The Ugly Truth About The iRig iPhone Attachment (and GarageBand and AmpliTube)

If you ask me, I'll tell you that I'm very low tech when it comes to my guitar rig. I like analog effects and tube amps. I've tried multi-effects and amp modulating amp simulators. I haven't found them very useful. Maybe I am not that good at fiddling with the setting on those types of effects. I know some guys that get some good sounds out of those things. But as time and tech keep moving forward, digital effects keep getting better. Digital effects have been connecting to computers for some time now. Patches and updates have come to the current models of digital, multi-effect processors. There is a new trend in digital effects. Videos from NAMM this year keep showing effects that are intrigrated with smart phones. Digitech has a pedal that is basically a programmable stomp box. Others include features that are only editable from a connected device such as a smart phone or tablet. Seemingly traditional effect have started tapping into the power of the devices those most of us keep in our pockets.

The iRig is a smartphone interface. Basically an adapter, the iRig taps into the microphone input of the three ring miniplug on your phone while keeping the output for headphones. The actual adapter works well. Everything is pretty simple. There is a guitar input, a headphone output and a three ring output for your device. By its self, the iRig is not very useful. The most important part of this equation is the app that you run alongside the iRig. The iRig promotes AmpliTube. My iPhone came with GarageBand. Both of these apps work well with the iRig. It took a little while to set up everything, but after it was ready, it was a lot of fun to play with. Do a google search and you'll find iRig for around $20 ($40 at some places). I was able to get one on eBay for just a few dollars. There is a HD version that cost $99. It includes a USB connector to let you connect to you computer. Not sure if it is worth five times the cost, though.

GarageBand has to be told to "monitor" so that your guitar is heard as you play. Once it is set up, you are ready to go. There are 9 different amp models to choose from. The tweakability of the amps are pretty nice. Gain, three band EQ, Reverb, Tremolo, Presence, Master, and Output are available as "knobs". The Amp models range from Fenders, Vox, Mashell, and Mesa Boogie. In addition to that you have your vertual pedalboard. You can choose up to four pedals from a decent list of effects that include: Phase, Drive, Boost, Fuzz, Chorus, Flang, Vibe, Echo, and Comp.Not bad for a free app. Not to mention that it is a good tool for making songs. I was able to put together a little loop to play along with easily. I was able to put drums, piano, strings, bass, and rhythm guitar together in a few minute. Jamming was a lot of fun and the amps and effects give you lots of options. Lets just say that I ran out of time before I ran out of options.

AmpliTube (free) is another app that models amp sounds and effects. The options for amps and effect are nearly endless. There are too many amps to list, and unlike GarageBand, AmpliTube has the actually amp names attached to the ampsounds that they are modeled after. The part that I'm not a fan of is that you have to pay for nearly every sound you want. You are given a marshal type amp and a couple of effects (noise filter and delay). If you want anything beyond that, then you are going to pay. In face, there is an option the purchase everything in the app for $99! I've never spent more than 99 cents on an app. There is a lot to this app, with dozens of amps and pedals, the options are nearly endless. However, if you aren't using this as a part of your rig or recording then its hard to justify spending a ton of fake amps and pedals.

In conclusion, The iRig is a great tool to use if you own a smartphone or tablet. Its like turning a device into a headphone amp with a lot of extra features. If you want to be able to try out different amp and effect sounds with minimal investment, or you want to play with effects without busting out your pedal board, then the iRig might be something the look in to. I don't see my self using the recording portion of these app very much, but it might be something that make my home (quiet) practice more enjoyable.