IK Multimedia ventures into the world of hardware guitar effects for the first time with the AmpliTube X-Gear pedal range

Remember that uber-cryptic teaser video that digital effects powerhouse IK Multimedia dropped last week? And remember there was little by way of explanation, other than that the upcoming products would seek to let “the finest ones ever finally break free”?

Well, for all the mystery that surrounded the initial tease, we can safely say IK Multimedia has made good on its promise, and that the nail-biting tension was totally worth the wait.

Enter the AmpliTube X-Gear line of effects pedals, the brand’s first-ever physical guitar pedal offerings.

As we had previously – and remarkably accurately – speculated, the software stalwart has debuted a line of floor-based effects units, complete with the brand’s celebrated AmpliTube processing powers.

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Four high-performance pedals have been announced, arriving in the form of the X-Drive, X-Time, X-Space and X-Vibe. The names are pretty self-explanatory, but these pedals will offer up a number of overdrive, delay, reverb and modulation tones, respectively.

Boasting studio-grade effects algorithms, each pedal comes equipped with 16 different effects, drawn from the most popular AmpliTube models, and tweaked via a multitude of onboard controls. The reverb and delay algorithms are also totally new for the release, and will serve up an array of vintage and contemporary tones.

In terms of the nitty gritty, each pedal also features up to 192kHz internal processing with four times oversampling, as well as a 5Hz–24kHz frequency response to capture the full sonic spectrum of your electric guitar.

As an added bonus, each X-Gear pedal arrives with a like-for-like virtual version – and a copy of AmpliTube 5 SE, for good measure – which aims to encourage seamless transitions between your physical pedalboard and your digital rig.

In practice, this means players will be able to tweak, trial and save effects presets, and move them between AmpliTube and the X-Gear, the latter of which can hold up to 300 separate custom-configured settings.

Other noteworthy features include USB compatibility for use as an audio interface, comprehensive MIDI implementation abilities and an expression pedal input port, which can be assigned to control any parameter. A sleek Italian-made aluminum chassis is a nice aesthetic touch, too.

Unfortunately, those of you who want to get your hands on one will have to wait just a little while longer, with shipping expected to start in August. Thankfully, each pedal is available to preorder now for a cost of $299.

To find out more, head over to IK Multimedia.