Review : IK Multimedia Amplitube TONEX Pedal
I’ve received a number of requests to review IKMultimedia’s Amplitube TONEX Pedal, which is the larger sized pedal compared to the mini pedal sized TONEX ONE. The review of the TONEX ONE is coming at a later date. This article is confined to the Amplitube TONEX Pedal.
To lay the groundwork, the TONEX pedal is a modeler like a Line6 Helix, or Fender Tonemaster Pro, but it also offers capture capabilities like a Kemper Stage or Neural Quad Cortex. It’s not the same as the last two because of the addition of AI. Let me be open with you. I have utter disdain for anything labeled AI, because the function of AI depends on the data set it uses and most of the content in AI data sets is stolen from the original creators without compensation or credit. Thus, whenever I see AI, I think THIEF. But let’s get past that because know you are clear on what I see.
Amplitube TONEX Pedal Overview
The Amplitube TONEX Pedal that hereforth I will refer to as TONEX to save my fingers is a very nice compact modeler. The construction is robust, the display is large, the knobs are large and the requirement to hold one down while turning another to get the unit to do something is minimal. The text on the dark case is legible. While the name Amplitube is rather confusing as the TONEX has nothing to do with the Amplitube software product, the TONEX label directly aligns with IKMultimedia’s TONEX software. I want to be clear here. Amplitube software and TONEX software are two SEPARATE things. Fortunately when you purchase the TONEX pedal, you get the TONEX software with all the standard models included. A number are preloaded onto the TONEX pedal so you can actually be using it after unboxing it and plugging in. For the attention deficit, this is golden. There is a Quick Start guide that is, mostly useless, but the documentation, downloadable in PDF is very useful and easy to follow. I would strongly recommend that anyone getting a TONEX invest the little time required to read the full manual. For just under $400 USD there is a LOT of capability in this box, even if you never use it to make your own captures.
Specifications
While the specs are rather simplistic, they get the point across. The presets are delivered across banks (50) and you can create your own or use the ones delivered by IKMultimedia. You can also purchase separate TONEX packs if you wish as I did with their Dumble pack, purely to see what they sounded like and because I have no expectation to ever play through a real Dumble and certainly not to own one.
What is missing from the specs is that on registration, you also get Amplitube 5 for Mac or PC that has 180 different models and more importantly TONEX MAX that includes 1,000 tone models. I care not about quantity, but about quality and the ones that I have tried are really quite good.
The TONEX pedal connects to the computer via USB and you can use TONEX MAX to control the device directly including loading models, editing models and creating your own. By being a full USB device, you can also use the TONEX pedal as your interface, which makes recording to your DAW a very simple thing. More on that to come.
While like a Helix or Tonemaster Pro, you can use the TONEX pedal without ever launching the software, it’s the TONEX MAX software that really makes a huge difference. In addition to capture, which I will get to, it allows you to build your library of TONEX models, edit them and deploy them to the TONEX Pedal. Thus while most of use will find 150 loaded models more than enough, you can have many more than that in the software library itself. Like any software, unless specifically licensed, amp, cabinet and pedal names may be altered to prevent trademark infraction but it’s not so hard to figure out what is what. Again however, I have to strongly advocate downloading the manual and reading it to get the most out of the software. Stumbling around blindly isn’t a good plan. I have read reviews and comments that dislike the user interface. Fine, but how much time did the person spend with it? Did they look at the documentation or because it looks different from an interface that the person knows better, did that person decide the UI was crap?
I will acknowledge that a user can be confused to believe that one can directly audition a model from the library without loading it to a slot in the TONEX pedal. If one is just using the TONEX MAX software as a plugin to a DAW, it is different, but when the TONEX pedal is connected, the only models available through the pedal are those downloaded to it. Again, RTFM solves a world of concerns. It is different from a Quad Cortex, a Kemper, a Helix and there is nothing wrong with that. I do not find it particularly more difficult to use, but as with all user interfaces a bit of commitment to learn on your part is required.
Sounds
Sound is subjective. I prefer the sounds in general over the sounds from my Helix. The IK Multimedia modelling process is much newer and is different from what Line6 did back when. When you buy a Tonex you get the license for Tonex Max which is pretty much every Tonex sound there is. You get 1,100 tone models made from 100 different amps and 50 different FX pedals and in each tone model you have 7 slots to fill with up to 15 concurrent FX. If that’s not enough, with respect, you have a bigger issue.
But the number is irrelevant if they don’t sound good. Have I auditioned 1,100 tone models? Heck no and I seriously doubt that I ever will. I have auditioned numerous Fender amps, Marshall amps, Mesa Boogie amps as well as the separate Dumble pack and everything that I have played through has sounded really great to me. Are they exact reproductions of the real amps? I don’t know, I have a several stacks of amps, but certainly not 100 different amps and what I can say is that the TONEX models sound very good to me, and that is all that really matters. No one listening to a recording is going to be able to tell if the recording was made with the TONEX model or a physical 1962 model Bluesbreaker. There are more great tones in the package than most anyone will ever use.
Got time on your hands? Click this link to download the TONEX Model List that comes in TONEX MAX. It’s 45 pages long, so grab a beverage while you read the list. Bassists will also love the wide range of Bass models included in the package. Note that complete models include the amp, the cabinet and the microhone(s) used and in some cases the console outboard posts. I would also state that the individual pedal models that I tried were very good indeed and there is a decent number of options, but they are of the OD, Distortion and Fuzz type. However all manner of additional effects are included, just not as device specific models.
By the way, while this is a pedal review, the pedal is dependent upon the TONEX MAX software license included with purchase. That means that if you are primarily a recordist who likes recording direct and adding amps, cabs, mics, and console effects in post, you could just buy TONEX MAX for Windows or macOS and do all that stuff in your DAW. Since you get TONEX MAX as part of the TONEX pedal package, you then get the best of both worlds and that is my recommendation. You see when playing live, I like to be able to quickly tweak the sound of my TONEX amps to fit the space, the room and where to sit in the context of the band. When recording, I have more time to fiddle around. Best of both worlds right here.
And in addition, you get access to TONEnet which is a shared repository of models made by other TONEX users. Something else to try or if you are looking for an amp not in the TONEX MAX package. As always, the sound is only as good as the work done in making the model, so quality varies.
Example Tones
It’s really difficult to do example tones in a review like this when there are just so many models that come in the unit. There is definitely a chance of option paralysis, but I made the effort to provide you some very quick examples of some of the models that I have tried and enjoyed. While I have TONEX models from outside TONEX MAX, I did not use any in these samples, everything you hear is part of TONEX MAX.
I plugged the guitar, a Made In Japan Charvel San Dimas HSH, into the Tonex and used it as the interface to Logic Pro. Monitoring was done with studio monitors connected to a UA Apollo Twin X set as the output.
The amp models used, were as the presets spit them out. Only the first one, in retrospect needed to have its levels altered because it glitched out and that is my fault, not the fault of the TONEX Pedal
Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
Friedman Pink Taco
Fender Twin Reverb
Marshall Plexi
Dr.Z Z Wreck
It is my assessment that the TONEX models are well done. Note that unlike some other modellers, the TONEX models only and if at all include effects in front of the virtual preamps, being Noise Gates, OD/Distortion/Fuzz and / or Compressors. You can adjust the settings but there are not multiple choices of each type once a preset is baked. This can be seen as being inflexible, while others will see it as simple and efficient. You get to choose how you see things.
Wrapping Up
For my money, and it was my money, if you want a comprehensive pedal that includes a ton of excellent models, the TONEX pedal is the way to go. It can of course make models of gear that you already own, but I’m going to be straight with you, given how good all these models are, I would only go to the trouble to model something really out of the norm. I got mine on sale for $399 CAD, and that happens from time to time. IKMultimedia often does direct offers as well, although I bought mine via Amazon due to price and availability. TONEX is sold in some guitar shops, but my personal experience is that the sales staff in the store that I visited had no clue about the pedal and were making things up as they went along, that I knew from basic research was complete BS.
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