A large two-digit LCD shows you the current patch number, and four LEDs show the presence of signal at the input and output, MIDI data activity, and the on/off status of the foot pedal's switch. There's also a headphone output, with a level control that I found to be a little on the sensitive side, plus inputs for two expression pedals, and MIDI In and Out. There are left and right stereo outputs on balanced quarter-inch jacks, with an associated button that switches the output level between high (for connection to keyboard amps, mixers or powered monitors) and low (for output to guitar amps). There are two high-impedance inputs, each with its own gain control, so you can connect two guitars at the same time, with their input levels matched again, this will be handy for live players who switch guitars for different songs. As an audio interface, the Rig Kontrol 2 is pretty well specified. Guitar Rig 2 in action, showing the versatile new Tweedman amp, the modelled Sansamp distortion box and the noise filter.
The new Rig Kontrol handles all audio inputs and outputs and puts them at your feet just like a conventional multi-effects board, cutting down clutter and reducing the number of ways for things to go wrong.
This will be a boon for many people, but particularly for those using Guitar Rig live. The difference is that this signal is converted to digital within the Rig Kontrol 2 and sent to the computer over a USB cable with no need for a separate soundcard. Like the original, Rig Kontrol 2 transmits its control messages to the computer not as MIDI, but embedded inaudibly in the audio signal from your guitar. It terms of the control it offers, it's similar to version 1 except that there are now six rather than four independent footswitches (plus the switch built into the rocker pedal). It could probably survive being run over by a car, and should certainly be robust enough to stand up to stage use. The new Rig Kontrol is a smart-looking beast with a reassuringly thick metal skin. With so many new features to talk about, I won't go into detail here about the modules that were already included in version 1, and I suggest that anyone unfamiliar with Guitar Rig should read Paul White's review in SOS September 2004. The hardware is now not only a controller and DI box, but also a USB 2.0 audio and MIDI interface, meaning that you no longer need a third-party soundcard to use Guitar Rig on your Mac or PC. The software now includes numerous new amps - including, for the first time, bass amps as well as guitar amps - new cabinets and new effects, as well as an entire new category of module called Modifiers. Time marches on, and NI have produced a thorough overhaul of both Guitar Rig and Rig Kontrol. Guitar Rig came with Rig Kontrol, a floor unit that didn't act as an audio interface, but served both as an impedance-optimised DI box and a foot controller for the software. NI also broke new ground by making a hardware unit integral to their software package. Its free-form interface allows the user to choose any number of elements from a list that includes amps, speakers, stompbox and studio effects, and arrange them in any order to create their own guitar sound. Among the many high-quality packages now available, Native Instruments' Guitar Rig stands out as the only truly modular system there is. In the decade or so since Line 6 launched Amp Farm, software amp modelling has come a long way in both quality and diversity. With version 2 of their Guitar Rig, Native Instruments are taking amp modelling into the realms of modular synthesis.