PRODUCT REVIEW
IK Multimedia
STOMPIO- 1
BY RICH T0ZOLLI
Have you ever thought about taking your
laptop to a gig loaded up with cool guitar
sounds, but couldn’t figure out how to
control the setup? Well, IK Multimedia may
have a solution for you. StompIO is their
new USB floor controller interface that
packs a lot of power and flexibility for users
of Amplitube 2, Amplitube Jimi Hendrix,
Ampeg SVX and Amplitube Metal.
When first unpacking the unit, I was surprised at how heavy it was. I thought,
“Wow, this is a lot of beef for just a floor
controller!” But quickly I came to realize
that it’s also a digital and analog recording interface, Class-A DI and headphone
practice amp.
The Hardware
Now let’s examine the StompIO itself. It’s
an attractive, black and grey metal steel
enclosed unit with a useful top handle for
easy carrying. Its weight gives it a sturdy
feel and the foot switches all have nice,
easy action. Another smart touch is that
they labeled the inputs, outputs, etc. on
both the top of the StompIO (so you can
see them standing above it), and also
above the actual connections. Again, it’s a
small but important detail that pays off in
the heat of the moment.
As for the footswitches, there are ten of
them. Luckily, the footswitches are spaced
far enough apart for ogres like me with
big feet. The first bank features the Enter,
Exit and Tuner footswitches. Below these
sits another row of seven: the Bank Down in
Play mode, (or Page left in Edit), the Bank
Up (Page right), a Tap footswitch for tempos
(more on that later), and four switches (A-D)
for bank selecting (Play mode) and parameter selections (Edit mode).
What you get in the box is the StompIO
hardware, a 3m long USB cable, a power
supply unit with interchangeable international plugs, an expression pedal with
1/4” cable and all the software installation
discs. They also wisely include a printed
manual for both the StompIO itself, and
the X-Gear software: a nice, simple touch,
considering how many companies cheap
out on a hard-copy manual these days.
Up Top
The top of the controller features
a Volume knob for the Balanced,
Unbalanced and Headphone outputs, a
Tuner button that instantly displays the
tuner both onscreen and on the unit, and
an LCD display for Patch numbers/names
and editing functionality. There are three
input level LED’s—orange signifies LOW,
green (which should light up most of the
time) shows OK, and red is for HI. Below
the LCD display sit six knobs for editing,
and on the right of the LCD are Enter,
Exit, Next and Previous buttons.
What does it control?
The rear panel of the unit features the
usual power switch and DC power socket.
I wouldn’t mind seeing an internal power
supply instead of a “ground wart,” but
that would have made it even heavier and
brought on more noise possibilities.
There are six external controller jacks, one
of which you use up immediately with the
included expression pedal. Note that you
can also choose to use third-party expression or footswitch pedals. Then there are
MIDI ins and outs, a USB Host Computer
Connector and an S/PDIF digital out,
which outputs the same signal as the stereo outputs. There’s also a headphone
