Using an iPhone as an Amp and Pedalboard revisited

[Tim Toberer]

I am just curious if anyone does this? This was my original idea when I decided to try to incorporate digital technology into my music. My first attempt failed because I was trying to use GarageBand free amps and pedals to play live through an amp and all I got was annoying latency. With my new "Amp" I am trying again. viewtopic.php?t=409272

Why do this? Well I don't know I may not end up keeping this, just sort of experimenting. My idea is that I want something compact and versatile as well as portable for playing, practicing and recording. I am also trying to eliminate the need for a studio space which I don't really have, as well as needing a separate computer with monitors which cost money! Since I will always need and have a phone anyway, why not use it for this. It seems it should be capable. All of the setups and descriptions of Phone or iPad rigs are really clumsy so I am trying to streamline it a bit. Here is a video that describes one mans setup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzdvZMlOB8Y I think the latency is eliminated by running out of the headphone jack on the phone (which my phone doesn't have). Any ideas on the best way to set this up? I want to use the interface built into my amp instead of the iRig. The new iRig has an Amp out

[Bill A. Moore]

There are adapters to use an 1/8" plug to the Iphone "Lightning" connector. (Never used one!)

[Tim Toberer]

There are adapters to use an 1/8" plug to the Iphone "Lightning" connector. (Never used one!)

I saw those, and may try that. It seems like something should work, but it is a bit tricky. I have a few different adapters coming so we'll see.

[Tim Toberer]

Since I want a stereo connection I think I can use the 1/8 stereo input on the back of my power amp coming from the headphone out on my interface so I wouldn't need the headphone out on the phone. I will have to try it and see. Seems like what this guy is doing in this video, only he is using a mono out on the back of the interface https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iYxshswtdA

[Tim Toberer]

I may have discovered a problem. I am using a lightning to usb power adapter and for some reason my interface isn't getting enough power. It just flashes. I am using a "genuine" apple adapter, but it either a fake, broken, or the problem is my lightning charger cable isn't up to the task. These are the sorts of issues that cause me to want to scrap the whole thing, but I will persist.

[Tim Toberer]

Not sure if anyone is interested in this lol, but I did get to work with the usual unacceptable latency. Probably at least a half a second. I bypassed the problematic lightning camera dongle and plugged phone and interface into a USB hub. This is becoming a real rats nest! Maybe I could find a little dock for the phone and stuff the whole mess in my amp.

I downloaded Amplitube and will play around with the settings, rearrange some cables, to see if I can improve the latency. It seems the same, maybe slightly better than GarageBand which conveniently has no way to adjust the buffer size. Most likely I need a new more powerful phone with a usb-c instead of the annoying lightning connector.

[Fred Treece]

I have thought about the same thing - getting pedals off the floor, eliminating rig loading and setup time, then having to re-plant everything back in the home studio. I even used to make diagrams of my stage layout like the guy in the video, for when I was trying to run both guitar and steel through one or two amps and one fx unit or two.

I settled on the Katana 100 and an ABY switch for live performance and I am now considering the Katana Air for home studio.

I get it, you are a DIY kinda guy. I am too. But it gets to the point (for me anyway) where I want to be done with all the technical stuff and just get back to practicing and playing some music.

I couldn’t find any amp models in Amplitube that made me think, “Eureka”. The FxFloorboard software for the original Katana 100 (like mine) provides a pedalboard type layout on a computer screen for a very wide range of Boss effects, and clean Fender/Marshall-ish tones are easily tweaked with various preamp controls.

I don’t have the Katana Air, but you might ask around for how people are using it, because it sounds to me like somebody has already put your rig together. The prices for used are all
over the place, and new they’re not cheap.
https://articles.boss.info/go-wireless- ... 1751472265

And as always, good luck and ‘scuse me if you’ve already done this homework.

[Tim Toberer]

I settled on the Katana 100 and an ABY switch for live performance and I am now considering the Katana Air for home studio.

I get it, you are a DIY kinda guy. I am too. But it gets to the point (for me anyway) where I want to be done with all the technical stuff and just get back to practicing and playing some music.

I have been looking at the Katana stuff and it is probably the closest to what I am envisioning. That or maybe the Spark. These are really forward thinking products and I kind of wish I would have just gone this way earlier. I may still but I am at the point where buying new things doesn't seem to solve my problems. The main difference with the amps mentioned and what I am putting together are the mic preamps. I want the option to run both mic and guitar through the same amp, something more like the Acoustronic or a Busker amp like the Roland Street. My steel guitars are acoustic with a pickup, so I want to blend mic and mag pickup, and also have the option to sing and play guitar through it. The thing I like about incorporating the interface is it has this option, with 48v phantom power, as well as some other unique features that normal guitar amps don't have. Setting it up this way using computer software like Amplitube and GarageBand will force me to learn to use this stuff. That is the idea anyway, but I think I need a new phone which I would need anyway.

I am gonna try it through my wife's newer phone and my desktop to see if the latency is improved. I am not sure what the source is. Putting effects into the front of the amp is very straightforward, but adding them in through the interface with the software seems to create alot of issues for me. Mostly because I am not a computer guy at all and I get frustrated easily. I went back to the amp yesterday and spent 2 hours just trying to get a sound through the thing. Not sure what happened, but it almost went out the window!

The DIY stuff is really just my obsessive nature around things that may have my attention at any given time. I love to tinker, but I get to the point where I realize the juice isn't worth the squeeze and I scrap the whole thing and try to figure out if I learned anything. Sometimes I actually make something I am happy with.

[Fred Treece]

Good luck, Tim. I’ll be looking forward to the results you settle on, so make sure you post pictures here with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what they mean

[Ian Worley]

Have you considered something like this? https://www.sonicake.com/products/pocket-master

You can control it with your phone via bluetooth, or with USB C cable, USB midi also. It's an extra piece of hardware, but a very compact, flexible and inexpensive piece.

[Fred Treece]

Have you considered something like this? https://www.sonicake.com/products/pocket-master

“it can make your playing sound more attractive.”
Modern passive-aggressive salesmanship at its finest, right there. Looks like an interesting little gadget though.

[Tim Toberer]

Have you considered something like this? https://www.sonicake.com/products/pocket-master

You can control it with your phone via bluetooth, or with USB C cable, USB midi also. It's an extra piece of hardware, but a very compact, flexible and inexpensive piece.

I saw Larry's post on those. Pretty neat little device and I am sure it does sound good. I have this unit https://shop.valeton.net/products/gp-200lt which way more than covers my needs. I don't really need Amplitube, I just like the idea of having everything in my phone. My current phone won't even load Amplitube, so I think this idea is on hold for a bit. I will keep playing around with it on my ipad and desktop, but the latency is so bad it sounds like slapback. Could be my interface, not sure.

[Nathan Pocock]

I have used a spark mini for traveling. It’s really small, control it from your iPhone or just save the patches you need. You can go stereo mini out into a sound system. It’s actually not bad for practice too, the speaker can get a little overloaded by the steel but it does work. I’ve used it for hotel room practice on the road or just jamming with a couple guys low volume style. There is a setting for high output pickups which you will probably need to use. I think it’s a better option than the phone but it gives you lots of amps/pedals/effects to try out.

[Tim Toberer]

I spent another hour trying to get a sound out of Amplitube on my iPad and I have had enough. I went through a number of posts related to this issue and even went through a long troubleshooting checklist. Nothing works. I deleted the app for now. My iPad is a few years old and probably not equipped for this anyway, so once I get my new phone I may try again.

This is cool technology, but it seems much more suited to recording where you would just record a clean track and manipulate it after the fact. It seems most people are not using it for live performance and I can see why.