iRig Stomp Review

One of the biggest issues I had with the original iRig guitar connector itself was its non-standard design. It works really well when playing a guitar through it to the iPhone or iPad and then listening with headphones, but there was no easy way to connect it to an amp without adapters and such. Adding the pedal setups in Amplitube Fender, for example, seems like a great way to expand the sounds available for my guitar, but if I can’t use it on stage easily, it’s not going to get used.

Enter the iRig Stomp, an actual stomp-box-sized peripheral that allows a standard guitar connect via a standard cable through to an amplifier in a standard guitarist’s stage setup. The iRig Stomp looks and acts a lot like any other standard guitar pedal, and thus has more of a chance to be included at gigs.

The solidity of the box is commendable, from the sturdy metal construction of the box itself to the solid-feeling clicker button and large input gain level knob. The device looks and feels as indestructible as my other guitar pedals, and doesn’t look out of place on my pedalboard.

To connect the iRig Stomp, it’s a simple matter of plugging in a guitar via a cable to the right side of the stomp box, and then out from the left side to an amp via the L/Mono jack, or to a stereo mixer via the R and L jacks. There’s a 1/8 inch headphone jack on the top, for private practice sessions, and a second, similar sized jack to connect the iRig Stomp to the iPhone or iPad with a compatible app, like Amplitube. The clicker button on the bottom of the pedal is a bypass switch which will let your guitar play through to the amp without the app guitar sounds. I sort of wish the button was configurable to a pedal “on/off” setting like most standard guitar pedals, but that functionality is contained within the app itself.

Overall, the iRig Stomp is a fantastic piece of guitar gear, ready to integrate with any professional or hobbyist guitar pedal setup. It’s comparatively priced to other boxes at $59.99, and allows players to control a ton of guitar-centric apps available on the App Store today.