IK Multimedia TONEX Board: The TONEX Floor Modeler We Have Been Waiting For?

Sep 3

11 min read

Updated: Sep 4

https://youtu.be/hmddtWyBdW4?si=v2nIMadphbKJ4OIu

TONEX started as an incredibly powerful amp capturing ecosystem.

Then came TONEX Pedal.

Then TONEX ONE.

Then more effects.

More Tone Models.

TONEX V2.

And now IK Multimedia has apparently decided to stop pretending that TONEX is just an amp capture platform.

Because the new TONEX Board looks like a proper full-size guitar processor.

And honestly?

This might be the TONEX product I have been waiting for.

At the time of writing, the global launch is still unfolding and some official IK Multimedia pages are not yet fully indexed, so consider this a first look and analysis based on the currently published specifications, not my hands-on review.

But there is already quite a lot to talk about.

A LOT. 😄

Current retailer information describes TONEX Board as the new flagship of the TONEX hardware family, with a 5-inch color touchscreen, more than 70 effects, dual signal paths, up to four simultaneous Tone Models and extensive live/studio routing.

And that changes TONEX quite dramatically.

TONEX is finally becoming a complete guitar rig

This is probably the biggest deal.

The original TONEX Pedal was always a slightly unusual product.

Its main job was simple:

Capture → Amp → Cab.

And it could do this extremely well.

TONEX Tone Models can sound fantastic and the ecosystem has grown enormously. The current TONEX platform gives access to more than 60,000 community Tone Models through ToneNET, while TONEX V2 has further redesigned the browsing and organization workflow.

But...

A great amp sound does not automatically make a complete guitar rig.

And this is why you constantly see guitarists combining TONEX with HX Stomp, Boss GT units, external delays, reverbs, switchers and additional pedals.

TONEX handles the amp.

Something else handles everything else.

There are plenty of real-world examples of exactly this workflow, including users explicitly describing TONEX as their amp platform while another processor handles effects.

TONEX Board appears to attack that problem directly.

Instead of building a pedalboard around TONEX, TONEX Board wants to become the pedalboard.

That is a much bigger change than simply adding a touchscreen.

Up to FOUR Tone Models inside one preset

This is where things get really interesting.

According to the currently published specifications, TONEX Board can process up to four Tone Models simultaneously.

Each of its two signal paths can contain:

1 stomp Tone Model → 1 amp Tone Model

So potentially:

Stomp A → Amp A

plus

Stomp B → Amp B

inside one preset.

And the two paths can operate independently or as part of more complex split/mix configurations.

That is HUGE compared with the original TONEX hardware concept.

Want a captured Tube Screamer into a captured Marshall on one side...

...and another drive into a captured Mesa on the other?

Possible.

Want two different amps for a stereo / dual-mono rig?

Possible.

Want completely different processing for two instruments?

The published routing architecture appears to allow that too. One retailer describes the Board as having two amp/cab/FX paths that can even be assigned to separate inputs and outputs.

This could be very interesting for stereo rigs.

But also for something I personally find much more useful:

dual-amp sounds with complementary frequency responses.

One tighter, more mid-focused amp.

One wider or more scooped amp.

Blend them.

And suddenly things get very interesting in a dense rock or metal production.

https://youtu.be/pw-9IwajBtU?si=c-Nl8Fj51oKFmClX

And then there are 12 FX slots

TONEX FX already expanded the original TONEX ecosystem with modulation, delays and reverbs.

But TONEX Board goes much further.

The currently published specification mentions 12 effect slots and more than 70 effects derived from AmpliTube.

And THIS might actually be more important than another incremental improvement in amp capture accuracy.

Because let's be realistic.

Current capture technologies are already ridiculously good.

TONEX.

NAM.

Neural Capture.

Kemper.

A good capture from any of these systems can sound incredible.

The bigger question today is increasingly:

What can I actually build around that captured amp?

Can I add compression?

Pitch?

Drives?

EQ?

Modulation?

Stereo delay?

Reverb?

Can I move things around?

Can I split the signal?

Can I run two amps?

Can I control everything during a gig without becoming a professional tap dancer?

😄

TONEX Board finally appears to answer those questions much more seriously.

AmpliTube inside TONEX hardware?

This is probably how I would describe the product in one sentence.

TONEX gives you the captured amp and pedal technology.

AmpliTube provides the larger effects ecosystem.

TONEX Board combines the two inside stage hardware.

That is a very logical move.

IK Multimedia has spent decades building AmpliTube, so developing another completely separate effects ecosystem for TONEX would make little sense.

And bundling TONEX MAX and AmpliTube 5 MAX with the Board reinforces this idea even further.

In other words:

TONEX Board doesn't look like a bigger TONEX Pedal.

It looks much more like TONEX becoming a complete modeler platform.

Finally...

A proper screen!

😄

This sounds trivial.

It isn't.

One recurring criticism of the existing TONEX hardware has never really been the sound.

It has been the workflow.

Users have described the original software and hardware editing as unintuitive or frustrating, even while praising the actual tones.

I understand why.

There is a point where adding secondary and tertiary functions to knobs stops being clever and simply becomes difficult to remember.

TONEX Board gets a 5-inch high-resolution color touchscreen plus five physical encoders for quick editing.

Nice!

This could completely change the experience.

Want to see your signal chain?

Touch it.

Want to change the amp?

Touch it.

Want to adjust an effect?

Touch it.

Then use physical encoders for actual parameter changes.

At least in theory...

Exactly as it should be.

And after TONEX 2.0 also redesigned the desktop player around easier discovery, folders, favorites, recently used content and improved browsing, it feels like IK is finally taking the workflow problem very seriously.

https://youtu.be/MAjOn6_Z6EY?si=j-nssrSUy9Aw6Inj

Presets are not enough for live playing

Another important change:

TONEX Board supports Preset, Scene and Stomp workflows.

This matters.

A guitar processor designed for bedroom playing and a processor designed for playing a concert are two very different things.

Changing complete presets is useful.

But during a song I often don't want another completely different rig.

I want:

Crunch.

Crunch + delay.

Crunch + delay + boost.

Lead.

Lead + bigger delay.

Maybe something ambient.

And I want those changes to happen predictably, quickly and ideally without weird gaps or huge volume differences.

Scenes solve exactly this kind of problem.

And Stomp mode lets the processor behave more like a traditional pedalboard.

This is the direction every serious live processor eventually needs to take.

The I/O finally looks like a professional processor

The back panel is also very different from the original TONEX Pedal.

Current specifications show two instrument inputs, two balanced XLR main outputs, another pair of TRS outputs, two sends and two returns, MIDI In and Out/Thru, two expression/control inputs, headphone output and USB-C.

The FX loop can operate as a stereo loop or as two independent mono loops.

And the two stereo output pairs reportedly have their own parametric EQ processing.

That last detail is VERY useful.

Why?

Because your stage monitor and FOH often need different things.

Maybe your FRFR speaker is too dark.

Maybe your IEM is too bright.

Maybe the PA system already has a huge low-end.

Changing the entire preset because one monitoring system needs correction is not ideal.

Independent output EQ?

Yes please.

TONEX Board can also work as a 4-input / 2-output USB audio interface at 24-bit / 44.1 kHz, while the analog section is specified with 24-bit/192 kHz converters, 123 dB dynamic range and a 5 Hz–24 kHz frequency response.

Pretty serious.

https://youtu.be/9bXL76NVlZc?si=Qs31H5de_nzeGoR9

But there are only four footswitches

This immediately caught my attention.

CTRL.

Four switches.

For a compact TONEX Pedal?

Fine.

For a processor that apparently wants to compete with full-size stage modelers?

Hmm.

This might be enough if the Scene / Stomp workflow is extremely well designed.

Especially if CTRL can dynamically change functions or if combinations of switches provide additional navigation.

But players who want immediate access to six, eight or ten effects during a show may still want an external MIDI controller.

Luckily, full MIDI support is there.

Still...

I would definitely want to test this before calling the interface perfect.

What about the actual sound?

This is where I am less worried.

TONEX already proved that its core technology can sound extremely good.

The current generation uses IK's AI Machine Modeling and TONEX V2 continues developing the capture/modeling platform.

Real users regularly praise the feel and realism too. One guitarist who had played tube amps for around 30 years described TONEX hardware as feeling “correct” in a live band environment, while another user comparing NAM A2 with TONEX V2 felt that the difference between current capture systems had become smaller than the differences between individual captures themselves.

And I actually agree with the basic principle.

At this point...

The quality of the capture itself matters enormously.

Maybe more than the logo on the processor.

60,000 Tone Models sounds amazing...

...until you need ONE good tone

😄

This is the paradox of modern guitar processors.

Infinite choice sounds fantastic in marketing.

But I don't need 60,000 amps during a concert.

I need maybe five.

And I need those five to work.

This is something I see again and again when working with guitarists.

A preset can sound amazing alone at bedroom volume and become:

Too bright.

Too fizzy.

Too thin.

Too bass-heavy.

Too scooped.

Or simply invisible...

...once the drummer starts playing.

There was a very recent TONEX discussion where a player struggled with tones becoming thin through a live PA. Other users recommended better captures, dialing tones through PA/FRFR at realistic volume and experimenting with aftermarket IRs; one user said changing the IR made a huge difference.

Exactly.

This is why I think the next stage of digital guitar technology isn't just:

MORE TONES.

It is:

BETTER CURATION.

Give me fewer sounds.

But make them useful.

Capture quality is only half of the guitar tone

The cabinet matters enormously too.

This is something guitarists sometimes underestimate when jumping between amp captures.

You can have an incredible amp capture...

...and destroy it with the wrong cabinet IR.

And vice versa.

A carefully selected IR can suddenly make an average-feeling preset sit perfectly in a band.

The existing TONEX ecosystem already supports IK's VIR cabinet technology and third-party Custom IR loading on TONEX Pedal and TONEX ONE, and TONEX 2.0 continues to include VIR and Custom IR functionality.

I want to verify the final TONEX Board implementation against the official hardware manual as soon as IK publishes all documentation, because the first Board retailer specification does not yet spell out every IR detail.

But cabinet flexibility will be one of the things I will watch very closely.

Especially live.

https://youtu.be/DaBFImNhjC0?si=E9lU7_nTVgn9cNTV

TONEX Board vs Neural Amp Modeler / NAM A2

And now the obvious question...

Does TONEX Board support NAM?

At the time of writing:

I have not found any confirmed published specification saying that TONEX Board directly loads NAM or NAM A2 files.

There were rumors before launch suggesting NAM support, but I would absolutely NOT treat those as fact.

The currently available product information describes TONEX Tone Models and the TONEX / AmpliTube ecosystem.

So right now I would consider these two separate worlds:

TONEX V2 → TONEX ecosystem

and

NAM A2 → Neural Amp Modeler ecosystem

Interestingly, the sonic argument between them may become less important over time.

There are already users comparing TONEX V2 and NAM A2 who feel the quality of the individual capture, EQ and application matters more than tiny differences between the modeling architectures.

That makes sense to me.

Because once both technologies become extremely accurate...

Workflow becomes the battleground.

And TONEX Board is clearly a workflow product.

TONEX Board vs Quad Cortex, Helix and the big modelers

This is where the TONEX Board gets complicated.

The early European pricing discussed around the launch has been roughly €1,200, although regional pricing should be treated as provisional until the global rollout is complete. GuitarBomb places it directly against products such as Quad Cortex, Helix and Fender Tone Master Pro.

And at that price...

TONEX is no longer the cheap alternative.

That changes expectations dramatically.

The original TONEX Pedal could get away with slightly awkward editing because the sound-to-price ratio was ridiculous.

A €1,000+ floor processor?

Different story.

The user interface has to be good.

Scenes have to work.

Preset switching has to work.

Effects have to compete.

Routing has to work.

MIDI has to work.

The editor has to work.

Reliably.

Every night.

Because now you're entering a category filled with very mature competitors.

The TONEX Board's advantage might be its combination of capture-first architecture + huge TONEX library + AmpliTube effects + dual signal chains.

But the competition is VERY strong.

This could be fun.

😄

Who is TONEX Board actually for?

I think this makes the most sense for someone who already loves TONEX sounds but keeps adding more equipment around the TONEX Pedal.

TONEX + MIDI controller.

TONEX + HX Stomp.

TONEX + external delays.

TONEX + external stereo processor.

TONEX + DI.

TONEX + switcher.

TONEX + another TONEX.

At some point...

Maybe buying one box that does the entire job actually becomes the simpler option.

For guitarists who already have a carefully designed analog pedalboard and only need an amp at the end?

TONEX ONE or TONEX Pedal might still make much more sense.

And cost MUCH less.

That's important.

Bigger isn't automatically better.

One other thing worries me...

9 V.

3 A.

😄

The currently published power specification is 9 V DC / 3 A.

That is technically understandable for a device like this.

But don't expect to casually plug TONEX Board into some random 100 mA output on your old pedalboard power supply.

This is basically computer-level processing living in a floor unit.

Feed the monster properly.

https://youtu.be/tl3evDNgPVs?si=V_DkNuGnY25HX-W6

So...

Is TONEX Board worth it?

I have absolutely no idea yet.

😄

I need to play it.

I need to build presets.

I need to hear the effects.

I need to test preset switching.

I need to see how quickly I can build a complete live rig.

And most importantly...

I need to play it LOUD.

Because that is where guitar processors usually reveal their real personality.

But conceptually?

I think this is the most interesting TONEX hardware IK Multimedia has released so far.

Not because TONEX suddenly sounds dramatically better.

It probably doesn't need to.

The important change is that TONEX is evolving from an excellent amp capture box into an actual guitar processing platform.

And that is a much bigger deal.

The real guitar-modeler war is becoming a workflow war

Kemper proved profiling.

Quad Cortex made captures modern.

TONEX made high-quality capturing affordable.

NAM made excellent amp capturing open source.

NAM A2 pushed accuracy even further.

And now?

Everyone already sounds good.

So the next fight is different.

Who makes finding the right tone easier?

Who makes building the rig faster?

Who makes live operation safer?

Who makes presets translate between headphones, studio monitors, FRFR, IEM and a huge PA system?

Who gives me fewer reasons to touch the editor five minutes before the show?

😄

THAT is where things get interesting.

And the new TONEX Board looks like IK Multimedia understands this.

Finally.

I am currently building three new guitar tone product families around exactly the same philosophy.

TonesToPlay — complete ready-to-play guitar presets.

CabsToPlay — carefully selected and optimized cabinet IRs.

And AmpsToPlay — premium NAM A2 amp captures.

Not thousands of random files.

Not endless tone hunting.

The goal is much simpler:

Load it. Play it. Make music.

More soon!

May the muse be with you!

TONEX Board FAQ

What is IK Multimedia TONEX Board?

TONEX Board is IK Multimedia's new flagship floor guitar and bass processor combining TONEX AI Machine Modeling Tone Models with a larger AmpliTube-derived effects system, touchscreen editing, dual signal paths and extensive live/studio connectivity.

How many Tone Models can TONEX Board run simultaneously?

Current specifications state that TONEX Board can run up to four Tone Models per preset: one stomp and one amp Tone Model on each of two signal paths.

How many effects does TONEX Board have?

The first published specifications list more than 70 effects with up to 12 effect slots inside a preset.

Does TONEX Board support NAM or NAM A2?

There is currently no confirmed published specification showing direct NAM or NAM A2 file support. TONEX Board is documented around IK Multimedia's TONEX Tone Model ecosystem. I will update this article if IK confirms otherwise.