I therefore invite you to see it as a new product, and beyond all comparison as such.Īs described in the Sonic Lab video below, Iris is like a canvas, which is painted according to the loaded sound and its harmonic characteristics, its timbre and the evolution of the spectrum in time. I’d say Iris does not come as such to replace the existing samplers because there is no doubt the power of Kontakt, or delicious processing capabilities and modulation that Alchemy has for example. Iris has got me the most fun I’ve had in recent years with sound processing, and I still am a great admirer of other samplers I use, such as Alchemy, Kontakt or Maschine, which still remain on their place. If you need to do heavy programming of layers, have lots of processing options and all kinds of settings to articulate sounds in a keyboard, this is probably not the tool for the job. Iris retains much of the essence of a sampler but it’s not comparable with the options already available in the market. Just spend some minutes processing field recordings, and you realize how exciting it really is.

Actually there videos you can find on the web, its descriptions and even appearance of the instrument itself does not tell one bit of what I feel with it. And not only talking about the sonogram, but also the way layers are combined, how you can process them and the particular expression you get from the instrument. Why? Because its visual approach to sound combined with the performance options, not previously found elsewhere, at least on the things I’ve used. It’s really fun to see and listen to how Iris revolutionizes the way you work. Perhaps for a more traditional musician purposes Iris would be just another tool of the bunch, but for someone dedicated to process field recordings, design sound effects or do any kind of sample-based sound works, this is a gift. But Iris is totally fresh, new, it’s something that did not exist before, and although it has similarities to the aforementioned and other products on the market, is not comparable. There has been similar tools like MetaSynth, PhotoSounder or Alchemy, which have shown immense potential using spectral/re-synthesis techniques. Although the market already offers a good variety of synths and samplers, some of these also based on spectral analysis and so on, there wasn’t something like Iris available. When the Iris rumor started, I immediately thought: if they make a synth based on RX, would be a complete success. These magical tools, capable of extracting material were very useful at the moment. Every part of that application is a wonder, and their users will understand when I talk about being amazed with the spectral extraction tools specifically. I’ve been a true lover of the magic of iZotope RX spectral processing and before trying that piece of software, I worked with different kinds of noise removal tools, but the RX engine really impressed me. I’d say that I haven’t known anything like this before. Some musicians could find great value in this type of tool, but those deeply interested in sound design will completely love it. It’s something dedicated to the beauty of sculpting sound visually, being able not only to see the elements of field recordings and sound effects, but also being able to extract, isolate, combine, manipulate and control sonic material. With Iris, since it began to be announced, I was preparing for a pretty cool tool and that’s what I got. It’s important to be simplistic in terms of the techniques, so you can be always focused on what’s really important: the emotion. Not only from the economic aspect, but from the sound palette already available to us, since more options also mean more things to have in mind when creating, and that’s not always great. Personally, I try to really question the need for a new tool before getting into it. A spectral processing tool created specially for dealing with recorded material, being able to extract, combine and process all kinds of sounds based on visual representations of frequency, amplitude and time.Īt this stage of the game, when we’ve clearly surpassed the limits of what we thought possible in terms of creating and manipulating sound digitally, it’s hard to find new tools that really worth to be purchased.

I guess you already heard of Iris, the most recent creation of the masterminds at iZotope.

Similar to photosounder