Strymon Iridium

120
GUITARIST FEBRUARY 2020
IMAGES TO BE SHOT
U
nusually for our Pedalboard section,
here’s a pedal that is not meant
to be plugged into an amplifier.
In fact, it’s actually there to replace your
amp. Strymon’s Iridium is an amp and
cab modeller with added room reverb,
unsurprisingly designed to deliver the
sound of an amp through a cab in a room.
While it can be an integral part of your
pedalboard, its role is to be connected
directly to a PA for live use or to recording
equipment. It also has a headphone output
so you can use it for silent practice.
What it provides is three modelled amps
with drive and three-band EQ controls,
each amp having a choice of three Impulse
Response cabinets to be paired with,
followed by (optional) room reverb. If you
want different cabs, you can replace those
onboard with your own using Strymon’s
Impulse Manager software.
The amp and cab sections can be
independently turned off so you can just
use the amps with a different cabinet
modeller, or feed the Iridium’s cabs with
another source. Plugging in an expression
pedal offers volume control or morphing
between knob positions and there’s full
MIDI remote control of parameters and
access to 300 preset locations.
SOUNDS
The pedal can work in various mono and
stereo combinations, its obvious position
being at the end of your pedalboard
signal chain, although some may wish to
follow it with delay or reverb pedals. The
analogue JFET input no doubt contributes
to playing feel, which has a very amp-like
push and pull to it, everything cleaning up
naturally with guitar volume.
The Round amp is based on a Fender
Deluxe and provides classic Fender clean
sound through to the combo’s natural
drive. There’s practical tonal sweetening
from the tone stack with the midrange
adjustment offering the sort of variation
you’d hear between different Fender eras:
turn it up from a typical ‘black-panel amp’
scoop towards more of a Tweed tone and
drive. As with the other amps, the ‘A’ cab is
the one it’s most closely associated with,
and here it’s a 1x12, but we were really taken
by the ‘C’ cab’s 2x10 for more of a Super or
Vibrolux flavour. The Iridium cabs are very
high quality, in fact, featuring a full 500ms
IR never before seen in a pedal.
The sound of an amp in a room for your pedalboard? Why not!
Words Trevor Curwen Photography Phil Barker
PEDALBOARD
STRYMON
Iridium
CONTACT
MUSICPSYCH 0207 607 6005 / WWW.STRYMON.NET
MODEL
IRIDIUM
PRICE
£399
MAN UFACTURER
STRYMON
GIT455.peds_strymon.indd 120 17/12/2019 13:03