I own one. It's PERFECT. I got so sick of tweaking, configuring, and dialing up software librarians, menu diving, etc. I just want to pick an amp and play guitar. I have a medium size pedal board with all the effects I need. At some point tweaking saps your creativity. And the 3 included Iridium amps are the only amps I care to play through.
@@nazv9 Man, thanks for acknowledging that. Pete Thorn has some of the best intros out there. The one he did for the Icarus Boost is something I play when warming up now.
Ok, I have heard more types of guitar tone that made me go "I want that" in that intro than in my entire history of watching music related videos on RUclips.
The Iridium's UI is perfect for me: quick, easy and intuitive to use. The sound and features give exactly what I need: amp and cabinet simulations. And based on what I've heard from several demo videos, it sounds pretty awesome too. I hate pedals which have lots of menu diving to them. I want all my controls available right there in front of me when I start writing music.
The cab modeling can be bypassed by holding down the bypass switch while powering the pedal and then turning the drive knob to select the power up mode (normal, amp bypass, cab bypass). Great video though!
Brian, is there something like and identity IR that could be loaded to the pedal so it "disables" cab simulation (doesn't affect sound) without disabling the feature at power up. The idea is to have a "IR software true bypass" if you will, that disables cab simulation while still preserving cab simulation for other settings without requiring a power cycle.
@@Saurondor I thought about that too, I tried to have one slot on each preset as an "IR Bypass" but there wasn't a way to do that in the software. This is what I was referring to in the video when I said they should do an update.
@@Saurondor You could maybe try using a wav file of a Dirac pulse at the correct sample rate (I believe 96 kHz) as the impulse response (I haven't actually tried this).
Rhett - I grabbed one of these during the Covid stay-at-home order, mostly so I could learn more about it and jam quietly from home. I am BLOWN away by how real this thing sounds, even just threw headphones. It's infinitely more articulate and clear than my mic'd up tone at church (my primary gig space) on my Fender Twin. I don't miss playing around with mic placement at all. There's less ambient noise, no ducking needed, and I sound, on stage, like I do in my bedroom. This was a game changer purchase and really got me out of a playing slump in a huge way. I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS TOOL ENOUGH!
Hi, Tom, can I ask a follow-up question? I am used to plugging in my guitar directly to the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, and using the amp modeling in either Garageband or Logic. I hate the sound I get in the headphones while using those onboard amps. Therefore, I am wondering if the Strymon Iridium is really the missing link for me. Based on your glowing words about the Iridium above, it seems to be the case. Can you confirm for me how much better the Iridium sounds in your headphones than the amp models of a DAW like Garageband or Logic? Thank you.
Rhett, I was talking with the folks at Strymon about various ways I am wanting to hook things up. I heard you comment about disabling IRs and I'm sharing what I heard from them. Hope it helps! "One thing you CAN do is place a mono 'null cab' IR as one of the IR's of the cab slots, but leave a standard IR cab on the other side. This will allow you to send the amp and cab signal to one side (PA) and just amp modeling to the other ('wet' amp)."
And it's a great trend IMO. I hate menus. I tried the Mooer Preamp Live for that very reason, but the modelling quality wasn't quite there. This is exactly what I want: a couple steller models, Stereo IR & reverb in one box. I hope Strymon comes out with more modellers so the price on this one drops a little.
Yeah it reminded me a lot of Voodoo Child by jimi hendrix (the album version that's just a huge 15 minute long jam with Steve winwood playing an electric organ). I always preferred that to the short one that most people know
I personally find that the iridium works so much better for me. I would rainman the fuck out for hours when I had the Helix, just turning knobs but never actually playing, because I kept trying to find the perfect sound. For me, it makes more sense to take a simple but great sounding piece of gear, and find a way to make it work, then have unlimited options and tweakability. And speaking of tweaking, the Helix can be a soul stealer. I once spent 30 hours tweaking, and auditioning different mics trying to get a perfect sound, only to forget to save my settings in the end.
I’ve been running a Helix floor the last 4 years. It takes the joy of playing away from me because there are too many options. I just want to play, twist a few knobs, and get into it. Now, with the future of Tubes looking grim, I’m going back to a traditional board with an iridium and running into my headrush frfr monitors.
Rhett. It was great to meet you in person yesterday at the PRS event (the English guy from near Gatwick). Have been curious about the Iridium and appreciate your insights....Ray
I love the tones I’m hearing so far. For my personal taste Strymon nailed it with the inclusion of room reverb - that is my biggest gripe with modelers and going direct!
Was trying out one of my buddies HX Stomps for demos but got tired of having to constantly tweak. Then another buddy let me try out his iridium and I bought it off him cause it is literally plug and play. So easy to fit in a mix with very little tweaking
During the video I thought the same thing! They will come out with a “big box” version of the iridium. The iridium was just a test the waters kinda thing.
I’d really like to see some side-by-side comparisons using the same IR’s where someone dials a tone in on the iridium, then reproduces it on the stomp. Go through several settings for each model. That would give us a much clearer comparison of the amp modeling in each.
I actually just bought the Iridium for desktop recording. The appeal for me is that it sounds legit, and it's small, flexible and easy to use. That means I can be a musician and not a technician when I'm laying down tracks.
I just picked one up, loving it so for. The local dealer I shop at in Austin had gotten two on Wednesday, sold one that day, I got the the other yesterday. Amps and cabs sound superb to me. I feel like it is much more responsive to touch and dynamics than other modeling hardware/software that I've used, as well as responding much more dynamically to analog overdrive pedals than any modelers that I've used. It's not quite like driving the input of real tube amp, but it's damn close. I was just playing through my Analogman Sunface into the Plexi setting and damn it sounded great. So yeah, being able to just put it at the end of my existing pedalboard and plug into my audio interface for recording is huge to me. And as far as recording, I've been using plugins for a long time (years ago I used the old red bean-shaped Line 6 Pod, which actually worked really well IMO). The problem with plugins are a) they're not real intuitive to use, and even if you know exactly what you want there's a bunch of mousing around, loading stuff, menus etc, b)they take up a lot of processing power on your DAW workstation, c) it's not always easy (or good-sounding) to integrate existing hardware pedals, and d) they can lead to severe option paralysis. The Iridium has solved all of those for me, so I was pretty much sold on it as soon as I saw some of the demos. I'm not averse to more complex technology at all, but I'm certainly also happy when I can just turn three or four knobs, get a great sound and hit record. As far as price, the other recording option I was considering was something like the OX box, so this (while a very different solution) was far more affordable. What I haven't liked so much: it doesn't respond to all pedals and all pedal settings equally well. I believe that the analog JFET preamp is largely what makes it so sensitive and responsive to input dynamics, but I think (but don't know) that once you kind of hit it hard enough to blow through the available headroom, it starts to do less-than-pretty things to the signal that's being sent to DSP. It likes my Tumnus and JHS Twin Twelve a good bit and mostly responds just like (or very close) my tube amps. J Rockett Dude, not as much, I've got to tweak it a good bit to get it sounding right(it's fine with all my modulation, delays and reverbs). The other major gripe (and Strymon addresses this in their FAQ) is that if you try to just use it alone with headphones powering it with a wall wart, it's not grounded and has pretty bad 60hz hum. Strymon suggests just plugging the output into a grounded amp (even not turned on) which will then ground the Iridium. So big bummer if you were hoping to just set it on your couch and practice with the TV on or something. It's still usable, just get ready for a loud ass hum if you've got the drive cranked and you lift your hands off the strings. Plugging it into my pedalboard power supply instead of the included wall wart also did the trick.
@@suspectfor5737 I would say no there won't be excessive hum if you use a decent grounded power supply (and the cioks stuff is great from what I've heard), or if you just plug the outputs into a grounded signal chain. When I plug into my audio interface (not grounded) which is connected to powered monitors (grounded) the hum disappears. I have not directly A/B compared it with a real Vox or Deluxe, but I've played through both a lot in the past (as well as Marshalls) and to my ear these sound and _feel_ very close to the real thing. But I'm not that concerned about whether it an amp sim exactly mimics the amp it's modeled on, I just want something that sounds and more importantly responds to playing dynamics and other gear (pedals, pickups) and _feels_ like an amp, and this accomplishes that as well or better than anything else I've tried.
Hi Rhett. Good video. I have one. I use it all the time. The advantage this has over other pedals is that it doesn't have to lay on the floor to be useful. I locate mine on a cabinet behind me when I'm on stage. This allows me to tweek my sound at anytime throughout the night. This is (to me) a hugh advatage. You never know what your guitar sounds like in a room, until you do your sound check. I don't have the ability to reprogram anything in a couple of minutes. Thanks.
I did buy one for use in church and now my pod go collects dust most of the time. Definitely money well spent as an Amp replacement and an Amp backup. Thanks for your videos and keep them coming please!
Been in lock down for a couple of months with my wife and son, in a small apartment. My wife (thank God!) is working from home and my son is going to school remote. I can’t plug in! I just ordered the Iridium and pair of headphones. I’m excited! I normally play through a 5e3 clone. Looking forward to having these three classic amps, and different cabinets at my disposal! Fuzz is a big part of my pedal board. Watching your demo definitely helped me decide. Bonus is, if I get used to it, when I play out I can just go directly into the PA?
Well said, Rhett. I've been using Helix LT (an incredible product, and one you helped me decide on) for over a year now, and I went from PA speaker, to PowerCab, to bypassing the amp models altogether and running Helix in front of a traditional amp (gasp). All of this, only to cycle back to building a rig that incorporates lessons I've learned from using modelers/multi-effects into a more "traditional" setup. I agree that it's about preferred workflow, how "tweaky" you are, and what inspires you to play. I like the simplicity of an amp or amps that just gets straight to the sounds I like to hear, and a gigbag-sized pedal that mimics that experience, for situations that call for an alternative or backup to your amp (sessions with limited isolation, stage-noise-free casino floor gigs, or catastrophic mid-gig amp explodey-fails). Price point is tough, but actually seems about right considering the quality of Strymon's products, and the context of their pricing for the rest of their lineup. Dead on, and fair. Thanks for another great demo.
Thanks for the great review! I'm "dipping my toe" into the digital world with a Two Notes Cab M. It's for a similar player as the Iridium. It does have an XLR out, software that allows you to tweak microphones and mic placement, and it also takes a direct amp in level signal so you can bypass the amp sim and just use cab sim. Good results so far. I'm tempted to go with a headrush, but I do like my Strymons, Analogman KOT, etc... So, kind of a hybrid approach for me.
ive owned one for a yrs, unfortunately it got shelved not to long after i bought it where it sat for yrs. i just recently revisited it and absolutely fell in love with it. it really produces fantastic amp tones. takes pedals so good. reading the manual is a big help, the eq knobs arent your typical 3 band eq adjustments. i did not know that previously. makes a huge difference when dialing in your tone. cheers
Definitely want one. I’m exactly the type of player you’re talking about. I want something easy that I can drop in and start playing. I only wish they had put in an XLR out.
yep same here. i"m just about to buy one. i"m new to the amp world (only played acoustic eversince)..... now in 2020 - why not start with modellers right away. of course i can see that real amps have another magic and feel, BUT it is worth it? the weight? the costs? .... i think i will buy an iridium!!
I think that intro is a proof that you can make really killer sounding guitars using digital amp. You just gotta know how... That sound gave me goosebumps.
The Strymon really had a modern Hendrix vibe to it! I definitely loved the tones that were possible with it, although you did make both sound really amazing!
I'm thankful the tasteful strymon team did the job of selecting good sounding cab impulses and reverbs for us (matched to each amp, that's genius!). Limited options is what we deal with when using a real amp. Surgical mode takes me out of the music most of the time and we have other tools and better places to find the exact fit come mix time. Thanx for the review, looking forward to getting one of these myself!
Loved the video and the review. Specially when you talk about pros and cons. I work as a Guitartech for a major act in Brazil and although he understands how Kempers, Fractals & etc can help, specially on flying gigs, he just can’t even think about it. Since we are have amps off stage, I think the Iridium can be a way in into this world of virtual amps and cabs for people who wants to see and understand all the knobs and parameters just by looking at it. Also agree that Strymon must be coming up with something big. Thank you and remember: there’s no plan B
I have spent a lot of time with the HX stomp and picked up an iridium recently. They are two entirely different things. If you hate computers and like classic tones iridium works. If you are looking to branch out from basic tones there’s nothing to compare. Iridium is a pedal, hx is a dsp platform that is updated every few weeks. The range of sounds of hx stomp is endless, creative and robust as are signal paths. It takes some learning and time to optimize. Iridium you plug and play but you better have pedals. And no effects loop, no tweaks except new IRs. For me, it’s hx, no comparison. But. I like computers.
@@RhettShull Thinking about it?? Write! Heck, you could start by assembling all the little original riffs you come up with for these vids. That'd get you 2/3 of the way through the thinking phase... 😝
To me, this thing is a no brainer. I like the convinience of complete hands on control and analog vibe that all the Strymon mini pedals have. It has options but not too much (for someone like me). AND you can use it with a regular tube amp head and a reactive load, taking advantage of that UNBELIEVABLE room control that is just the best I've heared in IR or cab simulators. I think that if you like the different options and price on the hx stomp, then this is not for you. I think if you just want to have an amazing digital amp with a lot of sounds, then is Kemper. If you just want a complete solution is probably Axe FX III. But if you like simplicity and the most amazing stereo sounds, then a Strymon board with the iridium as a centerpiece would be amazing. At least that are my thoughts, everyone is different. P.S.: GREAT channel!!!!
It was nice to hear you demo this! The demos on their channel were FULL of 50 or 60 cycle hum and it made me question it. THIS video however, absolutely in love 😍
Thank you for being one of the only people demo'ing this thing to actually give it a little gas. It's a Plexi FFS, the tone of EVH, George Lynch & Slash. Yet every demo is jangly single coils that are afraid of pushing the thing. It's not a Ford... you're not gonna break it.
Cool, it's closer to what I'd like as someone who literally has the same plug in and play set up for 30 years, a clean Marshall with reverb overdrive and a wah pedals, I'd run a mile from anything that involves Tweeking, or downloading, same as I did from those multiple effects slabs 20 yrs ago, that stuff requires more concentration than I'm willing to give up for tone.
I plan on getting the HX stomp, but that’s largely due to the fact that I am trying to have a back up/practice rig where I don’t need to pull out my big pedal board to practice. But Strymon products are just so darn amazing! Still blown away with my timeline and blue sky, every time I play them, and I have had them for 5+ years.
I own both the HX Stomp XL and the Strymon Iridium, and I am using them both, at the same time, on my pedal board. I love the amps and cabs on both. The way I use them is as following. I use the HX Stomp XL for all of the effects. I use the Iridium for amps and cabs (obviously :)). The reason I do this is to "offload" HX Stomp XL from doing everything (this lets you chain more effects too if you wish to do so). I find that it sounds better this way, and I find that it is easier to use this way. I also find that the presets I make on the HX Stomp XL are more generic this way (they are not tied to a specific amp or cab). As for Iridium, something very important that you forgot to mention in this video, which is very useful for an advanced user. It is the fact that it can be controlled via MIDI. Iridium having this feature opens up a whole new way that it can be used. I mean, you can control it with your laptop, your tablet, your smart phone, or a piece of MIDI hardware, and etc. This is a phenomenal feature. I also play keyboards and I've been using MIDI since 2000. MIDI is very powerful. If you are a One Man Band on a guitar, with MIDI you can play MIDI backing tracks with VSTs from your laptop, and at the same time with a push of a single button on your laptop change the backing tracks, change the lyrics on your screen, change the vocal effects (if you are using a microphone to sing), and change the effects on your HX Stomp XL and the amps and cabs on the Strymon Iridium.
I did. And it's been my amp for a while. I wanted to move away from tube amps in my house for a while, but wanted to keep the "amp experience" of twisting knobs and such. So I didn't want plugins. Now I have a normal pedalboard, it's just my amp is on it. In typical Strymon fashion it's super simple and intuitive on the surface. But has extra features hidden under the hood for tinkerers. I love that it has no screen, no distracting preset displays. Nothing gives away that it's a DSP amp with a cab sim. It feels analog. It's just perfect for me.
Rhett, I've been following your videos for quite some time now here in Finland 🇫🇮 I've really enjoyed your gear reviews etc. and they have definitely helped me figure out how to solve issues in a live setting, for example. Keep it up, you're doing a great job and are an inspiration to a lot of players worldwide 👍
niandra I’m gonna try running it through a PA at the clubs I play regularly and are comfortable at. For everywhere else, I’ll probably go with my traditional amp set up
Luke Yea man I picked one up about a month ago and I absolutely love it. I use it for everything, recording and live use (rehearsals, live-streams, although not a proper gig yet cause of the virus) and it’s shined pretty much every situation I’ve put it in.
I've tried to ignore digital amplification and effects for a while. But as of the last 5 or so years it's just gotten too damn good to keep ignoring. Back when a line 6 flextone was top of the line, it was easy to write off. However nowadays there is A LOT of awesome stuff out there. Eventually it will be the goto industry wide, for gigging.
now that would be cool if I had the money and space to blow. Of course that would cost a small fortune. Over 3k easily. Why not just get a decent small tube amp and HX Stomp for less cash? That is what I did. My ENGL Ironball and HX Stomp cost me less.
But then you're going to miss out on some great pedals. E.g. Hudson Broadcast, Dry Bell Unit 67 and Vibe Machine, Minifooger Trem, Keeley Super Phat Mod, EHX DMM, Chase Tone Secret Preamp, etc. Okay, I'm just listing my pedal board. I'll get me coat...
Hey Rhett! Yes, I want an Iridium. I guess I’m an old school player 🤙🏼 Hey... I wish you would have talked about how it takes boosts and drives vs HX Stomp and especially Kemper. I know I struggle big time with using a Kemper with even my Centaur-type pedals. Just doesn’t respond the way I’m used to amps responding to a Klon. I have a feeling, however, that the Iridium takes boosts/OD’s really well. Talk to me, bro.
Between the Iridium and the HX I’d take the Stomp. But I am seriously looking at the Amplifirebox as well. The power supply does not worry me as I use the Eventide Powermax (precursor to the Ciocks DC7) which can power the Stomp if you parallel 2 outputs. For the record I do like Strymon pedals (I have the Flint and Sunset) just that when it comes to Modeling Line6/Yamaha have got decades of DSP experience and would likely be the ones to beat. They (Yamaha) also have bigger budgets and economy of scale.
I’ve been planning on some kind of modeling purchase and had my eye on a stomp to allow silent practice when kids roll around but this thing changes the game. It seems simple, small, and gets you a great sound quickly.
I guess i'm in the "old school" camp, because the HX Stomp just doesn't make sense to me. Too much menu diving kills my creativity. Pedals with too many knobs, or not enough knobs, just don't work for me. In regards to user interface, the Iridium is the hands down winner. Strymon really knows how to make a digital device feel like an analog device. That have it refined perfectly in their small box series (DIG, Flint, El Cap, etc). I'm glad you took the time to emphasize (not sure if it was intentional) that this sounds like the amps THROUGH A PAIR OF STUDIO MONITORS. Playing in front of your amp is a different than playing in a control room, with your mic'd amp in another room, completely isolated from you. It looks like Strymon really focused on making this voiced correctly for recording, which I'm thrilled with. All that aside, great video, thanks!
As Rhett says, it really depends n the player and their needs. A HX Stomp can replace your entire rig (apart from a guitar of course) and if you pay a bit more for the LT or Floor, you have no need for anything more. Creativity is again a subjective thing - what inspires you or enables you to be creative will depend on the person. Its no more difficult to switch the pedal order for example and you can try things you wouldn't normally do or have access to without spending more money. If you haven't used a Phlanger before, you can experiment with one very easily. Dialing in the settings is easy enough too as you have knobs to twist. You can also experiment with different amps, cabs and mics too. You can have a set-up, pedals, amps etc all set for a specific song or part of a song and a simple 'stomp' changes all the settings, pedal order, amp/cab choice without having to mess with the pedal board and carry different amps etc to achieve that sound. Just playing around with pedals amps etc can be a creative process for some. Discovering a sound they wouldn't of before because they don't have the pedals, amps etc to create that sound without going out and buying the gear to do so. I am NOT saying a Stomp (or any Helix) is better, just saying that it has a lot more choice and options for a certain player to benefit a lot more than buying a Strymon whilst another may find that its unnecessary and a Strymon is better for them. There isn't a right and wrong option that suits every musician - just a better choice for them and their situation/needs and that choice will be individual to them. Even a stomp or Strymon may not be the best choice, a Helix LT/floor may be the better choice or maybe the Kemper Floor or Black Spirit 200 is better than all of those for some. What is great is that there is choice and options to suit everyone and their needs....
You also don't need to do the full amp/cab setup in the HX Stomp. You can just use a pre-amp from your desired amp and run it into an existing clean amp like you would with the Iridium. I do that with my Blues Cube Hot and this way I have my clean tone from the amp itself and use snapshots and presets to get my other sounds and effects from the Stomp.
Cool review. You should try a cheap pedal sometime. They've gotten really good. Try an Xtomp Mini and Joyo amp pedals, like the Joyo American and Joyo British.
I watched this video and have now subscribed, I love the way you break things down, you are very easy to listen to and Ive come away from this video wanting an Iridium not because youve just made it sound good for the video (which is ehat most do) but because I feel you gave an honest, in depth and unbiased review and it spoke to me. I am now checking out your other videos!! Thanks for your efforts!!
Hi Rhett, hello from England. Really enjoying your videos, very informative and your playing is of course awesome. Been looking at these little units vs the simplifier, Walrus, Bluguitar etc for home headphone playing and I think the tone you got at 5:40 just made my mind up! Keep producing this kind of great content, it’s very welcome.
I have owned the iridium about seven months now. Good: sounds great, super easy to use. Bad: The headroom on the amp isn’t right. You can dime the “round” model drive knob, kick a boost in front of it, and it gets a lot louder. No fender deluxe I’ve ever used has that kind of head room. This makes the pedal hard to use as a pedal platform live.
This is 3/4 of what I want! Now if only there was a Mesa Mark series or some high gain rig for the Metallica style riffing then this would be all I need in one box
same here. I have a Dual Recto at my workplace and searching for simple solution for playing at home. This Strymon delivers almost what I want EXCEPT the HIGH GAIN amp!! Damn! Fuck! WTF their designer is thinking? 3 amp with 1 clean & 2 crunch??!! WTF. WHY NOT 1 Clean, 1 Crunch, 1 Versatile wide range OD??? Seriously, I cant understand their design decision. If this thing has wide range OD or straight high-gain amp model to replace the Vox AC model, I will buy this thing in a heart beat. I dont need too realistic modeling because I already have my Mesa, I just need a simple, compact solution like this.
Hi, great review. The IR or AMP can be disabled - it is in the manual. Is the amp sim quality and feel on the same level with Kemper? I will have Iridium next week and will compare with my Stomp and Kemper.
Not Rhett (obviously), but depending on the use case the answer is different. 1. It's different (so its not "better" and "worse" at this level of modeling...its a matter of preference) 2. The Kemper will only be the clear winner if you are profiling your own amps, Christoph Kemper said himself said in an interview on Andertons TV that the Kemper was made for people who wanted the sound of *their own amps*. 3. If you have the Stomp already, the Iridium is redundant (unless you use the Stomp as a super stompbox for the Iridium programming the footswitches as snapshots of your effects going into the Iridium, but yr limited to 6 blocks anyway despite freeing up that dsp i suppose) 4. The main use case for the Iridium is for people who have their pedal sound already (say one with a Strymon bridge?) and just need that Amp and Cab sim to add and have their complete sound on the floor. Sorry for the wall of text, just needed to get that answer out there
definitely post a video review that would be great to see for comparison sake. I'd love to see a bake off between Helix/HX Stomp, Kemper Stage Profiler, Fractal FM3 when it is out and avaiable, Strymon Iridium and a real tube amp.
@@TheCleverReferences I know what Christoph Kemper said, but even he knows the success of the Kemper is due-in-part to the users who've purchased it and are accumulating profiles from the free kemperverse and the commercial kemperverse as well. I've profiled my amps with mine, but I use commercial profiles a lot more honestly.
@@GuitarsAndSynths Honestly the Iridium is probably a more fair comparison against an HX Stomp than a Kemper. The Helix stuff sounds really good--just as good as the iridium in my opinion, and for $200 more you get a complete rig etc. I think the Helix Stomp makes more sense, but I feel like the Iridium is aimed at people who want super simple controls (at some point having controls so simplified is crazy--like an amp with just a volume knob lol)
Thanks for this really great review. Another huge advantage of the HX Stomp is the preamp only models which sound awesome hooked up in 4CM to the clean channel of my Granger CG50 head. It really gives you a chance to make ‘hybrid’ rigs and keep your power amp section in tact.
I'm one of those people who likes simplicity and this is really appealing compared to the option paralysis of the UX stomp. I actually think the biggest selling point for me is the fet preamp before the modelling part. I assume that means that the front end will behave more like a traditional amp when you put drive pedals in front of it, compared to other modellers where drive the front end with the pedal volume just isn't an option. How did you feel it took pedals compared to the hx stomp?
I would want to use something like this as a direct replacement for my amp and mic, with my daily pedalboard. What I don’t understand is why they didn’t think as far as that a pedal like this needs XLR outs. DI boxes in live venues can be hit or miss, so you’ll have to invest there too
Chris Burynuik Line Level is great, but the first thing any sound guy on any stage in the world will do when he sees your quarter inch jack output, is to go fetch a DI box and they all sound different.
Luke Cyrus Goetze you’re right, on stage the only thing you can do is bring your own di box, I have a few from radial and I’d really recommend them. Same as a synth on stage I guess, di is the only practical way to run signal to the mixer. The radial J48 stereo would be perfect for the iridium live.
Luke Cyrus Goetze but your right xlr outs would have been really nice, not as much a problem for studio use running line level. It also would have been nice to have a through output so you could use it as an actually di. I think an aux in routed dry just to the headphones would open it up for practicing and learning a lot. Right now you can’t really play along to anything using headphones.
Chris Burynuik Good point! A radial stereo DI is almost as much as the Iridium itself, which is why I assume they decided to omit the symmetrical outputs... I have the same issue with my Ox, it has loads of space on the back panel, even symmetrical as outputs, but only quarter inch
Great review, Rhett! Here’s my (completely unfounded) suspicion: That just like the IRs are loadable and switchable, that new amp models will become available (for X number of dollars each) and that the functionality to swap them in and out is already built into the pedal.
Would be a pretty nice option if they have the amp you are missing now. I feel like with the cab options you can really get in the ballpark of a variety of amp models. The goal is to have a sound that you enjoy more than if it sounds identical to something particular. But they might have held off going with something more high gain just so they could argue that their high gain distortion pedal is needed. I could see doing a blues gig using either the Round or Punch amps, then placing a Revv pedal in front and getting all the power I'd need for a metal gig.
batmonkey - I see what you’re saying, but I do feel like “round”, “chime”, and “punch” could describe a handful of different amps - I don’t see them as super-specific. But again, I’m talking completely out of my butt. Haha.
It is cool for what it is, I will stick to my small combo amps and traditional peadalboard though. Your point about making it a D.I. too was a great one though.
By the way, you make this pedal sound better than any of the other reviews I've heard so far. By far the best and fairest review I've seen on this device.
![Tee Grizzley - Detroit (Feat. 42 Dugg) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aeKfTtt0x14/mqdefault.jpg)
My first video course, The Tone Course, is available now! Check it out here.
flatfiv.co/collections/rhett-shull/products/the-tone-course
I own one. It's PERFECT. I got so sick of tweaking, configuring, and dialing up software librarians, menu diving, etc. I just want to pick an amp and play guitar. I have a medium size pedal board with all the effects I need. At some point tweaking saps your creativity. And the 3 included Iridium amps are the only amps I care to play through.
does the sound drop out when you engage/disengage the Fav switch?
Same. I love the simplicity of knobs, yet still having the power to deep dive with software if needed. I hate little buttons and menu screens.
Do you use 2 di boxes for running stereo?
2 channels mixing desk panned L-R.
@@nigeldaddyo there is a slight duck
Dude, what an intro! That track is sick!
I wonder how many pedals that intro sold.
It's Hear my train comin by Jimi
Jimi hendrix
No one is demoing gear like you. Your intro tunes are just incredible. The layering and tonality of the parts are perfect. Kudos.
pete thorn does
I’m disappointed it was barely two minutes long. He could have taken that to the 5 minute mark and I wouldn’t have been complained.
@@nazv9 Man, thanks for acknowledging that. Pete Thorn has some of the best intros out there. The one he did for the Icarus Boost is something I play when warming up now.
Ok, I have heard more types of guitar tone that made me go "I want that" in that intro than in my entire history of watching music related videos on RUclips.
The Iridium's UI is perfect for me: quick, easy and intuitive to use. The sound and features give exactly what I need: amp and cabinet simulations. And based on what I've heard from several demo videos, it sounds pretty awesome too. I hate pedals which have lots of menu diving to them. I want all my controls available right there in front of me when I start writing music.
The cab modeling can be bypassed by holding down the bypass switch while powering the pedal and then turning the drive knob to select the power up mode (normal, amp bypass, cab bypass). Great video though!
Thanks Brian! I read through the manual but must have missed it.
@@RhettShull and I have to say that it's working incredibly well (bypass IR) and then through the effect loop stereo returns of a Roland Jazz Chorus.
Brian, is there something like and identity IR that could be loaded to the pedal so it "disables" cab simulation (doesn't affect sound) without disabling the feature at power up. The idea is to have a "IR software true bypass" if you will, that disables cab simulation while still preserving cab simulation for other settings without requiring a power cycle.
@@Saurondor I thought about that too, I tried to have one slot on each preset as an "IR Bypass" but there wasn't a way to do that in the software. This is what I was referring to in the video when I said they should do an update.
@@Saurondor You could maybe try using a wav file of a Dirac pulse at the correct sample rate (I believe 96 kHz) as the impulse response (I haven't actually tried this).
Rhett - I grabbed one of these during the Covid stay-at-home order, mostly so I could learn more about it and jam quietly from home. I am BLOWN away by how real this thing sounds, even just threw headphones. It's infinitely more articulate and clear than my mic'd up tone at church (my primary gig space) on my Fender Twin. I don't miss playing around with mic placement at all. There's less ambient noise, no ducking needed, and I sound, on stage, like I do in my bedroom. This was a game changer purchase and really got me out of a playing slump in a huge way. I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS TOOL ENOUGH!
Hi, Tom, can I ask a follow-up question? I am used to plugging in my guitar directly to the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, and using the amp modeling in either Garageband or Logic. I hate the sound I get in the headphones while using those onboard amps.
Therefore, I am wondering if the Strymon Iridium is really the missing link for me. Based on your glowing words about the Iridium above, it seems to be the case. Can you confirm for me how much better the Iridium sounds in your headphones than the amp models of a DAW like Garageband or Logic? Thank you.
Rhett, I was talking with the folks at Strymon about various ways I am wanting to hook things up. I heard you comment about disabling IRs and I'm sharing what I heard from them. Hope it helps!
"One thing you CAN do is place a mono 'null cab' IR as one of the IR's of the cab slots, but leave a standard IR cab on the other side. This will allow you to send the amp and cab signal to one side (PA) and just amp modeling to the other ('wet' amp)."
I see a trend of new amp modelers coming out lately that don't have little green screens that require menu diving.
And it's a great trend IMO. I hate menus. I tried the Mooer Preamp Live for that very reason, but the modelling quality wasn't quite there. This is exactly what I want: a couple steller models, Stereo IR & reverb in one box. I hope Strymon comes out with more modellers so the price on this one drops a little.
I like this trend a lot..... I hate scrolling and editing.... and chasing that rabbit.
@Luke Robinett Luke, does disabling the cab sims allow you to run the Iridium through a standard guitar cab with excellent results??
@Luke Robinett Both amps you mentioned are transistor amps. Is that a plus in that set up? If so why?
I don't usually comment on these videos man, but just wow, that intro music!
Yeah it reminded me a lot of Voodoo Child by jimi hendrix (the album version that's just a huge 15 minute long jam with Steve winwood playing an electric organ). I always preferred that to the short one that most people know
Yeah dude, I like it too
Me three.
I personally find that the iridium works so much better for me. I would rainman the fuck out for hours when I had the Helix, just turning knobs but never actually playing, because I kept trying to find the perfect sound. For me, it makes more sense to take a simple but great sounding piece of gear, and find a way to make it work, then have unlimited options and tweakability. And speaking of tweaking, the Helix can be a soul stealer. I once spent 30 hours tweaking, and auditioning different mics trying to get a perfect sound, only to forget to save my settings in the end.
That has to be the best RUclips intro ever! I could listen to it over and over!
One of the best intro's ever, for sure!! Also check out "Homeskoolin’ Volume 89, Tom Bukovac".
I’ve been running a Helix floor the last 4 years. It takes the joy of playing away from me because there are too many options. I just want to play, twist a few knobs, and get into it. Now, with the future of Tubes looking grim, I’m going back to a traditional board with an iridium and running into my headrush frfr monitors.
Shooot man! You’re introjam was just INSANE! Teasing a new axe and a new pedal for EVERY. SINGLE. PART. 😎 So inspiring to hear you play!
Rhett. It was great to meet you in person yesterday at the PRS event (the English guy from near Gatwick). Have been curious about the Iridium and appreciate your insights....Ray
the lack of tweakability makes it more amp-like
@@TotalEvo7 false
Maybe a 5 inch peavey practice amp. Beacause as far as I know, real amps even have a loop section.
@Casey James But once The Helix clicks with you it becomes very easy to work.
I love the tones I’m hearing so far. For my personal taste Strymon nailed it with the inclusion of room reverb - that is my biggest gripe with modelers and going direct!
I just want to take a moment to appreciate that opening guitar part to the JET song you did. What a tone 🔥
now we bassists need one!! SVT, flip top, Sunn and acoustic 360!!!
I watched this video, now I want one..
I kept watching this video ... and now I've got one! :-)
@@ronlyster5667 I got one and am watching this video to corroborate my choice.
Was trying out one of my buddies HX Stomps for demos but got tired of having to constantly tweak. Then another buddy let me try out his iridium and I bought it off him cause it is literally plug and play. So easy to fit in a mix with very little tweaking
During the video I thought the same thing! They will come out with a “big box” version of the iridium. The iridium was just a test the waters kinda thing.
I think this is a good route for those of us who already have an interface but have yet to be able to get good sounds through other direct options
I’d really like to see some side-by-side comparisons using the same IR’s where someone dials a tone in on the iridium, then reproduces it on the stomp. Go through several settings for each model. That would give us a much clearer comparison of the amp modeling in each.
the only Strymon product I can afford is the Strymon tap favorite
🤣
You misspelled “PDF manuals”... 😅😅😅
@@parrottsquawk975 Ha! You got me.
Rhett, you can disable the IRs - page 15 of the manual.
Looked through and missed it before I shot this. Thanks for the heads up!
Did they think we wouldn't notice the BOSS knobs?
Had the HX Stomp. Decided I am tired of tweaking in menus. Iridium is definitely on the radar.
Did the same! The iridium is amazing to dial in amp tone!! Only issue I have is the headphone out it’s kinda noisy
I actually just bought the Iridium for desktop recording. The appeal for me is that it sounds legit, and it's small, flexible and easy to use. That means I can be a musician and not a technician when I'm laying down tracks.
I just picked one up, loving it so for. The local dealer I shop at in Austin had gotten two on Wednesday, sold one that day, I got the the other yesterday. Amps and cabs sound superb to me. I feel like it is much more responsive to touch and dynamics than other modeling hardware/software that I've used, as well as responding much more dynamically to analog overdrive pedals than any modelers that I've used. It's not quite like driving the input of real tube amp, but it's damn close. I was just playing through my Analogman Sunface into the Plexi setting and damn it sounded great. So yeah, being able to just put it at the end of my existing pedalboard and plug into my audio interface for recording is huge to me.
And as far as recording, I've been using plugins for a long time (years ago I used the old red bean-shaped Line 6 Pod, which actually worked really well IMO). The problem with plugins are a) they're not real intuitive to use, and even if you know exactly what you want there's a bunch of mousing around, loading stuff, menus etc, b)they take up a lot of processing power on your DAW workstation, c) it's not always easy (or good-sounding) to integrate existing hardware pedals, and d) they can lead to severe option paralysis. The Iridium has solved all of those for me, so I was pretty much sold on it as soon as I saw some of the demos. I'm not averse to more complex technology at all, but I'm certainly also happy when I can just turn three or four knobs, get a great sound and hit record. As far as price, the other recording option I was considering was something like the OX box, so this (while a very different solution) was far more affordable.
What I haven't liked so much: it doesn't respond to all pedals and all pedal settings equally well. I believe that the analog JFET preamp is largely what makes it so sensitive and responsive to input dynamics, but I think (but don't know) that once you kind of hit it hard enough to blow through the available headroom, it starts to do less-than-pretty things to the signal that's being sent to DSP. It likes my Tumnus and JHS Twin Twelve a good bit and mostly responds just like (or very close) my tube amps. J Rockett Dude, not as much, I've got to tweak it a good bit to get it sounding right(it's fine with all my modulation, delays and reverbs). The other major gripe (and Strymon addresses this in their FAQ) is that if you try to just use it alone with headphones powering it with a wall wart, it's not grounded and has pretty bad 60hz hum. Strymon suggests just plugging the output into a grounded amp (even not turned on) which will then ground the Iridium. So big bummer if you were hoping to just set it on your couch and practice with the TV on or something. It's still usable, just get ready for a loud ass hum if you've got the drive cranked and you lift your hands off the strings. Plugging it into my pedalboard power supply instead of the included wall wart also did the trick.
Hi, so there will be no any hum, if i connect it with my cioks dc8? Did you compared it with any real (ac30, deluxe)?
@@suspectfor5737 I would say no there won't be excessive hum if you use a decent grounded power supply (and the cioks stuff is great from what I've heard), or if you just plug the outputs into a grounded signal chain. When I plug into my audio interface (not grounded) which is connected to powered monitors (grounded) the hum disappears. I have not directly A/B compared it with a real Vox or Deluxe, but I've played through both a lot in the past (as well as Marshalls) and to my ear these sound and _feel_ very close to the real thing. But I'm not that concerned about whether it an amp sim exactly mimics the amp it's modeled on, I just want something that sounds and more importantly responds to playing dynamics and other gear (pedals, pickups) and _feels_ like an amp, and this accomplishes that as well or better than anything else I've tried.
Hi Rhett. Good video. I have one. I use it all the time. The advantage this has over other pedals is that it doesn't have to lay on the floor to be useful. I locate mine on a cabinet behind me when I'm on stage. This allows me to tweek my sound at anytime throughout the night. This is (to me) a hugh advatage. You never know what your guitar sounds like in a room, until you do your sound check. I don't have the ability to reprogram anything in a couple of minutes. Thanks.
Can I use my other pedals with this? Also, can I record all of the sounds of the pedals through the audio interface with this? Thank you!
I did buy one for use in church and now my pod go collects dust most of the time. Definitely money well spent as an Amp replacement and an Amp backup. Thanks for your videos and keep them coming please!
Been in lock down for a couple of months with my wife and son, in a small apartment. My wife (thank God!) is working from home and my son is going to school remote. I can’t plug in!
I just ordered the Iridium and pair of headphones. I’m excited! I normally play through a 5e3 clone. Looking forward to having these three classic amps, and different cabinets at my disposal!
Fuzz is a big part of my pedal board. Watching your demo definitely helped me decide.
Bonus is, if I get used to it, when I play out I can just go directly into the PA?
How'd it work out brother? Hope you and your family are well.
had this come out 3 years ago i'd still be rockin my 60 lb pedal board with this at the end.
This is an intelligent person making an intelligent review.
Well said, Rhett. I've been using Helix LT (an incredible product, and one you helped me decide on) for over a year now, and I went from PA speaker, to PowerCab, to bypassing the amp models altogether and running Helix in front of a traditional amp (gasp). All of this, only to cycle back to building a rig that incorporates lessons I've learned from using modelers/multi-effects into a more "traditional" setup.
I agree that it's about preferred workflow, how "tweaky" you are, and what inspires you to play. I like the simplicity of an amp or amps that just gets straight to the sounds I like to hear, and a gigbag-sized pedal that mimics that experience, for situations that call for an alternative or backup to your amp (sessions with limited isolation, stage-noise-free casino floor gigs, or catastrophic mid-gig amp explodey-fails). Price point is tough, but actually seems about right considering the quality of Strymon's products, and the context of their pricing for the rest of their lineup.
Dead on, and fair. Thanks for another great demo.
Thanks for the great review! I'm "dipping my toe" into the digital world with a Two Notes Cab M. It's for a similar player as the Iridium. It does have an XLR out, software that allows you to tweak microphones and mic placement, and it also takes a direct amp in level signal so you can bypass the amp sim and just use cab sim. Good results so far. I'm tempted to go with a headrush, but I do like my Strymons, Analogman KOT, etc... So, kind of a hybrid approach for me.
I purchased the two notes CAB m +, I experienced a lot of hissing and after reading some reviews, it seems to be an ongoing tissue for some users.
That fuzz tone on the novo at the start was incredible
As someone who really enjoys watching different YT vids on music and gear, your intro is my new favorite. That was smokin’!
ive owned one for a yrs, unfortunately it got shelved not to long after i bought it where it sat for yrs. i just recently revisited it and absolutely fell in love with it. it really produces fantastic amp tones. takes pedals so good. reading the manual is a big help, the eq knobs arent your typical 3 band eq adjustments. i did not know that previously. makes a huge difference when dialing in your tone. cheers
You never let me down. Was literally watching an Andertons review of this when your new video notification popped up!
Chris Hilton strymons Likley handing them out to all “influencers” in the guitar world.
Definitely want one. I’m exactly the type of player you’re talking about. I want something easy that I can drop in and start playing. I only wish they had put in an XLR out.
yep same here. i"m just about to buy one. i"m new to the amp world (only played acoustic eversince)..... now in 2020 - why not start with modellers right away. of course i can see that real amps have another magic and feel, BUT it is worth it? the weight? the costs? .... i think i will buy an iridium!!
I think that intro is a proof that you can make really killer sounding guitars using digital amp. You just gotta know how... That sound gave me goosebumps.
great video buddy. Would you believe - I never tried a strymon. I should put that in the bucket list. They seem top notch!
Dude, I was the same way. Got a demo Tiemline for a few bucks off and holy crap! Then I got the Blue Sky and they're worth the hype!
That opening track was INCREDIBLE!
The Strymon really had a modern Hendrix vibe to it! I definitely loved the tones that were possible with it, although you did make both sound really amazing!
I'm thankful the tasteful strymon team did the job of selecting good sounding cab impulses and reverbs for us (matched to each amp, that's genius!). Limited options is what we deal with when using a real amp. Surgical mode takes me out of the music most of the time and we have other tools and better places to find the exact fit come mix time. Thanx for the review, looking forward to getting one of these myself!
Loved the video and the review. Specially when you talk about pros and cons. I work as a Guitartech for a major act in Brazil and although he understands how Kempers, Fractals & etc can help, specially on flying gigs, he just can’t even think about it. Since we are have amps off stage, I think the Iridium can be a way in into this world of virtual amps and cabs for people who wants to see and understand all the knobs and parameters just by looking at it. Also agree that Strymon must be coming up with something big. Thank you and remember: there’s no plan B
I have spent a lot of time with the HX stomp and picked up an iridium recently. They are two entirely different things. If you hate computers and like classic tones iridium works. If you are looking to branch out from basic tones there’s nothing to compare. Iridium is a pedal, hx is a dsp platform that is updated every few weeks. The range of sounds of hx stomp is endless, creative and robust as are signal paths. It takes some learning and time to optimize. Iridium you plug and play but you better have pedals. And no effects loop, no tweaks except new IRs. For me, it’s hx, no comparison. But. I like computers.
Dude, solo album, NOW!
Thinking about it...
@@RhettShull or start your own band? 👀
@@RhettShull PLEASE DO IT
@@RhettShull Thinking about it?? Write! Heck, you could start by assembling all the little original riffs you come up with for these vids. That'd get you 2/3 of the way through the thinking phase... 😝
Rhett Shull do it 😎
What a fantastic take on Hear My Train a Comin! Thumbs up for that intro!
To me, this thing is a no brainer. I like the convinience of complete hands on control and analog vibe that all the Strymon mini pedals have. It has options but not too much (for someone like me). AND you can use it with a regular tube amp head and a reactive load, taking advantage of that UNBELIEVABLE room control that is just the best I've heared in IR or cab simulators.
I think that if you like the different options and price on the hx stomp, then this is not for you.
I think if you just want to have an amazing digital amp with a lot of sounds, then is Kemper.
If you just want a complete solution is probably Axe FX III.
But if you like simplicity and the most amazing stereo sounds, then a Strymon board with the iridium as a centerpiece would be amazing.
At least that are my thoughts, everyone is different.
P.S.: GREAT channel!!!!
Damn, at the end of this video, the only thing I want is an ES-335. What a gorgeous guitar.
The zoom at 14:30 was hilarious.
true that and a high end 7 string guitar would be perfect.
has a custom one, sold it, not for me
PhilippeSpectral it’s ok. You can say ‘a ES-335’. It’s a consonant sound.
@@afterstars so everyone knows I'm french now.
that intro jam was phenomenal lol
It was nice to hear you demo this! The demos on their channel were FULL of 50 or 60 cycle hum and it made me question it. THIS video however, absolutely in love 😍
Thank you for being one of the only people demo'ing this thing to actually give it a little gas. It's a Plexi FFS, the tone of EVH, George Lynch & Slash. Yet every demo is jangly single coils that are afraid of pushing the thing. It's not a Ford... you're not gonna break it.
You sir have sold me on the Iridium. I’ve watched almost every video, and this one by far is the best.
Thank you!
Cool, it's closer to what I'd like as someone who literally has the same plug in and play set up for 30 years, a clean Marshall with reverb overdrive and a wah pedals, I'd run a mile from anything that involves Tweeking, or downloading, same as I did from those multiple effects slabs 20 yrs ago, that stuff requires more concentration than I'm willing to give up for tone.
Kipperbob Sam this guys got it all figured out. I’m from the same school. The less knobs the better
I plan on getting the HX stomp, but that’s largely due to the fact that I am trying to have a back up/practice rig where I don’t need to pull out my big pedal board to practice. But Strymon products are just so darn amazing! Still blown away with my timeline and blue sky, every time I play them, and I have had them for 5+ years.
I own both the HX Stomp XL and the Strymon Iridium, and I am using them both, at the same time, on my pedal board. I love the amps and cabs on both. The way I use them is as following. I use the HX Stomp XL for all of the effects. I use the Iridium for amps and cabs (obviously :)). The reason I do this is to "offload" HX Stomp XL from doing everything (this lets you chain more effects too if you wish to do so). I find that it sounds better this way, and I find that it is easier to use this way. I also find that the presets I make on the HX Stomp XL are more generic this way (they are not tied to a specific amp or cab). As for Iridium, something very important that you forgot to mention in this video, which is very useful for an advanced user. It is the fact that it can be controlled via MIDI. Iridium having this feature opens up a whole new way that it can be used. I mean, you can control it with your laptop, your tablet, your smart phone, or a piece of MIDI hardware, and etc. This is a phenomenal feature. I also play keyboards and I've been using MIDI since 2000. MIDI is very powerful. If you are a One Man Band on a guitar, with MIDI you can play MIDI backing tracks with VSTs from your laptop, and at the same time with a push of a single button on your laptop change the backing tracks, change the lyrics on your screen, change the vocal effects (if you are using a microphone to sing), and change the effects on your HX Stomp XL and the amps and cabs on the Strymon Iridium.
The opening music was incredible!
That intro track - woah! Tone!
I did. And it's been my amp for a while. I wanted to move away from tube amps in my house for a while, but wanted to keep the "amp experience" of twisting knobs and such. So I didn't want plugins. Now I have a normal pedalboard, it's just my amp is on it. In typical Strymon fashion it's super simple and intuitive on the surface. But has extra features hidden under the hood for tinkerers. I love that it has no screen, no distracting preset displays. Nothing gives away that it's a DSP amp with a cab sim. It feels analog. It's just perfect for me.
Rhett, I've been following your videos for quite some time now here in Finland 🇫🇮 I've really enjoyed your gear reviews etc. and they have definitely helped me figure out how to solve issues in a live setting, for example. Keep it up, you're doing a great job and are an inspiration to a lot of players worldwide 👍
Ah, the $1300 Tone Bender. I love the moment when you told your friend to turn off the camera and bought it.
Pigdog Tone Bender MKI YEAH!!
Seungwon he bought a 1300$ PigDog? I wonder how much mine is worth- PigDog Prosecutor 2.5 - MK2 Tone Bender with MK3 filter. I was told only 7 made.
It seems so intuitive. It just might be the thing that gets me into this amp-less world (been thinking about the switch for a while)
Mike Hilbun heresy
j E I mean I love my amps but the idea of getting a great tone without having to lug around an amp is certainly enticing.
niandra I’m gonna try running it through a PA at the clubs I play regularly and are comfortable at. For everywhere else, I’ll probably go with my traditional amp set up
Luke Yea man I picked one up about a month ago and I absolutely love it. I use it for everything, recording and live use (rehearsals, live-streams, although not a proper gig yet cause of the virus) and it’s shined pretty much every situation I’ve put it in.
I just want to say that your vibrato technique is fantastic as shown in the intro.
I've tried to ignore digital amplification and effects for a while. But as of the last 5 or so years it's just gotten too damn good to keep ignoring. Back when a line 6 flextone was top of the line, it was easy to write off. However nowadays there is A LOT of awesome stuff out there. Eventually it will be the goto industry wide, for gigging.
Truth. Digital is catching up to analog and will surpass it soon enough and at a fraction of the price. Strymon makes incredibly good pedals.
@@ernestbuckley8671 strymon is one of the catalyst to usher in the digital age displacing tube and analog
Uhm, idk why i'm saying this but. Build an all strymon rig...
now that would be cool if I had the money and space to blow. Of course that would cost a small fortune. Over 3k easily. Why not just get a decent small tube amp and HX Stomp for less cash? That is what I did. My ENGL Ironball and HX Stomp cost me less.
I mean, he's most of the way there.
Sounds expensive!!
@@GuitarsAndSynths Screw the amp lol. You could get a full on Helix floor unit, or rack unit with a bit to spare.
But then you're going to miss out on some great pedals. E.g. Hudson Broadcast, Dry Bell Unit 67 and Vibe Machine, Minifooger Trem, Keeley Super Phat Mod, EHX DMM, Chase Tone Secret Preamp, etc. Okay, I'm just listing my pedal board. I'll get me coat...
Firstly, Rhett: Best Video Intro Ever. Nice playing. Second, for all of us apartment dwellers out there: How does the headphone out sound?
Dean Teiwaz the headphone OUT sounds like it’s studio quality! I just tried it out this weekend!
I get a lot hum and hiss read that it’s a common thing. Coming from the hx stomp which was super quiet the iridium headphone out is kinda noisy tbh
My God you are a phenomenal guitarist 🤯 that intro was 🔥
great demo and great playing! and jeez, your video quality and production is top notch. Great work!
Hey Rhett! Yes, I want an Iridium. I guess I’m an old school player 🤙🏼
Hey... I wish you would have talked about how it takes boosts and drives vs HX Stomp and especially Kemper. I know I struggle big time with using a Kemper with even my Centaur-type pedals. Just doesn’t respond the way I’m used to amps responding to a Klon. I have a feeling, however, that the Iridium takes boosts/OD’s really well. Talk to me, bro.
Which would you buy, the Iridium or HX Stomp? Edit: YOU CAN DISABLE THE IR’S! There’s a function on the pedal that allows you to run with no cab sim.
How do you compare the tone and feel between Kemper, Helix engine and Iridium ?!
Just bought the HX.
Yesterday, you know, before you changed my mind.
Canal do OTA I think the feel it’s much closer to the real thing!
Between the Iridium and the HX I’d take the Stomp. But I am seriously looking at the Amplifirebox as well. The power supply does not worry me as I use the Eventide Powermax (precursor to the Ciocks DC7) which can power the Stomp if you parallel 2 outputs.
For the record I do like Strymon pedals (I have the Flint and Sunset) just that when it comes to Modeling Line6/Yamaha have got decades of DSP experience and would likely be the ones to beat. They (Yamaha) also have bigger budgets and economy of scale.
I’ve been planning on some kind of modeling purchase and had my eye on a stomp to allow silent practice when kids roll around but this thing changes the game. It seems simple, small, and gets you a great sound quickly.
Love Jet! Thanks for adding that clip!
I guess i'm in the "old school" camp, because the HX Stomp just doesn't make sense to me. Too much menu diving kills my creativity. Pedals with too many knobs, or not enough knobs, just don't work for me. In regards to user interface, the Iridium is the hands down winner. Strymon really knows how to make a digital device feel like an analog device. That have it refined perfectly in their small box series (DIG, Flint, El Cap, etc). I'm glad you took the time to emphasize (not sure if it was intentional) that this sounds like the amps THROUGH A PAIR OF STUDIO MONITORS. Playing in front of your amp is a different than playing in a control room, with your mic'd amp in another room, completely isolated from you. It looks like Strymon really focused on making this voiced correctly for recording, which I'm thrilled with. All that aside, great video, thanks!
Im not old school, but diving through the menu kills my creativity as well.
As Rhett says, it really depends n the player and their needs. A HX Stomp can replace your entire rig (apart from a guitar of course) and if you pay a bit more for the LT or Floor, you have no need for anything more.
Creativity is again a subjective thing - what inspires you or enables you to be creative will depend on the person. Its no more difficult to switch the pedal order for example and you can try things you wouldn't normally do or have access to without spending more money. If you haven't used a Phlanger before, you can experiment with one very easily. Dialing in the settings is easy enough too as you have knobs to twist. You can also experiment with different amps, cabs and mics too.
You can have a set-up, pedals, amps etc all set for a specific song or part of a song and a simple 'stomp' changes all the settings, pedal order, amp/cab choice without having to mess with the pedal board and carry different amps etc to achieve that sound.
Just playing around with pedals amps etc can be a creative process for some. Discovering a sound they wouldn't of before because they don't have the pedals, amps etc to create that sound without going out and buying the gear to do so.
I am NOT saying a Stomp (or any Helix) is better, just saying that it has a lot more choice and options for a certain player to benefit a lot more than buying a Strymon whilst another may find that its unnecessary and a Strymon is better for them.
There isn't a right and wrong option that suits every musician - just a better choice for them and their situation/needs and that choice will be individual to them. Even a stomp or Strymon may not be the best choice, a Helix LT/floor may be the better choice or maybe the Kemper Floor or Black Spirit 200 is better than all of those for some.
What is great is that there is choice and options to suit everyone and their needs....
Thank you for this! Definitely getting a new pedal... HX Stomp it is.
You also don't need to do the full amp/cab setup in the HX Stomp. You can just use a pre-amp from your desired amp and run it into an existing clean amp like you would with the Iridium. I do that with my Blues Cube Hot and this way I have my clean tone from the amp itself and use snapshots and presets to get my other sounds and effects from the Stomp.
I would just like to acknowledge that the intro track was *completely* fucking badass!
Cool review.
You should try a cheap pedal sometime. They've gotten really good. Try an Xtomp Mini and Joyo amp pedals, like the Joyo American and Joyo British.
JET sounds awesome on that Novo
I watched this video and have now subscribed, I love the way you break things down, you are very easy to listen to and Ive come away from this video wanting an Iridium not because youve just made it sound good for the video (which is ehat most do) but because I feel you gave an honest, in depth and unbiased review and it spoke to me. I am now checking out your other videos!! Thanks for your efforts!!
Hi Rhett, hello from England. Really enjoying your videos, very informative and your playing is of course awesome. Been looking at these little units vs the simplifier, Walrus, Bluguitar etc for home headphone playing and I think the tone you got at 5:40 just made my mind up! Keep producing this kind of great content, it’s very welcome.
I have owned the iridium about seven months now.
Good: sounds great, super easy to use.
Bad: The headroom on the amp isn’t right. You can dime the “round” model drive knob, kick a boost in front of it, and it gets a lot louder. No fender deluxe I’ve ever used has that kind of head room.
This makes the pedal hard to use as a pedal platform live.
But when its all about feeling, soundscape, pedalplattform, natural warm vital sound in general is the fender deluxe reverb still better ?
You can independently disable cab and amp. Might wanna update the video.
That's the greatest intro I ever heard in a product review, wow!
I've been waiting for a full-rig solution from Strymon forever. It's only a matter of time before they jump in.
This is 3/4 of what I want! Now if only there was a Mesa Mark series or some high gain rig for the Metallica style riffing then this would be all I need in one box
Yeah, a SLO model would be sweet.
same here. I have a Dual Recto at my workplace and searching for simple solution for playing at home. This Strymon delivers almost what I want EXCEPT the HIGH GAIN amp!! Damn! Fuck! WTF their designer is thinking? 3 amp with 1 clean & 2 crunch??!! WTF. WHY NOT 1 Clean, 1 Crunch, 1 Versatile wide range OD???
Seriously, I cant understand their design decision. If this thing has wide range OD or straight high-gain amp model to replace the Vox AC model, I will buy this thing in a heart beat. I dont need too realistic modeling because I already have my Mesa, I just need a simple, compact solution like this.
Hi, great review.
The IR or AMP can be disabled - it is in the manual.
Is the amp sim quality and feel on the same level with Kemper?
I will have Iridium next week and will compare with my Stomp and Kemper.
Not Rhett (obviously), but depending on the use case the answer is different.
1. It's different (so its not "better" and "worse" at this level of modeling...its a matter of preference)
2. The Kemper will only be the clear winner if you are profiling your own amps, Christoph Kemper said himself said in an interview on Andertons TV that the Kemper was made for people who wanted the sound of *their own amps*.
3. If you have the Stomp already, the Iridium is redundant (unless you use the Stomp as a super stompbox for the Iridium programming the footswitches as snapshots of your effects going into the Iridium, but yr limited to 6 blocks anyway despite freeing up that dsp i suppose)
4. The main use case for the Iridium is for people who have their pedal sound already (say one with a Strymon bridge?) and just need that Amp and Cab sim to add and have their complete sound on the floor.
Sorry for the wall of text, just needed to get that answer out there
definitely post a video review that would be great to see for comparison sake. I'd love to see a bake off between Helix/HX Stomp, Kemper Stage Profiler, Fractal FM3 when it is out and avaiable, Strymon Iridium and a real tube amp.
@@TheCleverReferences I know what Christoph Kemper said, but even he knows the success of the Kemper is due-in-part to the users who've purchased it and are accumulating profiles from the free kemperverse and the commercial kemperverse as well. I've profiled my amps with mine, but I use commercial profiles a lot more honestly.
@@GuitarsAndSynths Honestly the Iridium is probably a more fair comparison against an HX Stomp than a Kemper. The Helix stuff sounds really good--just as good as the iridium in my opinion, and for $200 more you get a complete rig etc. I think the Helix Stomp makes more sense, but I feel like the Iridium is aimed at people who want super simple controls (at some point having controls so simplified is crazy--like an amp with just a volume knob lol)
Thanks for this really great review. Another huge advantage of the HX Stomp is the preamp only models which sound awesome hooked up in 4CM to the clean channel of my Granger CG50 head. It really gives you a chance to make ‘hybrid’ rigs and keep your power amp section in tact.
Your intro song in this vid is probably my fav intro of yours I’ve heard 😎 Very cool tune
I'm one of those people who likes simplicity and this is really appealing compared to the option paralysis of the UX stomp.
I actually think the biggest selling point for me is the fet preamp before the modelling part. I assume that means that the front end will behave more like a traditional amp when you put drive pedals in front of it, compared to other modellers where drive the front end with the pedal volume just isn't an option. How did you feel it took pedals compared to the hx stomp?
I would want to use something like this as a direct replacement for my amp and mic, with my daily pedalboard. What I don’t understand is why they didn’t think as far as that a pedal like this needs XLR outs. DI boxes in live venues can be hit or miss, so you’ll have to invest there too
Luke Cyrus Goetze the pedal can output at line level so it can interface with an interface or mixer directly, pretty handy
Chris Burynuik Line Level is great, but the first thing any sound guy on any stage in the world will do when he sees your quarter inch jack output, is to go fetch a DI box and they all sound different.
Luke Cyrus Goetze you’re right, on stage the only thing you can do is bring your own di box, I have a few from radial and I’d really recommend them. Same as a synth on stage I guess, di is the only practical way to run signal to the mixer. The radial J48 stereo would be perfect for the iridium live.
Luke Cyrus Goetze but your right xlr outs would have been really nice, not as much a problem for studio use running line level. It also would have been nice to have a through output so you could use it as an actually di. I think an aux in routed dry just to the headphones would open it up for practicing and learning a lot. Right now you can’t really play along to anything using headphones.
Chris Burynuik Good point! A radial stereo DI is almost as much as the Iridium itself, which is why I assume they decided to omit the symmetrical outputs... I have the same issue with my Ox, it has loads of space on the back panel, even symmetrical as outputs, but only quarter inch
Great review, Rhett!
Here’s my (completely unfounded) suspicion: That just like the IRs are loadable and switchable, that new amp models will become available (for X number of dollars each) and that the functionality to swap them in and out is already built into the pedal.
I feel like this is unlikely, since the amp names are written on the pedal, while the cabs are numbered.
Would be a pretty nice option if they have the amp you are missing now. I feel like with the cab options you can really get in the ballpark of a variety of amp models. The goal is to have a sound that you enjoy more than if it sounds identical to something particular. But they might have held off going with something more high gain just so they could argue that their high gain distortion pedal is needed. I could see doing a blues gig using either the Round or Punch amps, then placing a Revv pedal in front and getting all the power I'd need for a metal gig.
batmonkey - I see what you’re saying, but I do feel like “round”, “chime”, and “punch” could describe a handful of different amps - I don’t see them as super-specific. But again, I’m talking completely out of my butt. Haha.
Thoroughly enjoyed that intro!
It is cool for what it is, I will stick to my small combo amps and traditional peadalboard though. Your point about making it a D.I. too was a great one though.
how about a shootout between the Iridium and the Joyo equivalents ?
By the way, you make this pedal sound better than any of the other reviews I've heard so far. By far the best and fairest review I've seen on this device.