"The sound of six figures”: IK Multimedia models two vintage – and VERY expensive – Dumble amps for the $249 TONEX One Double Special

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IK Multimedia has rolled out the latest iteration of its celebrated TONEX One amp-in-a-box pedal, dishing out the tones of two Dumble combo amps and “the sound of six figures” in an affordable stompbox.

For this one, IK Multimedia has extracted 20 tones from two vintage Dumble Overdrive Special amps from its private amp vault (that's a combined value of over $300,000), and placed them inside the limited edition TONEX One Double Special pedal.

What's more, it presents a further 40 new premium tone models in the Double Special TONEX Signature Collection software package.

Buy the pedal and you unlock access to all the tones from the Double Special TONEX Signature Collection plus those of IK’s ODS Legends Signature Collection guitar plugin (that's six Dumble amps all in, but who's counting?).

The two amps modeled here represent two very different eras of the iconic tube amp. One bears the serial #0038 and is from 1978, the so-called 'Export era', when Alexander Howard Dumble’s builds delivered an open-top end, blooming mids, and piano-like cleans.

The other, a 1980 model, nicknamed 'The Don' (serial #0080), boasts a tighter low-end, faster transient response, and greater articulation when the gain is cranked. And in both models, touch sensitivity is a crucial ingredient.

The pedals deliver tones inspired by players who helped forge the amp’s legendary status, including Carlos Santana, Larry Carlton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, whose Texas Flood amp is now in John Mayer's hands.

They were captured with and without guitar cabinets “across a wide range of sweet spots, channel configurations, and gain settings.” Other tone models find the amps paired with some classic overdrive pedals, including a gold Klon Centaur, a JHS Morning Glory, and a TS-10 for even more sustain and midrange. IK Multimedia used period-specific cabs for the project.

Only 1,000 units of the TONEX ONE Double Special are being made, but the good news for those who get their hands on one is that those 20 tone models are exclusive to the pedal.

The software is priced at $149.99 apiece (or $99.99 for existing TONEX hardware users), with the pedal priced at $249.99, and there’s no mention of a discount for TONEX loyalists.

Visit IK Multimedia for more information.

Last year, IK dropped three TONEX pedals channeling Eddie Van Halen's Brown Sound, an impressive headphone amp, and a well-received Bass Edition of the TONEX One.