Tonex Pedal....It's REAL

[IK Multimedia]

Who do you think you are, GearGifzilla King of Gifs?

He's coming for you and your steak knives

 

[Lysander]

He's coming for you and your steak knives

 

[Gearzilla]

 

[JiveTurkey]

 

[Orvillain]

I'm interested in how this tiny pedal bests or doesn't best Headrush, Stomp, Iridium, UAD pedals etc, even FM stuff ..all the small high end stuff that would've been my alternative, in size, to my Kemper, prior to the ToneX arriving.

ToneX by itself isn't too attractive to me. I see it as one component on a board with something acting as the command centre for the entire thing - Helix, FM9, etc.

You don't buy ToneX if you want an all-round unit with tons of capabilities. You buy it because you have amps you want to capture with the best capture tech around, or you buy it because you want access to a growing library of captures using the best tech around.

 

[KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!]

It's funny 'cause it's true.

 

[Brandon7s]

Welp, I just jumped on the ToneX pedal bandwagon by placing an order direct from IK just a minute ago. I've owned the plug-in for a few weeks and I've been A/Bing it against my FM3 and after playing a bunch with both tonight, I found that I just flat-out prefer the sound of the modeling of the ToneX. My bread and butter is a strat+deluxe reverb amp model and I've been decently happy with what I've been able to get with those in my FM3, but not blown away or particularly inspired. I'm sure there are things I can tweak in my FM3 preset to improve it, but I've done a LOT of exploration and I'm just plain tired of tweaking settings and trying different cab IRs, and I just don't want to mess with anything anymore.

In any case, I played for about an hour on my FM3 and then an hour on the ToneX plug-in tonight and the ToneX felt more "alive", it responded better to my volume and tone knobs being rolled down, it responded better to changes in my picking dynamics, and most of all it was inspiring. And simple. I picked a couple different tone models from the IK Cali 65 collection and then just played.

I figure that the FM3 will be a fantastic pairing with the ToneX pedal. I'll get to save tons of DSP by using the ToneX as my amp and cab block and that'll free up a lot of power for running a more complete and complex virtual effect pedal board in the FM3. I will now be able to run all of the effects I've always wanted but for which I didn't have enough DSP available. And if I want to get more hands on with my effects then it'll be easy to set up a small board with the ToneX as it's center and pair it with reverb, delay, and drive pedals and have full access to knobs again. I don't anticipate going that route but at least the option will be there due to its small form factor.

I've had the Kemper a couple times and it had a distinct characteristic that it imparted on pretty much everything it profiled. I've not gotten that same feeling from the ToneX yet, which is something that would definitely prevent me from getting it. Every tone model I've tried so far has felt like a completely different amp, which is great. Plus, the price is so low that it's practically a no-brainer, especially in comparison to getting an FM9 or an Axe FX III, which I've been strongly considering due to the desire for more DSP.

 

[yeky83]

I figure that the FM3 will be a fantastic pairing with the ToneX pedal. I'll get to save tons of DSP by using the ToneX as my amp and cab block and that'll free up a lot of power for running a more complete and complex virtual effect pedal board in the FM3. I will now be able to run all of the effects I've always wanted but for which I didn't have enough DSP available.

No, you won't be saving much of the FM3's DSP.

 

[Foxmeister]

No, you won't be saving much of the FM3's DSP.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the FM3 reserve particular cores/processing units for specific functions, which would mean no DSP "saving" (at least for the amp), just an unused core?

 

[norminal]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the FM3 reserve particular cores/processing units for specific functions, which would mean no DSP "saving" (at least for the amp), just an unused core?

You have an FM3? Power that bitch up, load you favorite preset, remove the Amp Block, and observe the CPU percentage. I’d like to know as well.

 

[Foxmeister]

You have an FM3? Power that b*tch up, load you favorite preset, remove the Amp Block, and observe the CPU percentage. I’d like to know as well.

I had one - I have an FM9 now, and that works differently too, but looking at the FM3 Wiki:

Amp modeling runs on the 2nd core DSP, together with the Delay blocks.

This suggests that any DSP saving by offloading amps to the ToneX can only be "spent" on delays.

 

[laxu]

So here's what I would say.....

Asking people to compare ToneX to their component modelling platform is a bit .. I dunno... if I squint and read that sentence, it kinda makes sense. What I can say is, I've got Diezel VH4 captures with ToneX that I enjoy more than the Diezel VH4 models on the Axe3. That's not because the Axe3 is in anyway sub-par. It's because the ToneX captures are my particular VH4. Other people might think the captures are s**t, and that is fine... they can just go f**k themselves.

But suuuuuuuuuuurrreeeelllyyyyyy the most appropriate comparison is against Kemper and Quad Cortex? Surely we can all agree on that?! If not, I'm not sure what we can really discuss. To me, it's the only comparison that makes sense.

While comparing captures to other devices that let you do that is certainly more apt, I think the comparison to component modelers are interesting too.

I can understand the "get the digital version of my favorite amp with my favorite settings" appeal, but at the same time I also get the appeal of the "digital version that works exactly like that amp" that component modelers offer on paper. So comparing the two and seeing how they stack up can be an interesting test too. For me the Tonex, considering I am NOT looking to capture my own amps, fell short when I could just use my Fractal and get results I like easier than digging up the perfect 1st or 3rd party profiles. Would be a different situation if I owned a bunch of tube amps instead as it would be easier to get the sound of those captured than trying to painstakingly dial the Fractal models to match.

I mentioned somewhere I was thinking of picking up another Strymon Iridium instead, if a cheap enough one comes up on the used market. On the first go around I put it against the FM3 and felt the FM3 had a more complex sound, but at the same time maybe dismissed how compact, simple and straightforward the Iridium is. I was considering the Tonex for this role but I feel it has added complication I don't necessarily need.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Brandon’s report is kinda what I’ve been curious about. When I got the Kemper, I wasn’t leveling it against other modelers, or claiming it was better, but against my amps. It compared well so I stuck with it. The more recent small or even tiny revolution has had me wanting in, and until ToneX that meant modeling. Personally I could get by with the pedal features alone for some things but really it does seem like pairing it with pedals or a Stomp would be ideal. I’m sure many will say the best modeling compares with its captures. No reason to doubt that. But based on my experience with lots of plugins lately, I’d still be inclined to go with ToneX, barring some big unexpected announcement from the platform I’m already so deep in to. I sort of can’t believe there’s no Kemper plugin and a system that integrates the plug with their hardware. I’ve been sugg—no, begging for it forever. As long as Kemper has been around, at least in terms of guitar stuff IK has been in it even longer. So maybe it’s not a surprise that they’re first.

Given how long it took Kemper to come up with a software editor, why would anyone think theyd ever make a plugin?

 

[Kruegmeister]

Curious if anyone knows how Many Captures you can run at once?
Also how quick does it switch Presets?

I like the QC for Kitchen sinking my Pedal & Amp Captures & wondering if the ToneX is Capable of the Same or something similar?

 

[Gearzilla]

Curious if anyone knows how Many Captures you can run at once?
Also how quick does it switch Presets?

I like the QC for Kitchen sinking my Pedal & Amp Captures & wondering if the ToneX is Capable of the Same or something similar?

Tonex is one at a time.

 

[Brandon7s]

This suggests that any DSP saving by offloading amps to the ToneX can only be "spent" on delays.

I just tested it out and this is correct; removing the amp block doesn't reduce DSP, but I can swap it out for a delay at least, which is something that I'd like to be able to do anyway since having a slapback delay in front of the amp would be nice but I haven't had enough DSP to run 2 delays at once in most of my presets.

 

[IK Multimedia]

I figure that the FM3 will be a fantastic pairing with the ToneX pedal.

For sure. TONEX Pedal has been great paired with multifx and similar units. I think you'll be very happy with your particular pairing, quite a nice setup.

Also how quick does it switch Presets?

It has been described as gapless by others here or at "the other place".

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

To be fair, editing on the front of the Kemper, with zero bending of the knee, even on the fly, has always been easier for me and still is, versus other stuff. The rig exchange has always been easy. The editor finally came and I use it, but sometimes just pressing the button on the unit is still easier.

There are a million examples of companies inventing a technology, and other companies later on carrying those innovations in to the future. Maybe, if the ToneX software gets streamlined and easier and less promotions-riddled, they're that company. I'm rooting for them. And also still hopeful that Kemper keeps innovating.

Those ideas are not mutually exclusive.

None of this has to do with why anyone would ever have expected Kemper might make a plugin...

 

[norminal]

It has been described as gapless by others here or at "the other place".

Definitely gapless for me here.

 

[Blix]

@IK Multimedia Aren't you supposed to knock off the EU Vat when someone from Norway(Non EU)is buying from your website?
I'm used to all other websites in EU doing it, so confused why you aren't.