Unboxing the Waldorf Iridium Keyboard

[marino]

Hi all, I have received the Waldorf Iridium Keyboard last week, but I've been too busy to talk about it here. Yesterday, however, I have had the surprise to catch covid-19, in a rather nasty form... I'm too weak to work, so I'm spending more time doing simple things, like this.

 

Ok, so lately I've been thinking a bit about shrinking my rig; the first step was to sell the Hydrasynth and the Waldorf Q, and replace them with the Iridium. Next to go will be the JX-10, DW8000, and Alesis Ion.

 

I hesitated a bit before investing in the Iridium, because I kept reading on the web about problems with quality control on the desktop version... but the Keyboard seemed to suffer from less of those issues, so I took the plunge.

 

The Iridium keyboard arrived while I was packing the Hydra to be shipped, so I couldn't help noticing the difference between the packages. The Hydra has a double box; both layers are made of heavy composite cardboard. The internal material is some kind of strong, compact foam. The Iridium comes in a single, light box, and it's hold internally by cheap, light styrofoam, which tends to lose material as soon as you touch it. Urgh.

 

Out of the box, the Iridium looks simply glorious, even better than in pictures. But... external power supply?! In an instrument costing almost 3000 Euros? Come on. Yes, I knew that in advance - but actually *seeing* it was brutal. In fact, I almost didn't buy the thing because of this. Also, no printed manual, just a quick start guide. The hydra, which costs less than half, not only includes the complete printed manual but, with every OS update, they publish a new, updated manual - not just addendums.

 

So it's now time to play a bit. That's the first Fatar keyboard with poly AT, so I was curious. I assumed it had an action similar to the Sequential Pro 3 or the Uno Synth Pro, but that's not the case. The throw of the key is shorter, and it offers less resistance. On the other hand, it's fast without feeling inconsistent, and the poly AT is nicely progressive. All in all, it still feels way better than the Hydrasynth to my fingers.

 

The panel is a pleasure to tweak. Everything is very logically laid out, and I was able to do a lot without consulting the manual (which I had to download from the Wadorf site...). The knobs feel great to my fingers, and the touch screen responds well (not fantastically - just well).

The presets... ok, preset n.1 sounds so gorgeous that your ears get spoiled! In contrast, the following 50 or so patches sounded rather weak to me. But of course, with *several* hundred patches onboard, there's a lot of choices.

 

And get this: On my unit, the pitch bend wheel was wired backwards! It was raising pitch when I moved the wheel toward me, and viceversa. Fortunately, the importer authorized a quick fix by the store, so it wasn't necessary to ship it. (but I had to bring it back to the store, and to my place again)

 

Ok, so some of the first impressions were perplexing, but now I have to get past all this and get into the instrument itself - which isn't happening before several weeks, unfortunately. So in the meantime I thought you could enjoy a little introductory report. From what I heard on my initial quick run of presets, the sound quality is fantastic, and the synthesis possibilities are of course huge. The Hydra is a great machine, but this one is much more my style in every sense.

 

That's it for today. Please forgive the eventual errors or idiocies in this little account... I feel so weak that I can barely type, or think. Bye.

 

[NewImprov]

Get well soon! I had a round with what was probably Covid, though I consistently tested negative, in July, and it was miserable. Take care of yourself!

[Doerfler]

Take care of yourself, my brother. Like Dave's post before mine, I had Covid 19 during July. Rest for a week and hopefully all will be well. 

Congrats on your new purchase. Looking forward to reading more about it after your recovery. 

[ProfD]

Brotha @marino, get well soon. Enjoy your new synth to the fullest when you're feeling better. 😎

[marino]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I'm on the second day now, and still no improvement: high fever, heavy coughing, lung pain, extreme weakness. It's also annoying that it coincided with the beginning of the academic year at school... but there's nothing I can do other than rest and take my medicines.

What's funny is that I had a test on monday, and it was negative... (I felt ok, I did it just for precaution). Then on monday night the thing just exploded, and the test on tuesday morning was positive. I suspect some student on monday morning had it with no symptoms.

[jverghese]

Sounds exciting. I believe this is the first product to use a 4-octave TP8SK action, previously only 5- and 6-octave versions have been available, as in the Quantum. Personally, I prefer the TP8 over the omnipresent TP9, because of the longer key sticks.

 

Anyhow, I wonder if the poly pressure thing is something Waldorf have added themselves, or if it is provided by Fatar. The shorter key travel might point to the former, but who knows.

 

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[marino]

Well, I would have preferred a TP9s keybed on the Iridium. I love the feel of the Pro 3!

I am told that the poly AT is Fatar original.

[Tusker]

Please get well soon brother Marino, and thank you for sharing your insights. 

 

I'm looking forward to your thoughts on the architecture and the musical usefulness of the instrument. 

[Synthaholic]

Waldorf missed an opportunity. They should have made it 77 keys. Iridium has an atomic number of 77.

[Spider76]

After a few days of use, any more impressions about the synth and the keybed?

[marino]

1 hour ago, Spider76 said:

After a few days of use, any more impressions about the synth and the keybed?

No, sorry, I wasn't even been able to touch it. This damn disease is getting worse instead of getting better, and I am totally knocked-out. Somewhat scared, too.

[Spider76]

Ouch!

Sending you some positive vibes, hope you get well soon!

[marino]

Hi guys, just a little update: things seem to have taken a bit of a horror turn... I was transferred to the hospital tonight, for pulmonary complications. I'm currently accepting thoughts, good wishes, nice words, etc. 

[Doerfler]

sent you an email, praying for a speedy recovery

[HammondDave]

Thinking about you… sending healing vibes. 

[MAJUSCULE]

Thinking of you, Carlo.

[ProfD]

 Brotha @marino, prayers up and wishing you a full and speedy recovery. Hang in there.🙏🏿😎

[nursers]

3 hours ago, marino said:

Hi guys, just a little update: things seem to have taken a bit of a horror turn... I was transferred to the hospital tonight, for pulmonary complications. I'm currently accepting thoughts, good wishes, nice words, etc. 

Huge good wishes to you Carlo.

[Piktor]

Oh man! So sorry to hear that Marino. I’m hoping that now that you are in the hands of the medical folks that they will help you make your way back to full health. Good thoughts going your way. 

[Spider76]

I'm so sorry to read that...big wishes of a good ricovery from a fellow Italian, hang on Carlo!

[mauriziodececco]

Same thing here: don't give up, it is an hard time but it will go better !

 

Maurizio

[RABid]

Sorry to hear this Carlo. Hope you start feeling better soon. On the other side, congrats one the Iridium. And wow, you have a store that sells and services Waldorf? I would have to drive 4 1/2 hours to Nashville or 5 1/2 hours to Atlanta just to maybe find one.

[Redknife]

Wishing you a speedy recovery. Hang in there through this tough time.

[marino]

Hi guys, just a little update.

 

The medical report first: I'm back home after a month of heavy sickness. I am not 100% yet, maybe not even 50%... *Big* weakness, pulmonary fatigue, heavy coughing. I have had (still have in part) a very strong pneumonia with some complications, and I went thru a few worrisome moments. At least I tested negative for covid at the beginning of the week, and next monday I will resume my teaching duties.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who took a minute to write a few kind words, both here and on fb, email, etc.; it meant a lot to me, while being in total isolation in the hospital. You're the best.

 

So tonight I couldn't stand watching the Iridium Keyboard sitting idle anymore, and had a two-hour affair with it. I programmed a few simple VA sounds, just to see how long I could go on without looking at the manual - then I scrolled thru the presets... I can't say how many patches this thing can contain; I stopped counting at 2300.

About the presets themselves, they are a mixed bag of course, but I was surprised by how few of them I would consider keepers: Too many anonymous, generic sounds with exaggerated reverb tails and submerged in reverb. Which is too bad, because this thing, my friends, sounds absolutely gorgeous. I'm not regretting having said goodbye to the Hydrasynth and Q to get it; it's probably the best-sounding digital synthesizer I have ever played. The envelopes and LFOs can be programmed with clinical precision. The speed of the envelope attacks left me speechless. The raw waves sound really good and full. Same for the filters.

The UI feels good, even redundant sometimes, with two or three different ways to perform the same task. And yes, I had to consult the manual a few times, because I couldn't find a way to do something basic... and the manual itself is very complete, but it could be improved with better organization. For example, there's no way to know in what section you are in a given page, without looking at the index! Which isn't very detailed to start with. Also, no list of terms, etc....

 

But how does the thing *feel*? Well, great. All the knobs and buttons respond very smoothly, the big touchscreen (goodbye, stupid microscopic OLED displays!) is a godsend, and although it doesn't feel exactly the same of a top-level tablet, it performs respectably, giving a lot of info in a logical layout.

About the keyboard action, I can only confirm what I said in my initial impressions: I would have preferred a Poly AT version of the Fatar TP-9s rather than the TP8; this one has a rather short throw. However, the Poly AT can be activated and controlled very smoothly. Btw a huge improvement on the Hydrasynth action, which I have never really liked.

 

Every slot in the Mod Matrix has a "Control" parameter with programmable amount, where you 'modulate the modulation' without giving up another slot. Excellent. The (huge) list of sources and destinations, however, is organized in a rather weird way, with some of the most common entries placed at the bottom... ok.

 

I don't have even scratched the surface of course, but so far, I like the sound, feel and layout of this instrument - a lot. In future sessions, I'll start dealing with the more advanced synthesis engines... fact is, I don't know *when* the next session could take place. I'm about two or three months behind with the book I'm writing, and the return to school is approaching menacingly...

I would love to write a complete review for GearLab; it's just going to take a while.

 

Also, as much as I like the Iridium, I can't help thinking that the Q from the same company, introduced in 1999, had 60 *encoders* on the panel, internal power supply, 16-part multitimbrality with independent polyphonic sequencers/arpeggiators, many more choices for inputs and outputs, etc..

 

Lastly....

 

On 10/9/2022 at 2:12 PM, RABid said:

wow, you have a store that sells and services Waldorf? I would have to drive 4 1/2 hours to Nashville or 5 1/2 hours to Atlanta just to maybe find one.

 

Well, no, the store doesn't service Waldorf; if I need repairs, I'm supposed to ship my instrument about 700 km to the north, where the importer is. But given the simple nature of the problem (the pitch wheel being wired backwards), the store called the importer, asking permission to do the work themselves, using their resident tech. Probably, I would've been able to do it myself, but that would have caused me trouble with the warranty.

 

[ProfD]

@marino, glad to read you're back at home. Wishing you continued healing and strength to resume your normal activities. 

 

It also reads like you're going to get along just fine with the Iridium too. Enjoy. 😎

[marino]

6 hours ago, ProfD said:

@marino, glad to read you're back at home. Wishing you continued healing and strength to resume your normal activities. 

 

It also reads like you're going to get along just fine with the Iridium too. Enjoy. 😎

 

Thanks a lot, Prof. I really have an urge to resume making music - also playing the piano, etc... still quite weak, but music can be healing, too.

And yeah, I think that the Iridium will take the role of my main digital hardware synth in the next months/years. I only wish that it's going to be the last "complex" synth that I have to learn!! After growing up with things like the Chroma, TG77, Wavestation, Kurzweil, Matrix-12, Andromeda - not to speak of the software - I'm starting to look forward for a more relaxed old age...

 

[Spider76]

Welcome back Carlo!!!

😄

[stoken6]

Wishing you a speedy and robust recovery Carlo.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Jim Alfredson]

So happy to hear you're on the mend, Carlo! I'm thinking of getting an Iridium myself, so I really appreciate your honest appraisal.

[CyberGene]

Glad you’re recovering, make sure you consult blood thinners with your doctor. Blood clots are a common complication after a severe Covid.

I see most of the knobs are pots and not encoders. This makes it a bit awkward to see the actual values at a glance and require that you start turning them (in catch mode). It is the reason why I sold my Novation Peak, for instance, and why I love my Hydrasynth so much. I have no doubt the Iridium is a great synth though 👍🏻