Sonoma NewsWire

DrumCore 4 Now Available and Recording Magazine's GuitarJack Stage Review

DrumCore 4 Now Available | GuitarJack Stage Review

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DrumCore 4 is Now Available for Mac and Windows

DrumCore 4, the highly anticipated update to the drum instrument plug-in that thousands of professional musicians, songwriters, and producers rely on to create their songs, commercials, videos, and more is now available! Rebuilt from the ground up to be more lightweight, powerful and modern, DrumCore 4 is sporting an updated interface, 64-bit compatibility, mixer view, integrated online store, and more!

DrumCore 4 is an AAX/VST3/AU plug-in instrument with stereo 24 bit audio loops and MIDI recordings of inspiring performances by hit-proven drummers, playing their own great sounding drum kits across a multitude of styles.

DrumCore 4's four editions contain the same plug-in with various amounts of content by celebrity drummers who have played with these bands: Alan White (Yes, Lennon), Ben Smith (Heart), Jeff Anthony (Sheryl Crow), Lonnie Wilson (Brooks & Dunn), Luis Conte (Sergio Mendes), Matt Sorum (Velvet Revolver), Michael Shrieve (Santana), Ned Douglas (Dave Stewart), Sly Dunbar (Bob Marley), Terry Bozzio (Missing Persons), Tony Braunagel (Bonnie Raitt), Zoro (Lenny Kravitz), and more. Some editions include content by more drummers, and all editions can be expanded with content by even more drummers from DrumCore 4’s new built-in online store.

Get DrumCore 4 now! Upgrade pricing is available for DrumCore 2.5, DrumCore 3, and KitCore users. DrumCore 4 is also available from select dealers. More news about DrumCore 4 videos, expanding distribution, new add-on content, and more is coming soon.

Read More and Order Now →

Recording Magazine's GuitarJack Stage Review

"This great-sounding interface works on everything from Windows and Mac OS X to iOS and Android, all in a compact and guitar-friendly package...GuitarJack Stage has a straightforward design, consisting of two input level pots with power and signal/clip LEDs on the top right, a series of four stompbox-style switches across the bottom, and five “chickenhead” knobs across the top. While they’re labeled as guitar amp controls—gain, volume, and 3-band EQ — all of the chickenhead knobs are user-assignable, and so are the footswitches. This flexibility makes the GuitarJack Stage useful with almost any guitar software application."

"The unit’s inputs and outputs are located on the right (inputs) and left (outputs) sides of the unit. There are two inputs, one Hi-Z 1/4” input optimized for guitar, and one clean, transparent-sounding 1/4” TRS stereo input for a mic/line source. There’s also an input for a third-party expression pedal. On the output side are a pair of 1/4” monitor outs and a 1/4” TRS headphone output...The GuitarJack Stage lives in a rugged aluminum chassis, so there shouldn't be any second thoughts about incorporating this unit on the road. It is also device-powered, so no batteries or wall warts are required...but there is an optional 9V DC power supply input on the side [for charging your iOS device]."

"In order to assign switches on GuitarJack Stage with third-party apps, you must download the free GuitarJack Stage Control app. This allows the user to assign all of the switches and knobs on the unit, as well as assign the expression pedal to control a software counterpart such as a wah pedal. The limitations are really based on the compatibility of the app or software you are pairing with the GuitarJack Stage."

"Sonoma Wire Works offers recording apps such as FourTrack, StudioTrack, and GuitarTone, which are all compatible and completely controllable with the GuitarJack Stage...I wanted to put GuitarJack Stage to the test by assigning various commands with a third-party application. I chose BIAS FX...After opening BIAS FX, I jumped over to Sonoma's GuitarJack Stage Control app. The screen then showed the numbered MIDI channel to run the assignments through. After jumping back to BIAS FX, I opened up the MIDI settings and told which channel to point to. All that was left was assigning the foot switches to my favorite saved settings by using the MIDI auto-detect feature in BIAS FX. Overall, a very easy process—it was trivially easy to put four of my most-used settings to the four foot switches and to map amp settings to the five knobs."

"Other supported third-party apps that are assignable with the GuitarJack Stage include IK Multimedia AmpliTube, Positive Grid’s JamUp / JamUp Pro, and many more. You should be good to go if your desired app supports MIDI input. Even if your favorite iOS tone app does not support MIDI input, the GuitarJack Stage still supplies a very clean, high-quality interface to use with mobile devices; you just won't have the ability to map out commands for the stomp box switches."

"...GuitarJack Stage offers a unique opportunity to easily integrate iOS tones with a more practical platform during a performance, with controls designated by the user. For musicians that lean on software-based amp modeling, Sonoma Wire Works' GuitarJack Stage is a piece of hardware that you’re going to really enjoy having in your collection." - Reviewed by Alex Hawley

- Look for the full review of GuitarJack Stage in Recording's July 2016 print issue.

- Read the full review of StudioJack Mini in Recording Magazine's May 2016 Issue.

More about GuitarJack Stage →