iRig Pads from IK Multimedia now in South Africa

The iRig Pads Controller from IK Multimedia has arrived in South Africa and is available through Tuerk Music Technologies in Joburg.

Get your Groove on – Anywhere

Portability is the name of the digital production game these days and the iRig Pads is an ultra-portable, universal MIDI groove controller for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and can also be used on a Mac or PC.

iRig Pads has 16 velocity-sensitive backlit pads, 2 editable push buttons, 2 assignable push buttons, a push button rotary encoder which is MIDI programmable, 2 MIDI programmable knobs and a MIDI programmable slider. It seems like the ideal companion for on-the-go electronic producers as you can launch loops, make beats or even mix like a DJ.

Ultra Portability – Ultra Low Power Consumption

iRig Pads is smaller than an iPad and is only 23 mm thick so it’ll fit comfortably into a small bag alongside your iPad without taking up too much real estate. But as often is the case with so-called portable devices it’s their power supplies are not factored in when companies boast about their portability. This is what’s great about iRig Pads. It has been designed for ultra lower power consumption which means it does not need a power adapter. Simply plug into your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch using the included Lightning cable or via USB for your Mac or PC and you’re ready to slam those beats. No PSU needed!

What’s in the box?

iRig Pads comes with the iOS version of Sample Tank, IK Multimedia’s powerful sound workstation which is packed with high quality sampled instruments, drums, loops and MIDI patterns. If you plan on using it on Mac or PC you can use Sample Tank SE, which can be downloaded from the IK Multimedia user area which gives you access to 6.5 GB of content, for over 400 instruments and 150 MIDI patterns.

And there’s more… iRig Pads users will apparently be able to register to receive ‘The Grid’ – this is an exclusive collection of 50 additional instruments (comprised of 800 samples for a total of over 300MB of sample content) and 50 MIDI patterns that can be downloaded from the user area for SampleTank 3 SE. They can also be used on SampleTank iOS, which will be unlockable from within the app.

Beatmaking, mashups or DJing

It seems like IK Multimedia have really thought this through in terms of who their potential market will be – basically anybody wanting to have some fun with their music will find a use for one of these!

iRig Pads caters for more than just beatmakers. Whilst Sample Tank is ideal for laying down new ideas and beats, there is also GrooveMaker 2, a free app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad which is cool for mashing up hip hop and dance music loops and grooves. For digital DJing there’s also the free DJ Rig app which is a full-featured DJ mixing app that taps into your iTunes library and is mapped to iRig Pads to manage the pitch control, EQs, effects and volume sliders direct from the controller.

Compatibility

The iRig Pads sounds cool but not everybody wants to use it with IK Multimedia’s proprietary software. The good news is that it is fully compliant with any MIDI-compatible app such as FL Studio Mobile, iMPC Pro or GarageBand. Naturally on PC or MAC all music software supports MIDI so that’s a given.

Features at a Glance

Ultra-portable MIDI pad controller and groove production station for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch plus Mac and PC
Extremely small size with a slim form factor that can be taken with you anywhere
16-velocity-sensitive backlit rubber pads that light multiple colours depending on velocity and outgoing and incoming MIDI messages
Two MIDI knobs, two pushbuttons, one slider and a pushbutton rotary encoder, all programmable
16 user-programmable MIDI scenes for instant recall of custom MIDI maps
Features pre-programmed MIDI scenes for SampleTank for iPhone and iPad with more coming soon
Fully MIDI class-compliant
Perfect for making beats, cueing loops and DJing
Lightning connector and USB cable included, 30-pin cable available separately
Expression/sustain pedal input
USB port can supply power when connected to iOS devices for no battery drain