Strymon Iridium as a gigging guitar rig

[Doug B]

Has anyone ever used a Strymon Iridium as a gigging guitar rig?
If so, what amp and speakers did you use?
Or any other combination?

Thanks.

Doug

[Cunamara]

I did a number of gigs using my Tech 21 Para Driver DI into a powered speaker (Alto TS110a). It worked pretty well, very dry sounding without a reverb pedal in the mix. I also use that speaker with a Zoom MS100BT multi effects pedal which was a little more successful because I could chain together an amp model, speaker model and multiple effects in one box. It had enough output to adequately drive the speaker. For the last band I was rehearsing with, I used the Tech 21 with a QSC powered speaker that was at the rehearsal space, and that sounded better than it did with the Alto. With my Ibanez GB10, I had a great jazz sound out of that, maybe the best I have ever gotten.

At home I use the Tech 21 into an AI Clarus 2r and a Raezer's Edge 12 inch speaker, which I think is my best sounding combination. If I ever get around to gigging again, that's probably the set up I would use although I think going straight to the PA using either of those pedals or the Strymon as a DI would be very successful.

[Spook410]

Using an Acus 350. About the same as a Schertler JAM400 (now discontinued). Not all that common in the US. A Schertler Jam150 works well in terms of sound but seems a little under powered in some situations. Don't think it would work with a drummer. Would work in a quieter setting. A Schertler Roy (replaces the Jam400, a bit less than $2500 if you buy a new one from an English music store while the pound is so far down) would be overkill but kind of optimal. Can support voice (or in my case saxophone) as well. I wish they sold a version without the mixer.

I do occasionally use a Yamaha DZR10. It's a good and powerful PA speaker but it doesn't seem to have the same fidelity as something designed for the acoustic guitar world like the Schertler gear. Like many PA speakers it's powerful and durable. Probably not designed for fine detail close up.

I'm going to experiment with a Quilter 201 head into a closed 1X12 speaker (Redstone.. no longer in business) by turning the amp sim off and just running the speaker IR. Haven't gotten to that yet.

Wish I had some experience with the more typical choices in a FRFR cabinet/amp to share but this is what I have been doing so far.

[Spook410]

I did get a chance to run the Strymon Iridium with amp sim off through a Quilter 201 and a closed 1X12 Redstone speaker.

Actually.. it was kind of a surprise. It's a small cabinet just big enough for the 12" speaker so it tends to sound boxy and closed in. Didn't expect the Strymon speaker IR's to have such a big influence on the sound. More than I've been able to achieve with EQ with this speaker in the past. It opened up a lot more than you might expect from a small closed cabinet. Lost some muted boxiness and gained some added complexity. The speaker was very responsive to different IR's as I switched through them. And it was easy to switch it off to compare to the native cabinet tone (yep.. still boxy and muted). With the IR's, some had too much low end.. some seemed a bit muddy in the high mids. Overall settled on a 2X10 IR as a favorite. Good definition. Chimey and musical.

Overall, different from the acoustic guitar rigs I've been running the Strymon through. That and the amp sim was turned off relying instead on the Quilter tone which I usually like. I was able to get a pleasing and useful guitar sounds just by switching IR's and basic EQ. I'll be playing with it a bit more. I think I can get quite a good tone with this rig after fine tuning though it's just for guitar and won't support the other functions I need (voice, saxophone, tracks).

Of course, can't do much in the way of comparisons for folks to hear. The difference is distinct but not sure how well I could record it in a way that would be useful to anyone. However, I hope it does indicate that some experimentation is a good idea with amp sims and speaker IR's. It appears it's possible to get some interesting and unexpected results without spending big bucks on bespoke speakers. Certainly worth trying out.