Strymon Iridium - thoughts?

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Strymon Iridium - thoughts?

Postby jet690 » Thu Mar 12, 2020 9:27 pm

Having been a valve amp fan all my life, currently using a AC30CH head and 2 x 12 Vox cab with Greenbacks (couldn't afford the Blues which are a lot more expensive) and having lugged this lump of 40kgs combined around - I spotted the Iridium at Andertons for advance order - read all the info and reviews - ordered one in December 2019 arriving in Feb 2020 - they really are like rockin' horse s--t! Got it wired up with my H&C echo into my mixer and into my pair of powered PA speakers. Result - Heaven! 3 amps in one - 1. Fender deluxe reverb 2.AC30 top boost 3. Marshall Plexi. Each with 3 installed cab IR's. The Chime amp (AC30) has a choice of 1 x12 Vox open back with Celestion Blue Alnico, a 2 x 12 Vox open back AC30-6 Blue alnico's or a Mesa Boogie 4 x12 Half-back. I started using the Vox 2 x12 Blue Alnico's and found it far surpassed the sound of my actual Greenback cab BUT then I've found David Hislop's IR's! Downloaded the Celestion Blue/Green/Silver pack for approx. £25. I'm currently using his IR of 2 x 12 Celestion Blues - with blended mics - which is even better than Strymons stock IR. If you're a fender amp geek - then the Deluxe Reverb amp through the 2 x 10 Fender Vibrolux cab is tremendous also! I've never been a fan of digital profilers - the affordable ones for me, are poor - the good ones like the Kempler or Helex Stomp are mega priced - this Iridium is not only affordable but TERRIFIC!
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Re: Strymon Iridium - thoughts?

Postby Hank2k » Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:15 am

Ive yet to try to Iridium but i have heard good things about them. I have used the HX stomp however and the price isnt too far away from the Iridium and i must says its a great time to be a guitar player! We have so many options and versatility.
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Re: Strymon Iridium - thoughts?

Postby dave robinson » Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:09 pm

I haven't had chance to try it myself, but have only heard good things. If it is as good as the Strymon Volante and Timeline machines it will be first class for sure.
I do have stuff that gives me these options that work very well, so I'm not looking for anything else, but I will try it should I get the chance. :)
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Re: Strymon Iridium - thoughts?

Postby roger bayliss » Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:58 pm

I am interested in the Iridium and have listened to it in several Utube reviews and it sounds very close to a AC30 as well as the other models. There is a colouration if using monitor speakers and pa and it tends to enhance the lows a bit according to one review. Easy enough to eq . Does not do AC15 and EF86 and brilliance circuits though, but what it does it does very well.

I have a LINE6 HX stomp which is also very good at amp modelling.
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Re: Strymon Iridium - thoughts?

Postby dave robinson » Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:03 pm

The modelling technology is great when it works, but having been let down on a major gig by Line 6 Helix, I lost all confidence in it. Truth is I now have the Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb weighing 33lbs and looks fantastic on stage which is pleasing to the eye for the player and the audience. The weight of the Helix in it's flight case was not far short of the weight of the Twin, so no loss there. I've had several bits of Line 6 kit, including their acoustic guitar modeller which was disappointing, then fast forward ten years and I tried the new Line 6 'James Tyler' effort which again claimed bells and whistles, claiming to be able to clone all Gibson, Fender & Gretsch models, but in truth didn't come close.
I have given them plenty of rope and for me they finally hung themselves with the failure of the Helix, especially on such a major venue.
The best sound by far was my Mesa Boogie DC-5 & MKIII, but these are so damn heavy that even though I still own the DC-5 I can't consider gigging it any more. The next best just for Shads stuff was obviously th Vox AC-30 and I still have one of those, again it's not a sensible option weight-wise. This new Twin Reverb with it's power attenuator allows me to get close to the AC30 sound because of it's Jensen Neo speakers, which are much more versatile than the old JBLs that were very loud and harsh.
I dare say I'd be better off with the single 12 Fender DeLuxe Reverb ToneMaster which is very light and only 22 watts, but my love of the old Twin won't go away.
So what I'm saying is I've tried everything and anything to lighten the rig and even cut down to one guitar, but in truth, if one is honest with themselves, having a few different types of guitar and a real amp blows the clones and models out of the water and looks 'right' to the punters and pleases me. Before anybody screams that the ToneMaster is a modelling amp, yes it is, BUT all that processing power is used ONLY to recreate the Twin Reverb at a very light weight, which it does perfectly. :)
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Re: Strymon Iridium - thoughts?

Postby jet690 » Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:35 am

I do tend to agree with Roger Bayliss, most PA and monitors have a good deal of low end "thump" (non-tech term) and you probably already EQ this DJ thump out for your backing tracks. Back to the Iridium, you can download the free Impulse Manager from Strymon, to your laptop or whatever plug into the Iridium to be able to manage and/or install new IR's, it also has an EQ so you can easily deal with your PA thump.
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Re: Strymon Iridium - thoughts?

Postby dave robinson » Mon Mar 16, 2020 6:22 pm

I've used PA for the past forty years for lead guitar on my solo gigs and I thought it was common knowledge that you had to roll off all the bass below around 150hz and the treble above 2.5k whilst boosting the mids to taste. As mixers vary in the way they sound from one brand to another, it's a matter of trial and error, but those are crude numbers for starters. Something like the Joyo AC Tone can be useful to get somewhere close to the Vox sound and I know some use graphic EQ, it's all about tone shaping and if you have a good ear it isn't difficult. The Strymon Iridium should get the tone easily, provided you trim the top, mid and bottom in the way described.:)
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