Tonex Pedal....It's REAL

[Lysander]

I'm right there with you

[raises hand]

 

[Sascha Franck]

So, what's the general consensus so far? Leak or fake?
In case it's a real leak, I'd say they didn't exactly get it right (which is pretty much business as usual in IKMM land...)

One of the main reasons being this:

but the size is still awkwardly big.

Yeah. Should be more like an Amplifirebox - their X-Gear pedals are almost double as wide.
In case it's really just loading and tweaking existing presets, there's no need for a huge screen offering little informational value.
With 3 switches and that width I'd also expect such a thing to do at least a little more than just one amp at a time, such as being able to combine 2 captures (either parallely for dual amp operation or as in a more standard drive+amp manner) and full stereo operation.
And aren't USB-B ports sort of aging? Shouldn't a new device feature USB-C?
Sort of similar things go for MIDI I/O. While traditional DIN I/Os are nice for some people with oldfashioned setups, in situations where space is tight (*check*), I'd rather use Mini-MIDI jacks.
Lack od SPDIF is something else - why? But then, QC folks seem to get away with it, too.

Whatever, I do at least hope this is a fake and they'd rather be coming out with 2 different units. One pretty small player box and another larger one, also featuring all required capturing I/Os and being able to at least load the sort of common stomps and FX needed to work as a standalone unit.
I'm absolutely in the market for either of those, but with this "leaked" version, I'd likely have to give it a pass (doesn't fit on my board physically and wouldn't integrate properly, either).

 

[pipelineaudio]

They'd be dropping the ball massively if they didn't make an amplitube box you could share presets with amplitube native plugin and standalone. They should have done it before Line 6 did.

I won't hold my breath

 

[James Freeman]

So, what's the general consensus so far? Leak or fake?

I say leak.
It look pretty much like the virtual tonex pedal in Amplitube.

 

[Sascha Franck]

It look pretty much like the virtual tonex pedal in Amplitube.

Well, but it also looks pretty much like their existing pedals, so it'd be an easy job for any photo wizard. Grab design from existing pedals and add the color scheme from AT.

 

[laxu]

$500 was a hard sell for me against just getting an Iridium, UA stuff, or the like. $400 makes more sense… but the size is still awkwardly big.

I guess you could set it up to do three gain stages, and get rid of some drive pedals. But that doesn’t fit in with the pedalboard ethos… I get that they had to reuse their X series hardware, but it just didn’t have to be this big. I think a lot of people will pass this up just cus of that.

I used the X-Drive here as the ToneX is not yet in Pedalplayground. I don't think the size is too bad, similar to a larger Strymon. I doubt size is going to be any sort of dealbreaker for most users. This is still much less than the QC, Kemper or FM3 size too.

 

[laxu]

Well, but it also looks pretty much like their existing pedals, so it'd be an easy job for any photo wizard. Grab design from existing pedals and add the color scheme from AT.

It was also on another website where it was promptly removed. More pictures also surfaced on The Other Forum and even though they are clearly a 3D model, they look very much the same as the product photos of other IK X-series pedals. Nobody would go to the trouble of making the 3D model themselves just to troll people.

 

[Sascha Franck]

This is still much less than the QC, Kemper or FM3 size too.

Sure, but it also does *way* less than those. Pretty much no way to play a gig just with it unless it's bar jazz or AC/DC style.

 

[laxu]

Sure, but it also does *way* less than those. Pretty much no way to play a gig just with it unless it's bar jazz or AC/DC style.

It has a comp, gate, EQ and reverb built in. Drives can be replaced by swapping to a higher gain model as needed. So all you potentially need is a delay, tuner, maybe modulation.

The HX Stomp is still the only higher end, truly compact multifx unit on the market so it's no wonder it's a huge success for Line6. But if you already have some favorite pedals, maybe you don't like menu-driven setups and just want some nice amp/cab options. I haven't bought a HX Stomp because I don't care for its compromise compared to the full Helix UI.

I think the ToneX will hit in that spot between all of these units where it does more than the UA/Amplifirebox/Strymon units, less than the HX Stomp, at a much lower cost than the larger all-in-one boxes, while retaining much of the ease of use of the smaller, simpler boxes.

 

[Sascha Franck]

It has a comp, gate, EQ and reverb built in.

Ok, I admittedly missed comp and EQ.

Drives can be replaced by swapping to a higher gain model as needed.

Defenitely nothing I'd want to do as it means even less overall control (having to adjust two patches instead of one just because I need a little amp pushing - nah...).

But if you already have some favorite pedals, maybe you don't like menu-driven setups and just want some nice amp/cab options.

This would precisely describe my live demands (and it's the very reason I sold the HX Floor), but as said, I couldn't integrate it into my current setup properly at all. See, this is just the amp section of my current board:

The Tonex, while almost as wide (and somewhat deeper), could not even remotely replace these two in either accesibility or switchability - not even if my loop switcher supplied MIDI (which it doesn't - and which I don't need/want anyway).
Heck, if the thing was as small as the AFB, I'd even consider purchasing two of them. Alternatively, it could just be a true stereo unit allowing me to use parallel amps in two different loops (I actually wanted to use the Stomp that way at first, but as is, things are vastly more comfortable).
Also, the Tonex thing, if real, doesn't even feature endless encoders, so balancing two different amps (which usually is all I need for live) would result in an endless mess of parameter jumps or related things.

I think the ToneX will hit in that spot between all of these units where it does more than the UA/Amplifirebox/Strymon units, less than the HX Stomp, at a much lower cost than the larger all-in-one boxes, while retaining much of the ease of use of the smaller, simpler boxes.

Sure, you make some pretty valid points here. And I'd even agree that it might check many people's boxes. It might even check some of mine in a recording situation. But as far as my live needs go, I'd likely have to pass.

Fwiw, in case this is real, it'll be interesting to see whether you get the full Tonex software along with it. I'd prettty much expect that. And quite obviously, that'd be something to factor in.
Also, in case the interface side of things is covered properly (mainly regarding low latency), that might open up some more options. Personally, I can't get along with most of the "let's slap this in" interfaces, usually accessed through a generic Thesycon driver, often delivering horrible RTL figures (the HX family very unfortunately being quite the worst in that aspect). In case you could as well play all kinds of software amps through it easily and run the capturing software as well, that'd make up for an incredibly nice playground.

 

[laxu]

Ok, I admittedly missed comp and EQ.



Defenitely nothing I'd want to do as it means even less overall control (having to adjust two patches instead of one just because I need a little amp pushing - nah...).



This would precisely describe my live demands (and it's the very reason I sold the HX Floor), but as said, I couldn't integrate it into my current setup properly at all. See, this is just the amp section of my current board:
View attachment 4009
The Tonex, while almost as wide (and somewhat deeper), could not even remotely replace these two in either accesibility or switchability - not even if my loop switcher supplied MIDI (which it doesn't - and which I don't need/want anyway).
Heck, if the thing was as small as the AFB, I'd even consider purchasing two of them. Alternatively, it could just be a true stereo unit allowing me to use parallel amps in two different loops (I actually wanted to use the Stomp that way at first, but as is, things are vastly more comfortable).
Also, the Tonex thing, if real, doesn't even feature endless encoders, so balancing two different amps (which usually is all I need for live) would result in an endless mess of parameter jumps or related things.

I think we all have some specific usecases that a particular product might not meet.

I use the BluGuitar Amp 1 in my rig as I mentioned in an earlier post. It's either used as a clean Fender voiced pedal platform driven by a Strymon Riverside or I toggle between Fender cleans and Marshall overdrive. I find that a lot of the time the BluGuitar remains untouched besides switching so for this rig my needs from the amp itself are pretty small.

I was considering buying a used Strymon Iridium again as a stereo, direct to fullrange speakers approach to make full use of the stereo gloriousness my other Strymon pedals are capable. But with the Tonex coming out I will most likely entertain that instead. UA is straight out of the game for me because its lack of remote control features are a complete dealbreaker for me.

I would expect that a reasonably full ToneX is included considering it's supposed to have so many built in profiles. IK will most likely sell some addition packs for it in the future that are outside whatever version is bundled.

 

[mbenigni]

Then its size just stands out even more. “Stomp does amps AND a bunch of stuff, I’m keeping this huge thing next to it just for amps…”

Admittedly pointless unless you prefer (some of) the ToneX amps over (some of) the HX amps.

I don't think the size is unreasonable when you account for the functionality on tap beyond captures, i.e. gate, compression, eq, reverb, preset storage/ recall...

 

[mbenigni]

Kemper should have honestly done this years ago , people have been begging for a profile only player
Some even did mock ups
IMO Kemper has just left money on the table that is now gone to IK

And some of the people asking were willing to pay nearly a grand for a small, pedalboard-friendly, .kipr-loading device. Now that IK's going to market at half that, it's going to be a pretty cutthroat market. :/

 

[Deadpan]

If this is 399 , perhaps they have held back the bigger one with the FX for NAMM in April

I don't think this was to be announced yet.

However, as the cat is out of the bag...

 

[JiveTurkey]

I don't think this was to be announced yet.

However, as the cat is out of the bag...

 

[GTR37]

And some of the people asking were willing to pay nearly a grand for a small, pedalboard-friendly, .kipr-loading device. Now that IK's going to market at half that, it's going to be a pretty cutthroat market. :/

Agreed it’s not just the Tech it’s the price points they are setting up
That’s going to be tough even if Neural future plans include something similar like a capture box it’s highly unlikely they will get close to $500
The other part if true is these are being built in Italy like the AXE I/0
That’s an impressive price point to hit really

 

[Sascha Franck]

At 399 (regardless whether it's US$ or €), that thing would likely be a no brainer for me, at least at one point in time.
Still, IMO they're missing out on some things to really make this a great workhorse.

Non-endless encoders - come on, dealing with those in digital land has always been a pain and it can't get good at all by design, regardless of how nicely you manage to implement "soft takeovers" of parameter values. There's a reason why pretty much all other companies in this biz are settling for endless encoders with readouts.

No SPDF. Yeah well, maybe not *too* relevant for plain recording, but once we're in re-amping zone (in situations where there's no Tonex plugin), all of a sudden SPDIF becomes a massive plus.

No FX loop. Possibly not needed on a pedalboard - but what if you plan to use the thing on both your pedalboard and as an audio interface? Will the DAW return be running through all of your post-FX or will you be using the headphone out for DAW purposes, running into whatever impedance mismatches?

Still, for that asking price, it'll likely be a non-issue, especially given how stunningly well IK's capturing process seems to be working.

 

[yeky83]

View attachment 4002
View attachment 4003View attachment 4004

I used the X-Drive here as the ToneX is not yet in Pedalplayground. I don't think the size is too bad, similar to a larger Strymon. I doubt size is going to be any sort of dealbreaker for most users. This is still much less than the QC, Kemper or FM3 size too.

Yeah no, that's huge. And the Iridium shows it could've been made much smaller.

 

[James Freeman]

5-3-0, 0, 0, Another thread bites the dust eh!

 

[Sascha Franck]

If you want to swap out drives and use any of those comp, gate, EQ, and reverb features in any meaningfully tweakable ways, then you're going to have to menu-dive through its 7-segment displays. That isn't going to be "retaining much of the ease of use of the smaller, simpler boxes."

Thing is, you can obviously use the unit in a much simpler way. After all there's at least lots of exposed knobs, which I like. So you could touch them all once and be in WYSIWYG land - right up my alley (I'm using the AFB and AA exactly that way, fortunately no knob touching is needed at least for the AFB). But in that case, a metric ton of space would be wasted.

And as said, in standalone mode, that thing would barely be suitable to take me to any average gig.
For me it's neither fish nor meat (as we say over here).

Still, it certainly scores through sound quality and price (ok, we will actually have to wait for a verdict re: sound quality).