![]() ![]() ![]() We had no problems at all connecting a guitar straight away and after confirming the warning about turning down the volume before we start, especially with headphones connected, we were off and rocking (well, we made noise with our guitar). The iRig was recognised as an input device by every app we tried without fail. This included iPad specific apps Amplitube for iPad (look out for our review soon), StompBox and StudioTrack (read our full StudioTrack review here). We also tried iRig with a number of iPhone audio apps including:įor the most part there were no issues with iRig and the above apps, the only problem we did have was with AmpKit by Agile Partners and Peavey. The main issue here was high pitched feedback at anything but extremely low input levels. This is not a review of AmpKit, that is for a future post, but the extremely high gain Peavey amps simulated in AmpKit are a particular challenge to iRig, and Agile Partners recommend, of course, their partner Peavey's AmpKit Link audio interface. This is a hardware device designed for exactly the same purpose as iRig, but with active (battery powered) circuitry designed to eliminate the feedback inherent with the unpowered versions like iRig. We hope to get a review to you soon for both the AmpKit link and AmpKit app, but we have been holding out for an iPad specific version, which is apparently in the works. Sidenote: Feedback Warning - Follow the InstructionsĪs we mentioned above, feedback with these kinds of devices can be a problem due to impedance issues. The scant instructions give just the essentials for setting up the iRig, but they do warn that using a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter on the headphone output will cause audio feedback. Well, we wondered about this and as we only had the 1/8" to 1/4" adapter available to us, we tried it anyway. ![]() With tiny amplifiers, there’s always a trade-off between portability and sound quality, but using the iRig Micro Amp with AmpliTube opens up a wider range of possibilities than many of its competitors.We had no feedback issues with this adapter when connecting to a home cinema surround sound amplifier, but once we connected the iRig to our guitar amp (clean channel, no effects, middled tone controls across the board) and engaged a high gain amp model in the software, specifically the Metal amp, we had an immediate problem with piercing audio feedback screeching out from our amp speaker at any volume setting. The clean sounds certainly benefit from the addition of reverb or delay and the in-depth control offered by AmpliTube over the modelled amps and stompboxes makes finding overdriven, fuzz and distorted sounds a lot more inspiring than using the Micro Amp in standalone mode. With the iRig Micro Amp powered by the mains and mounted on a microphone stand (adaptor included) and AmpliTube sizzling along on the phone, we are able to find usable sounds at bedroom-rehearsal volume levels. Just make sure that you switch monitoring off in your DAW to avoid a fax-machine-like scream in the cans. With headphones, tracking is a lot smoother. When using the iRig Micro Amp for monitoring purposes while recording, there’s a slightly soft response. Suddenly the clouds part, with 10 amps and 26 stompboxes to play with.Īs AmpliTube works seamlessly within GarageBand, we sit down to start tracking some demos and it doesn’t take us long to get the creative juices flowing. Things improve dramatically when we connect a smartphone loaded with IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube Custom Shop app, a bumper version of which can be downloaded after purchase. You can, of course, connect the Micro Amp to an external speaker cabinet for more of a full-fat sound, but that reduces the portability somewhat. It’s a sound that can be found in any number of tiny battery-powered plastic amps and one that, frankly, we’d hoped that Blackstar’s Fly 3 had consigned to the past. While the EQ knobs do an acceptable job of tone sculpting, as we cycle through the drive and lead channels, we find increasingly gainy variations on the same theme, before an eventual descent into fizz. Plugging in and engaging the clean channel, we are met with a four-inch speaker tone that’s rather flat. Power is provided either through six AA batteries, taking the amp to 7.5 watts for approximately 15 hours, or a nine-volt adaptor (not included) that bumps it to 15 watts. There is also a speaker-out jack, a headphone out, an auxiliary mini-jack input and a mini USB port. As a standalone amp, the rugged plastic unit features three channels – clean, drive and lead – with increasing levels of gain, three EQ knobs, plus gain and volume controls. ![]()
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