IK Multimedia iRig STOMP by Steve Williams
The IK Multimedia iRig STOMP is the latest of many to wear the iRig name and it appears IK are going back to their roots by combining a guitar and an iPhone. The new iRig STOMP is a device inspired from previous guitar amp apps like AmpliTube, and allows the player to use it within a typical pedal board.
The design of the IK iRig STOMP is to look and work like a standard guitar effect stompbox. On the top of the pedal it has a mini-jack socket suitable for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. On the left side are two separate left and right jack outputs and on the right a ¼” jack socket for the guitar input. On the face is a large button switch and an input level control knob. The whole thing works by essentially introducing the iPhone into the effect chain to get maximum innovation for as little space as possible. For this same reason they employed a battery to increase headroom and reduce crosstalk. This is unlike the original iRig, which shows both that IK are learning from their mistakes and also future models will consistently improve.
Obviously the headphone slot is being used on the iPhone so iRig have introduced a headphone slot on the STOMP so you can do some late night practicing. Perhaps the best feature on the iRig STOMP is that it isn’t restricted to one app so as long it uses the iPhone’s jack connection you can experiment and find the right one for you. AmpliTube would be the free option but depending on what results you want, you may want to shop around for a bit.
I honestly don’t think we’ve reached the potential the iPhone/iPad could have on the creation of music and would even go as far to say it could revolutionize music as we know it. I believe the iRig STOMP is a benchmark and a sign of what could be, and who knows with this pedal and the right app in the right hands; the sky is the limit!
BUY IK Multimedia iRig Stomp pedal-style guitar interface for iOS devices
