IK Multimedia
98
Mini Reviews
The latest musical bits and pieces racked and rated
M
anufactured from sturdy
aluminium and boasting
up to 120 hours of USB
rechargeable playback
time, the Friendz is a cool way to
enhance the sound of your mobile/
iPod/MP3 player when you’re out and
about. What’s more if you have
buddies with the same taste in
gadgets you can get together and
daisychain any number of Friendz
together for increased volume – each
one has an isolating rubber foot so
they feel well planted even when
stacked. Admittedly the sound isn’t
heavy on the bass, a limitation with
most speakers this compact, but what
you do get is pleasantly dened
throughout the volume range. Sound
quality is right up their for their size
and the USB charging is a real plus.
The biggest problem? Deciding which
of the nine currently available colours
in the range. Philip Cheesbrough
8/10
IK Multimedia have released the latest
addition to their iRig interface line-up, the
iRig PRO. Not just another way to plug in
a guitar, but a proper audio/MIDI interface
and it’s pretty portable too. It seems like
the Italian fi rm have taken their iRig Pre
and HD interfaces and married them into
one, far more useful box.
Encased in the familiar black
polycarbonate, the iRig Pro features a
Neutrik 1/4-inch/XLR combo jack input for
mics and instruments and MIDI input via
a 3.5mm to DIN cable. As expected, the
unit also features a preamp with phantom
power all fed by a 9V battery. The controls
are very simple: switches for power and
phantom power and the large gain knob on
the front. While it looks like they have
tried to keep the size to a minimum with a
low-profile dial, users will undoubtedly get
frustrated with the lack of grip and not
entirely smooth action.
It seems to be a few key features short
of what a device of this type should have.
Most notable is the lack of outputs. I’d
take a larger unit if it meant the inclusion
of headphone monitoring and a stereo line
output. As it is, you have to make do with
the headphone output on your host device.
The inclusion of a MIDI input is a
welcome one, but a MIDI output would
have been even more useful.
IK claim the PRO will fi t in your pocket,
though I’m not so sure, especially if you
like to wear skinny jeans. Even though iRig
PRO is a few features shy of a complete IO
solution for your iOS device, the price isn’t
too bad at 119.99 euros. Simon Arblaster
8/10
IK Multimedia iRig
BlueBoard
| €80
www.ikmultimedia.com
Music Angel Friendz | £30
www.musicangel.net
T
he only problem with playing
guitar on your mobile
device is that there are too
many wires. So when IK
Multimedia decided to make a foot
pedal controller for its Mac and iOS
products, they made the right choice
by dispensing with cables altogether
in favour of Bluetooth. The iRig
BlueBoard is a rugged and well-built,
albeit plastic, pedal board that
features four backlit rubber buttons.
Powered by four AAA batteries, the
BlueBoard also features two extra
MIDI inputs to connect expression
pedals. Complete with its own app,
the BlueBoard converts the control
signals to MIDI, allowing you to pair
the device to AmpliTube, or other
Core MIDI software.
The BlueBoard feels like it can
take a knock or two despite the
plastic chassis. The unit itself is quite
solid and features rubber feet to
prevent it moving about on most
surfaces. Having gone from the use of
the traditional latching button on the
iRig Stomp, the blue backlit rubber
buttons feel a bit too lightweight
under foot. However, the board itself
is a good size and the buttons are a
good width apart, so the burliest size
13 shouldn’t be hitting two buttons at
the same time.
Programming presets to the
board’s four buttons is easy, you can
either go for a simple on-off approach
with the effects pedals, or have whole
amp, mic and effects set-ups with
each preset. The BlueBoard will
seamlessly integrate itself with most
apps from IK Multimedia, the most
obvious being AmpliTube. The unit will
also lend its preset hopping skills to
SampleTank, VocaLive and iGrand
Piano to name but a few.
On the whole this is quite a exible
bit of kit and essential if you already
use their apps. Simon Arblaster
9/10
IK Multimedia
iRig PRO | €120
www.ikmultimedia.com
FMU274.rev_mini.indd 98 12/5/13 10:13 AM