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  #1  
Old 11-12-2015, 03:38 PM
Monsum Monsum is offline
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Default IK Multimedia iRig Acoustic

IK has just introduced a new pickup/interface for us - acoustic players.
Looks promising - low price (50 Euros), microphone quality of sound (actually it is a tiny microphone).
The audio demos sound really good, to be honest better than my Lyric.
iRig Acoustic connects to iPad/iPhone for recording and effects.

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irigacoustic/
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Old 11-12-2015, 05:32 PM
tdq tdq is offline
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As someone who is just starting to consider performing/recording acoustically, this looks pretty awesome. I don't really know much about this side of things, though - it would be great for someone who really knows what they are talking about to review this (like Doug Young, hint hint)
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  #3  
Old 11-13-2015, 06:29 AM
RonD RonD is offline
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Very interesting.

Some really nice demos on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8tO...l=ikmultimedia

Comparison of the iRig versus a Neumann U87:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwXY...l=ikmultimedia

Sounds pretty darn good.
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Old 11-13-2015, 09:09 AM
urlkonig urlkonig is offline
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Looks like it's actually $49 US -- almost too inexpensive NOT to try it.

I wonder what other locations are possible -- the position shown in the video would be a problem for me.
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Old 11-13-2015, 10:20 AM
guitaniac guitaniac is offline
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Thanks for the heads-up on this. Certainly looks interesting.

I wonder if one could put some kind of adapter plug on the mic plug to just try running it directly into a preamp. I'm not sure if the mic needs some kind of power source. The mic cable plug appears to have four contact sections.
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Old 11-13-2015, 11:11 AM
Petty1818 Petty1818 is offline
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I saw this today and was very impressed. I immediately wondered how this mic would sound as part of a dual source system. It would be cool if it could be wired to a UST or SBT but unplugged when not being used. With that said, it's so small that I would probably just leave it on.
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Old 11-13-2015, 11:13 AM
Cameron_Talley Cameron_Talley is offline
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Wonder if this works well with Garageband.
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Old 11-13-2015, 11:21 AM
Petty1818 Petty1818 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cameron_Talley View Post
Wonder if this works well with Garageband.
I think that's what it was designed for. I don't mean GarageBand specifically but recording interfaces like it.
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  #9  
Old 11-13-2015, 11:39 AM
Monsum Monsum is offline
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I've ordered one so as soon as I get my hands on it I'll share my experience.
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  #10  
Old 11-13-2015, 11:59 AM
RonD RonD is offline
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Can't wait to hear your experience Monsum.

Petty1818, I was wondering the same thing about its use in a dual source type of setup. I currently use an Anthem SL (which I like), but still use an SM57 during gigs to add a little more "natural" air into my mix. Of course, standing in front of the mic all night has its challenges, so maybe this could be a more "mobile" solution for my situation.

Guitaniac, it seems like you could take a cable out of the port they use for the headphones, put a 1/4" adapter onto it, and then feed it into an unbalanced input (pedal, pre-amp, mixer input, etc.). I'll have to look at it closer.

Will be very curious to hear how this sounds going straight into a pre-amp, amp or mixer (bypassing the iPhone app), as well how feedback prone it is. At $50, it's not too big of expense to experiment with it.

Good stuff.
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Old 11-13-2015, 02:06 PM
otavio otavio is offline
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Itīs seems excelent for its price range !!
Nice adaptor.
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Old 11-13-2015, 06:08 PM
Marty C Marty C is offline
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I will try the Amplitube Acoustic app tomorrow with my Fishman UST and the original iRig. I will try this first before buying the iRig Acoustic.
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Old 11-13-2015, 07:14 PM
Petty1818 Petty1818 is offline
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I could see this being excellent for recording, especially recording a few guitars at once. Mic'ing an acoustic for recordings is always a bit of a challenge so if this thing works as advertised, it could save me a lot of time. They are so cheap that it would be easy to get a few.

I think it would also be a great pickup to have for intimate shows or for instruments that you might not want to install a pickup in. We will see how feedback resistant it is but it would be fun to just clip it on my flat top mandolin or 12 string and play.
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Old 11-13-2015, 07:26 PM
jseth jseth is offline
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Looks pretty nifty... I don't know about having it in such a "hit-able" spot, though. I am fairly cognizant of where my right hand is going, but I'd be a bit concerned about giving that thing a WHACK in the middle of a set! I can already imagine the noise it would create...

Hopefully, it is not limited to "only" an Apple platform for use in recording... seeing as how I have a PC...

Sure looks interesting, though. I'll be tuning in to hear what folks are doing with this...
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Old 11-14-2015, 07:55 AM
guitaniac guitaniac is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RonD View Post

Guitaniac, it seems like you could take a cable out of the port they use for the headphones, put a 1/4" adapter onto it, and then feed it into an unbalanced input (pedal, pre-amp, mixer input, etc.). I'll have to look at it closer.
If I understand this setup correctly, the headphones get a signal which is post processing by the AmpliTube Acoustic app. That probably accounts for the extra contacts on the mic cable plug, in that some of the contacts are used to send a stereo signal back from the iPad to the headphones.

I'm guessing that the mic sends a mono signal to the iPad to be processed by the app. It might work just to plug that mic cable into an adapter with a mono mini-jack on one end and a 1/4" mono plug on the other end (to run the mic signal to a preamp). In any event, it would be interesting to know what that mic signal sounds like before being processed by the app. One might be able to get a pretty decent amplified sound just running the signal through a Boss GE-7 or some other equalizer. (I mention this because a GE-7 has worked well with the MiniFlex2Mic in one of my guitars.)


With respect to the full iRig Acoustic setup, there's no doubt that this will be a boon to folks like myself who prefer to record guitar and vocals simultaneously. (You'll get less vocal bleedover onto the guitar track than you would with external miking.)


PS An IK Multimedia rep confirmed that its a mono mic (when he answered a question in the comment section of one of the vids).

Last edited by guitaniac; 11-14-2015 at 08:26 AM.
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