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.

@aretwodeetoo1181

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I have no clue how he does that either. Feel so stupid watching this channel...

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 :)

@ivmup2232

Жыл бұрын

You need a few 1000 years to test all these synths thoroughly...

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 :)

Really appreciated your comparison to the Quantum sir! 🙃 You’re so necessary in my education on new and complex instruments!

@loopop

3 жыл бұрын

🙌🏻🙏🏻

Can I afford this $2500 synth? Nope. Am I going to watch all 72 minutes of this and pretend like I can? Yep.

@ricartur3378

4 жыл бұрын

Same here, hehehe

@mattnickel5113

4 жыл бұрын

That’s how much?! Sorry but I’m not watching past the 2 min mark!

@happylittlesynth

4 жыл бұрын

Spoken like a true master of GAS

@glenfinch5057

4 жыл бұрын

maybe i can get it at the library.

@robertsyrett1992

4 жыл бұрын

And that's the "lower price tag" they were referring to.

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 .

Great video! And thank you Loopop for having introduced some of my FM presets! 41:07

@loopop

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sending them over!

@trevor4835

4 жыл бұрын

Go make a nf-1 only video

@CO5MA

4 жыл бұрын

Hogman 5000 😊👌🏻

Thank you Loop Op for your video(s). Enjoy looking, learning with the manuals as a visual. The way you explain it...makes it more easy to understand.

What a great watch this was, thanks for another awesome video Loopop.

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.

@no_guarantees

2 ай бұрын

How is it going since you received the synth?

Good that you got a chance to make this review, extremely valuable for an Iridium newbie!

Brilliant thanks! Just about to dive into one of these and this is a big help!

Yet another fantastic, balanced review - as always! Cheers!

I was waiting for this!

@agreen9903

4 жыл бұрын

Oh I need 1 of these in my life

@JasonGillmanJr

4 жыл бұрын

@@agreen9903 Absolutely

@olinred

4 жыл бұрын

My wallet was dreading this

@michaelkonstantinov7857

4 жыл бұрын

me 2!

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.

@andrewm503

4 ай бұрын

I just got the keyboard version and I am amazed how initiative the whole system is to use, between the screen and the physical.

@marcus268

4 ай бұрын

same here, but the core was a lot cheaper so ... i dont like the factory patches - but i really liked the first patch, i did on my own. Top synth.

You really do the work for your reviews well done.

been waiting on this.

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.

A movie length review. I am trying to imagine the effort needed to make a video like this! Impressive.

The amount of detail and in depth knowledge you convey with each piece of hardware you review just keeps blowing my mind.

@garyturner5204

3 жыл бұрын

Netsuko he does such an awesome job!

Super nice tuto.Thanks !!! i will was impacient for this review.

Realy love what you do, that's help a lot to understand what is about synth we can get hands on, on sometime manual are not realy clear... 👌💯

This synth is incredible!

Awesome review. Thank you!

Really like this piece of hardware, it is incredible what they have squeezed in that little box.

I can't begin to fathom how long it must have taken to plan and make this video, with so many features to cover. yeesh! great review

@garyturner5204

3 жыл бұрын

thinside AWESOME REVIEW! It is amazing how touch’s on literally everything the synth does and how to edit it, in every video he does!

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 , great stuff

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.

@17cortland74

4 жыл бұрын

Same. I’m about to sell some gear because this is so damn capable.

@jacobbrown1690

4 жыл бұрын

i gonna buy the behringer system 100 and syatem 55 modulars instead.. i have the vst version of this already.

@cheekoandtheman

4 жыл бұрын

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

@17cortland74

4 жыл бұрын

@@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.

@steveh9799

4 жыл бұрын

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...

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.

@loopop

3 жыл бұрын

My pleasure - thanks for taking the time to write!

1:12:13 That's what I was waiting for. Beautiful demonstration of this complex synth.

Best video about that instrument. This subharmonicon section is mind blowing

subharmonic kernels is the name of my new band

@isweartofuckinggod

4 жыл бұрын

Yo can I join? Not to brag, but I am a great triangle player.

@watercolourmark

4 жыл бұрын

I’d go for, The Subharmonic Colonels.

@muitosabao

4 жыл бұрын

@@watercolourmark badum tsh :D :D

@GB3770

3 жыл бұрын

What type of popcorn is that then? Lolol.

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!

Great. It helps me a lot to understand Waldorf and Synth. Many thanks.

Man a monster review for a monster synth! I may need to pop out for beer and snacks!

Lovely bit of kit!

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

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.

This Synth looks amazing !! I wish I could afford it. Thanks for the awesome review!!!

@ivmup2232

Жыл бұрын

You could, but only buy it, if you really invest 10 years nonstop into it..

superb video Loopop, I have been eyeing up the keyboard version of this, I feel its time to max out my credit card again!!!!

@loopop

2 жыл бұрын

My pleasure - keyboard review coming out real soon!

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.

I certainly don‘t mind the pun 😄 Thanks for this comprehensive and fun overview!

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!

@SomeOne-pd6vm

3 жыл бұрын

How'd that work out?

@grosserd1198

3 жыл бұрын

@@SomeOne-pd6vm exactly like planned. loving the Iridium, not missing my Prophet

Can I afford it? Yes. Do I want it? Yes. Do I need it? Nope...

@JayTheLane

3 жыл бұрын

Can you give me some green bro? I'm a poor musician ;)

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.

@macthomas8899

3 жыл бұрын

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!

@chriscopeman8820

3 жыл бұрын

@@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!

@macthomas8899

3 жыл бұрын

@@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.

@browe

3 жыл бұрын

@@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.

Oh I forgot to ask - how does the granular compare the the GR-1? Does it have the fixed / absolute grain length you were looking for?

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!

My dream synth!

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.

@loopop

Жыл бұрын

Thanks, and go LoopFlix!

With this machine i would leave the realm of making music really quick.

@mikelazarev5833

3 жыл бұрын

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!

@GB3770

3 жыл бұрын

Yup way too many menus...pass....

@edvinpedvin

3 жыл бұрын

My feeling too. It would be a great sound design tool for going deep with, though. For those so inclined.

@SuchaDoofus

3 жыл бұрын

Yup. Sofa noodling

@bandersong4650

3 жыл бұрын

Same. You gotta take that and resample

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

Жыл бұрын

So how do you like it?

@danapfranz

Жыл бұрын

@@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.

Hi Ziv. Another great video!! What are all those holographic scopes and other tools you use?

@loopop

4 жыл бұрын

It's just an overlay in post of scopes by Melda... not real unfortunately

Whaat.. The interface looks very intriguing.. Interesting

Just wow. What a synth! I don't have the budget for it - so I'd love to have a software/VST version of it! Unbelievable.

Iridium killed the computer star? As always, your outro was amazing.

@nomik

4 жыл бұрын

indeed. i want more from that outro!

Got one. No more time to spend on KZread now. WHAT A SYNTH !!!

Such a great video ! Is this the Access Virus ti successor?

Brilliant! You are my hero! :-)

Hello loopop thxsomuch 💥🙏💥

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

awesome video as always - question about the sequencer: can the parameter sequencer(s) have different lengths from the note sequencer? and can you use that to modulate subharmonic ratios in the kernel engine?

Great review as always! I've got one question on the chord sequencer: Can or can't you choose which chords you'd want to play from the 16 given ones?

hello, first of all congrats for amazing tutorial on this, i have one question i have all my euroracks and moogs perfectly synched when i try to sync iridium with clock in from them from the source it say no external clock received i try via midi and via cv always the same result any idea why?

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.

@Fakinos_Konstantinos

2 жыл бұрын

So if I understood, can I use other midi or Ableton Push to midi map parameters of Iridium? I was wondering if that is possible.

Hi. How is the "state-variable" filter here different from any other filter type? I'm used to "state-variable" meaning that a filter can gradually interpolate between LP-Notch-HP states, like the Sequential OB6, or maybe LP-BP-HP states. Does the Iridium do this? If not, how are its state-variable filters different from any other filters? Thanks!

I see the Iridium firmware has been updated a few times since that review, but I can't find a changelog of the various firmware updates online. Does anyone know where the various fixes/new features are listed?

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.

@chandlertwilson6652

3 жыл бұрын

makes sense. i'll prob do the same thing. we have a problem.

@vaspers

3 жыл бұрын

Destroy only the bad things in the universe. I'll help!

@joaquincareca9254

2 жыл бұрын

Is the hydrasynth the best controller if you have the desktop version?

@ErwinSchrodinger64

2 жыл бұрын

A Kronos and an Iridium is everything you'll ever need. I haven't scratched the surface on my Kronos II.

@ramonkey2939

2 жыл бұрын

I’m going add this to my YamahaMODX setup

I keep coming back to this as it’s so well presented, as with all your videos! Grateful if you might be able to help with one question, that I can’t seem to figure out, through the manual or otherwise. Is it possible for each oscillator to have its own amplitude / filter envelope, or do the amp and filter envelopes only apply globally, i.e. to all three oscillators? Many thanks!

@sudhanva-bhat

Жыл бұрын

Probably you can make use of the available free envelopes for this purpose.

@arv_9

Жыл бұрын

@@sudhanva-bhat great, will give that a go, thanks!

Hi, so with the sequencer being monophonic I can't assign them the 3 different oscillators (Kerner, Wavetable & Granular)? Maybe with the recent new OS? Thank you

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

I hope to see Jexus get his hands on one of these...or better yet, a Quantum.

@chandlertwilson6652

3 жыл бұрын

he did already and found a time warp back to the future. where he was from.

i'm most curious about using samples within the sequencer and what level of flexibility/depth is available there. without having read the manual i'm guessing you could only use 3 samples at a time amongst the available 'oscillators?'

Sounds meaty!

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.

@loopop

4 жыл бұрын

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

@fburton8

4 жыл бұрын

@@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 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 : )

man i can't wait to get my hands on this thing

Can you load custom samples for Resonator engine? And can you use long samples for it?

Damn it! This is a truly deep beast!!

I'm quite new to synthesisers and have watched many posts, hydrasynth, udo super 6, Sequential, Wavestate, Opsix etc but for some reason my gut Instinct is swaying towards this. I make all genres of music but these sounds are a delight. Should I get this or the Quantum?

Hey! How about to get rid of the pads and put a double sized or dual screen isntead waldorf :)

Im trying to decide between the iridium with the keys and the 3rd wave. I’m looking for impressive sounds I can use right away. And very user intuitive. Which would you recommend? I currently own the udo super 6. I love the sounds but it’s very limiting. Not many presents and No touch screen.

Hi. Can you tell me more about the sequencer. It is monophonic or polyphonic with the latest Os. I am interested in making rhythms with synthesis, I think it has polyphonic possibilities. The thing I didn't understand is if you can assign to the sequencer for example wavetable + virtual analog, in order to exploit the potential of the machine on its integrated sequencer. Thank you!

Could someone explain what is the "All Amounts" parameter in LFO is for please? (right upper knob, see at: 55:31)

Thank you so much for all these amazing reviews. I'm going to be watching all your videos and trying to decide which synth to purchase. Can I ask what you think the best couple of synths are in your opinion for the money between the $1,500-$3,000 range? I have just under 3k and looking for something with a unique character for songwriting/production. Mostly into tone and character opposed to a bunch of features.

@loopop

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! There's no right answer - continued research recommended...

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!

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)

Cool piece of equipment

Excellent, excellent review. Thanks! Do know if the Iridium has true 16 voices no matter what, or if the voice count goes down with processor-heavy functions? I ask because the Blofeld has "up to 25" voices," but using two wavetables and a comb filter brings it down to only 3. Thank you!

@loopop

4 жыл бұрын

I did try to stress test it with 3 oscillators of different types and voice count went down to 11 (no special modulation)

So there is no warp mode for samples like in ableton? Anyone know if that has been a feature request or part of an update? You said there were two ways around this problem, the first being multi samples. Was there a second way?

Any idea if the synth is easily compatible with the expressivee touché?

Hey! Where did the white midi controller go from the first minute..?

I have no interest in buying this mostly do to cost , but I watched most of this video ! Your video quality and information is unmatched

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.

@beatsandbuttons

Жыл бұрын

Same :)!

Maybe I missed something, but can you sequence through the wavetables when using the arpeggiator or sequencer?

@vecvan

2 жыл бұрын

could this be used as beatslicer?

En el menu actions, no me aparece la opcion import. Alguna Idea? No puedo importar samples ni grabarlos a la unidad flash....

Amazing tutorial so inspiring. Just one question At around 22 minutes in you need Timor’s their were two ways to prevent samples from speeding up and slowing down. Chip monkey. However you only illustrated one method. What is the other one please.

@Claidheambmor

3 жыл бұрын

Chip monkey?

My question is, As I already own an Arturia Keylab 61 MK2, is there an substantial benefit to owning the Quantum over the Iridium?

That was epic! Thanks for your effort. Pro job as always! This synth is incredible - staggering what it can do. I can see myself getting lost of years with one of these. Multi-sample import would indeed make it much more usable. When you were talking about the sampler playing faster as you pitch it up you mentioned there were 2 ways to avoid this. One was multi-samples but what was the other method and does it sound any good? Is there any kind of warp function? You also mentioned something about the Quantum and stereo - I thought the Quantum could do full stereo if you by passed the analogue filters - or were you saying it can't do dual filters in stereo? Is it possible for it to let you automatically set or choose the chords in a certain key (if you don't know which chords are in which scale) or force them to a scale? Thanks

@loopop

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment! You're right, I forgot to say "and this is the second way" - sorry! But what I meant was repitching granular playback of a sample. These are never perfect compared to a real multisample and sound off, but it's something and yes, it's a warp-like function. Re Quantum, yes, I meant that the analogue filters aren't stereo, the rest is. Finally... no chord sets, you just choose them manually and cannot conform them to a scale like you can in the sequencer (to my knowledge)

@MadelnMachines

4 жыл бұрын

@@loopop So if you disable the analog filter you're still left with the same dual stereo filters as the Iridium? Does the Quantum have the same OCD inducing buttons?