Strymon Iridium Amp & Ir Cab
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The Iridium is one of the latest products that come from Strymon. The renowned pedal maker has always been known for a little bit different approach in designing pedal effects, but now takes everything to a completely new level.
There are many amp modelers on the market these days. However, most manufacturers tend to offer as many amp simulations as possible. That’s okay, but if you have a dozen of amp simulations in a single housing, you can’t expect top-notch quality from each one of them, especially not in this price range. Therefore, Iridium does things much better. It focuses on the essentials and does the excellent job.
Designers of Iridium didn’t want to make everyone’s amp modeler. So, those who look for some spectacular versatility probably won’t like it. On the other side, it is a dream unit for those who prefer legendary sounds of vintage amps.
This small box features sounds of three most iconic vintage amps, so you can quickly switch between crystal clean Fender tones and dirty Mashall Plexi sound, or maybe you prefer legendary British invasion tones that come from iconic Vox amps.
The Strymon Iridium packs these three legends in a pretty small housing. Moreover, there are 9 cab simulations, so the range of tones is actually pretty amazing. Still, the best thing is the fact that you don’t need anything but a PA system. No amp is required. Just find the usual amp position in your chain and go directly into PA or your recording device. Instant tones are definitely the best thing about this pedal.
Features and controls
The first thing you’ll notice on this amp modeler is its design, which comes in a typical stompbox layout. Things are pretty simple here. You just have to plug this unit into PA or recording device and playing can start. Simplicity is probably the best thing about Strymon Iridium. It packs three amps and nine cabinets into a single housing. The housing by itself looks very simple and offers excellent transparency. However, such a simple design doesn’t mean it misses any of the essential features.
On the top panel, you will find pretty typical knobs and switches. Of course, there are typical EQ knobs, as well as Gain and Level potentiometers. Also, you can notice two toggle switches, which are hiding the most important features of this compact amp modeler.
The toggle switch on the left allows you to choose the amp model. You may find the names a little bit uncommon, but it’s not hard to figure out which one represents a certain vintage amp.
If you switch to Round, you can count on a classic Fender amp tone, Deluxe Reverb in particular. The middle position is called Chime, so you may presume it’s the legendary Vox AC30 amp emulation, which delivers famous crunchy tones of British Invasion. Finally, the Punch position is all about the legendary Plexi sound of vintage Marshall amps, which in practice means plenty of fat overdrive tones.
On the right side, a toggle switch lets you choose the cabinet type you want. There are three cabinets for each amp model, nine cabinets in total. Those would be Deluxe Reverb 1×12, Blues Junior 1×12, Vibrolux 2×10, AC30 2×12, 1×12 Alnico, Mesa 4×12, GNR 4×12, 2×12 Vintage 30 and Marshall 8×12. Also on the right side, there is a Room knob, which allows a lot of adjustment for each cab type.
Below all these knobs, you can find two footswitches. One is a typical on/off switch, while the other one allows you to save/choose presets.
On the backside of this stompbox amp modeler you will find typical inputs and outputs, along with a couple of more useful features. Stereo output is the first thing we should mention, while there is also an expression pedal output. As we are talking about a digital unit, a USB port is another thing you can find here. On the opposite side, you will find headphones output, which makes this small unit even more practical.
The Strymon Iridium runs on a 9V DC power supply, which is included.
Tone and Performance
Finally, a few words about the sound. So, let’s start with Round mode. If you choose this amp, you may count on a pretty realistic emulation of the legendary Deluxe Reverb amp. In practice, this means crystal clean sound, which comes with a lot of headroom and mid-range tones. The knobs work great, so you can make a lot of adjustments. A little bit of gain combined with a Telecaster and you are already in tweed territory. Dial even more gain and the amp becomes pretty crunchy.
As I’ve already mentioned, Chime amp emulates the legendary Vox AC30 and you know this amp is all about the crunch. Even at lover gain, you may count on a nice amount of harmonic breakups, while dynamics are great. Also, you will probably like the fact that this emulation adds a little bit of modern touch, so if you dial Gain knob all away up, you will notice that there is more gain compared to the original.
Finally, Punch amp emulates the famous Marshall Plexi units. If you are a fan of these tones, you know that all you need to do is to dial the Gain knob all-away up. In this mode, the Iridium delivers a pretty fat overdrive, which sounds perfect for hard rock and similar genres.
As we are talking about a digital amp modeler, it is hard to expect the dynamics of a genuine tube amp. Still, this stompbox definitely comes close enough. All three amps sound very realistic and feature the level of quality that won’t disappoint even the biggest purists. The Iridium may look simple, but a wide offer of cab simulations and pretty responsive EQ knobs are actually providing a pretty nice range of tone nuances.
Strymon Iridium ConclusionÂ
All in all, Strymon Iridium is an amp modeler you should at least try, especially if you love vintage tones and legendary amps. The tone is great, while the practicality is impressive. Such a compact housing makes this unit perfect not just for rehearsals, but for the stage as well. Also, it is a perfect studio tool, which replaces three pretty expensive amps, not to mention that you won’t have to bother with microphones.
All you need to do is plug it into your recording device and recording session can start. It doesn’t go any simpler than that. Also, we like the fact that the price is quite attractive, considering that you get a pretty realistic emulation of three legendary amps in return. A totally recommended product!
Customer Review Rating
The Strymon Iridium Amp & Ir Cab has a rating of 4.5* out of 5* – >>>Check out the Latest Amazon Customer Reviews of the Strymon Iridium<<<
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