{"id":661001,"date":"2013-05-30T07:00:43","date_gmt":"2013-05-30T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=650028"},"modified":"2013-05-30T07:00:43","modified_gmt":"2013-05-30T11:00:43","slug":"making-music-with-your-mac-or-ios-device-check-out-irig-hd-and-amplitube-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/661001","title":{"rendered":"Making music with your Mac or iOS device? Check out iRig HD and Amplitube Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re in the market for a way to hook your musical instrument up to your Mac or iOS device, and have a need to do multitrack recording on your iOS device,\u00a0IK Multimedia has recently released two new products that may help you: iRig HD and AmpliTube Studio.<\/p>\n

iRig HD is an upgrade to the old iRig adapter, and Amplitube Studio is a $26 in-app purchase in the AmpliTube<\/a> app. In this post, I’ll talk about my experiences using these new products and how they might integrate into my musical workflow. I’ve become quite a fan of IK Multimedia’s products over the last few years, and I was very curious to see how these new releases performed.<\/p>\n

iRig HD<\/h2>\n

As I mentioned in a previous post<\/a>, I’m strings-deep into band rehearsals. Aside: isn’t that new-band smell great? While I used my USB Fender Stratocaster for a lot of the practice time, I also used the iRig HD<\/a> ($99) for a lot of it. I’m going to spend a lot of time saying nice things about the iRig HD, so I’m going to start by saying I wasn’t overly thrilled with its predecessor, the iRig.<\/p>\n

The iRig used your iOS device’s headphone jack for its input. As a result the sound quality was iffy. The iRig pretty much earned a spot in my truck’s glove box for use if I was buying a guitar and needed a tuner.<\/p>\n

The iRig HD solves a lot of those problems.\u00a0Instead of using your headphone jack, the iRig HD ships with USB, 30-pin and Lightning connector cables. As a result, the audio quality is much improved. The only downside is that you won’t be able to also charge your device while using it.<\/p>\n

Unlike the Apogee Jam (which currently does not come with a Lightning connector), I found the iRig had a very solid connector to its main unit. It comes in two pieces: the main piece where you connect your instrument’s 1\/4″ cable, and then the cable that connects this unit to your Mac or iOS device. The Apogee Jam’s connector was a tad flimsy. The iRig HD cable connector reminds me of the old Apple ADB connectors<\/a> and fit snugly.<\/p>\n

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been using the iRig fairly often and haven’t had any issues with it. I think it’s well worth the $99 asking price, especially if you have an iPhone 5.<\/p>\n

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AmpliTube Studio<\/h2>\n

The other new product IK Multimedia will release on Thursday is an upgraded Amplitube app, with a new Studio module. Previous versions of AmpliTube had an in-app purchase for an 8-track recorder, but Studio turns your iOS device into more of a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). While Apple has its own iOS DAW with GarageBand<\/a> ($4.99), it’s a little limited. The in-app amps aren’t that good, and you have to remember to tell GarageBand to record more than a few measures if you want to record a full song. While GarageBand does support Audiobus now<\/a>, it’s still a limited recording platform.<\/p>\n

AmpliTube Studio is a step closer. I much prefer AmpliTube’s amps over GarageBand’s, and having a better DAW within AmpliTube is a win for me. AmpliTube also comes with a decent little drum looper, where you can program intro, outro and verse drum loops. It ships with a set of Rock loops, and others are available via — you guessed it — an in-app purchase.<\/p>\n

The app uses a grid layout similar to GarageBand, and you can move, cut, copy, paste and punch-in. I was able to record several minutes of audio without any issues. While the audio quality certainly wasn’t pro-level, it was good enough to piece together song demos. The biggest problem I have, is trying to figure out where the Studio module would fit in my workflow. Just about every time I decide something I’m working on needs multi-track recording, I end up deciding to do it on my Mac with GarageBand. I think it will be fine if someone is on the road, and just wants to layer some guitars and vocals for a demo. What makes it very hard is there still isn’t a good way to capture multiple input sources on an iOS device.<\/p>\n

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Final thoughts<\/h2>\n

I’m very happy with the iRig HD. It’s been a product I was eager to get my hands on since it was announced at the\u00a0National Association of Music Merchants show (NAMM) earlier this year and the release does not disappoint me. It’s a product I can see myself using for quite some time.<\/p>\n

AmpliTube Studio earns high marks for a nicely designed product that works well. I’m just not sure how often I’d use it. That said, if I were a touring musician, using AmpliTube studio and a guitar on a tour bus sure would be convenient.<\/p>\n

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