It seems like every day we see yet another kickass example of how to use the iPad for the cause of awesome, and DigiTech offers an impressive example of doing it right. The iPB-10 is a footswitch controller that integrates with the iPad to create an excellent product for musicians in which classic tech meets iOS.
The way it works is an interesting marriage of software and hardware that’s not so different from what a lot of other companies are experimenting with (IK Multimedia is a good example): The iPad gets signal processing software that emulates a wide range of pedals and cabinets, and the footswitch controller creates a “dock” of sorts for the iPad to connect and be controlled by switches.
The iPB-10 allows you to create your ultimate pedalboard, all on your iPad. Design a pedalboard by simply dragging and dropping up to 10 different pedals, in any order, to each pedalboard. You can even add an amp and cabinet to each setup. With 87 different pedals, 54 amps, and 26 cabinets to choose from, your options are virtually unlimited. Simply swipe your finger across the iPad to rearrange your pedals, turn them on and off, or to adjust their knobs.
The most valuable part, of course, is the ability to store lots of complex setups “just so”, so when you get a sound you like you can create a preset and come back to it whenever you wish.
Pretty impressive bit of gear, but it does give me a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth when I think about all that money I wasted on stomp-boxes back in the day. Le sigh.