What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?
I’ll be showing off my iRig 2 guitar interface, which is an adapter that lets me plug my guitar into my phone to use GarageBand to record guitars and bass!
How did you come across this particular item?
I saw them for super cheap at Musos Corner (the go-to music shop in Newcastle) and I was on the hunt for a cheap device that would let me record guitars. It was only about $60, and I had heard that they were pretty damn good for how cheap it was, so I grabbed one there and then.
What is it that you like about it so much?
They’re super small which means I can take it anywhere and make demos wherever I damn please. It’s also super easy to use – you literally plug in your guitar, then you plug the interface itself into your phone, fire up GarageBand and Bob’s your uncle – ready to record within seconds. The guitar tones you get aren’t amazing, but for $60 I think they’re more than decent.
How do you use it and how has it shaped the way you write music?
I’ve been using my iRig 2 for a couple of years now to make demos for Split Feed. I’ll record all guitar and bass parts through the interface and through GarageBand, then I’ll export the strings onto my computer and edit them (EQ, compression, panning etc.) on a software called FL Studio. Once this is done, I’ll punch some electronic drums over it just with samples, then I’ve got a pretty sweet-sounding demo. The quality isn’t anywhere near professional, but it’s just for reference to get an idea of the vibe of the track and for learning parts. Before I was using the iRig 2 I would just record the live guitar through the voice memos app (which I still do), then bring it to the boys at rehearsal where we would try and learn it all together which was quite time consuming, but now I can whip up a full demo in a couple of hours, send it to the guys and by next practice we’re jamming out the full thing.
Tell us a little about what you have coming up?
We’ve just released our new single ‘Dwell’, which is off our upcoming EP Second Skin. We’re super stoked with these tracks, we’ve been sitting on them all year and can’t wait to get them out on November 8th. From there we’ll be touring Australia again at the back end of the year so keep an eye out for tour dates real soon!
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