IK Multimedia Tone X One?

[Sascha Franck]

Fwiw, having the USB port on the front side is a pretty bad design idea. I obviously have no idea whether it's due to space constraints, but in case it was placed there intentionally, it's rather dumb, especially given that you can even power it through USB.

 

[laxu]

I think by now there's plenty of people sort of like me, who like a kind of "analog workflow" but also want a flexible and "DI-capable" setup.
As you will know better than most others round these parts, pretty much all All-In-One modelers fail miserably regarding analog workflow (even if you wade through major hoops as in adding knob controller and what not), so it's a nice idea to keep an existing pedalboard, change it ever so slightly and possibly even reduce the footprint a bit.
By now, I could even imagine to replace both my Amplifirebox (dirt pedal plaform) and Amp Academy (clean-ish) with two of these. That way I could keep using the Stomp for spatial FX only (my original plan was to replace either the AA or AFB with a Stomp amp).

There's also so many pedals on the used market that some of them can be relatively cheap to start collecting and building your setup rather than buying it all at once. Addin a Tonex One to that is an easy way to avoid having to buy an amp, which is not practical for many who play at home.

As much as I love how my latest pedalboard turned out, at the same time I acknowledge that it's a ridiculously pricy way to go compared to picking up say a Line6 or Fractal product. I do love that "analog workflow" - or more accurately "tons of knobs" - and just wish the future modelers were better at that. I thought the Quad Cortex was already quite good at it, just failed in several other areas.

 

[Lysander]

If it had some sort of onboard headphone amp/out, I'd probably have already bought one.

Per the manual, it can drive headphones on its output no problem.

 

[laxu]

Fwiw, having the USB port on the front side is a pretty bad design idea. I obviously have no idea whether it's due to space constraints, but in case it was placed there intentionally, it's rather dumb, especially given that you can even power it through USB.

Probably space constraint, or they thought it would be easier to regularly plug in to use the Tonex software when it's easier to see the port. I guess they expect people will power it via 9V on pedalboards.

Pedals have gotten kinda crazy. Yesterday I figured out the CIOKS 4 Expander can be powered by a USB powerbank and I was running fairly demanding pedals (Strymon, SA) off this little powerbank I bought from Japan. Played for maybe 30 minutes just to try it out and it only ate about 25% of the powerbank's capacity. With a larger powerbank you could easily get through a whole gig like that!

 

[Los-D]

think most important of all is they got it out before the Chinese mini NAM pedals flood the market

This

 

[NKP]

They really want me to get one hm?
Sorry I have already purchased a nostalgic toy today .

Joke appart, That small tonex is interesting.
Maybe too small
…and 219e, you won’t buy that just for fun so

 

[Sedaxel]

MIDI lack is a deal breaker for me. I still think it´s probable that a USB host can handle it (a PC, a smartphone, or a MIDI-USB host adapter), as it does on almost any pedal I know of. Zoom units respond to that MIDI, also Boss GT-1, all Hotones, Valetons, Mooers... all work with a USB-HOST capable device. I guess (just as an assumption) that any pedal with software editor can be handled by a USB-HOST, at least for preset changes.

Even so, it´s annoying to need a proper host adapter, with its cables and PSU.

Also, the input gain problen is still there. For those of us who pay attention to it, and don´t want to deal with guesswork, it´s a bad thing.

All in all, I find it interesting because of high quality profiling and size... but a personal no-go because of no midi and no standardized input gain system.

 

[Byrdman]

I have an angel and a devil on each of my shoulders. One saying "that look like what you were looking for when the original Tonex pedal came out!" and the other saying "dont you remember how much of a time suck and total shit-box that software was?"

Maybe if I can pick up a used one for around $100 -$130 in a few months, it will be worth trying (getting pissed off) again...

 

[EOengineer]

IK is going to sell a billion of these if they haven’t botched it in some way we’re not yet aware of. I don’t think many guitarists will be halted by the lack of MIDI at this size and price point - though it would have been a killer addition.

 

[DLC86]

Did Ola just confirm in his demo that there is a "bigger pedal, smaller pedal, and now this"?

Yeah, that's what he said... If it wasn't just a mistake, that means the eventual mid-sized pedal is already in youtuber's hands so we'll find see it soon

 

[GTR37]

Oooh, it can be powered via USB-C! That's nooooice. And has a built-in chromatic tuner.

Damnit, at $180 i'm willing to overlook all TONEX software quirknesses. I'll probably end up buying one.

Actually at least the setting up the dual mode , pulling in your presets and assigning Colors in the editor looked tons better
If you have curated a group of 10 presets you love and don’t have to deep dive through the searching captures
I mean it’s pretty cool
2 capture , recording out
Head phones , rev , comp
Gate , tuner For $180
That’s a lot of bang for the buck especially for musicians on the road or in hotels

 

[mbenigni]

I too found that puzzling until I remembered they're a company that essentially sells software/hardware vending machines that are just a portal to their various "custom shops" with a la carte microtransaction add-ons galore. So how would it behoove them to give people a flagship all-in-one? Or free aftermarket updates like their competitors in that segment?

IK Multimedia's corporate ethos is "Nickel-and-dime or GTFO".

It would be a goldmine. You are stuck on this hardware and it has all these pedals and stuff sitting there saying “model not available until purchased”. Teasing you until you spent five billion unlocking everything

Cries in QC?

 

[mbenigni]

A mobile app working as a librarian and live editor would definitely make this a no brainer.

Agreed... provided it's a fully functional, non-batshit crazy mobile app working as a librarian and live editor.

(Cautiously pessimistic.)

 

[mbenigni]

Confirmed, no MIDI of any kind, not even through USB

There's always an Achilles' Heel. No MIDI is where this otherwise really compelling product falls apart. If you could change presets with PC messages from an external MFX pedal, it would be perfect. (Well, apart from the software LOL.) But as it stands...

Apparently IK wants you to buy 2 or 3 or 4 of these and pepper them all over your pedalboard. Which IMO defeats the purpose of its being so small in the first place.

Some really nice features though, like USB audio interface, USB power, controls lock and a built-in tuner.

This is the flip side of the coin. With USB audio and USB power, this might (also) be the coolest interface for on-the-go laptop recording $180 can buy. Jury's still out, devil's in the details, etc. though. Have to wait and see about latency, how it sounds, whether routing is gimped in some weird and unworkable way, and so on.

 

[Deadpan]

 

[JiveTurkey]

 

[Deadpan]

Too early for you? Haha

 

[JiveTurkey]

Too early for you? Haha

I listened to the Ola demo on the road this morning and it just really has nothing drawing me in. The size is fine I guess but the rest of it is such a historical gross fest I just have no excitement for it.

Edited for self

 

[MirrorProfiles]

if ever there was a company where it’s valuable to listen to actual customers, and not youtubers/people on a freebie then it’s IK. any video so far is posted with an agenda.

 

[Deadpan]

I listened to the Ola demo on the road this morning and it just really has nothing drawing me in. The size is fine I guess but the rest of it is such a historical gross fest I just have no excitement for it.

Edited for self

I like how it will make the tech more accessible. Pocket size is a big plus also.