Hey there, so the Iridium core is on my wish list.
Can u use the bitimbrality in the sequencer?
Do u mean with monophonic that the previous tone of the same preset will be cut away the moment the next tone comes?
Thx for elaborating. I was counting on the sequencer…
That’s a good question especially given the Black Friday discounts on the Core !
Actually thinking about getting one… it between this and a digitone 2 ( more oriented for composing / ideas) and even a prophet 12 , any feedback on this bad boy in how it sounds versus digitone and how fast it is to make convincing soujds ?
aNy prophet 13 owner and iridium ? Can the waldorf mimic the dirty aspec of theprphet 12 ?
Thks
I had a DN1 and have an iridium now. I think they’ve become much more similar with DN2. My favorite part of the Iridium Core is Kernels mode which is essentially an FM engine. I also like programming it. I think as a beatbox and standalone device the DN2 is much better, but if you want to also build sample/granular based programs, the Iridium is better.
Thks Zhora , i do have a syntakt for the rytmic part , i like the sounds of its synth engines but it’s quite limited and the monophony also…
The digitone sounds great , but i’m scared of being limited as well unless i go full FM engine , but even then , 3 LFO’s are quikly used … if we could have a mod matrix with all slot from all tracks availlable and combinable to one or two tracks for exemple , it will be another story .
I’m not a modulation snob , i can crate already a lot of movement on the osc section alone (on my analog synths) , but on digital and speciallly the digitone , it’s more limted imho hence myquestion.
I do like the elektron distortion , even the digital one suprised me , not stellar , but def not digital sounding (in a bad way )
So for xemple how would you rate the filters / distortion , FX in the digitone versus the Waldorf’s ?
What the digitone will certainly shines at imho is tha ability (in conjontcion with the synatkt) to create a fukll soungs without touching afuking mouse !!! (i already did with syntakt alone
Also with syntakt , i like the concept of being a tool box , i need a noise drop for a transition in one track : noise engine , env , case close
i need a simple bass : bam
i need some 808 rumble on an ez drummer kik : here we go …
As a producer , this is why i love it … my question is that while i see the strength of the digitone in that aspect (being fast to answer neeed , BUT in a limited way) , is the Waldorf able to be as Efficient and direct once we master it ? (it sure will surpass the areas it can goes )
Thks
I really can’t answer many of your questions. I think these forums and youtube videos along with the sheer amount of options are making us neurotic in constant pursuit to optimize our setups to the hilt.
I liked the digitone ladder filter emulation, and it seems that it has more filters now and that they’ve reworked some of the dsp. It’s probably fine. On the Iridium I mostly use the Reiser filter which I think is some modeled filter. It sounds nice. The effects on the Iridium are “ok” in general.
I can’t say I’ve “mastered” the iridium. How I use it is to program some presets and then set up controls and modulations to play live or to track. I really gave up on the idea of doing songs/full tracks OTB. I think it’s usually pointless. Ableton is amazing.
Makes sens , and yep i do produced songs ITB mostly …but i do like the idea of producing in a live dawless mindset and then commit … i started like that in late 80 and i 'm getting slowly back to this primitive but stimulus way of doing things .
My core is on the way!
Looking forward to patch creation on the couch watching Squid Game this Xmas!
Same here , will test it , my main fear is workflow’, soudn wise , it s a software , but i laways loved waldorf filters , virus and nord , way better than a lot of software emus of old gear …
If i dont gel , didgotone ii
I kinda want it to fail lol so i wanted a digitone 2 , but the engine os crazy and i want to be avnle to do stuff that digitone 2 can t …
If i didn t had the syntakt i would have gone for both
@AdamJay @LyingDalai could we throw together the Iridium / Iridium Keyboard / Iridium Core threads into a single one (akin to the MPC thread), so that information & discussion on this synth is less fractured on here? The synths are functionally the same, it’s just a matter of form factor (again, similar to the MPCs), so it would make a lot of sense.
It’s a long way to master that thing in my opinion, the options are nearly endless… and an external midi-controller could be an advantage if you are really into hardcore programming…
What maybe also helpfull to your efforts is the creation of patch-templates for certain duties
Another thing: You can sample with that thing and the best part is, if you have premade drumsamples or let’s say a few bars of proper drumkits and put it on the keyzones you can produce a whole track with the Iridium given a certain level of creativity and time
What they did on the whole line of newer Waldorfs is a masterpiece of german quality and to some extend a product of artistry … that has to be said
People looking for the flow of the original topic here it ended at this post, before it got covered with the merged in Core and the Keyboard thread.
The post after that spot is the beginning of the old Keyboard thread.
I can’t find the beginning of the old Core thread anymore, it’s there somewhere.
I think the old Keyboard thread stopped and the old Core thread started at this point.
Funny to mention this because that was exactly the plan , basically one of my first work will be to create a juno 106 / prophet 5 / obx8 / jupiter / moog , ect … with osc , pre mapped mod (hard mapped) like on the og HW 's as staring point for my VA’s and see if it really is as smooth as software to work on that !,…
For drums , this will be usefull more for my DMX lindrumm samples n, even if i have kits super close on the syntakt …
One template for pads and complex landscapes , and one for ganular work …
My main concern again is the lack of controls and really i was close to go keyboard , but it’s udge and more expensive so the core is like a test unit for me …
I remember i skipped it last time because my conclusion was "omnisphere sounds superb and i can do all stuff i need " and the fact that controlls were few made it also on the equation , and i said , real analog for bread and butter and then full ITB when i want to experiment .
Crazy thing is that in fact Full ITB analog emu’s , giving their limitation are wayyyyy easier to handle than complex stuff ITB(zebra and omni being my playgrounds as well a phaseplant ) , so funny thing is that i came to the new consluoon of , while VA itb is actually not so difficult to handle , giving the limited interaction , unless you wanna perfom , the deep experimental side of my journey needed something to make the PROCESS smoother .
This is the mistake poeople do (including me) , more than the “does it sound better” aspect , the "where will i end up " aspect that HW have versus software is what interst me at the end .
The core being one answer , the digitone being a potenial one also …
I guess I’m up to give the answer to my own question.
First quick run was really prosiming: big and very detailed sound, supersmooth screen interaction, straightforward workflow. I was a bit nervous to find it a little clumsy, but so far it’s been a joy to use.
Happy days 
I have the Iridium Keyboard, the interface is genius in my book. I think it is fast, clear, logical and still somehow expressive & fun. Have you messed with Kernels yet? That’s where the real stacking fun begins, the power harboured in the Iridium is really mind-boggling, I often sit down for a quick play and then end up sinking hours into exploring & designing sounds on this thing.
I deleted all presets on mine a few days after I got it, now slowly building up a library of original patches, lots of fun and very rewarding (and a great way to learn the synth).
I can see why! Just messing around with some factory presets felt like a space/time journey: my first “5 minutes” of exploration on the Core were like an hour and a half in the real world. A bit like Miller’s planet on Interstellar 
Once I understand how to init a patch I’ll take a deeper dive into kernels and granular for sure! 
Press load, that UI has an init button 
God I love the interwebs.
Been playing with it since monday and so far , i m impressed by some things and annoyed by others …
It can sound warm , smooth like a jupiter 8 or prophet pad …it can sound ( i made a paych and named it after it ) like a jd 900 …or dx7…
The granular side wasn t impressive ( never seen a video with somebody getting something great from it , and i know why , but again , only two dayz on it )
The kernel ? Still i think the best implementation i seen was the opsix frm korg , digitone being second … here sure it seems powerfull , but you have to havepatience and timec…
The VA and wavetable side is where i was gravitating because it was fun and smooth …really deep in fact …
Things that inwish it was present :
I love the presets in sections , brilliant specially the mod matrix ( gonna do hard connection ala classics synth ( roland , seq , moog ect )
Still didn t find in mod source noise , lfo can do sample and hold at audio rate but man i need noise modulation …( hope i missed it and im wrong )
The filter and color section are exellent , that said i can t go dirty like on my syntakt or minilogue xd via analog drives …
The device is superb , quality stuff …
At the end it is capable of everything you hav3 in mind , but i fo7nd myself making sounds ( and having fun) while im pretty sure with a digitone i would do tracks and not sounds only …
This what i debating here … power and capacities versus limtation but creativity / productivity booster ( digitone)
On my Core I mapped filt env and delay feedback on the rightmost assignable pots, but I’m with you on the other stuff.
I generally felt instantly at home with the UI as it is really similar to my Micromonsta2 in many ways, and it’s really logical and well laid out.
I haven’t found good use of granular and kernel engines, but that’s probably due to lack of time and talent put into those, and I didn’t really tried the resonator yet.
LP filters seems just ok, I don’t particularly like how the resonance sound past the 10/15%. Digi former and the filters routing possibilities seems really cool tho!
Also the FXs are pretty serviceable, but I really miss the possibility to use the same fx at least twice, I can understand that about Reverb, but damn, gimme a couple of delays at least!
All in all it is a great machine, fast to use but packed with endless possibilities, but I’m really bummed about a slight distortion/crackle I can clearly ear when using a bunch of notes together, particularly prominent when there are low register notes involved. It is partially mitigated only by lowering the oscillators levels, but I find it reallying annoying in a machine so powerful and costly.
I’ve yet to find a correlation with this and maybe osc types or use of effects, but so far this is really pushing towards sending it back.
I was also debating between the Core, DNII amd Polyend Synth, I choose the little Iridium for various reasons, and because I wanted it since only the bigger brother was available, but I’m really annoyed about that distortion and I’m rethinking the purchase.
I’ll try to post an example here asap and maybe send it to waldorf just to check if it’s intended or maybe just a bug. I found some old related posts on a FB group but they all are dead ends.
