Effects Pedal for today
By David Cox
First Published in Examiner.com
They hardly ever failed, and the biggest problem with them was losing them, having them stolen or ‘borrowed’ by other bands, never to be seen again. I once found one when walking down the street in San Francisco, embedded into the dirt at the base of a sidewalk tree, neatly camouflaged by its own brown paint. It was a Boss bass effects pedal, one of the best with digital readout. Quite a find. No doubt it had tumbled from some hapless bass playing sap’s milk crate late at night after a gig, when everyone was too er… ‘tired and emotional’ to pay attention, and had been pushed into the dirt by the drummer behind him.
Playing in bands was always 80% furniture removal, and 20% actual art, and nobody ever did it for the money. So having lots of effects was not always a likely prospect. Even the greatest punk bands like Nirvana somehow managed to get away with just two – maybe distortion and echo or something.
IK Multimedia’s iRig Stomp box solves the problem of not having enough effects pedals.
It is the first stompbox guitar interface for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. For the first time, guitar and bass players can now integrate their favorite iOS signal processing apps into their existing live pedalboard setup for enhanced tone shaping and effects processing using an iPhone/iPod touch or iPad.
iRig STOMP is based on the wildly popular AmpliTube iRig interface and is compatible with any iOS (dare we say decent sounding?) guitar / amp / instrument app. With its compact, standard stompbox shape, iRig STOMP is packed with many smart features found here for the first time in an iOS audio accessory.
iRig Stomp – At a Glance
- Compact, durable yet lightweight, aluminum-cast enclosure integrates easily into any traditional pedalboard.
- Can be used inline with other effects pedals, or directly connected to amplifiers or PA systems using regular 1/4″ guitar cables, with no need for adapters.
- Allows precise adjustment of the signal for perfect guitar and bass levels with its large input gain knob.
- Active battery-powered output circuit improves headroom, especially when used with high-gain amplifiers in the AmpliTube app, reducing feedback and crosstalk when recording.
- The bypass switch allows engaging or bypassing the AmpliTube app chain of effects – like a traditional stompbox – for seamless integration into any existing rig.
- Ultra-compact form-factor can be easily carried on the road.
- Features a 3.5mm/1/8″ jack for silent practicing with headphones.
- Comes with the #1 guitar/bass tone shaping app, award winning (it’s true) AmpliTube FREE for iOS (Download it free from the App Store)
- Can be used with any other guitar processing app that uses the iOS mini-jack
- Has an ultra-small, compact profile that can be carried anywhere with ease.
- Compatible with iPhone/iPod touch/iPad.
The new iRig Stomp interface is extremely familiar. What is it? Well, it’s basically a stompbox interface for your iOS device that allows you to use your iPhone/iPod touch/iPad with your existing pedalboard and rig. Or, you can use just the iRig Stomp. It’s constructed from durable military-grade aluminum for indestructible performance (unless you run over it with a tank), and has the same switch you find on todays most popular foot pedals.
The iRig Stomp has a standard “stompbox” shape and size making it easy to incorporate into your existing pedalboard. It has a standard 1/4″ guitar input, and a mono/stereo L&R out jack set for dual purposes for every playing situation. You can use the left/mono out to send the processed signal through more pedals and/or direct to your amplifier, or use the two L/R 1/4″ jacks to send a stereo signal to a stereo channel on your mixer. Either way, you’ll have fantastic tone thanks to…
A large gain knob on the top of the pedal allows you to adjust the input signal gain structure to provide you with the maximum amount of headroom needed for your apps. No more weak signals sent down the line, now you are in control. This knob is a great feature for pushing the preamps of high-gain amp models.
The iRig Stomp is an active circuit powered either by a 9v battery or by your pedalboard power system. Both ways provide a high quality active system signal with lots of headroom.
Let’s say you don’t want your iOS device to interfere with a particular song. No problem. The handy dandy chrome device on the top we like to call the “switch” will completely bypass the iOS signal path with a simple click. And, it’s ultra quiet so you won’t distract your audience with that annoying “switch” sound when using it. You know the one we’re talking about.
We also built in a nice feature called the “headphone jack.” Now, we didn’t invent it, but it sure is a peacekeeper in most households where there are other human-like inhabitants. It doesn’t disable the other output jacks, but then again you wouldn’t be using it if you were using the other jacks, so it just doesn’t matter.
It’s a “compact” stompbox so basically it’s shaped like a deluxe pack of gum. Technically, yes it could fit in your pocket, but it’s really designed to accompany your guitar case or pedalboard. It may be small, but at least it’s little. Don’t lose it.
Website for iRig Stomp