Got a GUITAR, daddio? Wanna plug it into iOS or Droid? Try the iRig 2 Music gear manufacturer IK Multimedia will be 20 years old next year. It’s known to many these days for its iOS gadgets, but the Italian company began with software development focused on digital signal processing, producing standalone sound-creation apps and plug-in effects. One of its earliest creations, T-Racks, was dynamics …
I play guitar and don't get the fascination of doing everything on a phone. The hook up is weak. A robust 1/4 jack going into a flimsy 1/8 jack, then the balancing act of keeping your phone safe from falling. Just save the hassle and buy a Zoom G5 pedal or similar. It has every effect/amp that you need, It's in a metal case and can take a beating on the road. It's what a pro would use and I reckon it's cheaper the the phone route.
USB to guitar adaptor. A shit load of free software. Not sure if its Ardour3 on the Pi but if it is you can use Ardroid on your phone to start/stop it and not only do you have a whole variety of free effects you have a full blown recording studio too.
And if you havent got a phone its cheaper than the phone too!
Yes, it hasn't replaced my tube amps or my modelling amp.
But for getting tones for practice at low volumes, for interfacing directly into Reaper or Audacity, it's very useful. (not this iRig in my case, I use a Line 6 mobile pod with Scuffham).
And it's not just amps, Yamaha have purchased Line 6 and have started making a Variax standard based on their Pacifica. It's coming and we can't stop it.
The fact that these type of devices seem to only support iOS (yeah, ok, new expensive Android , too in this case) limits take up.
Their argument is always that they can only support a specific hardware set...
As a portable Amp/Stompbox modeller the Line 6 Pocket pod seems to outdo the iOS devices. More Amps etc(32 Amplifiers) built in. Screen built in (yes, small and crummy but still a screen). Battery or mains power too and free software for the desktop...
It would appear from your review that this iRig is useless without a phone (or as somebody suggested, a Pi, to interface to.) This drawback also applies to the latest Amplifi products from Line 6 . iPhone owners only, please.
Sorry, but there's a Stagg unit for less than £14 that will interface to most phones and any of the free guitar apps that are about...
"For £30, what’s not to like?"........ well, the fact I need a shed load of
other (more expensive )equipment, amplifier patches and dangling leads to jam away quietly in the garden..
I read a very extensive write up from a software vendor as to why they only made software for Apple and 1 or 2 Android phones.
It was Androids strength and Achilles heal....openess.
With Apple, you know EXACTLY the hardware and software and you can build the software to have to correct timings, work around any issues and give support knowing what you are dealing with.
With Android, you have a random maker, using random hardware with a random software version. Flexible, but an utter PITA.
It's the same reason Atari dominated the Music scene for so long when PC's were available with "more" raw horsepower.
It's horrendously noisy and generally sounds awful. Maybe as a musician of some 35 years and programmer for 15 I'm just not smart enough to use it properly, but I can't ever get anything even remotely approaching the quality of their demos. I'm not about to rush to try this one as a result.
The other problem is that using it with a phone is awkward. As mentioned, the balancing act is a pain and you really need little fingers. An iPad is a *much* better bet though.
I'd kind of like to try an iPad on a mic stand then into a proper amp - could be quite gigworthy?!
I have an iRig HD which is basically a tiny USB interface with adapter cables so it plugs into the iPHone/iPad using the 30pin/Lightning socket. I thought this was a marked difference in quality over the cheaper iRig which used the 3.5mm... I assume it sent the signal digitally rather than line-in?
So why now go back to 3.5mm?
On my iPad, it's pretty good BTW. I'd find it fiddly on something as small as a phone.
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