UE Boom speakers as a guitar amp

UE Boom guitar amp - Nowadays you can't enter an electronic store without seeing a plethora of Bluetooth speakers. Last month I was invited to a presentation of the UE Boom from Ultimate Ears, the speakers sounds really great especially seeing the relatively small size. I wondered how it would sound to plug a guitar in one and see if it can be used as a guitar amp.

UE Boom guitar amp video

Unpacking the UE Boom

If you are familiar with the Apple unpacking experience, you won't be disappointed with the UE Boom one. The attention to details is great. Right from the start you can feel it's a high quality product.

The UE Boom comes with a variety of power plugs which is a good thing as this device is the perfect travel companion.

Guitar amp setup

To use the UE Boom as a guitar amp you will need:

• An electric guitar (not a big surprise, huh?)
• An interface to plug the guitar in a iDevice : I used an iRig from IK Multimedia
• An iPhone/Ipad
• An app to act as a preamp: Guitar Amp (iTunes link) from Studio Devil
• A mini-stereo jack to connect the interface to the UE Boom

The Guitar Amp app from Studio Devil

Guitar Amp is one of my favorite iPhone amp to play the guitar because it sounds great plus it's very simple to use.

As you can see from the screenshots below, the app uses the familiar pedal look as the interface. You can't do simpler than that!

What I enjoyed the most

+ The very compact setup
+ The great guitar sounds, especially with some gain
+ The standard use of the UE Boom as a regular speaker as it sounds great

What I enjoyed the less

+ The slight latency you have because of the processing time by the iPhone

Conclusion

Even if it's not going to replace a full guitar rig, I have to admit I was very pleasantly surprised by the kind of guitar sounds you can get from the UE Boom as a guitar amp. It's the perfect setup to travel and to play on the beach this summer!

Pierre.

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