Designed to facilitate the high-quality, audio to digital conversion of acoustic guitars, the iRig Acoustic Stage from IK Multimedia is a digital microphone system comprising two distinct pieces: a digital microphone, which you mount on the soundhole of your acoustic guitar, and a preamp/processor unit, which you can mount somewhere on your person. Simply plug the microphone into the preamp/processing unit, plug the latter into a mixer, amplifier, or recording interface, and you’re ready to achieve a sound which aims to outperform the characteristics of traditional acoustic guitar pickups, be they magnetic or piezo in construction.

The processing unit itself has several features which can come in handy on stage and in the studio, including on-board DSP with four presets to shape the timbre of your instrument, a polarity reverse switch, and a feedback-elimination button. The unit also features an auxiliary input for your acoustic/electric’s existing pickup configuration, and a blend knob to mix that signal with that of the iRig Acoustic Stage’s processing.

The processing unit, which sports a 32-bit digital audio converter, provides a USB output for connection to Mac and Windows computers, as well as iOS devices. It also offers a 1/4″ output for use on stage. The device provides up to 12 hours of continuous use with two AA batteries.