IK Multimedia presentd iRig Acoustic

Inspired by a documentary on flamenco guitar master Paco de Lucia, iRig Acoustic is an innovative and compact patent-pending clip-on acoustic guitar microphone/interface for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and Android. It features advanced miniature microphone technology, which according to IK gives it a rich quality of sound that beats piezo and magnetic pickups and rivals professional-grade studio microphones at a price that’s much more affordable. It installs (and uninstalls) in seconds: it simply clips onto the rim of a guitar or ukulele’s sound hole. iRig Acoustic also features monitoring and line-output capabilities for recording and performing live.

iRig Acoustic pairs with its AmpliTube Acoustic companion app, which is a tone studio designed specifically for acoustic players. It comes with multiple amplifiers, stompboxes and advanced features designed specifically for acoustic playing. Together, they aim at providing professional-quality natural acoustic sound for plug-and-play live performance and recording.

Furthermore iRig Acoustic packs all of these features into a compact enclosure that easily fits in a pocket and allows for amazing acoustic audio processing and recording anytime and anywhere.

iRig Acoustic is said to be able to perfectly replicate the sound of the ideal microphone placement and to capture the full-frequency range, tonal character, complex harmonics and overtones of acoustic guitars thanks to its MEMS (MicroElectrical-Mechanical System) microphone technology. Its omnidirectional polar pattern lets musicians place the iRig Acoustic just inside the sound hole – a position that allows their microphone to pick up a detailed and focused sonic output.

AmpliTube Acoustic’s calibration process analyses and optimizes the guitar’s unique frequency response to pick up the best sound from their chosen guitar. These technologies combine so as to capture the complete picture of an acoustic guitar with every sonic vibration represented, differing from piezo-electric pickups and magnetics that just capture the vibrations of the body top or strings. With this powerful calibration feature, iRig Acoustic delivers portable sound on par with high-quality studio microphones.

The iRig Acoustic also easily plugs into any iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or Android device’s headphone/input jack via a standard 1/8" TRRS cable. It also sports a female stereo output jack placed on the in-line cable that can be used with headphones for practice and monitoring. This same jack can even be used as a line-out to send a signal to a mixer or power speaker for practice and live performance.

The new AmpliTube Acoustic app is the latest addition to IK’s AmpliTube family of guitar and bass tone studio apps and software. The AmpliTube Acoustic app features a setup and calibration process that optimizes iRig Acoustic to match the response of the miked acoustic guitar. iRig Acoustic is then able to capture and reproduce the sonic character of the selected guitar with sound comparable to a properly placed, large-condenser studio microphone. Users create and save optimization profiles on their device for every guitar (or ukulele) they own or use. They can then recall profiles with a simple touch on the screen when switching instruments.

Designed specifically for acoustic playing and recording, AmpliTube Acoustic features 3 acoustic amplifier models: two solid state amps and one that’s tube driven – all of which feature gain, presence, volume and 3-band EQ controls as well as amp-specific effects that range from delays and flangers to spring reverbs and choruses.

In addition to the amps, AmpliTube Acoustic also sports a spread of creative acoustic stompbox effects that can be used in the acoustic signal chain along with the amplifiers: there’s an acoustic graphic EQ, acoustic parametric EQ, acoustic compressor, a “12-string” emulator, a “Bass Maker” octave pedal, a feedback notch filter “Feedback Killer” and even a “Body Modeler” that lets users transform the sound of their acoustic into a different style of guitar.

And beyond these acoustic-specific features, AmpliTube Acoustic also includes typical AmpliTube tools popular among mobile users such as Speed Trainer, Looper, Loop Drummer, UltraTuner, an 8-track recorder and DAW and more.

iRig Acoustic comes with AmpliTube Acoustic, which is free and features a solid state acoustic amp with built-in effects, the “Feedback Killer” effect, a built-in single-track recorder and more.

iRig Acoustic is available from the IK online store and select music instrument retailers for $/€49.99 (excl. taxes). AmpliTube Acoustic is available on the App Store. Additional amp models, effects and features are available via in-app purchase.

More information on iRig Acoustic and AmpliTube Acoustic available at www.irigacoustic.com