.
This one definitely does.
It Also Works Much Better for Regular Songs Than You Might Expect
This is probably the most important thing I want to say about the Cirrus.
It is not just for ambient guitar.
I think that is the biggest misconception people might have when they first hear about it. Because yes, it does the wishy-washy ambient thing beautifully, but it can also do more focused sounds that work inside regular songs.
I used it for a more straightforward track as well, and it handled that kind of material really well. A modulated delay combined with the high-pass filter reverb gave me a sound that was spacious and interesting, but still clear enough to work in a fuller arrangement.
That is where the Cirrus really started making sense to me.
It is not just about making giant textures. It is about shaping space in a musical way.
Why the Reverb Side Is So Good
If I had to pick my favorite part of the Cirrus, it would probably be the reverb.
I have had the pedal for a few months now, and the reverb side is the thing I keep coming back to. It can do the huge, dreamy sounds people expect, but it can also do darker, shorter, more vintage-style reverb sounds that fit into a mix without drawing too much attention to themselves.
That flexibility is a big deal.
Because of the damp control and the general voicing of the reverb section, you can push it in different directions pretty easily. You can make it darker, shorter, softer, or more dramatic depending on what the part needs.
That is why I have enjoyed using it not just for ambient material, but also for bluesier and more traditional guitar parts.
A Great Example: Subtle Reverb for Blues and Riff-Based Playing
One of my favorite discoveries with the Cirrus was how good it can sound in a more restrained setting.
For some rhythm guitar parts, I used only the reverb side in the high-pass filter mode with the sensitivity turned down and the damping turned up. The result was a fairly fast, vintage-feeling reverb that added a bit of space without getting in the way.
That kind of sound is easy to underestimate, but it is incredibly useful.
Not every great reverb sound needs to trail off into infinity. Sometimes you just want a little bit of depth and a little bit of softness around the notes. The Cirrus can absolutely do that.
And for lead playing, you can take a very similar sound and simply give it a little more tail and a bit more level. That slight shift is enough to make the lead feel bigger without making it sound detached from the rest of the track.
The Delay Side Can Be Very Musical Too
The delay side deserves credit as well.
One setting I really liked was the modulated delay combined with the high-pass filter reverb. That pairing gave me a spacious sound that still stayed relatively controlled. I also found the darker sample-and-hold style delay setting useful for fingerpicked parts, because it keeps the repeats from cluttering the picking pattern too much.
That is a very practical advantage.
Sometimes delay sounds amazing by itself but becomes messy once you actually start playing a busier part. The Cirrus can avoid that if you choose the right settings. It is capable of big effects, but it can also stay out of the way when needed.
That balance is one of the reasons I like it so much.
What I Like Most About the Cirrus
The best thing about the Cirrus is inspiration.
This is one of those pedals that makes me want to write. It makes me want to record. It makes me want to keep experimenting with parts until I find something interesting.
That is always worth a lot.
I also like that it feels musical rather than technical. Yes, it has plenty of features. Yes, you can go deeper with it. But even without turning every session into a science project, it is easy to get sounds that are genuinely enjoyable.
And finally, I really like that it is not limited to one genre or one kind of guitar part. It can do huge atmospheric intros, but it can also live inside more conventional rock, blues, and singer-songwriter style material.
That makes it a much more useful studio tool than it might first appear.
What Could Be Better?
Honestly, there is not much I dislike about the Cirrus itself.
The only real caveat is that it is a deeper pedal than it may first seem. If you are the kind of player who wants everything to be instantly obvious from the front panel, there is a chance you will need a bit of time with this one. KMA also tends to include extra tweakability in their pedals, and the Cirrus is no exception.
For me, that is not really a problem, because I am happy to grow into a pedal if the sounds are good enough.
And here, they absolutely are.
Is the KMA Audio Machines Cirrus Good?
Yes. Very much so.
The KMA Audio Machines Cirrus is a genuinely inspiring delay and reverb pedal that does a lot more than just ambient soundscapes. It can create huge, dramatic sounds when you want them, but it can also be subtle, musical, and surprisingly practical in more traditional guitar parts.
That makes it far more versatile than some players might assume.
If you are looking for a delay and reverb pedal that can help you write, record, and explore new sounds, the Cirrus is definitely worth a serious look.
Final Thoughts
I bought the Cirrus because I thought it looked cool and because I had wanted one for a while.
Thankfully, it turned out to be much more than just a good-looking impulse purchase.
This is one of those pedals that keeps rewarding you the more you actually use it in music. Not just in isolated demos, but in real songs. That is where it really shines.
It can do the huge ambient thing. It can do darker and more controlled sounds. It can work with overdrive. It can work with fingerpicking. It can give you lead sounds that feel bigger and rhythm sounds that feel more alive.
And that is exactly the kind of thing I want from a pedal like this.
If you have been looking at the Cirrus and wondering whether it is only for ambient players, my answer would be no. It is much more useful than that.
And if you are into the ambient side of things as well, then that is just another reason to want one.
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