26 Sep 2017

"How IK Multimedia redefined amplification", Interview with Enrico Iori

Music Trades' features IK's historic rise in the guitar market


“When I was young, going to a music store, putting my hands on a guitar, playing it through an amp — it was more than shopping; it was an experience. New developments in technology tend to generate more excitement in today’s consumers. IK products create that kind of experience, that kind of excitement, for today’s young musicians.”


Here are some quotes from the feature article in Music Trades, October 2017 issue, "How IK Multimedia Redefined Amplification", from the interview with Enrico Iori:

"IK Multimedia entered the music products market as a software manufacturer, with CEO, Enrico Iori and CTO Davide Barbi at the helm. Starting in the mid-’90s, a couple of visionary Italian engineers dared, if not to break that electronic music mold, then to create a new one using new technology and an even newer design model that would address the changing needs of many 21st century musicians. Their ultimate success, in 1996, laid the cornerstone for IK Multimedia, whose motto and pledge to the industry remains 'Musicians First'."

"IK Multimedia created a niche in the guitar market with amplifier and effects simulators primarily used to record with a computer. Over time the company introduced its iRig series of audio interfaces and controllers for use with mobile phones and tablets. Together, they feed the rising trend of musicians using mobile devices not only for recording, but also for practicing, rehearsing, and even performing."

“Among guitarists, IK is best known for AmpliTube, the mobile guitar studio that enables them to build great-sounding virtual guitar and bass rigs. Players can select from hundreds of the most popular amp and effects models including amps by Ampeg, Fender, Gallien-Krueger, Marshall, Mesa Boogie, Orange, Dr. Z, Engl, Soldano, and a host of others, as well as effects pedals from Fender, Seymour Duncan, and T-Rex. The emulations are so authentic, many major amp manufacturers have licensed IK to use their brand assets to market its software."

“It brings a power to guitarists that 15 years ago would have been unthinkable,” says Enrico Iori. “You can assemble all the top gear in the world and chain it into an ultra- complex rig. It has become very powerful, but it’s also very affordable.”

“IK’s core market in the guitar realm has always been electric guitarists, but in the last few years it began developing products for acoustic players as well. In Iori’s words, its iRig Acoustic system was de-signed 'for recording an acoustic guitar properly on a mobile device, which isn’t the easiest thing to do without certain studio equipment.' Earlier this year IK augmented the line with its new iRig Acoustic Stage. Comprising an advanced MEMS microphone, a high-quality pre-amp, and IK’s acclaimed DSP processing, this patented digital mic system is designed to make a guitar sound exactly as if it were captured with a classic recording studio setup."

Enrico Iori said, “When I was young, going to a music store, putting my hands on a guitar, playing it through an amp — it was more than shopping; it was an experience. New developments in technology tend to generate more excitement in today’s consumers. IK products create that kind of experience, that kind of excitement, for today’s young musicians.”

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