NAMM News: iRig™ PRE & iKlip™ Studio Announced!

[loungedumore]

I hear you guys, and really do appreciate the feedback and ideas. This is definitely a fast-moving market and the tools we are releasing can be brought to you more quickly. That's not the whole idea, of course, and we do have the iRig MIDI so there's hope for 30-pin in the future. We'll have to keep you posted on things like that, and I hope I can even keep my finger on the pulse of what's going on day to day with this market to be honest. It is really competitive and really agile and we're still keeping up best we can.

If you guys want to build the ultimate Dock I would go with a USB hub as core first that way it's expandable . FLat with an easel type holder so form factor can change and the product could still be relevant .
In the Hub way of thinking you could add stereo lines and midi i/o per port ala cart ( think Alesis audio link / E-MU Xmidi 1x1 tab's )

I would go with standard usb cable to a slimmer CCK type 30 pin end ( that way it could be replaced if iPad 3 or 4 goes thunderbolt or elsewhere )

Also Power charging for the iPad should have a switch to be optional - after all these things have a 1000 cycle charge life. .


BTW You guys and quite a few others are going with these 1/8 1/4 / etc. trs to 5 pin din midi connections on lots of devices these days ...Is there someone you know of going to be selling these after market anytime soon ?

[Brian @ IK Multimedia]

We aren't opposed to bringing you the ultimate iOS interface, of course. But if you go to your local consumer electronics retailer, you'll see there are tons of small, mostly inexpensive accessories for mobile devices which generally serve a specific purpose. That is the bulk of the mobile accessories market, and we offer products which cater to tailored needs similarly, while delivering the optimum quality/price ratio. These are products that address specific holes in the marketplace, which is why they have proven to be so popular. We recognize a demand exists for many of these frequent requests we see from you guys, too.

[loungedumore]

We aren't opposed to bringing you the ultimate iOS interface, of course. But if you go to your local consumer electronics retailer, you'll see there are tons of small, mostly inexpensive accessories for mobile devices which generally serve a specific purpose. That is the bulk of the mobile accessories market, and we offer products which cater to tailored needs similarly, while delivering the optimum quality/price ratio. These are products that address specific holes in the marketplace, which is why they have proven to be so popular. We recognize a demand exists for many of these frequent requests we see from you guys, too.

Indeed and I agree hence the idea that it would be more of a Hub based device that could be very simple or more complex per user demand and not so Fixed ( which considering how apple moves that's not a bad idea for it's own sake )
Just a thought .

BTW Is that a IDK on the after market cables ? I figure there is a good chance some of you guys ( IK and other devs ) are getting these from the same people ?

[Sascha Franck]

Check out the new Tascam iU2!
XLR,line,instrument inputs,MIDI I/O,spdif out, and....


Connects thought the dock.

Oh wow! That is pretty much *exactly* what I expected some company to come up with! No more need for different interfaces on the road. All neccessary connections (well, ok, no usb hosting for, say, a small USB keyboard you may already own - that'd just be kickass) AND compatible with your lap/desktop.
Pretty much what the doctor ordered.
Now all I need to see is how it competes in terms of latency.
And well, it'd really be even better if it had two mic ins. But I guess they want to sell their iM2...
Anyway, in case the latency figures are acceptable (and the price, too), I'm defenitely sold as well.

To the IKMM folks: You should probably listen even more to your customers in the future.

- Sascha

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

We do. There are and have been MANY different concepts, ideas, etc. Some are still in the works, some are not, some I'm sure I haven't even heard of at all myself. However, market dictates what comes out first and judging by the success of iRig and the like and the speed to market factor in. Basically, KVR is a large site but when it comes to mobile accessories there is also a large base of consumers that will never visit this site that also factor into the decision.

Personally? Many of us even within the company would of course like to see more things like StompIO or even more fantastic ideas come to life but we'll have to balance and make decisions that see things like this come out in the short term and hopefully different more niche products come out too.

[Aural Chaos]

And well, it'd really be even better if it had two mic ins.

- Sascha

Well, then I guess it IS even better. Check the specs - "Two XLR mic inputs with phantom power"

[Dogboy73]

Check out the new Tascam iU2!
XLR,line,instrument inputs,MIDI I/O,spdif out, and....

Connects thought the dock.

That's it! That's what I want! That's what I've always wanted for my iPad. On the face of it - sold to me anyone want buy an IK iRig MIDI? You're right, Peter. This is a fast moving market!

[Sascha Franck]

We do. There are and have been MANY different concepts, ideas, etc. Some are still in the works, some are not, some I'm sure I haven't even heard of at all myself. However, market dictates what comes out first and judging by the success of iRig and the like and the speed to market factor in.

Well, iRig was a success - I know. Fine. And you've been the first. Also fine. But iRig is not exactly great. If you compare it to AmpLink, the latter is miles ahead in terms of sound (sure, you need batteries, but IK realised that this is the way to go, too). Other products followed, all better, too. So, in the end, you were first but the competition did the better product.
Now you come up with a whole bunch of other gadgets - and even if folks have been constantly asking for dock connections, combined devices and what not, with the exception of the iRig MIDI, you offer headphone connected devices only, and you also only offer one trick ponys.
IMHO you could've been able to read the sign of the times. Assuming latency and converters of the Tascam are halfway decent, the iU2 is *IT* for just about any mobile musician. I hope they already built several thousands of them because I just want it right now! No, I wanted it yesterday. I wanted such a thing every since I got my iPhone. And there will be thousands of other musicians that think the same. Not a single sane person will buy your iRig MIDI anymore when there's the Tascam. And there's high chances that very little folks will buy your other headphone connected things when there's the Tascam. Basically, you can already start to cut the production down.

This is all because you didn't see the sign of the times but Tascam did.

And regarding the fast moving market - well, an iPhone 3GS is already (and still) quite capable in terms of mobile audio fun. That's almost 3 years old already. In fact, I have been already wondering why nobody came up with a device like the Tascam for so long, espcially on what is indeed a fast moving (and growing!) market.
As said, in case latency, converters and price are acceptable, that iU2 will be a huge winner.

Well, then I guess it IS even better. Check the specs - "Two XLR mic inputs with phantom power"

Oh - seems I only briefly looked at them. Fantastic!

- Sascha

Edit/P.S.: The iU2 is supposed to be $149. iRig MIDI is around $70. iRig PRE around 40 (mono only and headphone connected), iRig STOMP is around 60 (ok, it has that bypass switch, but otoh it's headphone connected, so let's call that a tie). The combination of those would be a plug in/out madness, a lump of cables and what not. And it'd still be more expensive.

[Sascha Franck]

Btw, you IKMM folks should make Amplitube dock compatible. You've almost certainly lost me as a hardware customer, but in case Amplitube doesn't go dock, you will as well lose someone buying your software.

- Sascha

[Dogboy73]

. Assuming latency and converters of the Tascam are halfway decent, the iU2 is *IT* for just about any mobile musician. I hope they already built several thousands of them because I just want it right now! No, I wanted it yesterday. I wanted such a thing every since I got my iPhone. And there will be thousands of other musicians that think the same.

I'm one of them. Been talking about this exact device since before the IO Dock appeared and here it is. Great price as well. This is absolutely the interface I always wanted for the iPad. Now! providing it all works okay this is the one I'll be buying

[ObiWonder]

Are you planning to sell the stand (iKlip Studio for iPhone) separately?

Thanks.

No, not currently, but possibly in the future.


@sascha frank The new iRig STOMP has active circuitry to help with any feedback, cross talk issues and allows you to integrate AmpliTube in with your current guitar pedals.

[Sascha Franck]

@sascha frank The new iRig STOMP has active circuitry to help with any feedback, cross talk issues and allows you to integrate AmpliTube in with your current guitar pedals.

That is all fine and dandy. But I'll rather buy something suiting all my needs instead of a one trick pony. As easy as that. And it seems that quite some people will do the same.
With iRig STOMP i can do exactly one thing: Recording guitars (and probably basses). With the iU2 I can basically record anything (practically all sorts of audio signals and MIDI). Most likely at better quality, too.
Sorry, but that's the way it is.

- Sascha

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

No need to apologize, what works for you is cool. All of these products will continue to coexist and all will likely flourish inside and outside the KVR microcosm. We're cool with what we do and what others do and glad you have found your utopia where you can flourish (be it an audio interface, an online community, or whatever that may be). Your bumps to our threads are also appreciated, even when you're selling for another company with those posts. We're confident enough that our products will flourish too since we've received such positive feedback and respect Tascam too, so no probs. Enjoy whatever helps you achieve your artistic vision and what you feel helps the online community at large.

[Sascha Franck]

Your bumps to our threads are also appreciated, even when you're selling for another company with those posts.

Hm, that reads as a sneaky sidemark. Or whatever.
Thing is, you start threads in which you drool about your products quite a bit. And well, even quite some threads.
That's all fine with me. But in case someone might be "fooled" into buying your products because of that sort of "hype", I feel it's my right to tell people to get something more suitable for their needs. Otherwise all they'd do is to waste some money.

I seriously don't know whether I should say something such as "I feel sorry for IKMM for wasting such an amount of precious development time". I really don't know. Perhaps I even feel sorry. Simply because some of your products might end up being a waste of time and money.
But then, I do as well see why that is the case. And IMO part of the reasons is that you were ignorant. Sorry, but that's the way it looks like.
I may repeat myself, but people don't want to carry around a whole bunch of one trick ponys. They want something more compatible. And (probably) apart from that mixer thingy, not a single IKMM iDevice gadget is anything else but a one trick pony.

Take myself as an example. I'm an electric guitar player mainly. But occasionally I want to plug in a mic and record whatever else. And I may as well want to connect my MIDI keyboard and record something. Do I want to buy 3 devices for all these things to happen, especially when I'm already used to the comfort of "normal computer" interfaces? NO way!
The same goes for, say, keyboarders. They may lust after a MIDI interface in the first place. But once they also use their iPads/iPhones to generate sound, they certainly want a decent audio out. Do you have anything on offer for them? The answer is no.
Etc. etc.

So, while you may have certain sour feelings towards me (which I may even understand), I can perfectly explain *why* IKMM has lost it on so many levels. Just by the event of a single competitors device being released. You'd better start to think about what would happen if the competition gets stronger (which it certainly will).
Being the first (which you've been in some aspects) doesn't help. And developing things that are not along the lines of what musicians want won't help you, either. And your devices aren't what musicians want. You just sold some of them because there was no competition. Now that there is some serious competition, you will sell a whole lot less. If at all.

- Sascha

[kurrykid]

Don't you think Sascha that there is room in the world for more than one device? I think it's a little ignorant on your behalf to think that because you like something so much, that you can say that everyone will have the exact same perspective as you and that there is NO room for any other player in the industry.

IK is going to do what they feel they need to do. People will buy their products because they are good products. To continue to come on here and put down IK is just getting old. Have your opinion but the bottom line is there is still MAC's and PC's in the world even though most users on either side would be willing to fight over it.

IK is continuing to create some pretty innovative products and yes sometimes in business, you are going to miss the mark but that's part of the process. If you like Tascam's product that's awesome...the fact is I do too and will probably buy it myself. However, to constantly keep beating the drum and telling IK how sorry you feel for them...well that's a little childish and not really reality IMHO.

Beside, I'm sure IK's bank account would have an argument for you as well

Please note...I do not work for IK.