WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, USA: Powerful processing effects developer Strymon is proud to announce availability of Iridium— pushing pedal design to wrap world-class amps driving perfectly-matched speaker cabinets in great-sounding rooms by providing easy access to three iconic amplifiers with loadable impulse response speaker cabinets that compliment the tonality of the amp and lush room ambiance aimed at pedalboard-based performance directly into a recording interface or PA (public address) system — as of October 23…Nothing quite compares to the true nature of a guitar and its playing like a world-class tube amp driving a perfectly-matched speaker cabinet in a great-sounding room. With Strymon’s timely addition of Iridium to its ever-expanding line of pedals pushing the limits of what is possible with music gear using exceptionally great components and ridiculously powerful processors to make gear that sounds better than anything, now there is a pedal that truly delivers that sound and feel, with simple controls for effortlessly dialing in the perfect amp tone when going direct. Discover inspiring tube amp responsiveness, unprecedented impulse response speaker cabinet realism, and controllable natural-sounding room ambiance — as implied by the amp & ir cab wording subtly splashed across its foot-friendly top panel.
Watch Strymon’s informative introductory video here:
Digging deeper, those tube amps everyone has always craved after are available in Iridium. First up, by being based on a Fender Deluxe Reverb® — one of the most recorded amps in history for good reason,round is clean, bright, and mid-scooped, with plenty of headroom. At higher DRIVE settings it delivers an over driven sound unique to its architecture. As such, Strymon chose the Deluxe’s Normal channel for its round tone that plays well with pedals. Put it this way: while preserving access to all the tones originally available with this channel, Strymon’s model provides something extra — namely, a MIDDLE (midrange) control. Positioned at noon, it delivers the original fixed-resistor value and standard tonal characteristics of the Deluxe; turn it down for a more scooped sound, or turn it up for tweed-era tones.
Strymon Iridium - "Where Can I Use It?":
The chime AMP is based on the Brilliant channel of a Vox® AC30TB, the amp that defined the guitar sound of the British Invasion. Strymon’s model of the AC30TB Brilliant channel —Top Boost— is jangly, bright, and chime-y, providing air for subtle passages with a light touch, and bite when digging in is needed. This time, the MIDDLE knob acts as a tone cut control, providing high-end roll off just before the power tubes, as per the original AC30TB design. In addition to the full available gain of the original amp, Strymon saw fit to add a frequency-shaped front end boost towards the top end of the DRIVE knob’s range of travel to tighten the low end while driving the amp further into saturation.
Last, but by no means least, the powerful punch AMP is based on a Marshall® Plexi (Super Lead model number 1959). This is meatier, with higher gain than the other two amps, and has a powerful midrange response. It also features a buttery, smooth overdrive. At higher DRIVE settings it will deliver all the high gain distortion and growl that this amp is known for — and then some! Setting the DRIVE control at around 2 o’clock results in the maximum gain the original Plexi design allowed. But beyond that, Strymon’s model has some additional gain on tap, allowing access to custom hot-rodded Plexi high gain tones.
Strymon Iridium - "Round Amplifier Examples":
Preloaded with a carefully curated collection of premium cabinet impulse responses — namely, Deluxe Reverb® 1x12” by OwnHammer (impulse of a vintage Fender® Deluxe Reverb open back 1x12” combo with a 1978 Fender CTS ceramic 12” speaker); Blues Junior® 1x12” by cab IR (impulse of a 1x12” Blues Junior cabinet with a Jensen® C12N speaker); Vibrolux® 2x10” by cabIR (impulse of a 1965 Fender Vibrolux with Jensen C10NS speakers; AC30 2x12” AlNiCo by OwnHammer (impulse of a Vox® AC30/6 open back 2x12” combo with 2001 Celestion® T0530 Blue AlNiCo speakers); 1x12” AlNiCo by Celestion (impulse of a Celestion Blue AlNiCo speaker in a closed back 1x12” cab); Mesa® 4x12” by Valhallir (impulse of a 4x12” Mesa Boogie halfback with two Celestion Black Shadow® MC-90 and two ElectroVoice® Black Shadow EVM12-L speakers); GNR 4x12” by OwnHammer (impulse of a 1971 Marshall® 1960B ‘basketweave’ 4x12” cabinet with 1971 Celestion T1221 G12M-25 speakers); 2x12” Vintage 30 by Celestion (impulse of a Celestion Vintage 30 in an open back 2x12” cab); and Marshall 8x12” AlNiCo by cabIR (impulse of a 1965 Marshall 8x12” reissue full stack cabinet with Celestion T652 AlNiCo speakers) — it is, nevertheless, easy to replace Iridium’s IRs with custom IRs from the user’s own collection by using Strymon Impulse Manager software.Strymon Iridium - "Punch Amplifier Examples":
Speaking of IRs, Iridium’s hybrid ROOM reverb combines a 256 millisecond stereo impulse response with Strymon’s reverb tank algorithm for extended decay. This beautiful combination places the AMP and CAB chosen in a natural-sounding room — small, medium, or large — to create a space for the AMP to open up and breathe.
Strymon strived to push pedal design to wrap world-class amps driving perfectly-matched speaker cabinets in great-sounding rooms; introducing Iridium, it has certainly succeeded, and — in doing so — added another inspirational tool to its ever-expanding line of pedals pushing the limits of what is possible with music gear using exceptionally great components and ridiculously powerful processors to make gear that sounds better than anything. Better still, skip the hassle of lugging around or mic’ing amps in favour of placing Iridiumon a pedalboard and sending gorgeous amplifier tones, stunningly realistic cabs, and lush room ambience to a recording interface or PA system.
Strymon Iridium - "Chime Amplifier Examples":
For more in-depth information, please visit the dedicated Iridium webpage here: https://www.strymon.net/products/iridium/
More videos are also available for viewing here:
Staff Examples:
