The middle knob on the Iridium isn‘t a middle knob. It is changing the amp characteristic. Fully clockwise it emulates a tweed amp and therefore delivers mor gain. Why am I apparently the only one reading the manual. 😊 In EVERY shootout between the iridium and the dream people get that wrong.
You‘re welcome Andrew. What I would love to hear is a comparison of the Iridium vs the Dream with an identical, external IR. I think that would be the most accurate way of comparing those two devices, because IRs are an essential part of the tone. On both devices you can turn off the cabinets, so… But anyways, I like your videos. A lot. Keep it up!
Good vid .. maybe you can guys can tell me.. my understanding is that the Dream does not use IRs but uses cabinet modeling from UA.. do i have that correct?
I own both of these. I gotta say, the Dream65 sounds really good, much better than the Fender sounds in the Iridium, but I love how the Iridium can also do Vox and Marshall amps as well as the ease of the headphone jack. I really like the Dream65 and for Fender sounds it's the best out there, but I'm gonna sell mine and keep my Iridium. I already own a UA Golden Reverberator and a Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb, so the Dream65 was a redundant purchase in the first place but I was too curious not to try. Really great video Andrew, always look forward to your uploads!
This is such a great take. I'll be returning the Iridium and keeping the Dream since I don't use the other amp sounds. But there isn't so much of a tonal difference that you're really losing anything going with the Iridium. I just love having so many GOOD options these days :)
@@andrewclarkeguitar ...i like that the feel of the dream and the ruby is very tube like ...and they both are perfect as a pedal platform 😉 cool channel by the way 😉
I'd rather have one pedal that excels at one thing rather than have a pedal that does too many things and doesn't excel at those things offered by said pedal.
Great review and comparison, one I’ve been waiting for. The Dream comes across very textured but a fair bit darker than the amp and iridium, I wonder how it would cut in a mix. Thanks for posting this comparison, I think this is the best I’ve seen so far.
That's an interesting takeaway. I believe the Dream is actually the "brightest" of the three. But the upper mids are lacking for sure, and that's the area that allows your guitar to cut through a mix. I feel like a transparent OD with the Dream would give you a perfect rhythm sound, then you can either activate the boost in the Dream (which adds more mids) OR you could run a Tubescreamer/Klon-style pedal into it to get those mids and cut through the mix. Thanks for watching the video!
Man, the Dream sounds better but I need to stop chasing the next new thing and start playing more. All three options sound good and can make great music. I’m going to keep my Iridium.
I have a Dream which becomes reality tomorrow. Ruby arrived today and Woodrow arrives on the 2nd of Jan. My pedals have to sound great as they come, so they don't need to be masked by superfluous accompaniments...they can be added later if necessary. Nice demo.
I've watched several of these comparo videos and the Dream 65 is consistently better by a long shot on the "Fender" sounds. It sparkles, if that's the right word. The Iridium sounds good, no slouch, but the UA pedal is superior.
Yeah, I'm with you. The Iridium is outstanding and I don't think anyone should feel forced to switch to the Dream. But going purely by tone, the Dream takes it.
i think i prefer the iridium for dirty clean . Super clean and blues type distortion the dream sounds better but for math rock/ emo/ indy type sounds the iridium shines (imho).
Both sound really good! But I like the sound from the Iridium the most...I also believe it "cuts" through the mix better when its a little bit less scooped
The difference in the EQ is definitely interesting. The sounds of the Dream vs Iridium reminds me of the Mooer Radar with and without the poweramp sim section engaged. Anyone else know what I'm referring to? Very similarly to the Dream, the power amp sim in the Radar just applies a pretty drastically scooped EQ to your IR's that adds those lower boomier bass frequencies and high end brilliance. It's really hard to turn it off once you hear it because that fullness is so appealing and "amp like". I can see why that wider range, scooped sound is making a lot of people very happy with the UA stuff. However- your point about the real amp having a distinct balance between that wider, scooped sound of the Dream AND focused mids of the Iridium is exactly why I changed the IR's in the Iridium to something with a wider, scooped EQ- in order to compliment its emphasis on mids. This helps the Iridium to get way more bottom end and brilliance along with its strong mids. You still gotta turn the bass up pretty high, and I can't say that this actually gets it to sound identical to the Dream (IR EQs can only do so much), but I prefer a slightly tighter, mid focused sound anyway- and would generally EQ alot of the bass frequencies out of the Dream in order to cut through the mix. Anyways- I use York Audio IR's and they seem to fill out the frequency spectrum enough that not only am I very satisfied with the Iridium, but I can also leave the power amp sim of the Mooer Radar off. PS another trick to help with the slight stiffness of the Iridium is to put a really tube like, transparent OD pedal right before it. Something with a bias or sag knob like the Fairfield Barbershop is perfect for getting that spongy feel of a real amp.
That's a good suggestion! I'm sure if I spent more time with it I could get the Iridium to sound even better. Just personally prefer the sound of the Dream right out of the box. I'm sure many people will have a different experience.
Both sound good. Modeling is just crazy nowadays. I wonder though, it seems the iridium may stand out in a mix more even though the dream sounds more realistic stand-alone.
With the Iridium I use the mid knob to get a variety of Fender amp sounds, the gain pedals that I normally use with an actual amp, and three different cabs, mainly the York Bassman IR I bought for $15 which adds a great sound. Then I also have a Vox and a Marshall each with their own three cabs which I can swap out if so desired. Yet somehow over a year later, UA expects me to want to pay the same price for what they offer which tone-wise to my ears is completely negligible if you truly use the EQ correctly and your normal pedals with it (although points for adding the Spring reverb for those that don't already have that in a pedal.) I find UA's pricing to be obnoxious honestly. Had they released this pedal at half the price or all three combined at the same price, I'd say more power to them but kinda gotta wonder what they are smoking ( and their customer base) when they release their guitar pedals at the prices they do?.$400 for one amp in a box? I'd encourage people who don't have money to burn to buy a $40 Joyo American for direct-only gigs and save up for an actual amp. My Princeton 65 with actual tubes and a real Spring and Vibrato, cost me $650 (great deal I got on Craigslist locally,)
You can obviously like either one you want better but to my ears the iridium sounds closer to his real amp the way he has it dialed in here. And at the end of the day isn’t that kind of the point?
I love Strymon, but (as a blackface fender guy) The Dream sounds better = pristine-cleans & chime. Iridium is probably more versatile though? I am not completely sold on all the Digital stuff. I play thru real-amps. oNe LovE from NYC
You'd be right. The Dream does the blackface thing better and the Iridium is more versatile. Both sound great in their own way. But at the end of the day, I'll still always use my real amp when I can. Cheers!
I gig the iridium. My main setting is an edge of breakup tone on the chime setting. I then run an always on ryra (clean boosted eq tone) klone. Sounds killer. The fender setting on the Iridium, to my ears, is nowhere near as inspiring. Think I’m gonna go down the rabbit hole and pick up a Dream. I’m sure the Ruby is unbelievable but the Iridium does a pretty killer vox sound. Also, it’s nice to have a gained up Marshall tone at the ready for the dad rock solos 🤜. Nice demo man 👍
A lot of people have suggestions here on how to make the Iridium's Fender sounds feel better so I'm gonna have to try those out before writing off the Iridium. Either way, I agree. The Vox and Marshall sounds are great! Thanks for watching!
With the Iridium sound samples I was constantly feeling like I wanted it pushed a bit more compared to the amp and the dream. Some sort of "brittleness".
Yeah, there's definitely something just slightly lacking. But I do believe if it weren't being demoed in the context of the other two option then it wouldn't be noticeable.
mm. I think you are cutting the mids on the Iridium a little to much , so it sounding way thiner that it should. Uad sounds fuller and a little biter. it's just my approach, no hard feelings. I'm gonna try to test both live and see. thanks
in a digital recording era you want to save on latency. dream adds 2ms to it, don't know about iridium. all those are no no for me. there is also analog one on the market - simplifier mk2 if I remember correctly. more digging to get good sound but no latency. latency kills the player feel even if he is not noticing it yet.
The amp has more mids than the dream because its not a deluxe reverb. The deluxe reverb and the dream sound almost identical. the iridum doesn't sound bad, but its not even close to the tone of a deluxe reverb
You're just justifying your purchase at this point. He literally ABC'ed it and the iridium is the closest sounding when he dialed the mid all the way back because that's how it works. It's a voicing knob not an EQ knob. The dream sounds nothing like the amp.
@@waltuhhimself I'm aware of the mid knob functions on the iridium. If you read the iridium manual, Strymon's model of a deluxe reverb is with the mid knob at noon. mid knob down = extra scooped, mid knob up = "tweed" territory. But no, I've had the iridium, lots of fender amps, and the dream. the dream is significantly closer to the deluxe reverb thing than the iridium is. the only pros of the iridium over the UAFX are the fact that the iridium has 3 amp models and a headphone jack. There's a reason I kept the UAFX amp pedals around and not the iridium.
Hi Andrew, nice video! it's a shame that you turned the lows of the Iridium down (I think you should do the opposite), the Dream has much more lows.. and the Iridium's middle knob actually has a different function (changes the character of the amp too). It would be amazing if you decide to make a new video taking care of this things. Tks!
Thanks for watching! The frequency of the Bass knob seems to differ between the two pedals. I personally didn't like the sound of the Bass turned up on the Iridium. Was probably just my IEMs making it sound weird honestly. Someone told me about the mid-knob function earlier in the comments. Definitely a cool feature! Still sounds very different from the Dream.
I also own both - the dream feels so much more like an amp than the iridium. probably gonna sell the iridium, the lack of midi with the dream is the only thing i dislike about it..
@@andrewclarkeguitar I just picked up the Ruby...and my Iridium is about to go up for sale. Ruby kills the Iridium Chime even with "upgraded" purchased IRs
OR... UAcould get off their tucuses and make a JVM 800 pedal... just sayin. Lol 😂 That’s what I’m hoping. I have all three and want a Marshall. The Orange terrorstamp is also a nice one. Cheers man, great channel! Great chops and education too.
Leo Gibson in his comparison video showed how the Dream has twice the latency and breaks up way sooner. Add to that how the Iridium has more features and is an older product, and the difference in clean tone is basically a different EQ curve, I really don't get why people are so hyped for the Dream now Edit: I say this as a helix user, I have no dog in this fight
I'll be honest, it just feels better. I've spent a further week playing with the Iridium and comparing it to the Dream. I've even spent time using higher-end IRs with both pedals. For whatever reason, the Dream (with its built-in IRs) just gives me that same feeling an amp does. The Iridium just felt like I always needed to fiddle with it and couldn't quite make it feel right. However, that's purely my own experience. I'm sure many other people will come to different conclusions.
@@andrewclarkeguitar they all sound and feel like recorded amps. The Dream doesn't sound remarkably different to me than any other sim. It's certainty nothing you could pick out in a mix in a meaningful way. It all just feels like manufactured hype and attempts at justifying GAS
@@Valaskjold Well, I don't necessarily agree that they all feel like recorded amps. I do agree that they all sound the part though. And it's true that you'd never be able to pick it out in a mix. The Dream is not for everyone and you certainly don't have to like it. If you're happy with what you've got then that's all that matters. I'm simply sharing my own experience with these two amp sims and that's all. Nothing beats my Dr. Z amp yet. But for me, the Dream is better feeling/sounding than the clean Fender sounds on the Iridium. Cheers!
I am wondering if you run this in four cable mode through amps effects loop for some tube flavor then take it through a captor type device into pc would I them be able to say use bias or AmpliTube or other irs I may have.
I believe so. You would run it in 4 cable mode using the effects loop like you mentioned since that only bypasses the preamp section of your amp and not the output section. From there you'd need to run it into some sort of load box before it goes into your computer where you could make use of your IRs. That being said, I haven't done this myself, but theoretically, I think you can do it. :)
So I demoed both of these on my roland jc 40, though I didn't put the iridium thru the fx loop. I went with UA, but do you think I would've been that much more impressed by the iridium thru the fx loop? Since iridium offers 2 more amps, I figure if the round model is good enough, then it be worth getting that instead of the dream.. so much to consider
Personally, I think the Dream does the Fender sound much better than the Iridium. So it would just depend how important the Vox and Marshall sounds are for you. Personally, I'd never touch them. I've owned the Dream for well over a year now and have gigged with it plenty. Never felt the need to get anything else :)
The UA Dream 65 is clearly more authentic to my ears. I'm gong to wait until UA puts all three of their new amp modelers in one pedal like the Iridium and others. They should have done this from the beginning. Now, that will be a pedal to buy.
That would be amazing. Although, based on the way they do things, I highly doubt it'll ever happen. If they did do that, they'd have to ditch a lot of the current features of each individual amp. But we can hope! :)
@@andrewclarkeguitar You may be right, damn it, but clever people have their ways and UA-FX is nothing if not clever. They may have already thought of this. Wouldn't surprise me at all if just after Thanksgiving...
Nope. As far as I know of the most popular options out there the Walrus ACS-1 is the only pedal to do that. If you really needed the Dream to do this, you'd have to bypass the cab and load your IRs separately.
Good video. What amp are you using? I think that it sounds way closer to the Iridium than to the Dream 65, probably because it's not a blackface fender. Your amp compared to the Iridium on low and midle gain settings feels like eq differences more than anything. If you scoop all the mids and give a bit more treble it can sound very similar. Dream 65 is another kind of amp, with totally different eq and distortion. As a fender player, I love it.
The amp is a Dr. Z EZG-50. It's based on a blackface Super Reverb. But it absolutely has more mids than a deluxe. I agree that the Iridium's EQ sounds closer to it. But personally I prefer the Dream.
@@andrewclarkeguitar I really like the Dream as well. Sound pretty similar to what I would expect a blackface fender. But from this video the Dr Z sounded the best, maybe because you know it better. But at the same time the Dr. Z sounded nothing at all like a blackface fender to me. I'm a bit surprised it's based on one.
@@gffg387 Yeah, it's based on the AB763 circuit. The amp is going into a 1x12 in an iso cab mic'd with a 57. Both the iso cab and the 57 seem to bring the mids forward as well, so it could be that. To me, it makes sense that the amp wins just because I'd have a hard time believing that a $400 pedal could beat a $2500 amp. But the pedals do sound really damn good these days.
I agree, I think all 3 translate very differently depending on what you're listening through. But with studio monitors or good headphones you can hear the amp still sounds best.
Ua is definitely on to something, but ya gotta have more mids for a full.bodied tone. I feel like with a band the UA tone would get lost. They just sound too thin to me. They need more balls or something.
It's very much that scooped 60s deluxe sound. Works great for rhythm, then you can push it with a klon or ts style pedal to get those mids. Works great!
Put an EQ pedal before the Iridium and you’ll get very close to the Dream, and probably closer to the amp. And you have more amp models. 🤷♀️ Drop the mids, and boost the lows/highs. With the fuzz, the iridium sounded better than the Dream AND the amp…
Gotta disagree with you there. You can probably get it to sound close, but it still won’t give you the same feel as the dream. I personally found the fuzz to sound the worst with the Iridium. But ultimately, it’s all subjective. And they really both sound great. Would like to see Strymon update the Iridium like they’ve done with the 6 others.
@@andrewclarkeguitar I’m sure they will. I actually think the Iriduim has the physical upgrades, since it has the added USB, and MIDI capabilities. Prolly just a software thing.
You might enjoy this. The content author shot his own cab, and ran the amp, Dream, and Iridium, through the same IR. Interesting since it makes the playing field more normalized. ua-cam.com/video/7uDkjGSi1Uc/v-deo.html
You can just use a mono L/R to stereo TRS female Y adapter. Don't need any headphone amp. Though I'm sure with a headphone amp you'd get some extra output, especially for higher impedence headphones.
I do NOT own the dream but after listening to this video on my studio headphones. I like the Iridium better , the Dream sounds muddier to me. I can ALWAYS add mud.
That's a fair take. It's specifically the upper mids that the Iridium has over the Dream from what I can tell. That must be the muddiness you're hearing. I still much prefer the Dream, but it might not be the exact sound you're looking for.
It would be nice if makers of the dream 65 would do a video showing the sound of the real amp that was modeled and the dream 65. At the same time side by side. Then one could make an informed decision I feel. How do I know the difference between the real amp and how the dream 65 make lack in character from the real. That way I could make my adjustments.
I mean, there's always gonna be a slight difference. A real vintage Fender amp has that pricetag for a reason. And it'll probably always edge out something modelling it. I believe there's a bit more of a comparisson in a video Rhett Shull did, where he's in the studio with UA and they compare it to the real thing. Here's the link if you're interested: ua-cam.com/video/lwE3sw5KQhk/v-deo.html
And guys with severe insecurities write comments like yours on UA-cam. He can play alright, he’s taking the time to explain how this stuff works and what he thinks about it. Anytime you think you want to say something in the future (literally anything), just don’t. Remember your opinion is never important.
The middle knob on the Iridium isn‘t a middle knob. It is changing the amp characteristic. Fully clockwise it emulates a tweed amp and therefore delivers mor gain. Why am I apparently the only one reading the manual. 😊 In EVERY shootout between the iridium and the dream people get that wrong.
Oh! I did not know that. I was wondering why it responded a little bit weird for a Mid control haha. Thanks for the clarification! :)
You‘re welcome Andrew. What I would love to hear is a comparison of the Iridium vs the Dream with an identical, external IR. I think that would be the most accurate way of comparing those two devices, because IRs are an essential part of the tone. On both devices you can turn off the cabinets, so… But anyways, I like your videos. A lot. Keep it up!
@@gustavogonzo7476 That's a good idea. I'll see if I can make a video on it here.
Good vid .. maybe you can guys can tell me.. my understanding is that the Dream does not use IRs but uses cabinet modeling from UA.. do i have that correct?
Well that and the iridium is based off the normal channel and the dream is based off a bright channel.
Brilliant comparison and well informed demo. Probably best comparison demo I’ve heard thus far!
For me, the Dream has a great 'on the verge of break-up' sound. The Iridium is fine, in and of itself, but I just love the sound of the Dream more.
I agree!
I own both of these. I gotta say, the Dream65 sounds really good, much better than the Fender sounds in the Iridium, but I love how the Iridium can also do Vox and Marshall amps as well as the ease of the headphone jack. I really like the Dream65 and for Fender sounds it's the best out there, but I'm gonna sell mine and keep my Iridium. I already own a UA Golden Reverberator and a Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb, so the Dream65 was a redundant purchase in the first place but I was too curious not to try. Really great video Andrew, always look forward to your uploads!
This is such a great take. I'll be returning the Iridium and keeping the Dream since I don't use the other amp sounds. But there isn't so much of a tonal difference that you're really losing anything going with the Iridium. I just love having so many GOOD options these days :)
@@andrewclarkeguitar ...i like that the feel of the dream and the ruby is very tube like ...and they both are perfect as a pedal platform 😉 cool channel by the way 😉
which one takes pedal better?
@@unicorndestroyer1853 the Dream does for sure.
@@rogerYT69 Agreed. And thank you!
I sold iridium secondhand and ordered UA Dream65 today.I'm so excited about it.
Very exciting! I’m sure you’ll love it :)
I'd rather have one pedal that excels at one thing rather than have a pedal that does too many things and doesn't excel at those things offered by said pedal.
Great review and comparison, one I’ve been waiting for. The Dream comes across very textured but a fair bit darker than the amp and iridium, I wonder how it would cut in a mix. Thanks for posting this comparison, I think this is the best I’ve seen so far.
That's an interesting takeaway. I believe the Dream is actually the "brightest" of the three. But the upper mids are lacking for sure, and that's the area that allows your guitar to cut through a mix.
I feel like a transparent OD with the Dream would give you a perfect rhythm sound, then you can either activate the boost in the Dream (which adds more mids) OR you could run a Tubescreamer/Klon-style pedal into it to get those mids and cut through the mix. Thanks for watching the video!
weird take. clearly the dream is the brightest, no question. the iridium has a ton of mids and barely any highs.
Man, the Dream sounds better but I need to stop chasing the next new thing and start playing more. All three options sound good and can make great music. I’m going to keep my Iridium.
That’s such a good point. Easy to get caught up 😅
I have a Dream which becomes reality tomorrow. Ruby arrived today and Woodrow arrives on the 2nd of Jan. My pedals have to sound great as they come, so they don't need to be masked by superfluous accompaniments...they can be added later if necessary. Nice demo.
I've watched several of these comparo videos and the Dream 65 is consistently better by a long shot on the "Fender" sounds. It sparkles, if that's the right word. The Iridium sounds good, no slouch, but the UA pedal is superior.
Yeah, I'm with you. The Iridium is outstanding and I don't think anyone should feel forced to switch to the Dream. But going purely by tone, the Dream takes it.
i think i prefer the iridium for dirty clean . Super clean and blues type distortion the dream sounds better but for math rock/ emo/ indy type sounds the iridium shines (imho).
That's a fair assessment.
Both sound really good! But I like the sound from the Iridium the most...I also believe it "cuts" through the mix better when its a little bit less scooped
The difference in the EQ is definitely interesting. The sounds of the Dream vs Iridium reminds me of the Mooer Radar with and without the poweramp sim section engaged. Anyone else know what I'm referring to? Very similarly to the Dream, the power amp sim in the Radar just applies a pretty drastically scooped EQ to your IR's that adds those lower boomier bass frequencies and high end brilliance. It's really hard to turn it off once you hear it because that fullness is so appealing and "amp like". I can see why that wider range, scooped sound is making a lot of people very happy with the UA stuff.
However- your point about the real amp having a distinct balance between that wider, scooped sound of the Dream AND focused mids of the Iridium is exactly why I changed the IR's in the Iridium to something with a wider, scooped EQ- in order to compliment its emphasis on mids. This helps the Iridium to get way more bottom end and brilliance along with its strong mids. You still gotta turn the bass up pretty high, and I can't say that this actually gets it to sound identical to the Dream (IR EQs can only do so much), but I prefer a slightly tighter, mid focused sound anyway- and would generally EQ alot of the bass frequencies out of the Dream in order to cut through the mix. Anyways- I use York Audio IR's and they seem to fill out the frequency spectrum enough that not only am I very satisfied with the Iridium, but I can also leave the power amp sim of the Mooer Radar off.
PS another trick to help with the slight stiffness of the Iridium is to put a really tube like, transparent OD pedal right before it. Something with a bias or sag knob like the Fairfield Barbershop is perfect for getting that spongy feel of a real amp.
That's a good suggestion! I'm sure if I spent more time with it I could get the Iridium to sound even better. Just personally prefer the sound of the Dream right out of the box. I'm sure many people will have a different experience.
This is a great comparison my friend! Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
Great demo and great channel. Always nice to find out about a "new" and very good content channel. :)
Really appreciate that man thank you!
Both sound good. Modeling is just crazy nowadays. I wonder though, it seems the iridium may stand out in a mix more even though the dream sounds more realistic stand-alone.
I agree, the mids from the Iridium will make it stand out a little more.
Listening through my smart phone speakers. The Iridium sounded more like the amp, but the Dream just sounded better imo.
Universal audio all day
I have been thinking of getting the Iridium for my church rig. Might have to get one sooner than later.
They're awesome little pedals. Definitely a killer choice for church stuff!
10:50 when you turned the mids down on the iridium... wow... that sounded closer to the amp than either did at any other part of the video..
I really like the dream more.. man UA knocked that shit out of the park!
For that classic blackface deluxe sound it's just spectacular!
With the Iridium I use the mid knob to get a variety of Fender amp sounds, the gain pedals that I normally use with an actual amp, and three different cabs, mainly the York Bassman IR I bought for $15 which adds a great sound. Then I also have a Vox and a Marshall each with their own three cabs which I can swap out if so desired. Yet somehow over a year later, UA expects me to want to pay the same price for what they offer which tone-wise to my ears is completely negligible if you truly use the EQ correctly and your normal pedals with it (although points for adding the Spring reverb for those that don't already have that in a pedal.)
I find UA's pricing to be obnoxious honestly. Had they released this pedal at half the price or all three combined at the same price, I'd say more power to them but kinda gotta wonder what they are smoking ( and their customer base) when they release their guitar pedals at the prices they do?.$400 for one amp in a box? I'd encourage people who don't have money to burn to buy a $40 Joyo American for direct-only gigs and save up for an actual amp. My Princeton 65 with actual tubes and a real Spring and Vibrato, cost me $650 (great deal I got on Craigslist locally,)
Thank you for your comment, your perspective and the idea with the IRs!
The Amp sounds the best! What amp is it ?
Thanks! I agree. It's a Dr. Z EZG-50. It's based on a 60s Fender Super Reverb.
Thanks for this, off topic: I like your guitar belt :) which one is it?
Thanks! It's from a brand called Souldier. They make a bunch of really cool vintage patterned straps!
You can obviously like either one you want better but to my ears the iridium sounds closer to his real amp the way he has it dialed in here. And at the end of the day isn’t that kind of the point?
Totally fair! Neither is better than the other imo. Just depends which sound you personally prefer.
I love Strymon, but (as a blackface fender guy) The Dream sounds better = pristine-cleans & chime. Iridium is probably more versatile though? I am not completely sold on all the Digital stuff. I play thru real-amps. oNe LovE from NYC
You'd be right. The Dream does the blackface thing better and the Iridium is more versatile. Both sound great in their own way. But at the end of the day, I'll still always use my real amp when I can. Cheers!
@@andrewclarkeguitar I love my 65 Blackface-Fender Princeton Reverb = pristine Cleans and glassy tone. Nice demo and explanation brother. Enjoyed it.
@@michael_caz_nyc Yup, that's a winning amp choice for sure. Thanks!
I gig the iridium. My main setting is an edge of breakup tone on the chime setting. I then run an always on ryra (clean boosted eq tone) klone. Sounds killer. The fender setting on the Iridium, to my ears, is nowhere near as inspiring. Think I’m gonna go down the rabbit hole and pick up a Dream. I’m sure the Ruby is unbelievable but the Iridium does a pretty killer vox sound. Also, it’s nice to have a gained up Marshall tone at the ready for the dad rock solos 🤜.
Nice demo man 👍
A lot of people have suggestions here on how to make the Iridium's Fender sounds feel better so I'm gonna have to try those out before writing off the Iridium. Either way, I agree. The Vox and Marshall sounds are great! Thanks for watching!
With the Iridium sound samples I was constantly feeling like I wanted it pushed a bit more compared to the amp and the dream. Some sort of "brittleness".
Yeah, there's definitely something just slightly lacking. But I do believe if it weren't being demoed in the context of the other two option then it wouldn't be noticeable.
This is so much better than my video lol
Hey! Your video inspired me to make this one. It's a great video. Cheers!
@@andrewclarkeguitar haha thanks man, you're good people 🤌🙏
Do a demo including the tc electronic 65 deluxe amp worx. Enjoy your reviews 👍
mm. I think you are cutting the mids on the Iridium a little to much , so it sounding way thiner that it should. Uad sounds fuller and a little biter. it's just my approach, no hard feelings. I'm gonna try to test both live and see. thanks
No effects loop? Are you running all pedals in front of both the Iridium and the UA?
in a digital recording era you want to save on latency. dream adds 2ms to it, don't know about iridium. all those are no no for me. there is also analog one on the market - simplifier mk2 if I remember correctly. more digging to get good sound but no latency. latency kills the player feel even if he is not noticing it yet.
iridium setting didnt do justice here
I haven’t spent too much time with the iridium yet. What settings would you suggest to get the best sound out of the iridium?
The amp has more mids than the dream because its not a deluxe reverb. The deluxe reverb and the dream sound almost identical. the iridum doesn't sound bad, but its not even close to the tone of a deluxe reverb
Yup! Exactly. It's based on a '60s Super Reverb. Based on my experience with Deluxes, the Dream nails it.
You're just justifying your purchase at this point.
He literally ABC'ed it and the iridium is the closest sounding when he dialed the mid all the way back because that's how it works. It's a voicing knob not an EQ knob.
The dream sounds nothing like the amp.
@@waltuhhimself I'm aware of the mid knob functions on the iridium. If you read the iridium manual, Strymon's model of a deluxe reverb is with the mid knob at noon. mid knob down = extra scooped, mid knob up = "tweed" territory. But no, I've had the iridium, lots of fender amps, and the dream. the dream is significantly closer to the deluxe reverb thing than the iridium is. the only pros of the iridium over the UAFX are the fact that the iridium has 3 amp models and a headphone jack. There's a reason I kept the UAFX amp pedals around and not the iridium.
@@MitchellSpille You keep smoking that copium okay
Hi Andrew, nice video! it's a shame that you turned the lows of the Iridium down (I think you should do the opposite), the Dream has much more lows.. and the Iridium's middle knob actually has a different function (changes the character of the amp too). It would be amazing if you decide to make a new video taking care of this things. Tks!
Thanks for watching! The frequency of the Bass knob seems to differ between the two pedals. I personally didn't like the sound of the Bass turned up on the Iridium. Was probably just my IEMs making it sound weird honestly. Someone told me about the mid-knob function earlier in the comments. Definitely a cool feature! Still sounds very different from the Dream.
@@andrewclarkeguitar Thanks a lot for your answer, keep doing doing helpful videos like the one!
no contest at all, UAD dream
I have only Iridium, but here it sounded thin compared to the Dream. I wish you matched bass level when comparing.
Thats the whole purpose of these videos to market one product and make it sound much better . Always a good idea to compare these in store .
I also own both - the dream feels so much more like an amp than the iridium.
probably gonna sell the iridium, the lack of midi with the dream is the only thing i dislike about it..
Yeah the midi critique is very fair. And I plan on doing the same. Gonna sell the Iridium just because I really only use one amp sound.
@@andrewclarkeguitar I just picked up the Ruby...and my Iridium is about to go up for sale. Ruby kills the Iridium Chime even with "upgraded" purchased IRs
@@lfannaly3 I definitely wanna take a Ruby for a spin at some point.
they sound different maybe because UA dream sounds better?
OR... UAcould get off their tucuses and make a JVM 800 pedal... just sayin. Lol 😂 That’s what I’m hoping. I have all three and want a Marshall. The Orange terrorstamp is also a nice one. Cheers man, great channel! Great chops and education too.
A Marshall one would be awesome! Kinda doubt it happening sadly. Thanks for watching!
Dude, the middle knob works differently, to scoop the sound bring it back!!! You want a more “TWEED” sound roll it up more!!!
Yeah, had a few people mention that. Very cool feature that I was unaware of. I've spent some time playing around with that since making the video.
@@andrewclarkeguitar understandable bro!!! Other than that, great playing. Great content. Keep it up!!!
@@wilmer33086 Appreciate that! :)
@@andrewclarkeguitar Might be cool to update the video to reflect that new knowledge.
Leo Gibson in his comparison video showed how the Dream has twice the latency and breaks up way sooner. Add to that how the Iridium has more features and is an older product, and the difference in clean tone is basically a different EQ curve, I really don't get why people are so hyped for the Dream now
Edit: I say this as a helix user, I have no dog in this fight
I'll be honest, it just feels better. I've spent a further week playing with the Iridium and comparing it to the Dream. I've even spent time using higher-end IRs with both pedals.
For whatever reason, the Dream (with its built-in IRs) just gives me that same feeling an amp does. The Iridium just felt like I always needed to fiddle with it and couldn't quite make it feel right.
However, that's purely my own experience. I'm sure many other people will come to different conclusions.
@@andrewclarkeguitar they all sound and feel like recorded amps. The Dream doesn't sound remarkably different to me than any other sim. It's certainty nothing you could pick out in a mix in a meaningful way. It all just feels like manufactured hype and attempts at justifying GAS
@@Valaskjold Well, I don't necessarily agree that they all feel like recorded amps. I do agree that they all sound the part though. And it's true that you'd never be able to pick it out in a mix.
The Dream is not for everyone and you certainly don't have to like it. If you're happy with what you've got then that's all that matters.
I'm simply sharing my own experience with these two amp sims and that's all. Nothing beats my Dr. Z amp yet. But for me, the Dream is better feeling/sounding than the clean Fender sounds on the Iridium. Cheers!
I am wondering if you run this in four cable mode through amps effects loop for some tube flavor then take it through a captor type device into pc would I them be able to say use bias or AmpliTube or other irs I may have.
I believe so. You would run it in 4 cable mode using the effects loop like you mentioned since that only bypasses the preamp section of your amp and not the output section. From there you'd need to run it into some sort of load box before it goes into your computer where you could make use of your IRs.
That being said, I haven't done this myself, but theoretically, I think you can do it. :)
The iridium sounds like it will fit far easier in the mix
So I demoed both of these on my roland jc 40, though I didn't put the iridium thru the fx loop. I went with UA, but do you think I would've been that much more impressed by the iridium thru the fx loop? Since iridium offers 2 more amps, I figure if the round model is good enough, then it be worth getting that instead of the dream.. so much to consider
Personally, I think the Dream does the Fender sound much better than the Iridium. So it would just depend how important the Vox and Marshall sounds are for you. Personally, I'd never touch them. I've owned the Dream for well over a year now and have gigged with it plenty. Never felt the need to get anything else :)
@@andrewclarkeguitar I agree. But do you think the dream is still worth having if I primarily intend to use it thru my real amp (jc40)?
The UA Dream 65 is clearly more authentic to my ears. I'm gong to wait until UA puts all three of their new amp modelers in one pedal like the Iridium and others. They should have done this from the beginning.
Now, that will be a pedal to buy.
That would be amazing. Although, based on the way they do things, I highly doubt it'll ever happen. If they did do that, they'd have to ditch a lot of the current features of each individual amp. But we can hope! :)
@@andrewclarkeguitar You may be right, damn it, but clever people have their ways and UA-FX is nothing if not clever. They may have already thought of this. Wouldn't surprise me at all if just after Thanksgiving...
@@Glicksman1 it won’t happen even if they could do it. Doesn’t make any business sense.
@@sarahdeleon9125 You're probably right.
The 16:20 difference is the only time the iridium was the one I would choose.
Use the stereo outs from the UAD Dream allows to use different cabs on each side?
Nope. As far as I know of the most popular options out there the Walrus ACS-1 is the only pedal to do that. If you really needed the Dream to do this, you'd have to bypass the cab and load your IRs separately.
To my ears, the Dream 65 sounds much more like a real amp whereas the Iridium sounds more like a pedal.
I'd agree.
Iridium sounds natural, Dream sounds like a plug in, compressed and digital
That's awesome!
Good video. What amp are you using? I think that it sounds way closer to the Iridium than to the Dream 65, probably because it's not a blackface fender. Your amp compared to the Iridium on low and midle gain settings feels like eq differences more than anything. If you scoop all the mids and give a bit more treble it can sound very similar. Dream 65 is another kind of amp, with totally different eq and distortion. As a fender player, I love it.
The amp is a Dr. Z EZG-50. It's based on a blackface Super Reverb. But it absolutely has more mids than a deluxe. I agree that the Iridium's EQ sounds closer to it. But personally I prefer the Dream.
@@andrewclarkeguitar I really like the Dream as well. Sound pretty similar to what I would expect a blackface fender. But from this video the Dr Z sounded the best, maybe because you know it better. But at the same time the Dr. Z sounded nothing at all like a blackface fender to me. I'm a bit surprised it's based on one.
@@gffg387 Yeah, it's based on the AB763 circuit. The amp is going into a 1x12 in an iso cab mic'd with a 57. Both the iso cab and the 57 seem to bring the mids forward as well, so it could be that. To me, it makes sense that the amp wins just because I'd have a hard time believing that a $400 pedal could beat a $2500 amp. But the pedals do sound really damn good these days.
The amp still sounds richer with more body
I agree, I think all 3 translate very differently depending on what you're listening through. But with studio monitors or good headphones you can hear the amp still sounds best.
i dont understand the stymon is ment for the pc not an amp
Ua is definitely on to something, but ya gotta have more mids for a full.bodied tone. I feel like with a band the UA tone would get lost. They just sound too thin to me. They need more balls or something.
It's very much that scooped 60s deluxe sound. Works great for rhythm, then you can push it with a klon or ts style pedal to get those mids. Works great!
Put an EQ pedal before the Iridium and you’ll get very close to the Dream, and probably closer to the amp. And you have more amp models. 🤷♀️ Drop the mids, and boost the lows/highs. With the fuzz, the iridium sounded better than the Dream AND the amp…
Gotta disagree with you there. You can probably get it to sound close, but it still won’t give you the same feel as the dream. I personally found the fuzz to sound the worst with the Iridium. But ultimately, it’s all subjective. And they really both sound great. Would like to see Strymon update the Iridium like they’ve done with the 6 others.
@@andrewclarkeguitar I’m sure they will. I actually think the Iriduim has the physical upgrades, since it has the added USB, and MIDI capabilities. Prolly just a software thing.
You might enjoy this. The content author shot his own cab, and ran the amp, Dream, and Iridium, through the same IR. Interesting since it makes the playing field more normalized. ua-cam.com/video/7uDkjGSi1Uc/v-deo.html
@@liontone That's very possible! It doesn't have USB-C but seems to have everything else. Maybe they can provide a free software update.
Does the adapter sound any good? Just any Y adapter or a headphone amp ?
You can just use a mono L/R to stereo TRS female Y adapter. Don't need any headphone amp. Though I'm sure with a headphone amp you'd get some extra output, especially for higher impedence headphones.
@@andrewclarkeguitar thanks ! I’ll give it a try with low impedance cans
Thanks in adavance
Dream wins this one.
Can you use them with an amp ? If so how ?
I wouldn't recommend using them with an amp. The filtering that's applied will sound very harsh.
I think the Amp sounds better!
The iridium, to my ears, sounds more like the amp, are can get the amp sounds more easily.
The dream just sounds better than both though.
True to me
I do NOT own the dream but after listening to this video on my studio headphones. I like the Iridium better , the Dream sounds muddier to me. I can ALWAYS add mud.
That's a fair take. It's specifically the upper mids that the Iridium has over the Dream from what I can tell. That must be the muddiness you're hearing. I still much prefer the Dream, but it might not be the exact sound you're looking for.
Andrew exactly 👊
You and I were listening to something different then... I would say it's exactly opposite. The ear of the beholder I guess.
Can u run them into the poweramp of my tube qmp?
As long as your amp has an effects loop you can. You'd just want to bypass the cabinet/speaker sim on the pedal.
Iridium sound more like a Tweed amp
my girlfriend says STRYMON IRIDUMS sounds like cheap aliexpress crap, no joke.
* it was a blind test
That's brutal, hahaha. My wife had a similar reaction. 😂
It would be nice if makers of the dream 65 would do a video showing the sound of the real amp that was modeled and the dream 65. At the same time side by side. Then one could make an informed decision I feel. How do I know the difference between the real amp and how the dream 65 make lack in character from the real. That way I could make my adjustments.
I mean, there's always gonna be a slight difference. A real vintage Fender amp has that pricetag for a reason. And it'll probably always edge out something modelling it. I believe there's a bit more of a comparisson in a video Rhett Shull did, where he's in the studio with UA and they compare it to the real thing. Here's the link if you're interested: ua-cam.com/video/lwE3sw5KQhk/v-deo.html
Lee Jeffrey Hernandez Brenda Rodriguez William
A Fender amp is better.
That UA amp is faulty. Couldn’t make an account. Tried many time screw that
They both sound like crap.
Guys who can’t really play talk too much. 🙄
What a nice comment 🥰
And guys with severe insecurities write comments like yours on UA-cam. He can play alright, he’s taking the time to explain how this stuff works and what he thinks about it. Anytime you think you want to say something in the future (literally anything), just don’t. Remember your opinion is never important.
First create then critique…..until then Andrew is of of the nicest dudes in and out of UA-cam and rules on the guitar.