Product Reviews

Already renowned for providing class-leading software for the discerning guitarist, IK Multimedia has logically followed the signal chain backwards and created the ideal hardware to interface guitar and computer in the shape of the StealthPlug. With a 1/4in jack at one end, a USB plug at the other and a chunk of signal-converting plastic in the middle, it's a very compact solution.

However, given that £20 cables already exist that terminate in a 1/8in jack, allowing connection of a guitar directly to the audio-in port on a suitably equipped Mac, and that every single Mac now has this feature, in choosing the £80 StealthPlug over a £20 cable, what advantages does that extra £60 buy you?

For starters, the StealthPlug is much better equipped than a standard cable. It takes care of properly amplifying your signal. There's a headphone jack, as well as volume buttons that simultaneously control the output level of your Mac. The headphone jack can also do double duty as a direct stereo line out to a real-world amp or PA (although as the jack is only 1/8in, you'll need a 1/4in adaptor), allowing you to play your guitar through StealthPlug's amp modelling software and have it come out at stadium-rocking levels courtesy of your amp.

The aforementioned amp modelling software is, of

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course, born of IK's AmpliTube technology - here, you get AmpliTube 2 Live. This isn't the full-blown product, naturally, but it still presents three guitar amp models, five cabinets, 11 effects, two mics and a tuner for your consideration. It also uniquely includes the SpeedTrainer guitar practice software, featuring pitch and speed control, so you can nail those tricky System of a Down riffs. AmpliTube 2 is terrific - probably the best and most flexible amp modelling software currently available - and this Live edition embodies all the essential qualities of its parent.

We freely admit to feeling a little underwhelmed when we first unboxed StealthPlug, it being no more visually prepossessing than a standard USB cable. However, as we know, true beauty is on the inside. Once plugged in and you get the green light from the unit, you're away - and how. Aside from guitars, you can obviously plug the 1/4in jack into any output jack, such as those on a mic preamp, thereby allowing vocals and acoustic instruments to also be routed through the device.

And therein lies the stealth appeal of StealthPlug. Wherever you are, with this little cable in hand, you can link almost any instrument or recording equipment to a nearby Mac and capture your ideas. It's sufficiently small and light enough to be insignificant in your bag, and the software bundle isn't limited to AmpliTube, either: you also get a full copy of Tracktion 2.1, the T-Racks six-band mastering EQ, SampleTank 2 SE workstation and the ubiquitous 500MB of loops. A respectable bundle, all told.

Drawbacks are few and far between, although its 16-bit/48kHz limitation might furrow a few brows. However, such petty mithering can't distract from the StealthPlug's impressive flexibility nor the immense fun to be had from simply plugging it betwixt your axe and your Mac and letting rip with AmpliTube 2 Live's standalone virtual amp funhouse.