IK Multimedia TONEX

Totally agree with no more Alt modes. Would be nice if you could configure it and choose between reverb and delay mix though! I’ll get by anyways. Mostly I’ll just run the capture on it before or in the loop of my HX Stomp.
 
I definitely prefer to use Tonex (both the OG pedal and the One) as an amp sim combined with other pedals, and not as an all-in-one-solution. And when using the Tonex plugin in my DAW, I of course have better options than the included FX.

That said, I appreciate that the FX are included and they are a nice solution when I just grab Tonex One for headphone practice or traveling.
 
Btw, what I would really like is a "Dual Tonex" (aka Tonex Two).

Two Ones combined for a start but with a) more encoders (and finally endless ones with readouts) and b) some different modes added on top, such as one switch serving A/B switching, the other one being freely configurable and what not. Might feature 2 EXP inputs as well. Should have full MIDI capabilities, ideally with BT options. Should as well offer 2 ins and outs, so you could slap the two units into whatever position on a pedal board.
As such a unit would be somewhat bigger, it'd allow for more (and at least a little larger) encoders than on the One. It'd also allow for a small screen providing you with the most relevant informations (and possibly serve as a readout for the encoders, too). Two additional buttons (such as the alt one) would allow you to flip between witch of the two units you'd like to tweak and offer the typical "alt" parameters.
Should defenitely feature autosave as the current TO (maybe a save mode could/should be optional).

With such a thing, you could:
- Run two amps seperately.
- Run two amps simultaneously and parallely for full stereo glory.
- Use one section for amps, the other for pedals.
- Use one section for amps, the other for FX.
- A combination of the latter two.
- Use it for two instruments simultaneously (I have a duo with a bass player, would be the most perfect fit ever).

There could be clever assignments as well. So you'd possibly be able to assign one switch to only switch individual blocks on/off - and mutliple ones simultaneously. I often just keep the same amp but add a pre-boost, post-EQ and post-spatial-FX for a lead variation (in fact, that's my go-to procedure since decades already). That way, one switch would allow you to switch between two patches (say clean and dirt) while the other switch would allow you to switch between rhythm and lead.
Would make it an absolutely perfect backup setup as well.

Size could be something like, say, an Amplifirebox. That'd offer you space for sufficient amounts of encoders and would as well allow you to add a very small screen. A two liner LCD display would be absolutely sufficient for such a unit, could offer two modes, namely edit and parameter readout mode.

In a nutshell: 2 ins and outs, 2 switches, 8 encoders, 2-line LCD display, 3 small mode buttons (one for A/B display selection, one for alt mode, one for edit mode), TRS EXP input.

I would buy such a unit in a heartbeat. I'd actually buy this from any company coming up with it. And I'd bet many people would.

@IK Multimedia, what say you?
 
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Just in time for tonight's gig:

DualTonexBoard.jpeg


Gonna be fun!

And I guess it's gonna be a loooong night, because when I get back home, I'll have a look at the IK groupbuy goodies, likely testing all the Tonex stuff until the early morning hours...

Will also have to do some re-arranging bits on the pedalboard during the next days. But then, this already works just great.
And fwiw, there's defenitely something to be said about the GT-1000 in this context, too. Overall latency with 3 full ADDA cycles is still below 3ms, I can handle the most important things with global blocks and once you're past the initial editing (which sucks as much as it gets on the GT), it performs super flawlessly. Oh, and there's possibly no less noisy thing around, the two Tonex Ones are just dead quiet, too (everything is powered by a single Harley Benton PowerPlant ISO12AC Pro Modular, which is really most excellent and performing *way* above its price).
And well, I'm actually considering a complete redesign, getting rid of all the analog pedals, buying two MIDI-to-Tonex boxes plus a MIDI knob box to adjust things and then switch the A/B channels via MIDI from the GT.
 
Sascha Franck said:
And fwiw, there's defenitely something to be said about the GT-1000 in this context, too. Overall latency with 3 full ADDA cycles is still below 3ms
Click to expand...
This latency is just incredible. Awesome rig, mate.

I´m always checking the used market of the GT-1000... I love the form factor and the capabilities. I dislike the IR management, the UI and the amp models. So all in all, I guess I´ll never get one. But my interest is always genuine... and it´s even more since I had a day gig, with a bright bright sun falling on the stage... and I was literally unable to see the screen of my Fishman Platinum Pro/EQ (I just played acoustic on that gig). I wasn´t able to tune my guitar. Believe it or not. I know that an LCD screen (like the GT-1000 one) would have been readable (also the ones of old units like GT-1, Zoom G1 Four and the likes). I love new color touch screens, but I´m sure they´ll be a nightmare in sunny stages.
 
Sedaxel said:
I love the form factor and the capabilities. I dislike the IR management, the UI and the amp models.
Click to expand...

100% all of this. And I was even more disappointed once I got into it a bit more, especially regarding the amp models. They are certainly servicable in many situations, but just no fun (I know, some people disagree). They're all compressing too much for my taste and they're not particularly "characterful" (in lack of better words) at all. And they did no improvements to the "authentic" amps since decades, either (in fact, some even seem to sound worse than on the GT-10, will do a comparison one day).
So, unlike with, say, the HX Stomp, I would never use it on its own just for fun (I will use it a plenty on some gigs coming up next year, but that's only because of space issues - and I may as well just get one Tonex with me, too).
Also, the FX certainly aren't something to write home about, but in case you're fine with some standard stuff (*check* for me most of the time), they're still pretty good.
And we really don't need to talk about the UI. It's possibly the worst from all possibly contenders by nowadays standards. There's been tons of options added ever since the earlier GT units, but the UI hasn't been improved one bit, so all these options are crammed into a UI that was horrible with way less options already. And even their editors just suck.

Anyhow, as said, once you're past the UI issues and use something else for your amp duties, as a "brain" and MFX device it's a really excellent unit. Gapless patch switching, reverb/delay spillover (at least in case you only use different versions of a master patch, *check* in my case) and, most of all, global blocks. Regarding the latter, I have now routed the most crucial parameters to adjust things during soundcheck (or even during a gig) to the 6 encoders as follows:
- Low mid level for post-FX-loop 1/2 EQs. I'm using a broad mid boost at around 300Hz here, allowing me to easily thicken up (or thin out) each of the two amps in the loops (now populated by the Tonex Ones).
- Output level of the pre-compressor I'm using for lead boosts.
- Output level of the post-EQ I'm using to balance the overall lead level.
- Main delay mix.
- Main reverb mix.
These are the single most crucial parameters outside of amp and dirt pedal settings (all of which covered externally) I usually need to adjust on gigs.

Many other blocks are set to function globally as well (all 4 FX blocks and all delays) and in case I really feel adventurous (which I usually don't), I can connect the mobile editor and fool around with them, too. Or do it on the unit (god beware...).

Anyway, to keep this at least somewhat on topic, the two Tonex Ones are just a perfect addition (or rather a replacement for Amplifirebox and Amp Academy) to this setup.
 
Okay, off to a really bad start with the Tonex One here.

I went to register the pedal so I can start using Tonex Editor. Registration shows up in IK Product Manager but nothing else, and the Editor app claims no Tonex pedal is authorized. I finally managed to click restore purchases in the Editor app to trigger a firmware update. After that it seems to work in Editor.

My problem now though is that nothing is shown about free software (the SE versions) in the IK Product Manager. Is that because I already have better versions of Tonex and Amplitube?

Edit: managed to get to the Group Buy promotion and things work there, so I guess I’m set for now. Just was a very confusing hour of getting things sorted…
 
Sascha Franck said:
That's our IK for you. I'm sure pretty much anyone has stumbled through that at one point in time.
Click to expand...
My google-fu must be lacking or the net is just becoming more and more of a cesspool since i couldn’t find any relevant troubleshooting info anywhere when using search engines. I’m happy that it seems to be OK now and I’ve snagged the ENGL collection (which I swore I wouldn’t buy!) already with the promo.
 
So, gig went incredibly well. Decided to go for a pedal platform patch for the dirt side of things, though, simply because I like having options for instant timbre changes. Gotta say that the BE-OD, which I never liked all that much before never sounded better, the JRockett Dude was fantastic, too (I could look up which patch I used on the Tonex). And because I had no time fo faff around much yesterday, I simply used the preloaded Super Reverb capture on the second Tonex for cleans (with the gain dialed back quite some). Was working just great. Fwiw, it's been an IEM gig, so I'm not sure how well everything would've worked through a FR wedge, but I'd bet it'd worked just as well.

I do have some cunning plans, though.
Measured the TO in the loop of the HX Stomp (full amp loaded in the TO), came out with pretty much exactly 4ms of latency (ok, 4.2). Fine already. With the TO in front we're down to a little less than 3ms.
Another latency figure popping into my mind was running both GT-1000 loops serially, so I could use one for the Tonex, another one for some choice pedals. Given that one loop of the GT-1000 will only add around 0.7ms of latency on top of the somewhat less than 3ms I'm experiencing right now, that should still be absolutely fine, but maybe at one point in time there will be some noise issues - will give it a testrun later on.

Anyhow, both of these projected setups would require MIDI control over the TO. So that's what I'll defenitely be going for next becaue it'll ultimately allow me to use either setup with just one TO, which would be fantastic. I could even imagine to mount one MIDI controlled Tonex and controller box on a little module that I could slap into either setup. Or I could just get two controller boxes.
The downside being that the only ready-to-roll box right now comes from Pirate MIDI, which are located in Australia.
I'd possibly be fine with the Airstep thing - if only it also provided standard MIDI out functionality (to control the Stomp or maybe even a small MIDI controlled loop switcher, which could be part of another setup...), which it unfortunately doesn't.
There's hope, though. The dude I bought my first TO of already had such a box built, and he might build me another one or two, I'm just in contact with him.
If I could get such a box for, say, €50, it'd pretty much be a no brainer as the options for whatever setups would pretty much explode.
Add a small BT MIDI controller and there's your perfect mini rig as a backup or for less demanding gigs (which would also run on a simple powerbank for days).
Add a Stomp and you'd have almost limitless options already.
And then add a small MIDI controlled loop switcher box (btw, I'm absolutely open to suggestions here as that's something I'm seriously considering) to bring in your good old pedals.
I could absolutely imagine a setup like this (all serially): Choice pedals in 2-4 loops -> Tonex -> Stomp (for all spatial FX and what not).

On a sidenote, as this possibly isn't as obvious, but it's one of *the* key reasons for me to tinker around with this idea: Due to the autosave nature of the Tonex One, this would also, at least to a large extent, adress my wish for global blocks. Call up a Tonex patch and modify it and it'll stay like that, regardless of how often you'd be using it for "big" patches (those switching everything).

Time to get a little adventurous...
 
Sascha Franck said:
So, gig went incredibly well. Decided to go for a pedal platform patch for the dirt side of things, though, simply because I like having options for instant timbre changes. Gotta say that the BE-OD, which I never liked all that much before never sounded better, the JRockett Dude was fantastic, too (I could look up which patch I used on the Tonex). And because I had no time fo faff around much yesterday, I simply used the preloaded Super Reverb capture on the second Tonex for cleans (with the gain dialed back quite some). Was working just great. Fwiw, it's been an IEM gig, so I'm not sure how well everything would've worked through a FR wedge, but I'd bet it'd worked just as well.

I do have some cunning plans, though.
Measured the TO in the loop of the HX Stomp (full amp loaded in the TO), came out with pretty much exactly 4ms of latency (ok, 4.2). Fine already. With the TO in front we're down to a little less than 3ms.
Another latency figure popping into my mind was running both GT-1000 loops serially, so I could use one for the Tonex, another one for some choice pedals. Given that one loop of the GT-1000 will only add around 0.7ms of latency on top of the somewhat less than 3ms I'm experiencing right now, that should still be absolutely fine, but maybe at one point in time there will be some noise issues - will give it a testrun later on.

Anyhow, both of these projected setups would require MIDI control over the TO. So that's what I'll defenitely be going for next becaue it'll ultimately allow me to use either setup with just one TO, which would be fantastic. I could even imagine to mount one MIDI controlled Tonex and controller box on a little module that I could slap into either setup. Or I could just get two controller boxes.
The downside being that the only ready-to-roll box right now comes from Pirate MIDI, which are located in Australia.
I'd possibly be fine with the Airstep thing - if only it also provided standard MIDI out functionality (to control the Stomp or maybe even a small MIDI controlled loop switcher, which could be part of another setup...), which it unfortunately doesn't.
There's hope, though. The dude I bought my first TO of already had such a box built, and he might build me another one or two, I'm just in contact with him.
If I could get such a box for, say, €50, it'd pretty much be a no brainer as the options for whatever setups would pretty much explode.
Add a small BT MIDI controller and there's your perfect mini rig as a backup or for less demanding gigs (which would also run on a simple powerbank for days).
Add a Stomp and you'd have almost limitless options already.
And then add a small MIDI controlled loop switcher box (btw, I'm absolutely open to suggestions here as that's something I'm seriously considering) to bring in your good old pedals.
I could absolutely imagine a setup like this (all serially): Choice pedals in 2-4 loops -> Tonex -> Stomp (for all spatial FX and what not).

On a sidenote, as this possibly isn't as obvious, but it's one of *the* key reasons for me to tinker around with this idea: Due to the autosave nature of the Tonex One, this would also, at least to a large extent, adress my wish for global blocks. Call up a Tonex patch and modify it and it'll stay like that, regardless of how often you'd be using it for "big" patches (those switching everything).

Time to get a little adventurous...
Click to expand...
Not exactly sure why, but dirt pedals in particular work SO MUCH better into the Tonex pedal than Helix. It feels like there’s additional dynamic range in the captures or something because I get a better sense of the extra punch from an OD without immediately turning to overcompressed mud.

My little Tonex pedalboard is crazy inspiring to play, and I’m using it mostly in cans.

IMG_2650.jpeg
 
Currently thinking about buying a ToneX One through the group buy to use it to get my analog pedalboard direct to our in-ear mixer without micing the amp. I was hoping MIDI compatibility but foung this is not built in. @Sascha Franck mentioned the pirateMidi solution. If you are into DIY you can check https://github.com/Builty/TonexOneController which is the open source solution implemented by pirateMidi (as stated by them). Depending on where you are this might be a more feasable solution for you.
 
EOengineer said:
Not exactly sure why, but dirt pedals in particular work SO MUCH better into the Tonex pedal than Helix.
Click to expand...

I actually think they're working quite well with the Stomp, but at least so far, even with all the ToneNET hunting involved, the TO delivers somewhat more of an instant gratification (even if there's a metric ton of captures on ToneNET that are just horrible).

EOengineer said:
It feels like there’s additional dynamic range in the captures or something because I get a better sense of the extra punch from an OD without immediately turning to overcompressed mud.
Click to expand...

This has been my experience particularly with the BE-OD. I always thought it could do with some more tightness (the tight control doesn't really help much IMO) - but with that particular Tonex patch it's there, all of a sudden. Which even is quite strange, because while pretty clean, the capture I'm using is still somewhat hairy, so running a pretty well driven sound into that usually should result in a bit more "wash" - but the opposite is the case.
I've stumbled across that effect before already, when accidentally switching the order of boost and drive in my Egnater Goldsmith. The drive in there is pretty untight, but all of a sudden, with the (somewhat hairy) boost being located after it, it became much tighter. Quite weird and not exactly following much logic. But then, it's likely pretty complexed waveforms doing their thing...
 
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StarF666 said:
If you are into DIY you can check https://github.com/Builty/TonexOneController which is the open source solution implemented by pirateMidi (as stated by them). Depending on where you are this might be a more feasable solution for you.
Click to expand...

This is precisely what the guy I bought my first pedal from was doing. Unfortunately, he only went for BT and no analog MIDI In (which the PM box does, and which is what I would need). I'm currently trying to talk him into building me a box with analog MIDI In, we shall see (I'm likely not able to slap this thing together on my own, even if there's detailed step by step instructions).
 
I got a ESP32 lying around somewhre. Might give it a go if I decide for the TXO. But there are already so many DIY projects lying around. Gotta play the guitar also.
 
StarF666 said:
I got a ESP32 lying around somewhre. Might give it a go if I decide for the TXO.
Click to expand...

If you ever do so, a) please tell me if you manage to slap an analog MIDI input in and b) sell me one (I'd pay you as much as for the PM Pico without the AUS shipping costs...).
 
The BE-OD is a little more picky about the amp/amp model you run it into - anything super scooped like a Fender Twin sounds terrible, but something with good mids sounds awesome.
 
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