Very Good Sounding Audio Interface For Mac
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Guitar players can be a bit of a traditional bunch at times. Vintage guitars are highly prized (and highly priced) and classic amps highly sought after. However, while there are probably lots of guitar players for whom digital amp modelling – in hardware or software – is something of a ‘I’m not going there’ subject, there are now a couple of generations of players who have grown up with the likes of Line 6, Zoom, Roland and a host of other mainstream guitar amp manufacturers who have embraced that technology. And, of course, that same amp modelling technology has found its way to iOS. So much so that, if you want a guitar amp sim app, then you are spoilt for choice as there are some excellent options with the likes of, and that offer something for pretty much everyone at a range of different prices. To use any of these apps to their full potential, however, you need to get a good quality audio signal into your iPhone or iPad.
You can do this via your iDevice’s mic/headphone combi jack and products such as the original and the AmpKit LiNK provide a very cost-effective way of doing just that. However, for slightly more money, you can also buy into much better audio quality using a device that connects to your iDevice’s docking port. I’ve reviewed a number of these products aimed specifically at guitar players in the past; the, the and the. All of these currently sell for around the UK£70 (or equivalent $/€ price). Equally, I’ve looked at that provides a compact guitar input/mic input/MIDI input device in a similar format at a slightly higher price (c. Put JAM on it There are other products that are also in this niche.
One of those is the Apogee JAM and, while this unit has been around for a while, I have not got around to rustling up a review unit. Thankfully, courtesy of Richard Poll at Sonic Distribution here in the UK, I’ve now got hold of a test unit to give it a try. In terms of audio I/O devices, Apogee have a reputation for building quality – often ‘high-end’ – products.
However, they now also have a very stylish range of devices aimed at the iOS musician. The Apogee JAM 96k; compact, study, stylish and delivering high-quality audio. There are actually two versions of the JAM; one that offers audio input up to 48kHz/24-bit (street price around UK£75) and the slightly more expensive JAM 96k that, unsurprisingly, offers audio up to 96kHz/24-bit (street price c. My own personal take on higher audio sampling rates (that is, anything above 44.1kHz/24-bit) is overkill when it comes to recording on an iPad (or, indeed, in most home/project studios) but that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from the higher quality audio input potentially offered by the hardware even if you only capture any subsequent recordings at somewhat lower sample rates. That said, for the purposes of this review, I was supplied with the JAM 96k. This is a very compact (the longest edge is just under 10cm in length) and stylish device with a metallic body and two plastic end pieces. At one end you get the proprietary connector to link to your iDevice while at the other is a standard 1/4” guitar jack socket.
The only other hardware features are a rotary gain control on the right side and a single multi-coloured LED that tells you when the device is plugged in and gives you visual feedback for setting your input signal level. The JAM is provided with three cables all of which feature a connector for the JAM itself at one end while at the other you get USB, 30-pin dock and Lightning dock. You can therefore use the JAM with a Mac (not a PC as far as I can tell), an older iDevice or one of the newer Lightning equipped iDevices. If you look back at the, the basic physical features and set of three cables supplied with the JAM provides a very similar configuration. If anything, the JAM, with its shiny metallic body, perhaps feels just slightly more study and swish. Anyway, it is very compact, would easily slip into your pocket or guitar case and seems robust enough to deal with being transported about. Don’t run it over or drop it from the 5th floor; otherwise it ought to give good service in normal use for a long time.
Tasty JAM Getting the JAM connected is simplicity itself and, as the unit doesn’t provide audio output (just input), you can simply plug in your normal headphones to your iDevice for personal practice or hook it up to some powered speakers and/or studio monitors so you can hear the end results. Incidentally, this is also the case with the iRig HD and iRig PRO, although the Line 6 Sonic Port does bring audio back out through the unit. Either way, it is easy enough to monitor what’s going on or pass the audio output on to somewhere else if required. The JAM 96k worked without any issue with both my iPhone 5 and iPad Air and with a range of different iOS music apps. In terms of audio quality, the JAM 96k didn’t disappoint.
Very Good Sounding Audio Interface For Mac Free
I auditioned it using a number of different guitar amp sim apps and the results were consistently very good indeed. Providing you take good care of the rest of your audio signal chain, the JAM 96k will capture your guitar output signal and deliver it fully intact into whatever software to have running on your iDevice.
The gain control offers more than enough level control to deal with a range of different guitars (different pickup outputs, etc.). Recorded as a dry DI signal into, the JAM 96k’s audio was full and very clear indeed. For the purposes of this review, I didn’t try the unit plugged into my iMac via USB but, if the audio quality produced via my iPad is anything to go by, then I’d have absolutely no problems using this interface as a means for recording guitar parts in my own commercial projects. It is very good indeed.
Do you want JAM on it? I didn’t have my iRig HD to hand when testing the Apogee JAM 96k (it’s packed away already in that regular readers here will already know about) but I did do a side-by-side with my iRig PRO.
Both sounded very good – and, of course, the iRig PRO has the added versatility of a phantom powered mic input and MIDI input – but while the differences were pretty minimal, I think I’d just give the JAM 96k a very slight edge as a guitar input. It’s subtle but, to my ears at least, the JAM’s output was just slightly fuller and with a touch more detail. That said, banged through a virtual Marshall stack with the gain wound up, you would be hard pushed to really tell a difference.
Given their very compact format, both devices do a stellar job. The unit is supplied with three diffeent cables so it will work with your Mac via USB or with 30-pin or Lightning-equipped iOS devices.
In summary Given the combination of build quality, audio performance and the very compact format, I’d have no hesitation in suggesting the Apogee JAM 96k for an iOS owning guitar player looking to get an easy-to-use, compact, yet high-quality guitar input for their iPhone, iPad or Mac. Perhaps my only qualifier to that comment would be based upon whether you are also a die-hard Line 6 fan and want to use the excellent Mobile POD app as your iOS guitar amp sim of choice. That app only works with Line 6’s own Sonic Port hardware.
The Apogee JAM 96k performed flawlessly for me and, if I didn’t already own similar devices for doing this job that are adequate for my own personal needs, then I’d happily stump up the asking price for this unit. Indeed, if I was just looking for a guitar input – as opposed to something with a wider range of connectivity options – I’m pretty sure the Apogee JAM would currently be at the top of my personal shopping list. It is a touch more expensive than the obvious competition but this is a class act. Very easy to recommend:-).
I’ve got the original Jam and can testify it is a great piece of kit. Simple and good sounding. I’ve always been a fan of Apogee gear. I sometimes have to pinch myself they now do stuff for iOS.
I’m really interested in the Duet and Quartet for iOS. Expensive though they are, it means I could hire a decent room with a piano in it, hook up a few mics and get on with easy recording on my iPad. John, do you think you could get your hands on a Duet or Quartet for review? In fact, doesn’t a Duet tick all those boxes when you previously described your ‘perfect’ interface?
Hi Robert, there are few rules here and micing up an amp is very much the traditional way of doing things. Providing you like the amp’s tone and your mic can capture that fairly accurately, then that’s great. Using a direct guitar input into your iOS device (or to any computer) just provides an alternative approach and then requires you to use some amp modelling software to create the final tone. The advantage of this route is that it is very flexible and also means you can record without making a lot of noise (which might disturb others around you).
The downside is that even the best guitar amp sims don’t have quite the vibe of a cranked valve amp:-) That said, within a mix, lots of people would be hard pushed to tell the difference. Hope this helps? Best wishes, John.