Recording - July 2016 - 72

IK Multimedia iRig Acoustic

$49.99; www.ikmultimedia.com

By Alex Hawley

IK Multimedia has been on the cutting edge of
creating mobile recording interfaces and tools since
the introduction of the iRig guitar input, which
allows musicians to record and practice electric guitar virtually anywhere. The newest addition to the
iRig family, the iRig Acoustic, is the first-ever acoustic guitar mobile interface.
The iRig Acoustic captures the depth and tone of acoustic guitars with ease-simply clip
the microphone to the bottom rim of the sound hole, plug the 3.5mm TRRS plug into the
headphone jack on your device, and you have a mobile recording rig at your disposal.
The iRig Acoustic can easily clip onto most acoustic instruments with a circular soundhole. The design features a rubberized clamp, so it connects securely without risking any
damage or scratches to the instrument. The rubber clamp also helps to decouple the microphone from the body; this helps to reduce unwanted rumble that may otherwise plague the
signal. IK Multimedia did a great job designing this setup with ultimate portability in mind;
the iRig Acoustic is small enough to easily slip into your pocket when not in use.
The iRig Acoustic features an innovative microphone pickup system that uses
MEMS technology. MEMS, which stands for MicroElectrical-Mechanical System, produces a sound that is characteristic of condenser microphones, only it's packed in a
miniature package. There's no arguing that the best-sounding studio acoustic guitar
tracks are produced by expertly placing a high-end large-diaphragm condenser (or
ribbon) in the acoustic guitar's sweet spot. That said, the iRig Acoustic does an excellent job simulating the sweet spot with MEMS technology, and delivers it in a package that can be readily available at a moment's notice and recorded straight into
your phone or mobile device.
The microphone features an omnidirectional polar pattern and a frequency
response that ranges from 15 Hz to 20 kHz (±3 dB). It has a signal-to-noise ratio of
63 dBA, and a maximum slot width of 4 mm. There are definitely benefits of the iRig
Acoustic being an omnidirectional microphone, such as a slower rate of feedback
buildup, smoother and more even off-axis coloration, and lack of proximity effect.
The mobility of this microphone system is paired with a companion iOS app,
AmpliTube Acoustic. which allows you to add effects that are designed and optimized for acoustic guitar. The effects come in a familiar guitar pedal layout, and you
are able to customize your signal chain and bypass anything you don't want to
record with. The interface is very intuitive and easy to use.
The free version of AmpliTube Acoustic will net you a tuner, an EQ pedal, one amp,
and a reverb unit. In-app purchases are required to expand into recording
and additional effects. Some of these effects include delay, chorus, a 12string simulator, feedback killer, and bass simulator, as well as several different amp simulations. It is also worth noting that iRig Acoustic is compatible with third-party apps such as GarageBand. If you prefer, you can use
the effects in AmpliTube Acoustic and route its signal into GarageBand for
recording using the Inter-App Audio routing feature in iOS.
The first time you open the app, it will go through a calibration process.
This analyzes and optimizes the frequency response that is unique to your
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RECORDING JULY 2016

instrument. You can save your calibration,
so you will only have to do this once.
There is also an option to add more instrument profiles if you are switching between
several different acoustic instruments.
The iRig Acoustic microphone is connected to a TRRS miniplug which plugs
into any standard iPhone, iPad, Android,
or equivalent device's headphone/
headset mic jack. Inline with the TRRS
miniplug, there is a stereo line-out minijack
for headphones or to feed a mixer/PA
system. The I/O is very simple, but has
plenty of flexibility, especially considering
that it's intended for the mobile platform.
Using the minijack as a line-out option
rather than a headphone jack makes it
feasible to use the iRig Acoustic for a
live performance. Acoustic guitar is very
tricky to mic at a live performance;
there are unique challenges with the
nature of the instrument and the room.
Using iRig Acoustic at your show gives
you a similar sound to using a condenser microphone, with all of the flexibility of using a pickup.
One caveat to the I/O setup on the
iRig Acoustic is that it uses the headset
jack on your device as the input. This
will make it susceptible to crosstalk,
which may introduce unwanted noise
into your signal, although avoiding a
dedicated Lightning or USB-C connector
does mean that the same device will
work with any mobile phone or tablet.
One more feature that I would like to
see is a way to adjust microphone gain
somewhere on the device. While the
designated amount of headroom will
probably work for most uses, it would
be great to have the ability to dial it
back in case of clipping.
iRig Acoustic fills a void in the
iOS/Android marketplace, allowing
musicians to record acoustic guitar
straight into a mobile device with high
quality for the first time. Setup is simple,
and the portability factor is worth the
price of admission on its own, paired
with a solid and consistent acoustic tone
from the clip-on MEMS microphone system. iRig Acoustic will be a very practical choice for musicians who write and
play with acoustic guitar or who play live
on small stages, and who would like the
capability to record and practice anywhere, all with a mobile device.

http://www.ikmultimedia.com

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