Sound on Sound's editor-in-chief, Paul White, has been getting up close and personal with the new AXE I/O. He was impressed by its design, audio quality, guitar friendliness and its great included software bundle.

Here are some of Paul's comments:

"The overall tech spec is impressive, with a quoted 117dB dynamic range and a 3Hz-32kHz frequency response, through 24-bit low-jitter converters at up to 192kHz sample rates."

"When re-amping, the ground isolation of the amp output really helps, as a clean recording can be played back via the amp out jack and then fed to an amplifier or chain of pedals without provoking ground-loop induced hum."

"As a straightforward interface, AXE I/O sounds very clean both for playback and for recording."

"The Z-Tone knob gradually darkens the sound as the impedance is lowered - sometimes lowering it just a small way from maximum helps take away the brittle edge from some guitars."

"Using the included AmpliTube, you can recreate a wide range of classic guitar sounds without ever turning on an amplifier while the T-Racks studio processors are good to have on your side during a mix. The free Lite version of Ableton's Live is also a great way to get into composing."

"AmpliTube Presets and the controls of software rigs can be accessed using the input knob rather than a mouse: push and turn the knob to select and load presets, with the option to assign the knob to any parameter as required."

Paul's final verdict is:

"All in all, the Axe l/O represents exceptional value as you get a well-designed, clean-sounding, guitar-friendly interface along with a very serious bundle of software."

Key Plusses -
+ Easy to use
+ Clean signal path with good ground-loop isolation where needed
+ Generous pack of bundled software

Read the review at Sound on Sound
Learn more about AXE I/O