NAMM 2025: Fender hopes to come to the aid of players who find inspiration strikes away from the confines of a studio or full home recording setup. Its answer, the Fender Link I/O interface, is “a studio-grade audio interface designed to fit in a pocket,” to help capture quickfire recordings anytime, anywhere.
It’s a familiar concept by now, but Fender entering the field is the latest step in its integration to the home recording market. As such, the Link I/O aims to be a “one-stop solution” with jack inputs for instruments and a headphone output. It’s compatible with phones, tablets, Macs, and PCs, with the promise of latency-free tracking prevalent across all devices.
Regarding recording quality, the compact interface boasts “pristine, bidirectional audio over USB connection,” via “uncompromising 24-bit / 96kHz audio”. That means players can expect high-fidelity riff capturing on electric guitars and basses with either passive or active pickups.
Its input stage has been designed to replicate the dynamic response of much-adored Fender amps for a more authentic recording experience. At the same time, its streamlined controls allow players to personalize their experience with little faff. Side-mounted controls for monitoring levels, assisted by a reactive LED signal meter and a pad switch to better accommodate high-output guitars, ensure clipping and sub-par recordings can be easily avoided.
There have been some heavyweight additions to the audio interface market in recent months, with Blackstar’s Polar 2 getting rave reviews for its ability to replicate the sound and feel of a tube amp. Native Instruments has weighed in with its plugin-friendly Komplete Audio 6, and alongside Universal Audio’s Apollo Twin X, they have how far the tech is advancing.
The mini interface market is becoming just as dense, too, meaning Fender will have to fend off competition from the Apogee Jam X ($199), which has a built-in analog compressor, and IK Multimedia’s long-standing one-knob wonder, the iRig HD X ($119).
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At $79.99, though, the Link I/O’s low-ball price tag (combined with Fender’s mass market nous and reputation) should see it carving out a foothold pretty quickly.
“Whether tracking the next big song or practicing through a favorite amp simulator app, quality recording is always on the go with the Fender Link I/O,” says Fender. “It is the perfect tool to capture the next riff.”
The Fender Link I/O Interface will arrive in the spring and is set to cost $79.99.
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