Your Apple Mobile Device is Essential Gear for Making Music

By

GuitarConnect
iPhone as amp & effect box

iShred LIVE, a free application from Frontier Design Group, and GuitarConnect, from the venerable peripherals company Griffin Technology look to raise the bar for making Apple’s flagship portable devices essential pieces of gear for musicians of any skill level.

The $30 GuitarConnect cable features a 1/4″ spur that connects easily into guitars, basses, or any instrument with a 1/4″ input, and a stereo 1/8″ mini-plug that connects directly to iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad for use with audio applications such as iShred LIVE. The 6 foot cable provides an additional stereo 1/8″ mini-jack to connect headphones or audio cable for connection to a home stereo, amp, mixer, or other audio source.

iShred LIVE (iTunes Link) is a mobile app with amp modeling and stomp box effects for guitar, bass, and other instruments, letting users play real instruments through their device.

The app features a built-in amp simulator with clean and overdrive settings for tonal color, and a bank of pedal effects with fully adjustable controls for accurate reproductions of classic guitar tones.

iShred LIVE ships with three effects included free:

• HK-2000 Digital Delay (with tap tempo)
• Q-36 Space Modulator/Flanger
• Buzz Kill (noise gate)

Players can also download additional effects through in-app purchase:

• Hot Fuzz (super fuzz pedal)
• Sybil (dual chorus)
• Trembler (variable waveform tremolo)
• Adrenaline (adjustable treble booster)
• Kömpressör (compressor pedal)

iShred LIVE also features essential tools that could make the app a musician’s favorite:

• sound settings can be saved in one of 48 user-programmable presets
• a chromatic tuner allows quick and accurate tuning
• the adjustable metronome includes tap tempo and selectable accent sounds
• a looping audio player allows users to play along with any song in their device’s music library.

If making music using Apple’s portable devices is your thing, you’ll want to look into these new products that bring advanced creative tools to the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

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