This makes a lot of sense, and such apparent non-responsiveness to touch would piss me off no end. It reminds me of my experience with the resistive screen on my first generation Kronos. And loopop (or maybe Shoebridge) points out that there are other counterintuitive inconsistencies that appear to be there to add more functionality at the expense of the logic of where that functionality is located. A re-think of substantial aspects of the UI might be in order, but who knows when Waldorf can address what aspect even if they agree. As I recall, their firmware updates for Q and I are barely once a year.
Ironically, Shoebridge recommends not cleaning your screen, claiming that accumulated skin oil enhances conductivity. But if any non-responsiveness is due to the drag/press issue, thatās actually more encouraging because fixable in firmware.
Maybe they fixed this? I noted when I first took off the protective film it was hard to slide my finger, and I was like āOh no!ā Then I used a lens wipe, and it was as smooth as an iPad screen (Yay!).
FWIW - This is the box I got, and I need to see if there is a manufacturing date somewhere.
If anyone wants any closeups of any part of the Iridium, let me know.
Beyond the screen missing taps intermittently, the other thing I would mention is the pads.
When I first touched them, I didnāt like the way they feltā¦ very squishy. But when using them last night, I really liked them so they have grown on me.
Overall, I see the pads as a positive feature. I can see why āvelocity and pressureā are expected, but they are useful as-is musically. I was doing chords last night by different patterns in scale mode, and it was cool. I donāt have a matrix style controller, so it works for me as another way to think about notes/scales/chords.
Iām hoping they beef up the āpad sequencerā a bit more. For example changing the play direction could be a press on the pad itself vs choosing it from a menu.
Just a follow up to this, on my unit I canāt rotate my buttons to look like this (top picture).
Even if I tap them on the corner they stay pretty well aligned (bottom picture).
If you look closely, the cutouts look to be different. The top one has rounded edges, like a punched hole, and the bottom has a much tighter radius on the edges.
Maybe @phelios could give us another picture to confirm better, but this is looking like a 2nd production run. (Ok - At least I want that to be true)
As I understand it, the rotating buttons issue is strictly aesthetics. You scratch your head and ask āWhy?ā but everything works as expected, with robustness the overriding consideration. Screen intermittency is something else entirely. Being a modern screen, though, I can only assume @Gino is correct that itās fixable with a firmware re-think, thatās itās not a malfunction, but intended drag/press behavior, which Waldorf would only address if enough people say they donāt like the current UI implementation.
The pads, yeah: Shoebridge thought more knobs and stuff would have offered much more practical usability than these pads do as currently implemented, and thatās certainly true for external controller enthusiasts. On the other hand, some on board note-playing capability can be really handy. My Hydrasynth desktop has the same issue, but its buttonsā velocity sensitivity and aftertouch do make them truly useful. Since Iridiumās pads are a permanent design feature, no doubt the more (and the more clever) functionality that Waldorf can add to them, the better.
Thanks for pointing this out.
I agree itās typically multiplication vs summing.
The advantage with summing is that if you only set the controller amount, it still works. Maybe they had it the normal way and people complained about having to always set both amounts to get it to work?
The disadvantage to summing is setting precise ranges is harder. You get things like 200%, to deal with, and it crosses zero, which is why multiplication is usually the default - it always stays in range.
One nice surprise was seeing that CV can be both a mod source and a controller. As you pointed out earlier, you can do cool stuff with that.
Thanks for your participation
Thanks for the tip, but I already did a finance contract with my seller and nobody else offers a longer payment with 0%, so IĀ“ll have to stick with themā¦ and wait.
But it is weird, small shops actually have them in stock now, while big stores like Thomann, Music Store donāt.
Hopefully it is a software problem and can get solved.
Best description so far
I agree, it looks like the cutouts are different. 2nd batch?
Ok - Iām stumpedā¦ how do you save patches on this thing? I followed the directions in the manual, but there is no save button on the touch screen. Pressing the physical save button again exits. Weird.
EDIT: Save is now working properly! No idea what caused this, but I think I was looking at patch 0046 (which weāve confirmed is broken). That might have put the machine into a bad state, and although I cycled power, it loaded up the last patch which was 0046. If anyone sees this, save will take you to the āsave patchā message in my screen shot, and it just loops. If it happens again to me, Iāll try to do an export because losing patches is not fun
There is a little give, but itās quite sturdy. Itās why I went with the pole + arm style.
I did have to cut down the mounting plate as there is not enough room for a standard 100mm plate.
I do use both hands at times, as Iām still getting used to it. Hitting the pads is a good example as they work just fine, but I find myself using 2 hands instinctively.
Being able to pull it closer and angle it is awesome! It sounds silly, but it makes you feel important
I much prefer it on the vesa mount to having it on a table. I have one of these for my MacBook https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HSJPVV8/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_T0WGFbHR3YVHK and got another one because if the mount didnāt work out I could use the tray. I ended up not using the tray, so there might be better options out there.
I suddenly remembered my experience years ago with the first generation Kronos: a keyboard with an onboard screen that you interact with as an integral part of its functionality is a 100% dealbreaker for me because neck fatigue and discomfort hits within a few minutes. Hunching over stuff is a total no-no, so Iām glad I remembered that before getting a Quantum. That leaves only the Iridium as a consideration for me because itās possible to orient it more vertically.
The pads of course are likely to destabilize it without a second hand; Iām just concerned about the screen. I mean, I wouldnāt want to always be stuck with always operating it two-handed. I have a couple of Hercules stands, which work as well as any tabletop stand Iāve ever used. Iāve used them with stuff up to 6cm deep, which caused no stability concerns when angled properly, but I think itās no dice for the large Iridium. The vesa setup is something Iād probably not want to do in my space unless it were freakishly good, which it isnāt. Iāve got other modules on a low tabletop which works fine, but the Iridium is a whole different ergonomic interaction due to its screen.
so they have grown on me.
