One of the primary audio advances of the era of digital audio was the invention of the Digital Signal Processor, or DSP for short, which packs an extraordinarily powerful processor designed to alter audio information. A DSP is at the heart of every home theater system to a seemingly simple set of effects present even on guitar amps under $100 dollars that “model” a dizzying array of fabled amps from a Marshall Stack to a Fender Princeton. DSP’s are in use in our phones, audio players, TV sets, and even Radar Detectors. While we might think that devices like cell phones are commonplace, without DSP’s they wouldn’t be possible as we think of them.
The various iRig software offerings and apps use the results of measurements of popular amplifiers for its line of software, accordingly one of the most popular tools among musicians is their iRig line of musical instrument interfaces and software from IK Multimedia, which run on iOS devices. Want a Marshall stack to conjure up Jimi Hendrix, just launch the Hendrix software on your iPad and plug in your iRig, or better yet, iRig HD to your iPad and guitar and away you go. At this summer’s CES Line Show in New York, we saw two products sure to help out their users.
The iLine Mobile Music Cable Kit is a complete collection of six high-quality audio cables with a travel case, designed to provide users of smartphones, tablets, MP3 players and laptops with the tools they need to handle virtually any signal routing and audio-cabling situation. iLine asks that we “Think of iLine as the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of the cable world.” The kit includes a Mono Output Adapter, a Input Output Extension, a Stereo Aux, Headphone Splitter, RCA Output Adapter, and a Mono Output Splitter. We found this collection to be a great no-brainer to toss in your gig bag for the inevitable times you are missing that one cable. Our only suggestion is that we would like to see a more robust carrying case than the one provided, which could use a couple of more zippers and sturdier construction.
For more information on the iLine Mobile Music Cable Kit visit: www.ikmultimedia.com
IK Multimedia eliminated the most important missing link in the iRig line with the recently introduced iRig HD. The HD finally removed the limitations of their original analog-based iRig interface which utilized the analog input on an iPhone or iPad, with an accompanying higher noise level and dependency on the analog Input stage. The new iRiG HD converts the signal from a guitar to digital, and offers a cleaner signal for superior audio quality, using a 24-bit A/D converter that frees the musician from noise and crosstalk that analog can produce. It ships with some free software, which activate as soon as you plug the unit in. For anyone using an iRig, we think that the iRig HD is a significant improvement on the original design, and a must-have. It is compatible with both 40-pin or Lighting connector for your iOS device so no matter what generation you own, the new iRig HD will work without any fiddling around. Finally, the DSP age meets the iRig! Highly recommended.
For more information on the iRig HD visit: www.ikmultimedia.com
Harris Fogel & Nancy Burlan, with additional reporting by Thomas Fogel, posted 10/2/2013
