Avid Eleven Rack USB Audio Interface Guitar Preamp

Avid have launched a new tool designed for studio and live use, bringing the power of their Eleven amp simulation (reviewed in SOS May 2008) to a DSP-enhanced rackmount unit. Called the Digidesign Eleven Rack, the orange 2U rackmount device combines inputs and outputs ordinarily associated with guitar hardware with those seen on Digidesign’s M Box range. In order to improve upon the emulation available in software alone, Digidesign have created a system called ‘True Z’, which matches the input impedance of the emulated amplifier’s hardware counterpart. The input impedance of a guitar amplifier can be an important factor in determining its sound, as the input places an electrical load on the pickups, changing how both the amp and the guitar react to playing. The Eleven Rack also allows a guitarist to use exactly the same sounds live as in recording, and allows recording of the clean DI sihnal at exactly the same time as the processed sound, all with zero latency. Intelligently, Eleven Rack patch settings are embedded into audio files when recording with Pro Tools LE, meaning that if you forget how you came across that perfect sound, you can simply recall the patch from the relevant audio file.

On the front panel are a high-impedance guitar input, outputs for driving a guitar amp and headphones, and a mic input, complete with preamp. There are also six rotary encoders for dialling in amp and effects settings, as well as a host of other buttons for paging through the unit’s many menus, and a satisfyingly chunky-looking chrome power switch, which adds to the guitar-amp ‘feel’ of the unit. The rear panel has stereo XLR outputs (which also have a ground lift switch), stereo effects-loop sends and returns, and a stereo line input. Digital I/O is provided by S/PDIF and AES/EBU connectors, as well as a USB port for connection to a computer, which allows the Eleven Rack to be used as an interface for the included Pro Tools LE software. Despite the USB socket, the Eleven Rack is intended to be usable as a stand-alone piece of guitar hardware, and draws its power from a standard IEC power socket.