Overview
The Iridium is Waldorf’s digital synth, in desktop and keyboard versions, built around a touchscreen. Its oscillators can each run one of several models, and the Wavetable oscillator is the one that plays tables. Position can be set directly, swept by any modulation source, or moved by the Travel parameter, which runs through the table on its own in modes such as Cycle, One Shot and Ping Pong.
Switching tables while notes are held is smooth, so the table choice itself can be modulated. The oscillator also offers playback modes besides its clean modern engine: Legacy emulates the earliest Waldorf synths, Harsh adds non-harmonic components low down, and Dirty adds digital aliasing up high.
Making tables on the instrument is part of the design. The Tools button on the wavetable display page can speak typed words into a table (Talk), analyze an audio file into a table, turn a single-cycle file into an 8-position table that morphs to a sine, and import or export tables.
Wavetables on the Waldorf Iridium
Import from .wav, under Tools, builds a table from a WAV or AIFF file with a constant sample period: every wave is the same length, and you tell the import dialog what that length is, from 64 to 4096 samples. Waldorf notes many synths use 2048. Nothing in the file sets it for you, so the period has to match the frame size the table was made at; set it wrong and every wave is cut in the wrong place. The manual describes a wavetable as a sequence of up to 128 single waves.
Files come from a MicroSD card or a USB storage device, both formatted FAT or FAT32; Waldorf says other file systems won’t work. After you load a table from an external file, Prev and Next buttons step through the other files in the same folder, which is handy for auditioning a set of exports.
WaveStack’s Waldorf Iridium / Quantum target writes a mono 16-bit WAV with 2048-sample frames, resampling tables made at other sizes, and caps the table at 128 frames, picking frames evenly from longer tables. Because the Iridium asks for the period instead of reading it from the file, the target always uses the same size, so the import period for a WaveStack export is always 2048.
Link the card or stick and Export writes to its top level; keep a folder of Iridium tables there if you like, since the import browser can open any folder. Save Wavetable stores a table in the Iridium’s internal Flash memory or writes it to a card or stick to share with other Iridium owners.
Specifications
| File type | WAV or AIFF |
|---|---|
| Samples per frame | 64 to 4096, set in the import dialog |
| Frame size detection | None; the import period is set by hand |
| Max frames | 128 waves per wavetable |
| Transfer | MicroSD card or USB storage device, FAT/FAT32 |
| Import tool | Wavetable oscillator › Tools › Import from .wav |
From WaveStack to the Waldorf Iridium
- In WaveStack, open Export (⌘E), choose Waldorf Iridium / Quantum. It writes 2048-sample frames.
- Link the MicroSD card or USB stick under Save to, and export.
- Put the card in the Iridium or plug in the USB stick.
- Set an oscillator to Wavetable, open its display page and tap the Tools button.
- Choose Import from .wav, set the period to 2048, and pick your file.
- Sweep it with Position, or let a Travel mode scan it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I import wavetables into the Waldorf Iridium?
Put the WAV or AIFF on a FAT32 MicroSD card or USB stick and connect it. Select the Wavetable oscillator, open its display page, tap Tools and choose Import from .wav. In the import dialog, set the period to the number of samples per wave in your file, from 64 to 4096, and load it. Save Wavetable then keeps it in internal Flash memory, or writes it to the card or stick to share.
What period should I use when importing a wavetable on the Iridium?
The frame size the table was made at. Serum-style tables and most WaveStack exports use 2048 samples per frame, so the period is 2048; WaveStack’s Iridium / Quantum target always exports at 2048. Tables from modular tools are often 256, and Ableton Wavetable files are 1024. The Iridium can’t read the frame size from the file, so a wrong setting cuts the waves in the wrong places and the result sounds harsh and out of tune.
How many waves can an Iridium wavetable have?
Waldorf’s manual describes an Iridium wavetable as a sequence of up to 128 single waves. Many tables made for software synths have 256 frames, twice that. WaveStack’s Iridium / Quantum target reduces longer tables to 128 by picking frames evenly across the table, keeping the first and last, so the sweep covers the same ground with half the steps. The Iridium blends between neighboring waves as the position moves, so this rarely sounds stepped.
Can I use Serum wavetables on the Iridium?
Yes. Serum tables are WAVs with 2048-sample frames, so import them with the period set to 2048. The manual doesn’t mention Serum’s frame-size marker; the period you set is what counts. A 256-frame Serum table is longer than the Iridium’s 128-wave limit, so exporting it through WaveStack’s Iridium / Quantum target first lets you hear the 128-frame version before it goes on the card.
Can the Iridium make wavetables from samples?
Yes, in two ways. Analyze Audio, under the Tools button, turns an audio file into a new wavetable automatically. Load Single Cycle takes a short single-cycle file, ideally 200 to 1024 samples, and builds an 8-position table that morphs from it to a sine. For control over every frame, build the table in WaveStack from a recording or a seed wave and import it.