Griffin StompBox brings guitar effects app to your feet, lets your hands play
With the arrival of virtual guitar effects on portable devices like the iPhone and iPad, many guitarists are re-thinking the way they set up and play their electric guitars. For the average player, an almost endless array of varied tones and effects are now available in high-quality virtual form at a fraction of the cost and weight of their real-world counterparts. It's not surprising that many guitarists are turning to virtual pedal boards for practicing, band rehearsals and the occasional gig, too.
One of the biggest problems with virtual effects pedal boards is that they are, well, ... virtual. They're on a screen near your eyes and hands instead of being within reach of your feet as they should be, keeping your hands free to play while your feet manage effects.
Thankfully, with four assignable foot switches, a 1/4" effects pedal input jack and a meter long dock connector cable, Griffin (in conjunction with Frontier Design Group) has taken the bold step (no pun intended) of bringing the pedal board back to where it should be with the StompBox pedal controller for iPad / iPhone and iPod touch.
The Griffin StompBox will work seamlessly with Frontier Design Group's iShred Live virtual guitar effects app (sold separately), but (from what we understand) the StompBox "... can act as an assignable controller for other foot-switch-compatible applications," according to Griffin's website. However, we doubt the StompBox will have seamless compatibility with other virtual guitar effects apps at this stage. There's no doubt in our minds, though, that some of the other big players will follow suit shortly with their own version of a foot-switch controller.
The StompBox is priced at US$99.99 on the Griffin StompBox website and will be available February / March.
[Via Engadget, Pocket-lint]
