I took the plunge into "no amp" land with a Strymon Iridium

[TalismanRich]

I've had a Line 6 PODxt for years, and have used it for recording bass, but I never really liked it for recording guitar.   I've also got an RP355 but I found it way too complex to set up, and didn't like the sounds.

For the past several months,  I've been getting together with two guys from our band back in '75.    The drummer has a nice setup with his drum miked but direct in for guitar, bass and vocals.    He records things on his Zoom H6.     The Line6 was "ok" but a pain to make changes on the fly,  and was noisy as all hell when I plugged my pedalboard into it.  So it's been just plain guitar through a Fender Deluxe model on the Line6.

There's a guy out in Salt Lake City that has been using his Iridium for several album releases on Soundcloud.   He's done some amazing work with his.  That started me looking at options,  like the Dream 65,  the ToneX and the Iridium.   Last weekend,  a local fellow on Facebook Marketplace had listed an Iridium for a good price, so we met up the other morning at the golf course and did the deal.  

I'm impressed.   The only thing it really doesn't have is a true reverb, but adding the "room" sound seems to add just enough ambience to make it not sound flat.   I spent about an hour with the Millennium and the 525 today.   I think I'll be revamping my pedal board to include the Strymon.   Then if I need to play through an amp,  I can just bypass the pedal.

Now, I just need to figure out settings that work best for me, but I'm liking it so far.

 

 

[rockabilly69]

3 hours ago, TalismanRich said:

I've had a Line 6 PODxt for years, and have used it for recording bass, but I never really liked it for recording guitar.   I've also got an RP355 but I found it way too complex to set up, and didn't like the sounds.

For the past several months,  I've been getting together with two guys from our band back in '75.    The drummer has a nice setup with his drum miked but direct in for guitar, bass and vocals.    He records things on his Zoom H6.     The Line6 was "ok" but a pain to make changes on the fly,  and was noisy as all hell when I plugged my pedalboard into it.  So it's been just plain guitar through a Fender Deluxe model on the Line6.

There's a guy out in Salt Lake City that has been using his Iridium for several album releases on Soundcloud.   He's done some amazing work with his.  That started me looking at options,  like the Dream 65,  the ToneX and the Iridium.   Last weekend,  a local fellow on Facebook Marketplace had listed an Iridium for a good price, so we met up the other morning at the golf course and did the deal.  

I'm impressed.   The only thing it really doesn't have is a true reverb, but adding the "room" sound seems to add just enough ambience to make it not sound flat.   I spent about an hour with the Millennium and the 525 today.   I think I'll be revamping my pedal board to include the Strymon.   Then if I need to play through an amp,  I can just bypass the pedal.

Now, I just need to figure out settings that work best for me, but I'm liking it so far.

 

 

who's the guy in Salt Lake City?

[pressure]

Strymon makes good stuff. Anytime you spend an hour playing a Millie is a Fab day.

[TalismanRich]

12 hours ago, rockabilly69 said:

who's the guy in Salt Lake City?

Robert Guilliland.    His Bandcamp channel is Bats Brew.

This is his latest.  

https://batsbrew.bandcamp.com/album/the-time-is-magic-album

[TalismanRich]

6 hours ago, pressure said:

Strymon makes good stuff. Anytime you spend an hour playing a Millie is a Fab day.

I had to quit playing the Millie because the crappy Ernie Ball Slinky started to slip.   I thought it was the tuning peg, but everything was fine on that end.   The high E string started to unwind at the ball end.  

So this morning,  I fired up the F1 on TV and started changing the strings.   I might actually have to take it in for some fret work soon.   I've developed some nice grooves in the first 5 or 6 frets!   You gotta give 'em a little TLC every once in a while.

[pressure]

Try these strings next time, they are different.

[TalismanRich]

I've never had an issue with GHS or D'addarios.   It's been a while since I restrung the Millie, but I had a second pack of Slinkys in the case so I just put those on.    

Recently I tried some GHS Bright Flats  (ground wound).   They have a nice smooth feel, and most of the zing of regular wound strings.   Just Strings has them for $10/set.  

Do you feel the round core feel different from the hex core strings?    Harder or lighter feel?   I've never tried the Curt Mangans.   The shops around here mostly have D'Addario, GHS, Fender,  Ernie Ball and Elixers.   There are very few with the "exotic" brands.

[pressure]

The Mangans are different, different good. You've got to be careful with the wound strings when you put them on. Crimp them before cutting the ends off or you'll end up with a dead string.