RIFFS plug-ins...
MIDI system. Words: D.P. Wilson
SRP: €54.00 IK Multimedia
www.ikmultimedia.com
The iRig MIDI interface is supplied with two MIDI leads which feature the familiar 5 pin Din plugs on one end but also TRS style mini jacks on the iRig end (presumably to help maintain the unit’s portability). The mini USB socket and associated lead is a pretty cool feature as it allows you to charge your iOS device whilst using the iRig. The interface is topped of with a couple LED MIDI In/Out activity indicators that are always handy when things don’t seem to be playing ball, allowing you to check if your data is travelling unhindered via your iOS device. The MIDI interface itself is a small lump of plastic and I am always a wee bit concerned about this style of iOS plug in unit where the device just seems a little too precarious just hanging out of the end. The good news for me is that the iRig doesn’t lock into the your iPod/iPad meaning that if anyone accidentally trips over the cables your expensive Apple investment shouldn’t go flying across the room! Of course the other side of the coin means that some care must be taken to ensure that the iRig isn’t inadvertently unplugged.
App on Tap
Once plugged in you will be prompted to download IK Multimedia’s free MIDI Recorder app. This app reminds me a little of the Line 6 offering in that whilst it isn’t exactly awe inspiring it will nevertheless still do the job of recording and playing back MIDI whist allowing you to handle SysEx dumps. which even in
iRig’s mini USB socket charges your iOS device whilst using iRig…
The compact interface blends seamlessly with iOS device…
this day and age some may find useful. The app itself also allows you to keep up to date with iRig firmware updates. Probably more interesting and much lauded by IK Multimedia is that your download will also include the SampleTank Free app. Alongside access to loads of high quality sampled sounds, SampleTank is also great for those who have yet to download any other apps to use with the iRig MIDI. The sounds included with the ‘free’ app are certainly usable if a little limited in number, whilst the really good stuff is presumably reserved for the Sampletank ‘paid for ‘version, I would also imagine that further sounds will be available as paid for a la carte downloads? PM
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www.playmusicpickup.co.uk
SHOULD I BUY ONE? One of the diffi culties of reviewing equipment like this is that their success really
depends on how well they work with the equipment around them; on its own of course the iRig doesn’t do much!
I am pleased to report that in practical terms the iRig works fl awlessly and seemed to control every app that I could reasonably expect it to. Of course, these days there are other ways to get MIDI into iOS devices but this method certainly gives you the most options with regard to what keyboard you actually use and in the context of this test everything from the most up to date MIDI controller to a Casio synth from the early days of MIDI (circa 1983!) worked without a glitch, so from that point of view you should have no problems at all.
Any one looking to control music apps or get MIDI in and out of an iOS device will
fi nd that the IK Multimedia iRig MIDI do the job. My only slight qualm is that when compared to other iOS add on devices that one may see in the laminated catalogue of a certain high street store, the iRig does feel a tad, shall we say, reassuringly expensive. However it’s pedigree as part of IK Multimedia’s impressive stable also brings a lot of confi dence that this is a quality product and as we have already demonstrated, it really does its job well.
THE GOOD BITS: Good design, free Sampletank app included. THE NOT SO GOOD BITS: More expensive than some of
the competition. baby
IK MULTIMEDIA iRig MIDI
IK Multimedia’s iRig MIDI is currently the only iOS device that can link up as part of a larger
Transfer MIDI seamlessly into your smartphone…
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