When we told you about Samsung's new Professional Audio System for Android last month, we'll admit that we wondered if it might turn out to be yet another false dawn for music making on Google's mobile platform. But lo and behold, it's enabled IK Multimedia to release a version of its AmpliTube amp/effects emulation app for a select number of Samsung Android devices.
The app enables you to construct a guitar rig comprising three stompboxes, an amp, a speaker cab and a mic. You can choose your kit pieces from a palette of 11 stompbox effects, five amplifiers with five cabinets, and two microphones. You can save and recall up to 15 presets, and there's also a digital tuner.
Also new is the iRig HD-A, a special Android version of IK's portable guitar interface. This offers a 24-bit/48kHz A/D converter, a direct high-impedance input for guitars or other instruments, and direct connection to the device via the included OTG cable (an additional USB cable is also available for use with PC).
Exclusive club
IK says that it's only Samsung's Professional Audio System - which enables real-time audio processing on Android without significant latency - that's made it possible to release this new version of AmpliTube; the downside of this is that it'll only run on certain Samsung devices. At the moment, the list of supported hardware includes just the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge, though the Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 3 and other devices will join the party soon.
All Samsung Professional Audio-compatible devices ship with SoundCamp, a mobile DAW, and AmpliTube can be run as a plugin within this app. It'll also function standalone.
AmpliTube for Android is available now via the Samsung Apps store priced at $19.99/€17.99, though not yet in every territory, it would seem. There are also free and LE versions, with the latter (which is valued at $9.99/€7.99) being available free to Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge users as a part of the Galaxy Gifts apps program.
The iRig HD-A interface is available via the IK Multimedia website priced at $99.99/€79.99. The standard analogue iRig interface and iRig Stomp guitar pedal interface are also compatible with Android devices.
