Waldorf Iridium: Particle Engine & Sample Playback Overview

Today we gonna check out sample playback and settings related to it. We also look into granular and all of its setting. Certainly a creative tool that can either work with strict rules of ranges and velocities, or lead to happy accidents with randomizers and a sheer endless amount of sounds.
0:00 Intro
0:30 Disclaimer
1:02 Selecting Samples
1:24 Detour: Recording
1:50 Cloud! Basic Playback
2:30 Sample Settings
3:35 File Naming
4:06 Rule Param
4:40 Add by Folder
5:10 Testing Modes
5:50 Simple Demo Jam
7:06 Going Granular
8:07 Murky Pad FTW
8:34 Controls Overview
9:58 Shaping Grains
10:40 Length and Jitter
11:18 Position
11:34 Grain Poly
12:40 Stereo Field
13:10 Travel
13:30 Exploring
14:35 Travel more
15:07 Attack/Decay Test
16:13 Grain Pitch
17:09 Outro
Thanks for watching !
#tutorial #waldorf #iridium #synthesizer

[@DaleNorth]

Thanks so much for going into fine detail. Really helps a lot!

[@percussionboy4357]

Great explanation, so clear. Thanks!

[@cellrok]

You're very welcome!

[@TommyNation]

Is the Screen and Button lights adjustable/ Brightness / Contrast ?!

[@CornelionSigismon]

Thank you very much for this serie. Could you do one with the factory patches? Thanks!

[@daxtonjohan3020]

a trick : watch movies at Flixzone. Been using them for watching a lot of movies lately.

[@shepardleroy6036]

@Daxton Johan Yup, I've been using Flixzone for since december myself :D

[@mike_qbik]

Thank you Cellrok for this series. Iridium sounds very nice. WIth Sample its in the OT territory. Iam still hlding my OT regardless its unability to change my presets on my Peak if used as sequencer .. Can you maybe also cover Iridiums SFX capabilities. I really would like to here its Reverb / Hall / Delays . . . could these be infinite as in Vallhallas aley ?

[@cellrok]

Filters and FX are planned. I will do one video for every feature. My short run-in with the effects showed great potential and also "infinite" verbs.

[@MadelnMachines]

If you load in your own sample will it play nicely across the keyboard (or a couple of octaves) without artifacts and without speeding up/slowing down?

[@cellrok]

No. They are played faster and slower. No warping. But it supports multisamples! Will demo it. there is a wizard included

[@ratchetboo]

can you spread a single sample across the keyboard like an asr10?

[@cellrok]

Sure. You can set the range for every sample you add. Like C0 to C4, or just B1 to C1.. however you like.

[@DMC-mp9sx]

I realize that particle is only one engine in Iridium and Quantum, but are there any specifications on this granular engine? How would Iridium’s granular compare with the GR-1 granular synthesizer? Again I know Iridium has way more besides granular but still would like to compare this aspect. The GR-1 is only granular, but it sounds amazing in my opinion and the controls are extremely intuitive. It seems to be a granular monster. I would like to know if similar can be achieved in the Iridium-particle engine? www.tastychips.nl/

[@mynameistechno]

Jm2c: i like the way Waldorf is going - give all the synthesis-power to the people. But lets be honest, Iridium isnt your typical "first synthesizer". You will probably have some fine instruments already when looking into this machine. I guess its hard to discover all the options so i would feel like i miss out on something (greeting from Octatrack). You really need to spend time on this thing to gain use out of its greatness. My approach is to ask myself if all the options are going to be useful with my music. There is a good chance iam just lazy or not a real musician. cheers, -t.

[@cellrok]

I know what you mean. I am having second thoughts in that direction too. How much synth is needed? Am i gonna use 6x Envelopes, like .. ever? Absolutely agree that this is not a good "first synth", but imho a good "first expensive synth", when you look in the 2k tier... It's now the most bang for the buck in there, as far as i know, so it can be a solid choice for people trying to get the most out of their savings. However, as you hinted, people may need to look at instruments differently. It has to benefit them in the creative process and not just be "top of the line". As for the Iridium the device spoke to me the second i looked at it and it has a similar layout to other synths i love using. I don't know all of its super-powers yet but i see it as opportunity to grow with the device and look into new types of synthesis through a fun interface. Most importantly the instrument gets me in the mood to create, so the rest will follow as time goes by. That's how i pick my stuff.

[@nicolausala]

@@cellrok the blofeld is i think one of the "first synth" you need to have, is very cool so open and sound very good. can't even think about all the option iridium have and i need to save money for at least one year to afford it, but i want have that experience ! i love waldorf

[@ObKling]

Tangential question: what's your drum machine? I've been trying to manage with my Octatrack for drums but every kick drum has to be EQed and compressed before it sounds punchy. Otherwise everything sounds flat. Quite disappointing. Might get a Model: Cycles or a Behringer 808.

[@cellrok]

I had the same feeling about the OT. I then went with the TR-8s but that is super slow to work with if you want to customize and leveling is always cumbersome. I then learned about my most recent purchase. The Toraiz SP-16, which is highly regarded as "best sounding" and "fun to house" in all forums and comments. I jumped on it, it was also made cheaper just recently, and i can confirm they were right. The second it got on everything made sense immediately and my drum samples really cut through now. Playing with it is fun. The Sequencer however doesn't have fancy TRIG-CONDs like Elektron, but that doesn't matter. Everything else is quality and sometimes simple is good! Also: 16 Tracks, MIDI support, easy sampling, 8 outputs and 2 FX per track.

[@ObKling]

@@cellrok It's sample-based, too, isn't it? I trust what you're saying, and the kick sounded very good in the video, but the OT has scared me off sampled drums altogether. I think I'll go for synthesized drums next time. But you're right - sometimes immediacy should trump features. Trig conditions are certainly nice, as are P-locks. I've quickly gotten used to those features and would miss them. But the sound, particularly for drums, has to be massaged so much, and it really slows down that early stage of the process where you want immediacy and fun factor.

[@MadelnMachines]

@@cellrok Can you midi sequence multiple external synths with it - maybe up to 16? I'm looking at something like the Toriaz or Akai Force to try and get more hands on and away from the mouse.

[@cellrok]

@@ObKling yes, I wanted a sampler specifically. I had to decide between Model Cycle, Rytm, Akai Force and Sp16. I had tried everything else already and the Alpha Base by Jomox or the Tempest were out of my league for what I wanted. I haven't found a good drum synth yet that can do all the post processing required in an easy fashion. With sampling I can just use my processed sounds whereas on a synth the last 20% might be missing (so then I still need to resample..). I still want a drum synth some day. Either Jomox or Rytm.

[@nicolausala]

@@cellrok i got the rytm mkll and is fantastic! very beautiful workflow so much better then the octatrack !

[@watercolourmark]

Be hard to get a good bass sound from granular, any i have used is more spectral without transients. Great for getting drone ambient sounds from a something like a guitar note sample, and frozen type stuff.

[@cellrok]

Sorry, i meant "base" as in "basis for a good sound". My guess was that some material is preferred to use with granular. Like maybe short one shots sounds are best, or perhaps it is better when used with long stretched out sustained notes/pads or just ambient noise.

[@watercolourmark]

@@cellrok I see. All sounds are good, as dependent on settings you can always find a grain for something. The issue I have with granular is dissonance in long flowing samples, but they can be good for a spooky feel. But for music I find one shots are useful, you can also do a bit of editing on a sample before you use. Like a short guitar note may have too much pluck at the start creating a out of pitch sound, and you could then s cut that off and double the length in a time-stretching editor before using. But I find it is quickly becomes quite an intuitive process, you soon start to think in terms of, that sound will be good for granular.

[@adrianroethlisberger4626]

compare this to teenage engineering op-1's clean and timeless display technology

[@nicolausala]

op1 is a toy, this is a another beast completely

[@NineFourOneMedia]

@@nicolausala Ironically, I bought an Iridium while on vacation this week with no real controller on me...except for the OP1 I packed in my bag. Been using that til I get back home and, in a weird way, the Iridium definitely reminds me of the OP1. Been watching videos so I can understand my new Iridium better, and just happened on this comment. They're a lot of fun together, especially with TE's endless sequencer.

[@adrianroethlisberger4626]

am i the only one who thinks the display design looks 90ies-awful ?, this will age horribly...