Opinions wanted on Iris 2

[egbert101]

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[wagtunes]

Since Iris 2 is sample driven, pretty much what you put into it is what you're going to get out of it. The modulation system is interesting if not a bit convoluted. For me, it's not the most intuitive synth in the world but that's primarily because it is kind of unique.

Not the greatest filters in the world but you don't buy Iris 2 for the filters. It's great at atmospheric stuff and soundscapes but again, depends on what you feed it with. It can do basic stuff too.

Soundwise, as far as the actual engine, colorization, etc., it's kind of neutral. Really depends on what you put into it. And surprisingly, the samples sound identical (at least to my ears) to how they actually sound after importing. That is of course until you start mangling them up.

Out of 56 libraries, it's my 31st best seller. Not my favorite synth. Certainly not my least favorite. But honestly, if I didn't have it or had to give it up, I don't think I'd miss it that much. Yes, it's kind of unique and I can do things with it that are difficult, if not impossible, with other synths. But the whole interface just doesn't inspire me. It's not difficult to read or anything like that. And it's certainly not ugly. It just doesn't get me all excited to work with it. The curse of having way too many choices.

I can't recommend whether or not you should get it because I have no idea what you already own. But, if you want something that can take a sample and do some interesting things with it, you might want to check it out.

Here is my Iris 2 demo you can listen to.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... for-iris-2

Hopefully, this will help at least a little.

[aMUSEd]

So Iris 2 is on sale for $49 from $149, and I see it's no longer limited to ilok,

It's never been limited to iLok

[aMUSEd]

Since Iris 2 is sample driven, pretty much what you put into it is what you're going to get out of it.

Actually not really, although the sample you put in constrains what you can get to some extent the whole point of Iris is that whatever you put into it you can explore on a micro level and find interesting sounds within the sample that may actually be completely different to what the sample sounds like as a whole. So it is not meant for use as a traditional sampler where the sound you put into it determines what you get. It is meant for the deep exploration/transformation of sound, and for surprising yourself.

[Sampleconstruct]

Plenty plenty of opinions, bug descriptions, even an iZotope product manager chiming in towards the beginning of this thread:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... lit=Iris+2

[egbert101]

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[egbert101]

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[djrevise5]

I wanted to like Iris but ended up selling it. It is great as a texture, fx and pad machine, and sounds good, but I wanted more sound and time manipulation features than it has, ymmv.

[superscan]

You get 11GB of Samples in WAV format. Even if you don't like the synth that's a lot of royalty free raw material for the money.

[cb8rwh]

Why not try the demo?

[Sampleconstruct]

Plenty plenty of opinions, bug descriptions, even an iZotope product manager chiming in towards the beginning of this thread:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... lit=Iris+2

Can't be arsed to wade through 74 pages of chatter to be honest. Much prefer starting a thread for specifically asking quality information as suggested in the OP.

Never be arsed, others might find it helpful though.

[egbert101]

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[egbert101]

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[jsp1979]

I wanted to like Iris but ended up selling it. It is great as a texture, fx and pad machine, and sounds good, but I wanted more sound and time manipulation features than it has, ymmv.

There is always the option of upgrading to a future Iris 3 with better options, as long as the upgrade price is not ridiculous. But yeah, I get exactly what you mean, my thoughts too.

Except that Izotope has essentially abandoned Iris, so I wouldn't hold my breath for version 3.

[shonky]

I wanted to like Iris but ended up selling it. It is great as a texture, fx and pad machine, and sounds good, but I wanted more sound and time manipulation features than it has, ymmv.

I agree, don't think the time stretch algorithm is particularly great and the spectral element is static so your fancy filter doesn't follow the pitch of the note (sure this would make it even more of a cpu hog but would make for more useable instruments for sure).

Having said this, and as others have said, you can get some pretty unique sounds from it and I bought it for around that price last year and consider it worth having even if it's not a particular "go to" synth for me.