# Thoughts on Hydrasynth vs Waldorf Iridium



## pmountford (Nov 28, 2021)

With a film to score shortly I've been eyeing up the Waldorf Iridium again. The videos I've watched so far seem to show off the evolving pads, which sound great but would love to hear other strengths of this synth. 

Alternative synth I was considering is the Hydrasynth Explorer partly as it seems incredible value although other than the bladerunner sounds I'm not overly drawn to it's tone so far. 

I will be patch tweaking rather than sound designing. The other hybrid synth in the studio is the Summit.

Any thoughts/opinions? Do Iridium (or Quantum) users also include a Hydrasynth in their arsenal?


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## soundmind (May 23, 2022)

Hi Phil. Just curious if you did purchase the Iridium since your post. I just recently ordered one myself, and also have the Summit and Hydrasynth. The research I found, is that the Iridium is a “cleaner” type of synth, whereas the Hydrasynth can get dirty, as well as the Summit. I believe that all three synths can layer and play well with each other. Look forward to hearing them together as soon as it arrives.


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## pmountford (May 23, 2022)

Yeah, I did get an Iridium soon after posting but I'm only just starting to play around with it. Lovely sound - but then with so many sound sculpting abilities that's not surprising. What does surprise me though is how sophisticated it obviously is but rather straight forward in learning how to use. I've moved through a few synths here in the last 18 months working out what I like/dislike but I think the Iridium is a keeper. If I was buying one again I would likely choose the keyboarded version although fixing it to vesa arm does allow you to put it literally in your face to work with.

Although I have one, I still haven't fallen for the Hydrasynth here yet but as it's only the Explorer, and therefore incredible value for money, I can afford to give it time to grow on me.

The Summit I keep returning to and it just feels big, quite warm and bold. Each to their own, but again I really like the sound of it. 

Having said all of this, I wanted an analogue poly so the Polybrute turned up a couple of days ago. That more so has it's own timbre which I think complements the Iridium best.


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## mscp (May 23, 2022)

pmountford said:


> Yeah, I did get an Iridium soon after posting but I'm only just starting to play around with it. Lovely sound - but then with so many sound sculpting abilities that's not surprising. What does surprise me though is how sophisticated it obviously is but rather straight forward in learning how to use. I've moved through a few synths here in the last 18 months working out what I like/dislike but I think the Iridium is a keeper. If I was buying one again I would likely choose the keyboarded version although fixing it to vesa arm does allow you to put it literally in your face to work with.
> 
> Although I have one, I still haven't fallen for the Hydrasynth here yet but as it's only the Explorer, and therefore incredible value for money, I can afford to give it time to grow on me.
> 
> ...


Yes, the summit/peak and the iridium are quite a nice pair.


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## timprebble (May 23, 2022)

Quite enjoy messing with these Hydrasynth presets, many are based on very familiar patches/use

ASM Hydrasynth ULTIMATE PATCHES Vol 1-3








ASM HYDRASYNTH PATCHES | The NEW Synth Presets!


As Seen On FutureMusic – 300 NEW ASM Hydrasynth Synth Presets / Patches / Sounds – Fast & Easy Install Guide Included. HEAR IT >




www.ultimatepatches.com







Lot of good Hydrasynth tips here too:








Hydrasynth from ASM (Ashun Sound Machines)


Official brand though looks to be ASM (Ashun Sound Machines) - reportedly “backed by Medeli”




www.elektronauts.com





Other available presets








Hydrasynth from ASM (Ashun Sound Machines)


List of Hydrasynth Sound Banks Factory Patch Bank A – 128 – Free – ASM Factory Patch Bank B – 128 – Free – ASM Factory Patch Bank C – 128 – Free – ASM Sun God RA Bank – 128 – Free – ASM Inhalt Bank – 128 – Free – ASM Hydraforce Bank by CO5MA – 32 – $10 – Listen – Where To Buy Ignition Bank by...




www.elektronauts.com


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## tressie5 (May 23, 2022)

The specs alone on the Iridium has me salivating. I wonder if Waldorf will make a VSTi out of it for us impoverished soft synth users?


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## PerryD (May 23, 2022)

Loving the Hydra Deluxe here. I have owned most of the classics from the 70's & 80's. The Hydra is the only hardware synth I own now.


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## pmountford (May 23, 2022)

Thanks for those pointers @timprebble . I look forward to having the time to get to grips with the HS.


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## ReleaseCandidate (May 24, 2022)

tressie5 said:


> The specs alone on the Iridium has me salivating. I wonder if Waldorf will make a VSTi out of it for us impoverished soft synth users?


That doesn't make sense. You buy an Iridium or Hydrasynth (the keyboard editions) because of polyphonic aftertouch and their controls - which makes them feel like a 'real' (amplified) instrument - and not because of their sound which is nothing special compared to plugins. And I _love_ my Hydrasynth Explorer.

I forgot to add: and that you can use them without needing a computer.


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## tressie5 (May 24, 2022)

Oh, no? Okay, I didn't know that. Thanks for schooling me.


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## Macrawn (Oct 8, 2022)

tressie5 said:


> The specs alone on the Iridium has me salivating. I wonder if Waldorf will make a VSTi out of it for us impoverished soft synth users?


They probably will at some point. I'm guessing not until the synth becomes a classic lol. But it seems like Pigments is the closest vst to it in capability and sound. Pigments has 2 engines + a simpler supplemental engine you can use at the same time, and Iridium has 3 engines. Or of course falcon 2 you get unlimited engines depending on the limiting factor of how much load your computer can take. 

I'm really considering picking one up and if I do it will be from Thomann as the price is almost half vs. the US. and the keyboard version is only like $100 bucks more than the desktop vs. almost $1,000 more in the US. Not really sure why that is. The dollar is suddenly strong against the Euro which is making every synth not made in USA cheaper there, by quite a bit, but that doesn't explain the huge price difference between the keyboard and desktop version in the US.


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## Macrawn (Oct 8, 2022)

pmountford said:


> Yeah, I did get an Iridium soon after posting but I'm only just starting to play around with it. Lovely sound - but then with so many sound sculpting abilities that's not surprising. What does surprise me though is how sophisticated it obviously is but rather straight forward in learning how to use. I've moved through a few synths here in the last 18 months working out what I like/dislike but I think the Iridium is a keeper. If I was buying one again I would likely choose the keyboarded version although fixing it to vesa arm does allow you to put it literally in your face to work with.
> 
> Although I have one, I still haven't fallen for the Hydrasynth here yet but as it's only the Explorer, and therefore incredible value for money, I can afford to give it time to grow on me.
> 
> ...


I've got a Polybrute too which I love. I kinda thought the Iriduim could have a place too because of the engines it has that the Polybrute doesn't have. You still feel the same way? Did you enjoy the Polybrute? I love soft synths but I always just want to play the Polybrute, I get so much more satisfaction out of playing it.


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## pmountford (Oct 9, 2022)

Macrawn said:


> I've got a Polybrute too which I love. I kinda thought the Iriduim could have a place too because of the engines it has that the Polybrute doesn't have. You still feel the same way? Did you enjoy the Polybrute? I love soft synths but I always just want to play the Polybrute, I get so much more satisfaction out of playing it.


Yes, I feel the same. The polybrute tends to be the first synth I turn on (along with the Summit) if I just want to play, jam and have fun. Possibly that's something to do with having those synths having a decent length keyboard which would be another reason I would choose the Iridium keyboard version if buying again.


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## styphonthal (Oct 9, 2022)

Macrawn said:


> I've got a Polybrute too which I love. I kinda thought the Iriduim could have a place too because of the engines it has that the Polybrute doesn't have. You still feel the same way? Did you enjoy the Polybrute? I love soft synths but I always just want to play the Polybrute, I get so much more satisfaction out of playing it.


The polybrute expression capabilities just make it more interesting to play. Having the morphee pad+strip+Mod wheel+Pedal+duophonic AT makes it more fun to play. Even saying that, I am currently using my polybrute to drive my desktop udo super 6. I just need to figure out how to assign the morphee pad to various controls on the udo. 

I do think the softsynth closest to the Iridium is UVI Falcon. Granular+wavetable+sample synthesis. From all the talk, it seems like Waldorf is focusing on a new Quantum "II" or similar device.


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