Italy’s IK Multimedia has earned a deservedly solid reputation over the last 20 years for its accurate software modelling of classic guitar amp and effects pedals, as well as its range of hardware audio interfaces for both computers and mobile devices.

Now, IK has designed what arguably represents the pinnacle of all its R&D work over the years to produce the AXE I/O – a full-featured, comprehensively specified device for recording guitarists.

The company considered what guitarists typically want from an audio interface, looking at all the trials and tribulations commonly experienced when recording guitars in the modern DAW-based world. The resulting device covers all bases. The AXE I/O also brings ease of use to some classic studio tricks, such as re-amping an already recorded guitar track to change its sonic character at any time later on.

The AXE I/O is a 2-in / 5-out interface (one low-noise amp out), with two ultra low-noise mic or balanced line inputs; a triple topology guitar input stage with selectable Active/Passive/discrete JFET/Pure instrument preamp options and a frequency response from 3Hz–32 kHz; two balanced monitor out or line outputs; a powerful reference headphone output with dedicated volume knob; MIDI input/output jacks and a USB 2.0 connection compatible with Mac or PC. An external PSU is also included in the box.

Additionally, the ‘Amp’ output can be connected to amplifiers and effects pedals without introducing any ground noise or loops; up to two expression pedals can be connected; there is a fully assignable data-knob for preset browsing in the (bundled) AmpliTube 4 Deluxe amp-sim software, as well as a built-in tuner. This thing is also built like the proverbial tank, housed in a full metal case, and is ruggedly styled to fit in perfectly alongside your other rig and recording gear. Sit this on top of your amp or mixing desk and it’ll look right at home.

AXE I/O has been fully equipped for recording, with Class A, high-resolution, ultra low-noise microphone preamps (with 117dB of dynamic range) and good quality analog-digital converters. IK promises “ultra-low conversion jitters for premium quality” – up to 192kHz sample rate – and from our experience using the AXE, we believe it’s unlikely that you’re going to notice anything untoward happening with your audio. Finally, on the software side, as well as the aforementioned AmpliTube 4 Deluxe there are also 10 T-RackS mixing and mastering plug-ins and Ableton Live 10 Lite.

That’s the tech spec and the headline features laid out. What’s it like to actually use AXE I/O? In a word, transparent. Good tools become almost invisible in use, seamless in operation. They facilitate, not frustrate. IK has genuinely done a great job of addressing almost every scenario a guitarist could conceive of, all within a single device.

From plugging in and tuning up, to tweaking and finessing the tone, routing and recording, and finally re-amping past performances (if desired), AXE I/O has everything covered. It also works perfectly well with bass, baritone, 12-string and other more esoteric guitars, for the record. If it’s electric and has strings, plug it in, by all means.

On-screen interaction is done via the Control Panel software, installed as part of the set-up process, where you can manage the inputs and outputs, enable phantom power, adjust the ground lift to avoid signal noise, assign routing and controller inputs, specify MIDI activity, set volume levels and choose your recording sample rate.

The ‘golden channel’ approach of input 1 features the three different circuit topologies, so the signal of a single guitar – plugged directly into the front-panel jack – can be manipulated to offer a choice of three quite different tones.

You can also find the best match for specific instruments and pick-up types (e.g. passive or active). The three stages are Pure, which is the transparent sound of the preamp which doesn’t colour the sound in any way; JFet, which has a Class A JFet input buffer to give your signal a touch of harmonic enhancement, a ‘warm’ midrange bump, and finally Active, which is designed for guitars with active pick-ups and preserves their tone as cleanly as possible.

The broad 3Hz–32kHz frequency response should also ensure that the full range of instruments is captured, from the deepest of bass to the airiest highs. IK makes much of the AXE I/O’s “patent-pending Z-TONE circuit”, which essentially gives you a continuously variable dial that changes the impedance from 1MOhm (“sharp”) down to 2.2kOhms (“bold”). This functionality is only available on input 1: input 2 is more vanilla.

With a bit of experimentation (which the AXE positively encourages) all the interactive controls on input 1 can produce a surprisingly rich palette of tones from a single guitar, which is useful when stacking guitar parts in a multitrack recording, the instrument taking on different characteristics for each layer.

The Amp Out jack is another AXE godsend, a dedicated, ground-isolated, low-noise 1/4” output on the front panel. This does away with the need for a separate DI box and the accompanying cabling headache. Any time you want to run a previously recorded dry take back out to your favourite amp and pedals – e.g. to try out alternate sounds and combinations – you can pipe the signal out from your computer and back into your real-world rig. You can then ‘re-record’ your performance with whatever new sonic colours you choose.

We’ve been enjoying using the AXE I/O. There were never any frustrations as we explored all the possibilities. The AXE handled everything we threw at it – multiple electric guitars, electro-acoustics, mic’ed acoustics, MIDI keyboards, and a range of microphones, including ribbons. The fact that the thoughtful design of the AXE does away with a lot of the constant unplugging and rerouting of cables and signals in order to achieve certain tasks is a singularly satisfying pleasure.

Lesser interfaces can inhibit creativity due to their limitations (usually the result of fair compromises when designing to a price point). With AXE, there really wasn’t much we missed. IK has clearly lavished a lot of love and attention on this device and given it the best of everything – hence the price.

A second headphone channel would have been nice, for musicians recording together. That was the one thing we did miss from our regular four-input interface, although this is commonplace with audio interfaces: as the number of inputs increases, so do the outputs. By the same token, more mic/line inputs would expand the studio potential of the AXE I/O, but we appreciate that this would also significantly add to the cost, as well as arguably ‘diluting’ the AXE’s central premise as the guitarist’s premier interface of choice. It’s also USB 2.0, not USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt, either of which would have been cooler, but again also more spendy.

We live in an age where the cost of good-quality AD/DA capture and conversion has fallen dramatically in recent years, to the point where any reasonably specified audio interface should be more than capable of producing perfectly acceptable, professional-sounding results. What you then pay a premium for are additional features, ease of use, build quality, the bundle in the box. On all these counts, IK’s AXE I/O scores very highly.

Viewed as a two-channel audio interface, AXE I/O is not cheap – but it is also much more than ‘just’ a great-sounding stereo interface. This is a professional tool and a powerhouse of complementary hardware/software – everything in one box for recording in (and out of) the box – that any guitarist would surely appreciate at the end of their instrument’s cable.

IK Multimedia Axe I/O

€426.99 inc. VAT

Italy’s IK Multimedia has earned a deservedly solid reputation over the last 20 years for its accurate software modelling of classic guitar amp and effects pedals, as well as its range of hardware audio interfaces for both computers and mobile devices.

Now, IK has designed what arguably represents the pinnacle of all its R&D work over the years to produce the AXE I/O – a full-featured, comprehensively specified device for recording guitarists.

The company considered what guitarists typically want from an audio interface, looking at all the trials and tribulations commonly experienced when recording guitars in the modern DAW-based world. The resulting device covers all bases. The AXE I/O also brings ease of use to some classic studio tricks, such as re-amping an already recorded guitar track to change its sonic character at any time later on.

The AXE I/O is a 2-in / 5-out interface (one low-noise amp out), with two ultra low-noise mic or balanced line inputs; a triple topology guitar input stage with selectable Active/Passive/discrete JFET/Pure instrument preamp options and a frequency response from 3Hz–32 kHz; two balanced monitor out or line outputs; a powerful reference headphone output with dedicated volume knob; MIDI input/output jacks and a USB 2.0 connection compatible with Mac or PC. An external PSU is also included in the box.

Additionally, the ‘Amp’ output can be connected to amplifiers and effects pedals without introducing any ground noise or loops; up to two expression pedals can be connected; there is a fully assignable data-knob for preset browsing in the (bundled) AmpliTube 4 Deluxe amp-sim software, as well as a built-in tuner. This thing is also built like the proverbial tank, housed in a full metal case, and is ruggedly styled to fit in perfectly alongside your other rig and recording gear. Sit this on top of your amp or mixing desk and it’ll look right at home.

AXE I/O has been fully equipped for recording, with Class A, high-resolution, ultra low-noise microphone preamps (with 117dB of dynamic range) and good quality analog-digital converters. IK promises “ultra-low conversion jitters for premium quality” – up to 192kHz sample rate – and from our experience using the AXE, we believe it’s unlikely that you’re going to notice anything untoward happening with your audio. Finally, on the software side, as well as the aforementioned AmpliTube 4 Deluxe there are also 10 T-RackS mixing and mastering plug-ins and Ableton Live 10 Lite.

That’s the tech spec and the headline features laid out. What’s it like to actually use AXE I/O? In a word, transparent. Good tools become almost invisible in use, seamless in operation. They facilitate, not frustrate. IK has genuinely done a great job of addressing almost every scenario a guitarist could conceive of, all within a single device.

From plugging in and tuning up, to tweaking and finessing the tone, routing and recording, and finally re-amping past performances (if desired), AXE I/O has everything covered. It also works perfectly well with bass, baritone, 12-string and other more esoteric guitars, for the record. If it’s electric and has strings, plug it in, by all means.

On-screen interaction is done via the Control Panel software, installed as part of the set-up process, where you can manage the inputs and outputs, enable phantom power, adjust the ground lift to avoid signal noise, assign routing and controller inputs, specify MIDI activity, set volume levels and choose your recording sample rate.

The ‘golden channel’ approach of input 1 features the three different circuit topologies, so the signal of a single guitar – plugged directly into the front-panel jack – can be manipulated to offer a choice of three quite different tones.

You can also find the best match for specific instruments and pick-up types (e.g. passive or active). The three stages are Pure, which is the transparent sound of the preamp which doesn’t colour the sound in any way; JFet, which has a Class A JFet input buffer to give your signal a touch of harmonic enhancement, a ‘warm’ midrange bump, and finally Active, which is designed for guitars with active pick-ups and preserves their tone as cleanly as possible.

The broad 3Hz–32kHz frequency response should also ensure that the full range of instruments is captured, from the deepest of bass to the airiest highs. IK makes much of the AXE I/O’s “patent-pending Z-TONE circuit”, which essentially gives you a continuously variable dial that changes the impedance from 1MOhm (“sharp”) down to 2.2kOhms (“bold”). This functionality is only available on input 1: input 2 is more vanilla.

With a bit of experimentation (which the AXE positively encourages) all the interactive controls on input 1 can produce a surprisingly rich palette of tones from a single guitar, which is useful when stacking guitar parts in a multitrack recording, the instrument taking on different characteristics for each layer.

The Amp Out jack is another AXE godsend, a dedicated, ground-isolated, low-noise 1/4” output on the front panel. This does away with the need for a separate DI box and the accompanying cabling headache. Any time you want to run a previously recorded dry take back out to your favourite amp and pedals – e.g. to try out alternate sounds and combinations – you can pipe the signal out from your computer and back into your real-world rig. You can then ‘re-record’ your performance with whatever new sonic colours you choose.

We’ve been enjoying using the AXE I/O. There were never any frustrations as we explored all the possibilities. The AXE handled everything we threw at it – multiple electric guitars, electro-acoustics, mic’ed acoustics, MIDI keyboards, and a range of microphones, including ribbons. The fact that the thoughtful design of the AXE does away with a lot of the constant unplugging and rerouting of cables and signals in order to achieve certain tasks is a singularly satisfying pleasure.

Lesser interfaces can inhibit creativity due to their limitations (usually the result of fair compromises when designing to a price point). With AXE, there really wasn’t much we missed. IK has clearly lavished a lot of love and attention on this device and given it the best of everything – hence the price.

A second headphone channel would have been nice, for musicians recording together. That was the one thing we did miss from our regular four-input interface, although this is commonplace with audio interfaces: as the number of inputs increases, so do the outputs. By the same token, more mic/line inputs would expand the studio potential of the AXE I/O, but we appreciate that this would also significantly add to the cost, as well as arguably ‘diluting’ the AXE’s central premise as the guitarist’s premier interface of choice. It’s also USB 2.0, not USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt, either of which would have been cooler, but again also more spendy.

We live in an age where the cost of good-quality AD/DA capture and conversion has fallen dramatically in recent years, to the point where any reasonably specified audio interface should be more than capable of producing perfectly acceptable, professional-sounding results. What you then pay a premium for are additional features, ease of use, build quality, the bundle in the box. On all these counts, IK’s AXE I/O scores very highly.

Viewed as a two-channel audio interface, AXE I/O is not cheap – but it is also much more than ‘just’ a great-sounding stereo interface. This is a professional tool and a powerhouse of complementary hardware/software – everything in one box for recording in (and out of) the box – that any guitarist would surely appreciate at the end of their instrument’s cable.

IK Multimedia Axe I/O

€426.99 inc. VAT