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IK Multimedia iRig BlueBoard and iRig HD hands-on (video)
Last year at CES, IK Multimedia unveiled its iRig Stomp as a foot switch controller for wrangling the outfit's Amplitube software for iOS. Here at NAMM though, the company has cast off the wired connection for the Bluetooth-sporting iRig BlueBoard MIDI foot pedal. In addition to managing presets sans cables, the device can access four effects / amp modeling combos via backlit selectors without the need to swipe the screen of your iPhone or iPad. The gadget is AAA battery powered and there's no power adapter or in-built power pack. It's a bit of a bummer that the BlueBoard isn't rechargeable, but then again, a lot of guitar pedals and stompboxes are either battery or adapter powered. Two 1/4-inch jacks fare along for the ride in case you need to add on volume or expression pedals to the $99 rig that's set to arrive in Q2. During our visit, we also took a look at the recently announced iRig HD guitar connector. The next-gen version of the original iRig touts higher quality sound (as the moniker suggests) and now connects via 30-pin or Lightning port for use with a mobile device or via USB for laptops and such. There's also a input level adjustment on the side in a form factor that resembles the Apogee Jam -- albeit with different connectors. Even with the help of headphones it was hard to tell just how good the captures were thanks to the painfully noisy show floor. However, in our brief time with the setup it worked like a charm for handling our feeble attempts at a few Taking Back Sunday riffs. Hop down past the break for a quick tour of the duo.
