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This video is a model of how to review a synthesizer. Architecture at the beginning of the review is absolutely necessary for any sound designer who wants to know the possibilities; this video provides that. The sounds are important, but any, ANY synth can have a few sounds that are spectacular and then the rest no so. Patch preset playing has only limited value, so the "no talking" reviews are only of help to those interested only in preset sounds, not their own designs. Sound designers like to hear the raw oscillators and filters and with the knowledge of architecture and modulation routing we get a good map of the direction the synth can go. Thanks Daniel, another great review.
I got into synthesizers in a big way in the early 90's because you could buy a used Prophet 600 or a CZ-1 polysynth for less than $200 back then. I bought the PPG plugin and fell in love with the Waldorf sound. Now I'm waiting for the Iridium I ordered.
Thanks, Daniel. Your reviews are always incredibly helpful. Simple, easy to see/hear explanations for complex functions. We all appreciate the effort you put into these. :)
great overview as always Daniel - always enjoy seeing you dig into synths. I think it's worth pointing out that the kernels oscillator is so much more than just DX style linear FM/phase modulation - it also does exponential "true" FM, am, ringmod and wavetable position modulation and the type of mod going into each kernel/operator is individually selectable per kernel. Also, in the master screen there's a bass boost off/on option that is system wide and persists beyond power cycle - that has a marked effect on every sound coming out of the iridium, giving a warmer/more analog flavor when on or allowing for cleaner/more digital sounding tones when off.
Hi PaulOnYT. Everything on the Waldorf Iridium is "so much more than just x" ;-) I'll bet I could spend a few years on each of its synthesis engines and still not exhaust each of their possibilities. Thanks for watching! -_Daniel_
I love the progress of synth tech. The feature set on this is amazing. I am also feeling the awesome value of a hydrasynth module for $800. I wonder when roland or yamaha is going to introduce a supercomputer MODXtreme or a DeepFathom that loads up all this morphing plus wavestate trickery lol. All of the big 3 have superpowered workstations already
Damn.. wish my Blofeld had that nice screen to better work out the routing etc.. and it’s nice to see the wavetables but that’s just a nice thing to look at.
Sure, on a 16 midi channel multi timbrel instrument you can have 16 different insrument sounds, one assigned to each channel. Splitting the keyboard allows you to assign each instrument to a range of midi notes on a keyboard or controller. If you have a 2 channel system you can only split two sounds on the keyboard or controller. Some modules or keyboards have preprogramed multi instrument splits that dont need multi midi channels.
first, does this thing get aggressive and punchy? most demos I hear really sound pad like which is not bad but doesn't really show off what it is capable of.
Hi mpfj. I agree that the presets choices currently tend to lean towards airy metallic pads. But everything that I've discovered, in the short time I've been in front of the Iridium, has me confident that it can do pretty much anything I ask of it. Iridium is clearly for musicians who want to synthesize exactly what they hear in their head. -_Daniel_
truly a 'proper' synthesiser ! waldorf still have the magic but for anybody who has never owned waldorf, they are deep enough to keep you busy for life so prepare yourself for a gas killer. Not sure the price is right but there is a lot of tech inside and it is a beauty of a design
Great walkthrough, Daniel! Tempted! One question, when I connect external audio into Iridium input (Moog 37CV), does it go thru filters and FX? So Moog sound gets Iridium treatment and I play both, listening to Iridium out/phones (also connecting them midi and CV in/outs for more control). TNX!
It looks amazing. But it sounds....super brittle? Every patch sounded like it had a monster 10k air boost on it from a cheap software EQ. And very few of those stock patches sounded even remotely musical. Maybe it’s just too far over my head, but I don’t get it. Especially at that price-point. Just based on all the sound demos online, I think I’d much prefer a Hydrasynth. That screen is gorgeous though.
I catch your drift. This is a typical sound designers dream. Ideal for cinematic sounds. A zillion features is nice to play with, but won't convince me to buy. I've had the chance to try the Quantum at home, and ended up with buying the Novation Summit and the Modal Argon 8. Both sounding very warm and organic. And no way I could find that in a Quantum. (Kyra has got a similar 'problem') And if I want to do weirdo sounds, I just turn on my V-synth XT.
somehow i think the next generation of synths/workstations are going to incorporate much more of this since it is all going onto super-powered DSP platforms. It is just a matter of the time it takes to program these ideas into new synths. I think about shimmer-verb. ?15 years ago ?strymon added shimmer for a brand new reverb algorithm. now every digital reverb has shimmer as a stock patch. i think the wavestate concept and now this deep modulation and morphing of the iridium will be added to other brands of synths. my gut feeling is to sit tight and fill in some analogs i have been wanting while i wait for the next gen of digitals.
My first synth was a Juno analog back in the 80's, but since the late 80's I have been buying digital. I have been waiting 30 years now for these digital deep synthesis powerful, high resolution synths now. I was impressed with Roland's ACB and bought two Boutique synths a few years back and did not go for the System8. And held off on buying a Roland FA, did not seem like the sound was all that impressive or advanced. As an acoustic piano performer I would like to include the V-Piano which is available in the Fantom...don't know if I want to wait a few more years :)
The only synth I’ve wanted since dsi evolver. We need more knobs and deeper mods. Tired of just simple analog this and hipster that. Ms20 serves me well. I wanna go deep and endless.
Hi Made In Machines. I turned the global LED and Screen brightness down to just below 50% to make it look best for the camera. So it can get significantly brighter and more colorful if you want it to. Thanks for watching! -_Daniel_
@@sweetwater Is the quantum exactly the same in terms of the interface, colours used, brightness? Also for touch responsiveness? I believe the quantum is slightly higher resolution.
You can play a melody or a solo on this, or just a very complicated FX rickshaw, with a sequencer, repeated in one tone, which is either interesting or not? (Moog One, where are you...)
I haven't found anybody in the Portland, OR. area who is carrying this synth. How do I go about being able to put my hands on one and get a feel for it myself?
This generation's Fairlight, most exciting leap in mainstream digital synth since VAST, still don't know what the hell they're doing with that pad bank crap. Want.
Hi JOE$YA. It's the Studiologic Numa Compact 2X: www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NumaCom2x--studiologic-numa-compact-2x-88-key-semi-weighted-keyboard-with-aftertouch Thanks for watching! -_Daniel_
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)
dadigitechman // I did bought one, tested and returned it. The screen inconsistencies are bigger than I would like. I wrote to someone at Waldorf and they told me they won’t fix it by a software update, it needs to be a new hardware update. Until then I’ll keep my money.
dadigitechman // I hear you. I want it the Iridium to be that synth too, but it has some flaws, and Waldorf has a record of not fixing things once they are out. (Blofeld and Valkyre) I like the Super6 but it’s hard to sit it on the mix, I tested the Hydra and I tough I wasn’t going to like it (mostly for being chinese) but I bought one and come back to it a lot, except not sampling or user wavetables... I really like a few old gems from the 80s and 90s now day’s, Ensoniq ASR10 and for beefiness Korg DSS-1 for massive low end with sampling capabilities. Not the newest stuff out there but they both sit well in the mix and sound polish from the get go. Plus they are cheap-ish
@@MeAlexSenna Have you watched video's of the Hydrasynth? It's lfo and modulation and wavwtables etc all are very similar to this synth. Infact Daniel here has a great demo video of it.
Hi derek. You are absolutely right. I could easily spend an hour showcasing each synthesis type and still not spotlight all of its possibilities. Thanks for watching! -_Daniel_
Hardware digital synthesizers are unfortunately destined to die in the following years, unless they offer unique features that advanced VSTs cannot. Most of the gears are now digital and in the digital domain VSTs offer you far superior options. Analog world is a whole different story though.
There are still a lot of people who absolutely hate using a computer to make music. I’m not one of them, but for them, this is their only chance to get a synth like Falcon or Omnisphere. It’s a big open hole in a market.
No VST has that interface...Plus once you have certain VSTs the others become irrelevant. These synths always have usable features years after purchasing. I’d like to hear more acoustic samples through this however. The FM was perfect!
240 seconds per cycle on the LFO.. Come on Waldorf.. even MATHS can go to 25mins. Ornament and Crime has that glacial time table one that can go for days I think
I own a Kyra and I can't say I'd recommend it until Waldorf starts supporting it. I personally think 2500 is asking way too much for the polyphony offered on the Iridium. I understand the engine and layout are pretty unique, but it really just seems like they took the internals of the Quantum and used some scrap from the Kyra production for the synths chassis. It's a bummer they are sticking with this design IMO. Hard to find stands that are hefty enough and they aren't rack mountable or VESA mount like originally advertised
@@biggrime Nope. There have been a few paid patch packs released recently. None of them contain full banks, still no official editor, no updates for months. Waldorf seems to still be posting Quantum and Iridium updates and advertisement. Still use the Kyra daily. It has tons of possibilities, just lots of quirks.
0:18 It looks like the knobs aren't even. This after reports and pictures of badly misaligned buttons on some units. All-digital, desktop, sub-par build quality. $2500 US. Ballsy play from Waldorf.
Is it possible to speak a little bit less and demo more sound design tweaks, or post other videos dedicated to synths nerds 😁 showing, e. g. this sybth in a mix with VST and a vintage synth as well? Am I asking too much? 🤣
