December 31, 2011

JamUp Pro JamPlug Review

Perhaps you recall I made a video review of one of the first guitar interfaces for the iPhone, the iRig. Since then, several other companies have jumped on the guitar interface and iPhone app bandwagon.

I recently came across the JamPlug and JamUp Pro app, made by Positive Grid, and I have tested it briefly on my iPhone. I'm quite impressed.

The JamPlug itself is a light little thing. It's about as thick as the iPhone, and it's plastic. It has a 1/8â€³ headphone, and a 1/4â€³ instrument jack, and the stereo jack that goes into your iPhone. I don't know how well it will hold up, but with something like this, you'll have to be careful so you don't wreck your phone or input jack - these things are not as sturdy as a real amp!

The JamPlug has a lego design underneath, not sure why, but it looks kind of cool that way.

After I plugged in the JamPlug, I started the JamUp Pro app that I had downloaded on the app store. The software is impressive overall. It's easy to find an amp and an effect. I have the old 3GS iPhone, and it's a bit slow with the latest iOS installed, but it still worked quite well for this.

When you want to adjust an amp's setting, you tap the amp icon once and you get an up-close view of the settings. It works the same with the pedals. You can put pedals in any order you want, and you can also drag pedals in or out of the chain. If you want to change the pedal or the amp, tap it twice. This will take you to a screen that has all the pedals or amps.

Also included is a metronome, and you will find an input volume slider available as well.

As for the tones, I was quite impressed. The Plexi tone was fun to play with! For a guitar amp in a phone, it's pretty darn good! The AC30 sounded nice too. The Fenders were okay, but I liked them the least.

Compared to the iRig? Well, both sound good. There is no way to say which sounds better, in my opinion. They are different, and the software interface is a main difference. I found that I like the JamUp Pro interface better - it seems more intuitive to me.

Buy The JamPlug

Get it on iTunes

You can get it on iTunes by clicking here.

You can also get it via Amazon.

How Does It Sound?

By Robert Renman - www.dolphinstreet.com

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Posted by Robert Renman on December 31, 2011