The screen, though: I would think that requires returning to Waldorf, or at least some Waldorf-approved repair shop. It’s a concern, and another plus for the Iridium over the Quantum for me because, due to customs issues, the Iridium would be far easier to ship. I wonder if it’s possible to buy a backup touchscreen now and store it? If replacement is basically just some simple disassembly, then unplug/re-plug , a redundant screen purchase might be a worthwhile insurance policy.
Also, aside from the CV mentioned above, Shoebridge points out after months of using the Quantum how he doesn’t even use its analog filters at all. He values keeping a stereo signal more than an analog filter and that the Quantum’s analog filters don’t have any particular appeal. I also put a premium on stereo, and I guess there’s no comparable sacrifice to make with the Iridium.
If you went to a company like Sweetwater, who both sells and has their own repair shop, and is also used to working with performing musicians, i’m sure they could accommodate to this as the part of a purchase, or at least would try to accommodate.
If a small company like Waldorf, who in the not to distant past (temporarily) went out-of-business, said that repair was only through them, that would be (and should be) a deal breaker.
ADDED ASIDE IN ILLUSTRATION:
ROLI with their Seaboard product line has had the policy of “repair only through us”. They have been in severe financial strain of recent, and dropped the repair, so the policy now, as i understand it, is “buy a new one”. But they also as a part of their troubles have dropped products like the Seaboard Grand. So let’s say you’re a performing musician, who invested great amounts of time to learn the Seaboard interface (like Rich Hilton did), and your Seaboard Grand breaks, as they seem to regularly do ? Even private repair is difficult, if not impossible. ROLI for me is a no-go.
I’ve worked testing and specifying touch screens for industrial products, so i have direct experience and understanding of their reliability, life cycle, and obsolescence. The repair likely is pretty straight forward if you have the parts, but good luck 3-D printing a capacitive touch screen. Even finding a similar part is out, because of how tightly it is tied to the source code. You’re screwed. Even the screen portion will be a challenge to find parts. Having back up parts is the only option, especially given Waldorf’s financial history.
Sweetwater’s not currently an option for me because they don’t ship internationally. I’ve been using Gear4music lately, and their returns policy, which exceeds EU requirements, does inspire confidence. I don’t find anything on their web site about repairs, though.
Tim’s videos are great, and some of the best Quantum / Iridium coverage out there.
On the screen video, there are comments from other owners who don’t have that issue, so it’s unclear how common the issue is.
Regarding longevity, a touchscreen can last as long as other physical components. It’s a very established tech thanks to the deluge of tablets and phones over the last 10 years. I bet a pot or encoder would go first.
I don´t have this issue. I had a few other issues with the Iridium but they gave me a quick response at Waldorf after my Email. I don´t quite understand why he elaborates this in a lenghty youtube video instead of getting a support request at Waldorf.
Completely agree. In his follow-up he did contact Waldorf support.
As of right now, there is no one with an Iridium (that has spoken up at least) that has major issues with the hardware. The labeled buttons that can rotate slightly is the closest thing, and that’s not going to stop me from buying one
I agree, this is a 2030 sort of problem. (Most likely.) A pot, or encoder will be a sourceable part, a touch screen likely won’t be. This is currently a problem for touch-screen equipment a generation back.
Well then how about a gentlemen’s bet! You get an Iridium, and then in 2030 you can claim your right if the capacitive touch screen needs to be serviced or replaced
If there’s a will there’s a way. Everyone thought they couldn’t fabricate a new LCD for the MPC 2000/2000XL and second market values went down. Then it was finally made and second market values went back up.
Stockpiling a part you expect to run short is just another way. I guess my manufacturing part sourcing background is showing.
ADDED: Looking at this from another perspective,
If you owned a classic synth, one of the great ones, and you had the opportunity to buy hard to find parts for it, wouldn’t you do that ? Don’t you think the Quantum or the Iridium will be a classic some day ?
If you look back in time you see that for example with a Akai sampler the parts like a floppy disk or screen. Can be replaced by today’s tech like a SD card medium an oled display.
So no worries about that. By the way the touchscreen of my Quantum has no issues at all. Okay the screen of my iPhone feels better but thats it.
At the moment, my top feature requests looks something like this:
Something like Rev2’s polyphonic gated sequencer or Zebra’s mod mappers.
Either something like Zebra’s mod mixers or Q/ Blofeld/ XT’s modulation modifiers:
BPM-syncable envelope stages/ grain params. (Major extra points for BPM sync-able LFO speeds in the Kernels engine, as opposed to being stuck to Hertz.) – Also it’d rock if the envelope delay param were a mod destination.
Filter FM. pleading (Major extra points for increased controller rates. I read a post of Rolf’s on the Quantum thread suggesting this might not be out of the question.)
Live Granular buffer freezing.
Unipolar LFO/ KM values.
The ability to allocate knobs of un-used oscillators to control more Kernels engine params. Maybe this would be most easily implemented if a Kernels engine on oscillator #2 could recognize params of a Kernels engine loaded onto oscillator #1. Then one would disengage K1 through K6 on oscillator #2 and have 5 more knobs to control and modulate oscillator #1. (There’s probably a cleaner way, but this seems reasonable to me.)
The ability to feed audio from one layer to the other. (Major extra points for feeding audio from one oscillator into a Resonator or Particle engine on the same layer.)
Freeze-able Komplex Modulator + phase as a mod destination.
CC’s as mod destinations.
(Iridium specific) – CV Clock In to MIDI clock out. (At the moment, Iridium doesn’t send MIDI clock. )
I brought up the touchscreen issue also because of the reports of devices arriving with touchscreens detached. It’s not clear what people have meant by that: slightly unseated so that you just pop it back into place? flopping around by its cable in the box? Then there’s the demonstrated inconsistent performance: Shoebridge’s rightmost portion doesn’t respond while other people report that’s not normal. On the other hand, Shoebridge had a video where he reported discussions with Waldorf, then demonstrated that if the X-Y tracks your movements properly, then that verifies the touchscreen’s proper function. He’s concluded that his touchscreen is 100% within spec, while others say no. There’s also his discussion of its capacitive responsiveness to relatively dry skin. He recommends not cleaning your screen so that you don’t lose the skin oils necessary for consistent conductivity. This puts me in mind of my Soma Lyra-8, which is also finger-lickin’ good.
As I understand it, the Quantum and Iridium screens are slightly different. If so, I’d ask a question that gets Waldorf to comment on the relative reliability issues between their two device’s screens. It does seem that the vast majority are fine as delivered, but I’d be interested in more detailed firsthand feedback from them.
As it stands, it still comes down to sonic capabilities for me. I like how the Iridium covers territory that I currently can’t—and maybe no other device can. On the other hand, after all this discussion and viewing the the available performances in the end don’t wow me. It’s only those demos in conjunction with the manual’s specified capabilities that give me the impression it can do a lot more and make it worth the space, price, and technological risk. But even Shoebridge’s explanation of 192 available oscillators in kernel synthesis hardly demonstrates that capability. He’s more into consonant sounds, and his sound sets are nothing but multisampled guitars so that, despite all his systematic detail, he’s left the Quantum and Iridium way under-demoed compared to aspects of some 3-5 minutes performances I’ve seen. All these performances also lack any dimension of asperity, so that it still remains for someone to show the Iridium stretching its sonic legs. Otherwise, I’m concerned that the territory it covers that my other devices do not is still rather narrow, overly niche, and the device can not offer an evolving performance, just a method of sound design more convenient and fun than a computer with mouse. I want more than just playing patches and sweeping the filter.
Sonic capabilities are relative and thats really up to you!
I understand your view, but it’s better to check music you like from people who inspire you. The (demo)music made by the reviewer or the person behind the preset from a synthesizer has probably nothing to do with your personal music taste.
Also, just anyone’s opinion on a forum says very little. You simply do not know the need or application behind it. In addition, there is a lack of personal substantiation and background from approach to the relevant instrument.
In short, how much affinity do you have with the music or sound design of the person in question on which you base your judgment?
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