The original TONEX pedals proved that great digital guitar tone doesn’t need to feel flat, lifeless or buried under endless menus. Now, IK Multimedia has taken that technology and built something far more ambitious around it.
The new IK Multimedia TONEX Board combines AI-captured amps, cabinets and pedals with a complete effects system, dual signal paths, flexible routing and serious live control. In other words, TONEX is no longer simply a way to carry your favourite amp sounds—it can now become the centre of your entire guitar or bass rig.
We’ve had our first look at the new board, and these are the five things that have us most excited.
1. You Can Run Four Tone Models at Once
This is the headline feature—and it opens up some seriously interesting possibilities.
The TONEX Board can run up to four AI-captured Tone Models simultaneously across two independent signal paths. Those Tone Models can represent amplifiers, cabinets, overdrive pedals, distortion pedals or fuzz pedals.
You could create a stereo rig with two different captured amplifiers, place a captured overdrive in front of each one and blend everything together. You could split one guitar between a sparkling clean amp and a high-gain stack, or even process two instruments through separate paths.
For most players, one beautifully captured amp will be more than enough. But having four Tone Models available means you can build much more ambitious rigs without needing several TONEX pedals or an additional modeller.
This is where the TONEX Board starts feeling less like another multi-effects pedal and more like a compact digital studio rig.
2. It’s Now a Complete Pedalboard
TONEX has always been about remarkably convincing captures of real amplifiers and pedals. The new Board surrounds those captures with a much larger effects system.
You get 76 effects drawn from TONEX and AmpliTube, including drives, fuzzes, compressors, EQs, modulation, pitch effects, filters, delays and reverbs. Up to 12 effects slots can be arranged across the Board’s flexible signal paths.
That means you can place a compressor and overdrive before your amp, add modulation after it, run stereo delays and reverbs, or create parallel effects that blend with your dry signal.
Some of the more creative choices include shimmer reverbs, harmonised delays, pitch shifting, rotary effects, parallel compression and a movable effects-loop block for incorporating your existing pedals.
This is important because it means the TONEX Board isn’t simply giving you brilliant amp tones. It is giving you the tools to build the sounds around those amps as well.
You may still want to keep that favourite analogue fuzz or boutique overdrive on the floor—and the Board happily allows for that—but you no longer need a separate pedal for every basic job.
3. The Touchscreen Looks Made for Musicians, Not Programmers
A powerful modeller is only useful if you can actually find what you need before the drummer finishes counting in.
The TONEX Board features a five-inch high-resolution colour touchscreen, dedicated Home, Live, Save and Edit buttons, and six push-rotary controls. Instead of scrolling through tiny menus, you can see the signal chain, touch the block you want to change and adjust its parameters using physical knobs.
That combination is a big deal. Touchscreens are excellent for navigating a rig, while proper knobs are still the quickest way to make precise changes.
For live use, the four footswitches can operate in Preset, Scene or Stomp modes:
- Preset mode recalls complete rigs.
- Scene mode changes multiple elements within the same preset.
- Stomp mode provides traditional on-and-off control over individual effects.
The Board also provides 1,440 onboard preset locations, organised into setlists and banks. That is probably more presets than any sane guitarist will ever need, but it gives working players plenty of room to organise sounds for different bands, sessions, setlists or instruments.
4. The Routing and Connections Are Properly Professional
This may be the less glamorous part of the story, but it could be the feature that makes the TONEX Board genuinely practical for working musicians.
It includes two independent stereo output pairs: a pair of XLR main outputs and a second pair of balanced TRS outputs. Each pair can be configured for stereo or dual-mono operation, allowing you to send different versions of your rig to front of house, a stage monitor, an amplifier or a recording system.
There is also a movable stereo effects loop that can be divided into two independent mono loops. That gives you enormous freedom when integrating external pedals or processors.
Other connections include:
- Dual inputs for mono, stereo or two-instrument setups
- Four-cable-method support
- Five-pin MIDI input and output
- Two connections for expression pedals, footswitches or amplifier control
- Headphone output
- USB-C for editing, data transfer and firmware updates
A four-input/two-output USB audio-interface mode has also been announced, although IK Multimedia currently lists this as a feature coming through a future firmware update.
Whether you want to run directly into a PA, connect to an FRFR cabinet, use the effects with your traditional amplifier or build a stereo wet/dry setup, the Board appears ready to slot into the rig you already have.
5. There Is a Ridiculous Amount of Tone Included
The TONEX Board arrives with 2,000 premium Tone Models and more than 230 ready-to-play guitar and bass presets.
That library covers vintage cleans, edge-of-breakup valve amps, classic British crunch, modern high-gain sounds, bass rigs and captured drive pedals. You also receive access to more than 60,000 downloadable Tone Models and presets through ToneNET.
The included software package is equally substantial. It features TONEX software, TONEX Modeler, the TONEX Board Editor and AmpliTube 5 MAX, which adds more than 400 software gear models for recording and experimentation.
Of course, having thousands of sounds doesn’t mean you need to spend every evening auditioning amplifiers instead of playing guitar. The factory presets give you an immediate starting point, while the larger library means you can go searching when you need something specific.
Want a small vintage combo for recording? A tight modern metal rig? A huge stereo ambient sound? A bass setup for going directly into the PA? Chances are there will already be something useful waiting for you.
Who Is the TONEX Board For?
The TONEX Board should appeal to guitarists and bassists who want the flexibility of a modern modeller but still care deeply about the response and character of real amplifiers.
It makes particular sense for:
- Gigging players who want one consistent rig they can carry into any venue
- Guitarists running directly into front of house or an FRFR speaker
- Studio players who need fast access to a wide range of recording tones
- Existing TONEX users ready to build more advanced dual-amp and stereo rigs
- Pedalboard players who want to combine digital flexibility with favourite external pedals
- Bassists looking for amp, cabinet, drive and effects processing in one unit
It can be kept relatively simple, but there is enough routing and processing power underneath to handle some seriously sophisticated setups.
Our First Take
The most exciting thing about the TONEX Board isn’t one individual feature. It is how everything has finally been brought together.
You have the realism and playing response that made TONEX popular, but now it sits inside a complete performance system with quality effects, dual signal paths, four simultaneous Tone Models, extensive routing and a much more musician-friendly interface.
It can be a straightforward amp-and-pedal rig, a stereo recording setup, a dual-amp live system or the control centre for a much larger pedalboard. That flexibility is what makes it such an interesting new option.
The IK Multimedia TONEX Board is in stock now at Colemans Music. Visit us at 266 Coventry Street, South Melbourne to take a closer look, or shop online with Fast Shipping Aus Wide.
