PLAYING GUITAR
For those about to rock… Craig Grannell explains how to supercharge your plank-plunking with your phone, choice apps and great accessories (oh, and a guitar, obviously)
THE BASICS
■ Plug and play
If you have an electric guitar, you’ll want to plug it into something… but that could just be a phone or tablet. On the move? The Apogee Jam+ (£160) and IK iRig HD X (£93) are compact, wallet-friendly interfaces with wired headphone ports. The Audient Evo 4 (£89) adds XLR ports to plug in mics alongside your guitar.
■ Mic it up
Prefer the natural tone of an acoustic? Your phone’s mic will do for practice sessions and capturing fleeting song ideas, but for serious recording you’ll want to step it up. Find a quiet spot and connect an external mic. Placement is crucial: slap it too close to the soundhole and you’ll get boomy bass; too far and it’ll sound weedy.