Advertisement
Photo credit: Tone X
Are ToneX Pedals the best Amp emulation option in 2024?
The current offer of Amplifier Emulators is practically endless, from the expensive Fractal Racks to the low budget, All-In-One from Mooer or NUX, the competition is fierce, and it can be confusing for a guitarist to choose the one that best suits their needs. But despite this, I believe that IK Multimedia's proposal, with its ToneX family, has some characteristics that make it stand out from the rest, and its main strength is the cost/benefit ratio.
I think IK Multimedia was right to focus on the quality of the emulations and the simplicity of the Hardware, ToneX pedals are not intended to solve everything, they only seek to replace amps and Cabs in an effective way and at a cost that is difficult to beat.
RELATED ARTICLE: https://www.guitarthrills.com/taking-less-and-giving-more-that-is-the-story-behind-the-music-scene-will-it-ever-end/
Big Brother and younger brother?
Let's start with the similarities, according to IK Multimedia the audio quality is the same for both models, and as far as my hearing allows me, I think that's true, connecting the guitar directly to the Input and using the Headphones output on the ToneX Pedal and the single output of the ToneX One with the same headphones, the sound quality is consistent between both pedals, Sometimes something sounded a little different, but it was because some parameter was not exactly the same between both units.
Both Pedals can be controlled with ToneX App (for Mac and PC), but the ToneX Pedal includes the ToneX Max license and the Tonex One includes the SE version license of the same Software, an important difference since the Max version license costs $99.
Construction:
Another point in common is the construction, both are made of resistant aluminum and the Switches and knobs feel resistant and of good quality, they are pedals designed to withstand the use and abuse of a professional guitarist and the demands of live shows.
Both pedals have a USB connection (type C on the One and type B on the Pedal) that allows you to charge the Tone Models and use them as a sound card to record directly to the computer. An additional advantage of the ToneX One is that it can work powered by USB cable only, while the ToneX Pedal requires the connection of the 9V 320mA power supply (included).
Both models include configurable Reverb and Noise Gate and a tuner, very useful in the case of the ToneX Pedal and very minimalist in the case of the ToneX One, but it does its job of adjusting small detunes.
Differences:
With both pedals you can get the same tone, but that's where the similarities end, the ToneX Pedal is much more flexible and easier to control, with three switches you can easily navigate between 50 Presets with 3 Tone Models in each preset, allowing you to carry 150 tone models, its 8 knobs have 2 modes of use, allowing us to modify 16 parameters comfortably and quickly adjust the most important things while we play. For its part, the ToneX One has a single Switch, but two modes of use, Amp A/B or Stomp mode where we simply turn the pedal on or off with the single Switch. Additionally, we have a main Volume/Gain Knob and 3 mini knobs that are not very easy to operate live. Memory is also reduced to 20 Tone Models. but we must choose before playing which two we will use in A/B Mode and only one in stomp Mode.
Which one suits me?
The advantage of the ToneX One (besides the price) is the size, in Mini pedal format it is very easy to add it to any pedalboard as the last pedal replacing the Amp, if you add a couple of OD or Distortion pedals in front, you can use the ToneX One in A/B mode with the same Amp clean but with two levels of Master Vol and use it as a Booster for solos, all this in a Mini Pedalboard that is light and easy to transport in the pocket of the guitar's case.
If you are looking for different styles of Amps (more than two), the ToneX Pedal is for you, here you can choose up to 150 different Tone Models, each with its previously saved configuration, even adjusting Gain, Volume, Eq, etc. on the fly very easily. The truth is that the size is not large, and it is not heavy either, powered by a standard 9V pedal source so it really should not cause problems when adding it to any Pedalboard.
Will I find the sound I need?
Regarding the sound characteristics, it depends on the Tone Models that you load, the variety of what you can find today in IK Multimedia's ToneNET is gigantic, if you add to this the Signature Tone Models that you can buy from IK and the possibility of make your own captures of your favorite amplifiers, if you don't find the sound you want, it's simply because you haven't looked hard enough. From super Clean Twin Reverbs to powerful Rectifiers, there are tons of options to choose from.
Weak points.
But not everything is perfect, one of the few things that I don't like is the Reverb, although we can choose between 3 types of Springs, 1 Room and Plate and several parameters such as Time, Pre-Delay, Color and Mix, if the Mix go beyond 40 or 50%, the Reverb starts to feel Digital, I don't think it's useful for guitarists who prefer long, enveloping ambient reverbs (But you can solve this by adding a Reverb pedal of your choice), but if you just want to give a little space to your sound, I think it's enough.
The next thing that I find difficult to manage is the App on the computer and how to control the ToneX Pedals from the App, not very intuitive and it takes a little time to understand how to load the Tone Models to the pedals and how to manage your sound library in the App, and I am not the only person who has gone through this, the App works well, but it is difficult to get used to it, but nothing that cannot be solved by investing a couple of hours reading the manual or watching tutorial videos.
Is one of these two for me?
If you are looking to replace your Amp with a compact and not expensive pedal but without losing the possibility of different sound options and you want to keep your other pedals on your Pedalboard, the ToneX One may be is one of the best options on the market, and if the price is relevant for you, it is almost certainly your best option. If you are looking for more flexibility and to be able to change between different Amps, you should go for the ToneX Pedal, only having in mind that here the cost goes up and we are entering in the segment of the Line6 Stomp and similar.
I think that the ToneX Pedal was a very successful product from IK Multimedia, but it plays in a very competitive league, but with the ToneX One, they created something with no competition until now and is very difficult to beat in this field.
A RECAP OF WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
