For years I’ve used IK Multimedia merchandise. T-RackS, iRig, interfaces, plugins, displays, you identify it. I’ve been working with their gear because the early 2000s. Nonetheless, by some means, regardless of all of that, I’d by no means really achieved a correct deep dive into TONEX.
So whereas I used to be in Modena filming at IK Multimedia headquarters, I lastly sat down with Lorenzo, Marco and the crew to see what all of the fuss was about.
And I’ve bought to say, I got here away significantly impressed.
Strolling In Fairly Chilly
One factor I wished to clarify proper from the start was that I wasn’t pretending to be some type of TONEX knowledgeable. Fairly the alternative. I intentionally went into this gorgeous chilly.
In fact I knew what TONEX was. I’d heard the hype, seen the movies, and watched gamers like Alex Lifeson utilizing it reside. Nonetheless, I’d by no means actually sat with it myself and explored what it might really do in a real-world recording and manufacturing state of affairs.
That’s what intrigued me most.
Not simply whether or not it sounded good in isolation, as a result of truthfully most fashionable modellers sound fairly respectable today, however whether or not it behaved like an actual amp.
That’s at all times the factor for me.
Are you able to play softly and hold it clear?
Are you able to dig in more durable and have it reply naturally?
Does it really feel alive underneath your fingers?
That’s the tough half.
First Impressions
The very first thing they handed me was the TONEX pedal itself.
Instantly I used to be impressed by simply how a lot was packed into it. Tons of presets, stereo operation, IR help, onboard results, amp and cab flexibility, delays, reverbs, modulation, compression, all of it.
Nonetheless, options are one factor.
I wished to listen to sounds.
So I began shouting out amps.
“Give me a Deluxe Reverb.”
Immediately they pulled up this attractive Fender-style clear tone with refrain and reverb. Heat, dimensional, actually acquainted feeling.
Then I requested them to strip the modulation off so I might hear it extra bare.
Nonetheless sounded improbable.
Then I went for the Roland JC120.
They nailed that immediately too. That glassy hi-fi refrain factor was completely there.
Then an AC30.
Then a Marshall JMP.
Then a 5150.
And each single time the factor that stood out wasn’t simply the EQ curve or the distortion character, it was the response. The way in which it reacted once you modified your choosing dynamics.
That’s the place a variety of digital methods nonetheless disintegrate.
This didn’t.
It Truly Takes Pedals Correctly
This was one other huge one for me.
Again within the day, one of many quickest methods to destroy a modeller was sticking pedals in entrance of it. Particularly Tube Screamers, Klons, boosts, issues like that. Every little thing would simply collapse into fizzy harshness.
Nonetheless, the TONEX dealt with pedals very well.
They’d a Tube Screamer and a Klon-style pedal working into it and it reacted rather more like an actual amp than I anticipated.
That instantly bought my consideration.
The Really feel Is the Entire Level
That is the bit that’s tough to elucidate except you’re really sitting there taking part in it.
An important amp isn’t nearly frequency response.
It’s contact sensitivity.
It’s that edge-of-breakup factor the place frivolously picked chords keep clear, nevertheless the second you lean into the strings it begins to compress and grind on this actually musical method.
That’s what makes amps addictive to play.
And truthfully, TONEX V2 will get frighteningly near that behaviour.
A lot nearer than I anticipated.
Capturing a Actual Amp
Then we moved into the studio to create our personal seize.
This half was fascinating.
We arrange an actual Fender Deluxe Reverb with a Tube Screamer in entrance, miked it with an Shure SM57, dialled the sound in correctly, after which captured your entire chain utilizing the TONEX software program.
What I preferred instantly was how simple the entire course of felt.
You don’t want some insane studio setup.
You should utilize your personal interface, your personal laptop computer, your personal amps.
The software program walks you thru every little thing.
Marco defined the distinction between conventional modelling and what TONEX is doing with its AI seize course of.
Conventional modelling tries to mathematically recreate each part contained in the amp.
TONEX is listening to behavior.
Enter versus output.
How the amp reacts dynamically.
The way it compresses.
The way it responds to choosing energy.
That’s why the texture will get so convincing.
TONEX ONE+ Makes a Lot of Sense
Whereas I used to be there, IK had been additionally speaking concerning the brand-new TONEX ONE+, and truthfully this seems like a wise evolution of the entire ecosystem.
The unique TONEX ONE was already impressively compact, nevertheless the brand new ONE+ provides wi-fi management by way of the TONEX Management app on iOS and Android.
Meaning no pc wanted simply to tweak tones or handle presets.
You possibly can actually sit there along with your telephone or pill, browse ToneNET, edit captures, organise presets and tweak sounds wirelessly.
That’s genuinely helpful.
Notably for gamers utilizing compact fly rigs, small studio setups, rehearsals, or fashionable pedalboard methods.
They’ve additionally added full MIDI help by way of TRS and USB, which implies it integrates correctly into bigger switching methods and reside rigs.
That’s a giant deal for touring gamers.
You possibly can automate adjustments, swap presets in actual time, management parameters externally, even run dual-pedal stereo setups whereas protecting the footprint tiny.
The pedal ships with 100 premium Tone Fashions as nicely, and connects straight into the bigger TONEX ecosystem with entry to greater than 60,000 Tone Fashions on ToneNET.
That half actually stood out to me through the go to.
This isn’t simply turning into a pedal.
It’s turning into a complete platform.
The Blind Take a look at
Then got here the enjoyable half.
They turned the display screen away from me and began switching between the true amp and the TONEX seize with out telling me which was which.
At first I assumed I might inform.
Then I realised my mind was fully messing with me.
I guessed fallacious.
Repeatedly.
At one level I recognized the TONEX as the true amp, then moments later recognized the true amp as TONEX.
Which principally informed me every little thing I wanted to know.
That was the second the place I all of the sudden understood why gamers like Pat Metheny and Alex Lifeson are literally utilizing these things professionally.
Why Producers Ought to Care
That is the place I believe TONEX turns into actually highly effective.
As producers, we spend hours getting guitar sounds proper.
Proper amp.
Proper cab.
Proper mic.
Proper placement.
Proper pedal chain.
Then the session ends and that precise setup disappears without end.
With TONEX, you possibly can protect that chain completely.
That’s big.
You’re not simply storing an amp mannequin.
You’re storing your sound.
Your mic placement.
Your pedals.
Your acquire staging.
Your workflow.
That captured tone turns into one thing you possibly can pull again up immediately months or years later.
And for touring gamers the benefits are apparent too. As an alternative of dragging costly classic amps world wide each evening, you possibly can seize them correctly as soon as and carry the entire rig in a pedalboard.
Constant each evening.
No worrying about mic placement.
No venue surprises.
No upkeep complications.
Last Ideas
I went into this curious however undoubtedly sceptical.
I got here away genuinely impressed.
Not as a result of it replaces the emotional expertise of standing in entrance of a cranked classic amp, there’s at all times going to be one thing magical about that, nevertheless as a result of it will get extremely shut whereas fixing a variety of very actual sensible issues.
And truthfully, the blind check stated all of it.
Once I genuinely couldn’t persistently inform the distinction between the seize and the true amp, that was the second it clicked for me.
Expertise has come a really good distance.
Have a marvellous time recording and mixing.
IK Multimeddia ToneX One Plus: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/GbZaLm
IK Multimedia ToneX: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/B06yXL
IK Multimedia ToneX Amp Simulating Software program: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/nLYBRR
IK Multimedia ToneX Cab: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/2RWO47
