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Overview

　TONEX is an amp and effects model-profile simulator released by IK Multimedia in the fall of 2022. It is very similar to AmpliTube, but the key difference is the concept of models.

The system includes technology that allows users to apply models, create modeling profiles, and capture the characteristics of existing effects, amplifiers, and recording environments in order to reproduce them. Even if you do not capture gear yourself, you can use captures that someone else uploaded online, so it is not an exaggeration to say that you can access virtually unlimited equipment.

Even if nobody uploaded anything, presets provided by IK Multimedia are available, which alone already makes the software useful. If you find great presets, you can save both time and money. It’s a very good system.

There is also a hardware device called the Kemper Profiling Amplifier that allows similar profiling. TONEX can be considered comparable to—or even beyond—that system in some aspects. The Kemper hardware costs roughly ¥200,000–¥280,000, so TONEX providing similar functionality in software form is quite remarkable.

Differences Between Editions

Edition	Number of Models	Number of Amps	Number of Pedals	User Model Downloads	Price
TONEX MAX	1000	100	50	Unlimited	€249
TONEX	400	40	20	Unlimited	€149
TONEX SE	200	20	10	Unlimited	€149
TONEX CS	20	10	5	20 ※Model creation not available	€0 (Free)

For reference: AmpliTube 5 MAX includes 108 amps, 106 pedals, 114 cabinets, 19 microphones, 24 rack effects, and 29 speakers.

　TONEX provides modeled internal processing of STOMP effects (box-type effect units), cabinets (speaker enclosures), and amplifiers using proprietary technology. You could even call them mysterious black boxes because it is not entirely clear how everything works internally. However, the reproduction quality is extremely faithful, which is why the product is commercially successful.

Technically, there are some limitations. Time-based processing cannot be included in modeled STOMP effects. For example, it cannot model time-based or phase-based pedals such as:

• Compressors

• Reverbs

• Delays

• Chorus

• Phasers

• Flangers

This limitation is also clearly noted in the warning section on page 10 of the TONEX manual. Simple compressor and reverb functions are still provided in TONEX as separate features.

　There may be cases where TONEX alone is sufficient, but it probably cannot cover all typical sound-design workflows by itself.

The STOMP presets include approximately:

• 127 Overdrive models

• 82 Distortion models

• 45 Fuzz models

• 2 EQ models

These are distributed across the 50 pedal slots. There are also 1050 models across 100 amplifiers, and 794 cabinet models.

　On ToneNET, users can browse models shared by the community. However, despite the enormous amount of data, the interface lacks good overview and browsing functionality. When you scroll, it loads the next page, and the loading time can be quite long.

Finding something you like sometimes feels almost miraculous. If you miss it, it disappears into the endless stream.

There appears to be a weekly “like” ranking, so checking the ranking once a week might be a good strategy. But listening to many models can easily consume a lot of time. This categorization system really needs improvement from IK Multimedia. At the moment it feels somewhat like random gacha—if you're lucky, you discover a great tone.

　TONEX only provides three microphone types, which may feel limited for users accustomed to the flexible microphone system in AmpliTube.

Although non-time-based STOMP effects can be modeled, there is an important restriction:

• If you use STOMP modeling alone, you cannot use an amp or cabinet simultaneously.

• Conversely, if you use an amp or cabinet (or both), you cannot use STOMP at the same time.

To work around this limitation, you may need to:

• Chain multiple TONEX instances inside a DAW, or

• Load two TONEX modules from AmpliTube

　If the amp model already includes the characteristics of a STOMP effect, then effectively they are being used together. In other words, it depends on how the model was created.

　Using both AmpliTube and TONEX together is probably the most ideal approach if you want to cover all aspects of guitar sound production within the IK Multimedia ecosystem.

Since microphone characteristics are likely already captured within the modeling process itself, you may not need to worry too much about the microphone options in TONEX.

Some users may also prefer using real hardware pedals for time-based effects, so combining AmpliTube and TONEX is not necessarily the only “best” setup either.

　

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Official Website

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/tonex/?pkey=tonex-sw-max

　

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