IK Multimedia iRig Guitar/Bass interface for iOS

The iRig from IK MultiMedia is quite simply a wonderful product which is easy to set up on your iPhone iPad or iPod within minutes I was playing both on the GarageBand app and also on IK MultiMedia's amplitube application on my iPad , unlike some reviewers I have had no problems whatsoever with excessive feedback or hissing with the noise gate open or closed or on Hi or Lo settings, the sounds from both applications have been quality on all my apple devices.I have no problem recommending the iRig, GarageBand or Amplitube to anyone, I would recommend everyone who buys the iRig to read carefully the instructions that come with it and make sure you have the specific cables IK recommends, I would also hazzard a guess that the people writing negative reviews due to hissing do not have the correct (or maybe faulty) equipment or it may be that their guitar does not have adequate or proper shielding which is a common problem with feedback or excessive hissing. (can easily be fixed using a shielding kit for electric guitar and or shielding paint).The iRig in my opinion is a must for all Guitarist's who own an iPhone iPad or iPod, sure there are many other products out there now but the iRig has one advantage over most in as much as the company who make the device also make the software (Amplitube) and it was the first iGuitar device on any apple imachine , that's the reason I opted for the iRig, That and the fact I paid under £20 sealed it for me , I can't begin to tell you how good the iRig and my Guitar sound on my surround sound system , but what I can tell you is that I could not have experienced or justified paying tens of thousands of pounds to recreate the sound which the iRig has allowed me to do in my own space.Now I will get back to freaking out the neighbours(1 mile radius) Just buy it you will love it, Good luck and Rock On.

I bought this little thing so I could DI my bass, guitars and violins straight into the iPad when I'm making crap versions of my favourite songs. It's almost perfect; it's simple, works with a wide variety of sometimes free apps, is unobtrusive and easy to carry around, doesn't require batteries and I'm pretty sure it's easy enough for me to teach my dad to use. As for quality, I've never had any delay, clipping or sound problems, and it works great too for playing along with songs for practice at 1 o'clock in the morning in my terraced street. It's great for long sessions too as the device essentially adds another input into your iPhone or iPad; you run the cable into the headphone socket, and can plug your headphone or speaker output into the iRig - this means you can charge your iPad too. There's only two minor qualms:1. The volume can be difficult to bring up to a level that matches any music that you might play along with on the iPad or iPhone.Granted maybe this is a result of these compression wars I hear sound engineers complaining about. Often you can bring the leves up in certain apps by cancelling the feedback safety function, but it can be risky, as taking your hands off your instrument's strings can result in really loud screaming feedback. In your headphones. I think this isn't so much the iRig's fault as just something to look out for when you're using it.2. When recording in a multi-track recorder, sometimes the recording you make of your instrument picks up the backing tracks.Which is to say, I think it's called crossfeed or something. When I'm putting down a bass track, my finished take will have a very faint ghost of the drums I played along to, for example. I believe this is a result of running the headphones line through the iRig interface itself. There is a solution, though not ideal - simply turn down the volume of the backing tracks. It makes it difficult to accurately follow a song when you're trying to lay down a violin track, for instance - the sound of the violin in your ear tends to drown out the click track in your headphones - but it does result in a clean take.Apart from these two hiccups which you can generally work around, it's an absolute steal for £24. It has so many uses for different types of musicians that it's difficult to imagine it being a waste of money. Since it has a 1/4 jack input, not only does it run electric guitars and basses, it runs bottlecap/piezo pickups too, so that's good for acoustic guitars and violins. I have an active bass that I haven't tried on it yet, and I also hear that it takes MIDI keyboards too. The amp programs are great, though they make their money by charging you £3 a pedal - watch your wallet and shop around! I mostly use it to make demos and I'm surprised by the relatively high standard of quality of tracks you can make with just this little input and the iPad's built-in microphone.Very useful.

Finally found a device that I've wanted, no, NEEDED, for years! And for the price, you can't go wrong. I use this with garageband on an iPad 3 and have been very happy with the quality and practicality. Of course this would not be suitable in a professional setting, but if you're getting started writing and recording songs, this is a godsend. Setup is relatively easy, (choose your amp on garageband, click on the 1/4" jack icon, then turn 'Monitor' to on). This will get your guitar inputting a signal into the ipad. With the distorted amps, there can be a LOT of feedback, but the noise gate (located in the same window as 'Monitor') can be altered to suit your taste. Of course make sure that your guitar volume is on full and that the connections to the interface and properly made. Also I have notice that the sound can be a bit flat when recorded. To solve this, record the same track 2 times or more and change the tracking (i.e. which side the sound comes from; in the settings section). E.g. if you've recorded the same part twice, change one track all the way to the left and the other one all the way to the left. This adds lots of depth to your recording. It also is important to note that the sound will not be output form your iPad/iPhone's speakers; you will either need headphones or a pair of external speakers to hear any sound as the interface uses the headphone slot on the device.

I bought this to use with the Amplitube app on the iPod Touch and it works great. You just plug in and away you go. There are loads of variety with the different Pedal and Amp effects. You can use the iRig adaptor with other guitar apps and even connect your iPod to a real guitar amp or speakers, if you don't want to use your headphones. I think the iRig is well worth the purchase. if you want to shred some face melting solos without waking the dead this is a must buy.