I have so much respect for this guy. His ability to deep dive into so many complicated synths and explain them so well makes him probably my favorite reviewer these days. By the end you understand more than any other reviewer if this is for you or not. I still want you to review the Essence FM or give your brief impressions. I wish the Iridium had 4 parts, that would make me pull the trigger much easier. I could get rid of several synths to fund one if it had that feature.
What I like about your reviews is that they're very structured, deep and sober, everything is straight to the point. No aaahs and ummms, no attempts at explaining things to people who see a synth for the first time in their life at the expense of depth, no wallowing in marketdroid superlatives. That's an hour well spent.
this piece of gear is waaay beyond me and my needs, but man, your reviews are the most thorough and comprehensive of all the channels I've watched....the companies must either be thrilled or frightened sending you items :)
My only regret about Iridium is that I hesitated for two years before buying it. I thought the learning curve was too steep, but it turned out to be accessible and instantly gratifying.
Had this beast of a synth for a few days and it is absolutely amazing.I have scaled down my set up to get this as it can do so much. Anyone complaining about the price should go out and test this, you will not be disappointed.
We are in a pandemic and though it looks amazing it's digital which should mean that it should not be that expensive. My DSI Tempest is a thing of electronic wizadry , I can understand why it's so expensive. This is basically a music computer in a plastic box, ALOT cheaper to make
@@cheekoandtheman It's actually a metal chassis. Since it's digital it should be cheap? So anything digital is overpriced? Your Tempest is an analog drum machine and though an excellent one, it isn't doing anything special, you just like what it does. The truth of the matter is all of these machines we love can be replaced with a laptop or desktop for less cost and much more power and capabilities. You and I all those like us buy these machines for the experience of using them, the tactile feedback and feeling of the machines, that's what we are paying for.
cheekoandtheman what has a pandemic got to do with this synth? I have one and there is no computer available that could give the same tactile feel and ease of use. With your train of thought why bother buying a tempest when there are some amazing free drum vst’s and some definitely cheaper than the tempest that can do more...
I just found your channel a bit ago trying to learn about the TD-3 from Behringer. Your videos are so in depth and show information that most others skip over, including comparisons. They've been a godsend my guy, thank you so much :)
I always thought that the Yamaha EX5 would be the most crazy digital synth ever made, but Waldorf totally warps the EX5 (I own one, rack version, it's amazing, will never sell it) this synth is so bonkers, sounds amazing, endless possibilities I really want one. I prolly need a month or so to figure the thing out, but I want it. Great presentation!
I like how connectivity is one of the first things you address because often it’s one of the main factors that determines weather or not I’m interested in a synth.
I've come back to this video, over two years later, because I finally have myself an Iridium. Can't even begin to tell you how helpful this video suddenly is. Thank God for Loopop.
I have the greateshit respect and admiration for Mr Loopop. I have never and I no doubt will never ever see a better reviewer. He is mind boggelingly good at his job - his attention to detail is wonderous to behold. Many times I have found help from one of his videos at a time when I'm stuck for a workaround whilst using some piece of studio gear or another - and then added to which - whatever instrument I'm using I can rest assured that Mr Loopop will have reviewed it which is awesome!!! Mr Loopop for President.
Thank you .I can watch this presentation twenty times and I will still learn something each time .It is comprehensive reflecting the depth of the instrument .
This.................this is godriffic. I might sell my car for this! But aside from that, Loopop, you're the greatest gear reviewer of music of all time. You deserve a full television network.
Within a few hours after watching i decided to sell my Prophet Rev2 and another Eurorack Module and pre-ordered this beast. This is my kind of a modern workstation, wow!
Loopop, your demos and reviews are the most detailed and competent I've ever seen; much appreciation for your exploration of powerful gear that most of us can really only afford once we're sure we're not wrong about knowing it's what we need and want and that it'd work how we want it to. Thank you.
I’ve been eagerly waiting for this to show up to my door!! You’ve really went into detail with this which I appreciate. Between this and a novation summit this summer I think this will cover my poly needs.
A great video. At 44:00 you mention the panning of the dual filters and how the Quantum cannot do this. That feature is in the 3.0 update for the Quantum, which was just released as a beta version.
Waldorf has always been on the cutting edge of creativity. Sounds absolutely stellar!! Would have voted to replace touch pad section with some other synth features/functionality. Couldn't see if there was a plucked string resonator.
Eventually I bought my iridium. Now I keep coming back here to find out how to do stuff I can't find in the manual. I don't know how Loopop figured it all out but I'm sure glade he did, and keeps explaining it to me.
How do you like it? I’m thinking on getting one as well very soon. Don’t know if I can get away w something cheaper while still allowing the same type of sound design. Thanks!
@@macthomas8899 I like the iridium a lot, but I'm not worried about the price. If you want to go cheaper, Arturia's soft synth pigments is excellent for sound design. Live's suite also has tons of excellent stuff for sound design. But that's the whole software vs. hardware thing. Be warned about the iridium: there are still some bugs and the manual doesn't really tell you HOW to do stuff. I figure I can spend the rest of my life playing with my iridium, but I'll probably buy something new anyway just 'cause it's fun!
@@chriscopeman8820 Very helpful, thanks! I am going big on the analogue side, looking at a Prophet 10. Thought I'd try out the Hydrasynth if the Iridium isn't meant to be.
@@chriscopeman8820 Pigments 3 is, indeed, wonderful. I really dig it. I also owned a Quantum, which I sold at the top of the COVID-19 pandemic. I've missed it ever since and thought Pigments filled the same need, but I recently jumped back in with the Iridium. Waldorf really nailed something delightful here.
I thought so too, but after creating a particular sound, I rush to perform and record it, and then essentially have laid down the foundation of my entire new track, which I think enhance, sculpt and chisel at for another few days and boom! A pure source of inspiration!
Guess I need to get uses to riding the bus because I'll have to sell my car to afford this or the Quantum.. man this is why I fell in love with Waldorf back in 1999..... they just make amazing synths... I 💘 my microwaveXT
Does loopop interface directly with all this hardware? I swear he plugs himself in and is like "get the camera rolling, I've developed a full usability interface demo... "bleep bloop bleep...sorry let me convert to English".
This synth absolutely IS overkill, which is exactly my kind of synthesizer. I'm going to put this on a stand with my Kronos and just overkill the universe.
This synth keeps calling "Buy me!". I can afford it, but I have to keep coming back to this video to remember why I'm not smart enough to own this synth. Thanks, I'm sure I'll have to come back here again next month for another humbling experience.
Sequential, Novation, Waldorf, and probably many others: Why is it so easy to lose your sound design work on synths from all of these manufacturers by accidentally pressing a button, with no undo? C'mon folks, we've only been doing presets for 40 years, it's not rocket science ! 😃
If you consider the varying UI/UX monstrosities (like the Kronos etc.) it's as if the hardware synth engineers have learned nothing from decades of software design, even when their new product is a pure software solution on some dedicated hardware like e.g. this one. Undo seems to be a million years away when most manufacturers forgot that there once was a quite useful "compare" function on many synths, which doesn't exist anymore on any modern synth and could be considered half the way to "undo".
@@Leo9ine You're right, the Montage/MODX has edit/compare too. But my Fantom doesn't have that, so learning that the Iridium I'm eying a lot doesn't have that either struck a nerve there. :)
Wow, what a fantastic and elaborate review of this complex synth. You should work the trade shows for Waldorf to increase their sales, since they are not able to explain the synth in other than technical specs. You are such a natural presenter and everything is spot on. Great content 👍 what strikes me about the iridium is that it is such a hands-on synth that I really can imagine that the desktop format is easier to work with than bending over the keyboard at the quantum for hours in a row to create amazing sounds. At this point I can’t determine if the analog filters of the quantum weigh up to that. It has been over 30 years ago that I bought a brand new synth., the last I bought was an ESQ1( still have it) but the quantum/ iridium is something that I see myself ordering now after seeing this. It gives you many more palettes to choose from to complement my vintage analog gear , fm and vst’s like Omnisphere
WALDORF NEEDS TO FIX THESE PROBLEMS ASAP: •The screen touch response is pretty BAD, first and foremost •Fix Multisampling workflow •Latch to external Keyboards •Visual feedback on the Wavetable scroll •Step Sequencer increase (32 steps is too short for the SEQ) •Undo feature (at least one step)
Tony Scharf // LOL Indeed, I was saving for the Quantum. So I have the savings ready to buy the Iridium but I will hold up until they fix that screen and those issues.
@@MeAlexSenna Having owned many Waldorf boards over the years...I wouldn't count on it ever happening. If you can't live with it as it is, don't live with it. My Blofeld and Xtk knod in agreement.
Sounds great. The only thing making me hesitate a bit is the build quality. Lots of gaps in the casing and being able to see light thru those edges is irking the OCD in me
for such a machine, the lack of more physical I/O seems rather limiting; e.g. send&return jacks and additional stereo out would be beneficial (otherwise seems like squashing creativity through a thin straw)
I owned the Quantum, and I absolutely LOVED it. Had to sell (COVID job loss, not anything to do with the synth.) No rough experience there, just awesome experiences.
from what I've heard, the blofeld suffers from having a cpu which has not enough power to handle all the stuff. So depending on the stuff you do, the synth glitches and makes strange things. It's kinda funny and sad at the same time to think that the micro q from waldorf which they made way before the blofeld has basically the same specs regarding cpu wise afaik. But I guess waldorf learned a lesson there, if you look at their synths, there are more or less 3 generations, the early one, microwave 1/2, pulse, q, etc. Then there are what I call the modern day ones like pulse 2, blofeld and streichfett to name a few, and now the current ones, iridium, quantum and kyra. I guess it's kinda hard to compare one generation to another.
@@mb2776 I had a Blofeld, I did like it's sound on it's own, but found it really hard to fit in a mix, just something about it... but others may not have had that problem. Ended up selling it and getting Largo VST (same engine as Blofeld). I do regret it sometimes but I found myself at odds with the raw sound of it most of the time, and hardly use Largo now. Waldorf's sound is a bit of an acquired taste sometimes, but man are their synths great for complex soundscapes.
Ouch, no famous Loopop screens are needed to show this beaut :) esthetically I’ll hate my white Keystep, your black looks much better, but I got Beatstep Pro in black for it! Will be enjoying your detailed review while mine is traveling home, thank you Sir Loopop :) ... I thought there is a way to bulk load samples by special file naming already, maybe for Quantum only yet. Looking forward to drop Hangdrum and guitar in multi velocity with round robin to tweak those further. Sold anything else in my studio, and a kidney to have it all :) cheers!
Well, I resisted for about a week after watching this video (the first time). Then once I saw an option to VESA mount it on a swivel arm...I gave in. Thanks for your reviews. Absolutely the best synth reviews I've seen. I think I need to move to a place with another room.
@@BrianHalePhoto I like it a lot. It's one of the more powerful synths I own, for sure. I do have a little issue with some notes sticking on after the last firmware upgrade. And the upper left buttons are a little wiggly as loopop discusses. Waldorf website is pretty disappointing. But overall it's hard not to be pretty praising towards the Iridium.
At 8:02 LoopOp says, ". . . I think that after about a day of getting yourself oriented with what's going on here it's actually faily straightforward . . . " May I interpret this statement ? For most of you out there, after about a year of intense study things will be fairly straightforward.
@@loopop My post was meant as a compliment. This particular skill you possess is without doubt embedded in your DNA - which is not fair to us others when it comes to figuring out the maze of routines and second guessing what the heck the manufacture has developed. It is documented that when it comes to equipment with many options, most of us will only relegate ourselves to a smaller portion of its capacity because the options are not easily accessible (or the layout does not make sense). So you pay a few thousands for an instrument and then at some time discover over the years, you are using a fraction of it. What is that about? Which brings up another point, an instruction course I would gladly pay to enroll. When a video review is a catalyst to purchase an instrument, I gladly give a donation.
Amazing review as always. Looks impressive and would love to own one. Possibilities seem endless (actually feel overloaded), but unsure of the actual sound signature. Definitely on the want list, but would need to justify the cost mentally. One heck of an instrument or is it a machine/tool. Feels slightly cold in it's implementation. Just my initial reaction while hearing/watching videos. Not a hater just a point of view from a possible buyer.
Update - bought one. Wow is all I can say. Interface is quite intuitive after you get use to it. The sound design possiblites are endless. So much packed into one box. Currently run it through the Analog Heat which is not needed, but allows me to spice it up even more whenever I want. Glad I took the leap. Still in the honeymoon phase, but zero buyers remorse. Can't say that about all the gear I have purchased over the years.
4 года назад
What's scary is its from Waldorf (They were my favorite company for years) . if anything goes wrong especially with the screen. And a repair is needed......oh boy. After my blofeld experience. That thing was a mess! Bricked a second time and dump ed it. Now i still.have my q+ and microwave. And never had an issue with them. Still Work like new.. But have i have reservations about them now.. But in 2020 every synth should have sd,usb,cv,...etc ...
There making the costs ridiculous, only trust fund babies can afford this, especially during a pandemic. Because it was digital I was hopeful for a second. . Imagine if it was affordable it would of taken the music world by storm
The Iridium doesn't sound like anything else that I'm aware of. It doesn't have "that sound". It's something entirely different, and I had trouble identifying with it. It has a distinctly "Waldorf" sound. It's digital AF, but it's capable of hitting hard and going deep. I've sampled it to create some pretty interesting drum kits. My advice: Be patient with it. If you decide to purchase an Iridium, don't judge the synth based on its presets. There are well over 2,000 of them, and many of them aren't particularly "musical". In fact, some of them should have been omitted. Had I judged the instrument based on its presets, I would have returned it. Spend time creating your own sounds. Exploit the extensive mod matrix and sampler to their fullest potential. Kernel mode is wild. It's complicated, but fun. Explore the Komplex modulator and different filter modes. Use Live Granular to turn your mono synth into a poly.
Kurzweil K2700. The keyboard is for players. my favorite monster synth. You are getting one of the best keybeds out there. That's 1000 dollars right there.
Beautiful synth, so many features, some odd limitations though and the price. Struggling as to why such an advanced synth is only Bi-Timbral when Blofeld is multitimbral. Iridium is just screaming for multitimbral. Also the pads could’ve been something really special with after touch, so it’s a slight missed opportunity. Thanks for showing more of the Particle/granular engine and I’m wondering how it compares with GR-1 (dedicated) granular. Anyhow, if the price were $1800 I’d be more inclined to save up. The pricing for a desktop is a bit high for me.
I had the Iridium twice. Within 12 days serious crashes beyond repair. Blank screen, static crackles, knobs not functioning, patches not loading 100%. Money back. Twice. Finito basta. Now I gone totally modular, nada problemo whatsoever.
Great in depth review... well chosen skipping on small detail functions. 5 star review! Only small gripe on FX preview... maybe something more open sounding (saw) for modulation fx and more transient sounding for reverb tails. Thanks for your great videos!
Quantum beta 3.0 adds the pads (and lots more) and Rolf's said the Quantum's getting a digital/analogue hybrid mode, that includes up to 16 digital voices (in beta but not yet public)
Another brilliant exposition, packed with useful info! Have you considered highlighting the current topic in the timeline/index, e.g. with a different shade, to help location in a long video? It's just a suggestion and I know you already do a ton of work to make these vids as good as they are.
Thanks - I have considered it, but didn't find a way to do it that was quick and easy. Now that youtube is highlighting the topic on the timeline, hopefully that's a happy medium
@@loopop Yes, I imagine it would be fiddly and time consuming to do by hand - and if your ocd is anything like mine I'd be fretting over potential mistakes. I've only just noticed yt's topic highlighting. Thanks for pointing it out. That is really helpful!
Nice! I use an Ableton Push and mapping the macro knobs on it (or whatever controller you use) to midi CC so they function as macros is a fine compromise to not having dedicated macro knobs.
Nice to see. The filter actually sounded a bit better than I expected. Those rubber pads though. Ouch. I wish they made it larger with more controls (skipped those rubber pads to begin with) but I see the point of re-using the Kyra sized box. And I agree with the buttons. Things that make the experience a bit less nice : )
Not by file name or pitch to my understanding. There may be some meta data in there, but I tried my own multisamples and it didn't work and verified with Waldorf that file name and pitch aren't currently supported as mechanisms for multisample import. If you've succeeded please share how!
I thought that too until I launched Massive X. This one is way more powerful! Think about all the synthesis modes plus the complex FM routing, and the sheer number of LFOs, plus the full-blown sampler. Not to mention CV in for my modular hookup... This is the thing to get locked in the closet with for a day - no mouse required! :)
@@mikelazarev5833 Thanks for reminding me I need to have a look at the new Massive. Tho I use Bitwig and you can add infinite amount of LFOs, Envelopes, CV control from moduar and other modulation to any VST instrument out there.
