Corry BanksIK Multimedia’s iRig HD is, as IK puts it, a “High-quality, low-noise, high-definition pre-amp.” It’s one of the most portable and incognito recording devices available.
iRig HD’s build is of plastic exterior but it doesn’t appear to be fragile. Still I wouldn’t advise anyone to be careless with it. It’s flat black plastic exterior is dressed up a bit by the iRig HD imprint. At one end it has a 1/4” Hi-Z input jack perfectly suited for mono instruments. It has a preamp gain control on its side for easily adjusting the signal’s gain.
Along the same lines with the gain control, there is an indicator light that illuminates in 3 different colors , red (signal clipping / over driving / too hot), green (signal is detected and at comfortable level), blue (device is connected and active but no signal). There are some varying states of this led where it goes from red to yellow and then green if the signal’s gain is varied while connected.
iRig HD also comes with “AmpliTube FREE* app plus 4 new HD exclusive gear models – The Metal 150, the Metal W, the Wharmonator “whammy” pedal and the X-Flanger and AmpliTube Custom Shop and AmpliTube Metal** software for Mac laptops & desktops.” The good stuff starts when using this for mobile recording purposes. Feel free to drop by your DJ, guitarist, bass player and/or synth player’s place to have him drop ill mono riffs, cuts etc. You can do it all via your iOS device or laptop via this little feather weighted “high-definition preamp.”
So lets check out the video review for a bit more detail on the iRig HD.
So although I think of the iRig HD as a real asset to my mobile set up and even my studio set up for quick and easy mono recordings, I would love to see a stereo connection. Imagine that a little iRig HD X2 or x4, where 2 or 4 of these joints are in cased together for multiple recordings simultaneously. It could be done, right? The device would be no bigger than a pack of cigarettes. Ok, maybe far fetched? But maybe not. 🙂
At any rate this is a fine device. I’d say its worth having in your mobile rig and / or bag of tricks because you just never know when the need to record will arise. With this little guy you will be prepared to capture a high quality recording on your iOS device rather easily. The sound quality alone is reason enough to keep this one in the arsenal with its “High-quality 24 bit A/D conversion.”
For more info on the IK Multimedia iRig HD check out the iRig HD product page.