14 DAY TRIAL // Apogee Electronics has an accessory for future iPad 2 owners and musicians called the “Jam,” a pocket-sized, plug-and-play interface that takes advantage of the guitar amps and effects in Apple’s GarageBand, or other compatible applications that focus on music creation.
Not only iPad users, but iPhone and Mac owners will be able to rock to JAM come March 31st. The solution costs $99 - a price tag touted by Apogee Electronics as “unprecedented.”
Delivering pristine digital sound for ultimate guitar tone, JAM acts as a digital converter featuring PureDIGITAL technology which delivers the guitar’s true tone to the iPad or Mac.
Its makers say it is the first high-quality interface that makes a digital connection to both iOS devices and Mac.
“You will notice the sonic difference between JAM and other similar products immediately,” says Apogee.
An LED status level indicator allows users to easily tell which state the device is in, or whether they need to make some adjustments.
For example, a green light indicates the tool is ready to rock. A red light indicates “you are rocking too hard and you need to turn your gain down with the control knob,” Apogee explains. A blue light indicates that JAM is connected but not ready.
Featuring an input gain control knob, JAM allows for easy thumb access to dial in the level of the guitar. No need to access software.
Requirements on the iOS side include iPad, iPad 2 and iPhone 4, iOS 4.3 or later, a dock connector port (no batteries required) and an application to run with. Apogee says it’s “made for GarageBand,” Apple’s new music-making app for iPads.
According to the list of key features, the JAM has been specifically designed for electric guitar and bass, and features studio quality instrument preamp with up to 40dB of gain, 44.1kHz, 24-bit analog-to-digital conversion, and Auto Soft Limit for optimal input level.