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Guitar/ipad usb c portable interface
Hi. I have a proper audio interface for recording but I’d like to get a little usb c to jack interface for portability and ease of use so I can quickly plug it in and play around on guitar in bed with out ‘setting up”.
Years ago I had one of the early ones, step up from the irigs back then which fell apart and weren’t the best. I was wondering if there’s a consensus on which is best or options or just recommendations really now.
I did see new irigs everywhere. I’m happy to go that way if they’re good now but I must be honest I don’t trust ik stuff and have had many poor experiences previously with them and cs after. Not wanting to start a debate on that or anything just my experience. Perhaps the quality of product has improved now as I have seen the software is much better now than it used to be,
Comments
same, i don't trust IK hardware at all now.
i'd go with the smallest of the audient's or, the smallest zoom u.
( i haven't tried it myself yet, but i have my eye on the rode AI micro (ultra compact),, teeny weeny, like jeans pocket teeny. albeit it isn't what you need for Hi-Z / DI guitar connecting
Thank you.
I’ll go check out the Audient, I remember having a zoom multi fx when I was 18. Oh I have a rode mic so that was interesting
I've just gone back to my Line 6 Sonic port VX (the VX is the one with the built in mic and, crucially a headphone socket). I did actually want to use at the mic, but it's still a good sized unit for guitar in bed. My other favourite, for just guitar, is a Fender slide interface, again pretty old, but you can pick them up cheap and they are compact and straightforward.
I can't remember if I've used them direct to USB-C as I generally use them with a usb-c splitter (PD and 1x USB 2 socket). The Sonic port is micro usb (as well as bespoke lightning MFI connection), the Slide is mini usb.
Whilst I'm here, I also continue to use, a TC Helicon Go Solo and, even more ancient, a Sonoma Guitarjack 2 - I have these both attached to different guitars and both are very small, light and reliable - again, not USB-C, but you can adapter your way around that without too much trouble.
I should also mention the Mighty Plug Pro, which is more of an app controlled headphone amp - I love it for 'no setup' bed playing. It CAN work as an interface, but that's a bit more of a challenge as you need a hefty (2A plus) power source (for lightning at least) and some setup in the app. The output connection on the Pro is USB-C, the older non pro version is usb micro.
I recommend the apogee jam
I have the Apogee Jam and it sounds excellent but it sometimes reverts to the lowest input level unexpectedly, triggered by something in Logic Pro. I’m not sure whether that happens with other DAWs.
I haven’t had that issue (Cubasis and Zenbeats)… maybe it’s the DAW changing the resolution? Or something?
I had the Apogee Jam+ at home for a day and from what I remember the latency was more or less the same as the IKM iRig HD2 had. (RTL 16ms at 48kHz/64 samples). This could be a deal breaker for many guitarists (including me).
I have NuX MPP and can confirm that you will need an external power source (USB hub) if you have iPad with Lightning.
Newer USB-C iPads shouldn't have problem to powering MPP. I'm using MPP along with my iPad Air 2022 without any issues.
There is one shortcoming that bothers me. If you want to tracking with software ampsims (Nembrini, ToneX, ..) you will have to run Mighty or Mightier app at first and set wet to 100% in USB settings. And use completely empty MPP preset slot of course.
If you are satisfied for what MPP provide itself (sims, effects) you don't need this initial "dance".
I bought a Fender Mustang Micro for that purpose. It’s a standalone micro amp for playing guitar with 10 or so quite decent amp models and a bunch of FX. It has a headphone Jack for quiet jamming and you can stream Bluetooth audio to it for playing along. It has a USB C jack which becomes an audio interface when you plug it into a host. It works great with my M1 USB C iPad and Loopy Pro, AUM etc.
One downside is the audio interface is input only - it won’t send iPad audio through the Mustang Micro headphone Jack and Bluetooth output has a lot of latency. I work around this by using a hub with the MM and a headphone adapter. If you plug in the headphones after the MM they show up as an audio output.
The Mustang Micro is a pretty sweet little unit for casual guitar practice and recording. If you want really high quality recordings you will want something else - and a lot more cables.
I've bought two of those iRigs on Amazon. Pretty sure they were both knockoffs. Both broke pretty quickly.
I've just ordered the little Rode interface a few days ago but it's coming from China so I won't see it for a few weeks.
@wingwizard to clarify, are you looking for a device you can use without any software, as in plug in guitar and headphones and it works by itself and has sims/fx inside of it? Or do you intend to plug it in as an interface to an iOS device?
This might work…
https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/accessories/mvi_disc?variant=MVI-DIG
How did you determine the latency? 16ms is surprising to me with a buffer of 64 (it would be surprising even with a buffer of 512)
For the iRig HD 2 on an iPad 6, AUM reports round-trip latency of 4.67 ms. The one way latency is 2.33 ms (1 ms device + 1.33 due to the buffer)
With this Onyx app. I have double checked results with RTL utility for Windows.
Referenced interface was my RME Babyface Pro FS. The RME is faster on Win than on iOS probably thanks to native ASIO drivers. (2nd screenshot)
I already commented latency in some thread here but can't find it now. So here is my results again:
I’ve been having a think about this as a few products I didn’t know about came up - I didn’t know about headphone amps. And built in sims.
It’s like this I think:
Thanks
it’s really confusing
Fender mustang mini seems like a hassle to use for my primary use, an extra hub is kind of defeating the point of the ease of setup and simplicity. The Amps sound really good
Nuxx, the amps are ok not great, it works as an audio interface I think but not sure how well, latency
Irig it’s possible but don’t trust ik
Apogee jam—- actually I found a very old original jam after posting. It only had the original 30 pin lead. They don’t manufacture the usb one anymore. And I’m in the uk. I called the distributor here and they put me through to an apogee tech who looked around found one left somewhere and said he’ll send it to me for free so I can see if that works. Was very cool of him though as such a long shot
To be honest it’s all quite expensive guven im not looking for a full on audio interface for recording more for sketching and writing. I saw a few people mention a tc helicon thing, I dunnnnnoooo
The other one was a positive grid riff. I read that it has built in gate, probably to juice the signal to noise specs, and no firmware can adjust it. Makes some odd cutting noises, not major but annoying
So I’m a bit confused
For what you want, I think an iRig HD 2 would fit the bill. Small/light , not too expensive and better quality than the pre-lightning iRigs.
What about this one?
https://www.positivegrid.com/products/riff
I’ll go into more depth later, but to play along with your tracks you need to have a directing monitoring blend option that’s on the Jam + or Jam X, or perhaps an iRig that offers iOS compatible loopback. In short, look for a used Jam + or Jam X, they can be found for 100-125. more later…
Thanks, yeah I’ve not recorded with guitar in a few years been on piano and stuff so I’m kind of trying to think how I’d prefer to play along. Decided to get myself a mini amp and one of these interfaces for different reasons.
But with the interface and direct monitoring: does that mean though that I’m getting my guitar signal nude… I mean before it’s gone to iPad and different amp sims and stuff. I hadn’t considered that but just read and the positive grid riff was describing it like that… which is rubbish. Hmm. I never worried about this before as the iPad had a headphone socket. Now do people have to buy a usb c to usb a plus 3.5 mm adaptor 😂 whcih im sure doesn’t exist so… maybe what someone here described with a hub and etc etc etc good grief. Or some Frankenstein usb splitter, usb to usb c, usb to jack god knows what.
This is why I wasn’t sure how I want to do it….
On an iPad with a headphone jack, you can just wire up a socket and a plug and it works fine as an audio input. That’s all the iRig was. I don’t know if that would work with a dongle though.
The point of those tiny interfaces is that they have a headphone socket of their own and sometimes with a better headphone amp/driver than what comes with iOS devices. In fact I use the apogee for non-recording (YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, etc…) headphone playback with my iOS devices because it sounds so good and solves the headphone issue.
In terms of playing along, it’s so much easier than you think. Why not just have a daw/aum open and play your recorded tracks, and on a separate track just have your guitar sim not armed to record but going out to the same out as your recorded tracks. That’s the definition of playing along and you don’t need any special devices.
unlike the above, direct monitoring blends your nude guitar signal with your processed playback, while loopback is for playing along to YouTube videos or live streams.
Oh yeah I do that with other instruments all the time it’s just all the different scenarios and the need for headphones (post signal chain) as otherwise my out is iPad speakers. Finding the right sound for a song etc and I wouldn’t write without that as it’s not good imo
Sorry i was wondering which hub you use?
Do you know why you have to plug th eheadphones in after?