IK Multimedia has unveiled its most anticipated amp modeler to date – the TONEX Board.
With the arrival of its first touchscreen-equipped floorboard modeler, IK Multimedia is looking to not only make up ground on its rivals, but pile on the pressure with a highly competitive alternative.
Ever since the TONEX Pedal launched, a larger touchscreen version has always seemed like an inevitability.
Neural DSP, Line 6 and Fender all already have one under their belts. In that regard, IK Multimedia is a few years behind. But the company insists it’s been worth the wait.
At $999, it is one of the most affordable modelers of its kind from any of the 'premium' brands. Still an investment, but the Quad Cortex mini is $1,399. The much larger and more cumbersome Fender Tone Master Pro and Line 6 Helix Stadium are more expensive. The latter is more than $2k.
Price-wise, then, the TONE Board is a very tempting option, one that undercuts its closest rivals. And we haven’t even dived into the spec sheet yet.
IK Multimedia says this is the most advanced and best-sounding complete guitar and bass rig ever put in a compact pedal. It is the complete TONEX ecosystem in one package.
AI Machine Modeling amps and cabs, and AmpliTube effects can be navigated through the five-inch touchscreen. 76 effects and a whopping 2,000 Premium Tone Models are baked in, with more said to be on the way and a wealth to browse on ToneNET.
What’s more, the pedal has been released alongside TONEX 2.0 Player, which debuts updated Premium V2 Tone models. These can be accessed through the Board.
Indeed, IK Multimedia’s Tone Models – read: amp, cab and effects – are widely praised for their realism and dynamic feel. Previous TONEX pedals have been praised for them. V2 models therefore make for a neat inclusion.
Like previous pedals, the TONEX Board can also be used to capture your own gear and rig to take on the road.
Elsewhere, the photo-realistic onscreen gear designs depicted onscreen are a nice touch for dialing in amps and effects. There’s also four footswitches, six push-rotary controls, and three performance modes – Preset, Scene and Stomp – for flexibility.
To make it suitable for stage and studio, there are plenty of connectivity and output options. Dual-amp, parallel, stereo and wet/dry setups can be used thanks to the pedal’s signal chain. There are also two stereo output pairs, MIDI compatibility, and expression pedal control.
All in all, it’s the TONEX that IK Multimedia fans have been waiting for. You get the entire TONEX experience in a robust package that can be controlled by a flash touchscreen. And, weighing just under the $1k mark, it's perhaps one of the best value-for-money modelers of its kind.
The TONEX Board is available now for $999.
Visit IK Multimedia for more.
