WaldorfIridium Core Desktop Digital Synthesizer

Waldorf Iridium Core

Distilled down into its most compact form yet, Iridium Core boasts the full power of Waldorf's flagship Quantum and Iridium instruments for a truly forward-thinking desktop synthesizer package. Like others in the series, patches from Iridium Core are compatible with all others in the family, ensuring that the existing library of Quantum sounds may be utilized here with the ability to contribute your own to the world of Waldorf users.

Iridium Core features 12-voice polyphony, with three powerful digital oscillators per voice. Though Waldorf's legacy may lie in luscious wavetable synthesis, Iridium Core's oscillators support five different modes catered to a variety of synthesis methods. Wavetable is a thoroughly modern engine with the ability to create tables from external audio and can even venture into speech synthesis territories. Waveforms offers classic analog-style sounds in a virtual analog synthesis playground, with features like detuning, PWM, hard sync, and more. Particle is a powerhouse sampler ranging from traditional multi-sample instruments to textural granular synthesis. Resonator is a complex physical modeling network with sophisticated exciter and filter bank modeling. And for everything not already covered, Kernel is a custom environment not unlike Max/MSP, Reaktor, or modular synthesis that allows the user to construct interlinked networks of oscillators for FM synthesis and beyond.

Even with such flexibility in its oscillators, Iridium Core doesn't stop there. Utilize dual stereo digital filters per voice to your exacting needs, with lowpass, bandpass, and highpass responses available across 12/24dB slopes and a variety of models including Nave, Largo, PPG, and StateVariable. You can even route filters for custom architectures and apply complex modulations to levels and panning. An additional Digital Former section gives you another filtering stage while adding options like bitcrushing, overdrive, and more.

It should come as no surprise that Iridium Core's power is further boosted by complex modulation capabilities. 40 slots in the modulation matrix may be used by the six envelopes, six LFOs, and the Waldorf-exclusive Komplex Modulator—a hybrid LFO/envelope with morphable shapes. Sound designers are also blessed with numerous onboard effects, with 5 slots per layer and types like reverb, delay, EQ, and more.

Obviously, Iridium Core is a compact desktop unit that requires an external control source for real-time input. But Waldorf has given you plenty of options, from TRS Type-A MIDI I/O to interface with hardware synths and grooveboxes to USB MIDI Host and Device ports that connect to MIDI controllers, DAWs, and more. That said, Iridium Core features a handful of pads to trigger user-defined notes or chords in a pinch, while the color touchscreen display can be used to configure the onboard step sequencer and arpeggiator while accessing control sources like virtual wheels and an XY pad.

Don't be fooled by its small size—Iridium Core is a serious sound design and synthesis package.

Iridium Core Features

• 12-voice, bi-timbral digital synthesizer
• 3 digital oscillators per voice with independent assignment to one of five modes
• Oscillator engines: Wavetable, Waveform, Particle, Resonator, and Kernel
• Mono, legato, and unisono playback modes
• Dual stereo filters per voice
• Independent LP/BP/HP modes, slope, and saturation settings
• Digital Former offers additional digital filters, bitcrushing, and more
• 6 envelopes + 6 LFOs
• Komplex Modulator allows for user definable shape, morphing, and triggering behaviors
• 40-slot Mod Matrix2x4 RGB pads for playing notes and sequencing
• 1024 x 600 touch screen with vivid color and brightness control
• Ships with 1700+ factory preset sounds, and the capability for 10000 total patches
• 2.6GB sample memory, with 2GB of factory samples included
• TRS Type-A MIDI I/O (adapters included)
• CV inputs for modular synthesizers