2010 Summer NAMM Show: Sonoma Wire Works, makers of the FourTrack recording app, has announced the GuitarJack audio interface for the iPhone & iPod touch.
GuitarJack lets you connect a wide range of instruments, microphones, and other audio hardware to iPod touch (2nd and 3rd generation), iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G via 1/4 inch instrument and 1/8 inch stereo mic/line inputs.
GuitarJack lists at $199 and is expected to ship in Q3 2010.
Note: Sonoma notes that GuitarJack is not Apple certified on iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G. iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G will display the following message: “This accessory is not made to work with iPhone. Would you like to turn on airplane mode to reduce audio interference? You will not be able to make or receive calls.” Sonoma Wire Works recommends that you turn on airplane mode whenever recording on an iPhone. It is also not compatible with iPhone 4 or iPad.
I can understand Sonoma not wanting to make you pay an Apple tax to get their device Apple certified. But $199 seems pretty high for a device that isn’t compatible with Apple’s latest generation of devices – and one that will give you a warning message every time you try to use it.
GuitarJack Features:
- 1/4 inch instrument input with configurable pad, Lo-Z and Hi-Z modes
- 1/8 inch stereo mic/line input with pad, normal and boost modes
- Each input has 60dB of continuous level control
- 1/8 inch stereo output with increased drive for headphones
- Sleek and rugged metal shell
- 30 pin connector compatible only with iPod touch (2nd and 3rd generation), iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G
GuitarJack controls in FourTrack allow recording in these modes:
- Instrument (1/4 inch) mono
- Mic/Line (1/8 inch) mono, dual-mono or stereo
- Both inputs, with the instrument input and the mic/line input (right channel) recording to separate tracks
Pretty sure it is more than just getting a stamp from Apple. I've used many devices that display this message. They are typically devices that were designed for an Ipod, now being used on an Iphone. The issue is if the device will pick up the horrendous interference from the mobile transmission. Airplane mode turns off that transmission.
Wow, all that difficulty with compatability takes this from being potentially cool to totally lame. There is no way I would shell out that much cash for an accessory that is not going to work if/when I upgrade my iPod/Phone/Pad
Closed platform fail.
I agree, for $199 i could get so many more cool items or apps or who knows what that I wouldn't have to jimmy rig in some way to get to work properly…
FAIL!
This is unbelievably overpriced. The AmpliTube iRig is $40 and works through the headphone jack, taking advantage of it's 3 channels (normally for the microphone) and I believe there is a similar device ready to hit the market soon. You could also roll your own very easily using a standard AV phono cable (like the one apple sells). Using an XLR impedence matcher on the line in is the secret, as apparently a different impedence level will cause the iPhone to inadvertantly stop recognizing the input.
For a detailed list of GuitarJack features and how it compares to other devices, I invite you to check out this forum post:
http://www.sonomawireworks.com/forums/viewtopic.p…
I've used my ipad2 several times for music production,but only as a sketch pad..and I recommend it for only that. 199.99 is WAY too much for a device that shows a "error message" let alone working correctly just to lay down a few ideas…
Ps
I am looking for something like this device,but way way cheaper