Specifications

Manufacturer:
Native Instruments, native-instruments.com

List Price:
$119.00

Originally published in Guitar World, Holiday 2009

For less than you'd pay for a trendy Ultrasupermega Distortion pedal,
Guitar Rig Mobile provides enough pro-quality tones to last a lifetime.

If you have a computer and play guitar, you probably own some type of amp and effect emulation software by now. If you don’t, Native Instruments’ new Guitar Rig Mobile eliminates all excuses for not hopping on the bandwagon. Guitar Rig Mobile is a small I/O audio interface that’s about the size of a pack of cigarettes and comes bundled with NI’s powerful Guitar Rig 4 Essential software. But even more important, it’s an affordably-priced package (street price is less than $100) that features everything you need to turn your computer into a versatile pro-guitar setup.

FEATURES

The Guitar Rig Mobile audio interface may be small, but this USB bus-powered device boasts studio-quality 24-bit/192kHz Cirrus Logic converters that provide outstanding dynamic range and transparent audio conversion. The pocket-sized box features a 1/4-inch mono guitar input, 1/4-inch stereo line output (for monitors or headphones), separate input and output level controls, a USB jack and input and USB indicators.

The package includes Guitar Rig 4 Essential software, which features eight guitar and bass amp models, 19 cabinet models, 27 effects and useful tools like a tuner, metronome and two virtual tape decks. Amps consist of the Marshall-like Jump, Lead 800 and Hot Plex models, Fender-like Twang Reverb, Vox-like AC Box, Mesa/Boogie-like Gratifier, Orange-like Citrus and SVT-like Bass Pro. Effects include distortion, overdrive, chorus, flanger, phaser, graphic EQ, auto filter, wah, reverb, delay and more.

PERFORMANCE

Connecting your Guitar Rig Mobile to your computer is as easy as linking a stomp box between a guitar and amp. Just install the software, connect a USB cable between your computer and the audio interface, connect a 1/4-inch guitar cable from your guitar to the audio interface, adjust the input level and you’re ready to go. Hooked up to a reasonably powerful laptop computer, the converter’s latency is low enough to gig with. The amp and effect models are identical to several found in NI’s top-of-the-line Guitar Rig 4 Pro software, delivering the same dynamic response, expressive-ness and studio-quality tones.

THE BOTTOM LINE

For less than you'd pay for a trendy Ultrasupermega Distortion pedal, Guitar Rig Mobile provides enough pro-quality tones to last a lifetime. It’s portable and reliable enough to gig, rehearse or record with anywhere.

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