curious about IK's iRig... any thoughts?

[js1268]

was wondering if anyone has one of these and what their thoughts are?

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irigacousticstage/

thanks!

[JStotes]

Yes, I have one of these. It looked interesting and I had some gift cards for GC so I thought I'd take a chance.

Turns out, it sounds very nice. When I play out and it's my gig and PA, I use a K&K with a Red Eye preamp which sounds very good.

However, for open mics and such, where I don't want to have to do anything other than plug in to whatever is available, I started to use this unit.
The mic picks up fairly evenly across all the strings even though it's clipped to the bottom of the sound hole. I use it with my Rainsong and blend the two signals. So far, blending the signals at about half and half has worked very well.
I get a nice non-quacky sound and have not had any feedback issues.

I have not used it as a stand alone unit except to experiment a bit when I first got it. I prefer the blended signal. My only concern is the cord going from the mic to the belt pack is not very robust. I'm not thinking durability will be one of it's strong points.

[FrankHudson]

I haven't used it live. Yes the cable linking the belt/strap pack preamp to the clip in mic is small in diameter. I'm not sure who that would impact durability, but it does make it a lot easier to manage draped outside the guitar than the traditional 1/4" guitar lead for a sound hole pickup.

Sound-wise it sounds surprisingly full, balanced, and natural for a sub $100 product.

I tested right after unboxing comparing it with my Oktava MK-102 a long time favorite lower-cost SDC microphone.

Picking test



Strumming test



As noted above you can mix it with another pickup source, but so far I haven't bothered with that. My aim with it is to give me another acoustic recording option that is more rejecting of room sound/environmental noises while sounding "mic'ed"--and I like it so far for that.

[Fran Guidry]

I thought I would buy the iRig Acoustic Stage and have a two in one deal - use the Stage preamp when I wanted to go to a PA or recorder and take the iRig Acoustic mic straight into an iPhone.

Oops, no workie. The mic that comes with the Stage package has a 2.5mm TS plug that just rattles around in a 3.5mm jack like the one on the phone. The route into an IOS device requires a the Stage preamp to a micro-USB to USB to Camera Connection Kit, and I don't have a Lightning CCK adapter and probably won't get one. I'm still playing with the Stage system though, in fact I'll be taking it with me to Hawai`i in hopes of finding it useful for some of my video shoots.

In the meantime I hooked up the Zoom H6 and tried the iRig Acoustic Stage in three different guitars with three different pickup systems. I recorded the acoustic sound using the Zoom XY mic module while simultaneously capturing the iRig mic and the internal pickup. I shot a video of the session, too bad I didn't comb my hair first:



and did a writeup at the Homebrewed Music Blog that includes links to download all the audio tracks for comparison:

http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/2017/...stage-comparo/

Fran

[TheShadowKnows]

I bought one of these and tried it on my GA/OM & it made it sound boxy. If you listen closely to the 'good' videos of it, even ones in a video studio, there are boxy overtones to the sound. I'm suspecting they EQ'd that out of the track because I used similar guitars & it NEVER sounded that good. And here I thought they'd be honest about the sound. I tried positioning the clip-on towards the top of the sound hole as well as the bottom, but it gave the same boxy sound. Didn't matter if it was my Dred or OM. I didn't try it on any of my laminate B&S guitars though.

The external unit is a great idea. Can go on your belt or pants depending. The various EQ's help but are marginal regarding true usefulness. The one thing that was totally NOT useful was the feedback killer. I tried & tried but the darn thing kept feeding back & didn't do what it was supposed to. Now on the other hand, I have a DBX GoRack & that thing will kill ANY feedback that even tries to rear its ugly head. So I was very disappointed in the IK's feedback circuit.

I really wanted this thing to replace my Duncan Woody sound hole pickups & I was excited to hear a pretty good example of what it could do on IK's demo videos (not the Namm ones). But for my guitars, this thing fell short on delivering even a marginal sound. So I went back to my sound hole pickups & am EQing them to taste. For now, that configuration is about as close to a good sound as I'll be getting.

This thing 'might' work better for you & your guitars. My OM/GA & the Dred I tested it on are all solid wood so that has something to say about what goes into that pickup.

I've seen on the internet, maybe a KickStarter of a wireless clip on your sound hole mic similar to the IK. I don't know if it's available but from what I remember, it had some good videos produced by normal folks who initially bought it. If anyone here remembers or knows of the name, please chime in. I'd like to look them up.

[rob2966]

Just picked one up myself. Looking for an option that I can switch from guitar to guitar (no pickups) for solo guitar instrumental performance. Although I was also looking at K&K Meridian and DPA 4099G I figured for a mere $99 I would give it a go first.

I am incredibly impressed by the sound quality (and convenience) of this system. I tested with all three of my acoustic guitars:
- Taylor 322ce 12-fret
- Cordoba Solista Flamenca (blanca)
- Culpepper custom Flamenco Negra

The sound is really great for all 3 guitars (which do have very different sounds). The tone selector (steel vs nylon, combined with the normal/warm/bright defaults) make it quite easy to dial in a good sound. The feedback eliminator seem to work fairly well too, although I find the iRig a bit less feedback susceptible to begin with.

The mic attaches to each guitar very easily and the wire doesn't get in the way, even for playing golpes and rasqueados.

Now, note my guitars are all smaller bodied instruments, so I would expect individual variations. Having some EQ option further down the chain would still not be a bad idea.

Later
Rob

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by js1268

was wondering if anyone has one of these and what their thoughts are?

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irigacousticstage/

thanks!

I've done a lot of home experimentation with the iRig Acoustic Stage.

With any kind of aggressive attack, it compresses and/or limits with the volume knob up full. There are a couple of work-arounds.

One of the work-arounds is simply to keep the volume at half-way. It puts out a tiny signal to begin with, so you'll need plenty of gain at the mixer.

The feedback killer works well, but not indefinitely as the level rises. I like it best for blending with a little UST signal. That helps the slight in-the-cave thing (which isn't bad to begin with) and reduces the feedback proclivity. The DSP does a pretty good job and the calibrating helps the tone with my guitars.

I made a Lyric vs iRig comparison which helped underscore the compression problem.

Most of the info is in this thread.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=473240

[guitaniac]

Tried it out at an open mic last night. I was in a hurry and got the little mic cable tangled up a bit, but it still reached the preamp, so no big problem there.

The biggest problem was the tiny signal - not enough for me to hear the guitar well, even though our host had the guitar channel up all the way. I suspect that she could have raised the mixer's master level further, but then she would have needed to lower the levels on all the other channels.

The basic problem (for open mics, at least) is that the iRig Acoustic Stage's output level is relatively low compared to more typical active systems with 9v power supplies. I was making the problem worse by using one of my work-arounds to avoid a compressed signal. I was taking the weak signal of a passive film UST into the iAS preamp's Aux In to blend with the mic signal.

I should hasten to mention that the low output won't be a problem at regular gigs where I'm using my own gear. Both my SoloAmp and my Mackie mixer can handle the low signal easily.

[gfsark]

I just got one a couple of weeks ago for my classical guitar. Ran it directly into my Loudbox mini. Sounding surprisingly good on the warm setting.

When I performed a bit later at an outdoor event, I used the Irig to fill in the sound along side of a small condenser mic. Both sources ran into T1 preamp and then to Bose L1. The clip-on made the sound less sensitive to exact position of the guitar, and the overall effect was quite good. I'll try it solo one of these days.

[guitaniac]

I found it interesting that the manual recommended against doing the calibration procedure with a classical guitar. I wonder what the deal is with that. The calibration was very helpful with my steel-stringers.

[guitaniac]

This is one of four songs which I recorded last night with the iRig Acoustic Stage. Blended in just a bit of UST. The iAS sounded great (for my taste, at least) with all the songs.

https://soundcloud.com/guitaniac/radio-candy

I like recording with the iAS because it gives me some freedom to move around and I don't need to worry much about vocal bleed into the guitar mic while recording the vocal and guitar together.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

I like recording with the iAS because it gives me some freedom to move around and I don't need to worry much about vocal bleed into the guitar mic while recording the vocal and guitar together.

Agreed on the move about advantage.

While the vocal bleed is not as bad as the typical external condenser mic on the body/neck join area recording, I find I get considerable vocal bleed with the iRig myself. I'm a shouty singer however.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

Agreed on the move about advantage.

While the vocal bleed is not as bad as the typical external condenser mic on the body/neck join area recording, I find I get considerable vocal bleed with the iRig myself. I'm a shouty singer however.

It sounds like ToneDexter might be the best direct recording option in your own case, Frank. (Possibly in my case too, but the inexpensive iRig Acoustic Stage is working very nicely for now - certainly better than I'd expected from my past struggles with recording directly off an internal mic(s).

I'm currently recording with a live performance mic (Audix OM-7) which is designed for close miking. I suspect that close vocal miking, combined with the iRig Acoustic Stage's close guitar miking, is helping to minimize the bleedover problems.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

It sounds like ToneDexter might be the best direct recording option in your own case, Frank. (Possibly in my case too, but the inexpensive iRig Acoustic Stage is working very nicely for now - certainly better than I'd expected from my past struggles with recording directly off an internal mic(s).

I'm currently recording with a live performance mic (Audix OM-7) which is designed for close miking. I suspect that close vocal miking, combined with the iRig Acoustic Stage's close guitar miking, is helping to minimize the bleedover problems.

I have used a Fishman Aura for the same reasons I'd use a ToneDexter to solve the bleed problem. I think my issue is magnified because I'm most often not a quiet vocalist.

One thing the iRig is great for is when I want to record an acoustic guitar part in my "studio B" space (i.e. a crowded home office with three computers and two monitors sitting right in front of me). Just clipping in the iRig gets a decent sound, with no need to find space between the keyboard and chair for a mic boom, and without the room sound being an issue.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

I have used a Fishman Aura for the same reasons I'd use a ToneDexter to solve the bleed problem. I think my issue is magnified because I'm most often not a quiet vocalist.

One thing the iRig is great for is when I want to record an acoustic guitar part in my "studio B" space (i.e. a crowded home office with three computers and two monitors sitting right in front of me). Just clipping in the iRig gets a decent sound, with no need to find space between the keyboard and chair for a mic boom, and without the room sound being an issue.

I recall that Harvey Reid, one of the original Aura beta testers and a well-respected multi-instrumentalist and recording artist, once claimed that he couldn't tell the difference between Aura recordings and mic recordings. The caveat was that he was using custom sound images which were created using his own Matrix-equipped Larrivee C-10. Harvey was a huge advocate for having custom sound images made.