IK Multimedia has announced that they are now shipping iRig Pads, their new portable MIDI groove controller for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as Mac OS X and Windows PCs.
iRig Pads is designed to be effortlessly portable. It's smaller than an iPad and less than 1" thick. It has a slim, compact form factor and it's lightweight, which means that it can be slipped into any iPad or laptop bag or backpack and carried around with ease. For maximum portability, iRig Pads is a low energy consumption device - it draws its power directly from its host device and does not need a power source to be fully functional. It can be used with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch via its included Lightning cable (30-pin connector sold separately) without the need of an adapter as well as Mac and PC via its included USB cable.
At the heart of iRig Pads is its 4x4 grid of 16 velocity-sensitive, backlit multicolor rubber pads. Each pad lights up in three different colors - red, green and orange - to match your playing with the MIDI information coming from your chosen music app or software.
Its full spread of controls - two knobs, two buttons, one slider and one push-button rotary encoder - let you get creative. All controls are MIDI assignable and customizable: Up to 16 distinct MIDI maps or "scenes" can be saved, which allows for full control of apps and software on stage or in the studio. iRig Pads comes with 6 pre-programmed scenes designed to work with many of your favorite apps and software right out of the box.
Apps for Beats, Loops, Decks and more
To help you get in the groove, IK is working to make iRig Pads the controller for beats, loops and more by adding support for a growing suite of powerful apps and software. iPhone and iPad users will be able to make beats out of the box with the included SampleTank free, and they'll soon be able to control grooves and launch loops with GrooveMaker 2 free for iPhone and iPad and remix their preferred tracks with DJ Rig free (all downloadable from the iTunes store).
On Mac/PC the included SampleTank 3 SE (worth $99.99/€79.99), available as a standalone and a plug-in virtual instrument for every major DAW, includes over 6.5 GB of sample contents, 400 instruments and 150 MIDI patterns, for a complete music production workstation, out of the box (coming soon as download from the IK user area). In addition, by registering their iRig Pads, users will be able to receive The Grid, an exclusive and free additional collection of 50 instruments (800 samples) and 50 MIDI patterns - designed exclusively for beat makers and groove performers who use iRig Pads - for SampleTank on iOS and Mac/PC (a value of $9.99/€7.99 for iOS and $39.99/€29.99 for Mac/PC).
iRig Pads is fully MIDI class-compliant, which means you can use it and customize its controls for use with virtually any MIDI-compatible app.
Pricing & Availability
iRig Pads is now available from music and electronics retailers worldwide for $149.99/€119.99 (excluding taxes) as well as on the IK online store.
Watch the iRig Pads overview video here.
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