Status: Actual working product, available for purchase.
Cost: About $30.00
Availability: Your best bet is to do a quick search for “guitarbud” on musiciansfriend.com
The Guitarbud lets you plug your guitar, bass or keyboard directly into your iPhone or iPod Touch (2nd Gen), along with headphones. Basically, it lets you use the direct output of your guitar, rather than the your iPhone’s built-in mic. Use your guitar with any app that your mic works with.
Some iPhone apps that will let you record or jam with effects: Voice Memos™, StompVox™, Riff Raters™, GigDaddy™, iStrobosoft™, Rectools Pro™, and Guitar FX Deluxe™.
This must-have accessory allows you to plug your guitar directly into your iPhone and 2nd Gen iPod Touch (simultaneously with your headphones) for use with all guitar applications.
The guitarist’s interface fuses your instrument with your iPhone – Now the possibilities are as endless as the apps on your phone. With the Guitarbud even the simple Voice Memos™ app (that comes with your phone) can be used to record riffs or songs anywhere – instantly email your track to your friends. All your apps become more powerful – use your iPod tuner in a noisy crowded bar, record your next tune on the 4-track recorder that’s as close as your iPhone.
I got to play around with one, and it worked great for me – it was a little quiet, so it wouldn’t hurt to add a pre-amp of some kind. Although I didn’t experience this myself, I’ve seen some complaints about occasional drop-outs in the sound.
I wouldn’t recommend recording an album on it, but a lot of musicians I’ve worked with would certainly find it very useful for making sure they don’t forget that cool song idea they have on the subway.