Amp modeling software, once maligned as ‘the worst presets in your cheap multi-effects pedal ’, is now a gift that keeps on giving. Far from the early days of tinny, unconvincing Marshall-style digital approximations, today’s amp sims are every bit the futuristic rig-in-a-box those early algorithms aspired to be. IK Multimedia’s Tonex is the next frontier for amp modeling , and it’s brought its digital offerings to the physical realm with two highly versatile pedals; for Black Friday, buying one will also net you 100 free high-gain amp models .
The Tonex arm of IK Multimedia builds on the reputation set by powerful modeling software AmpliTube 5, which we rated particularly highly in our review two years ago. Tonex stands apart from AmpliTube, though, despite being both a separate software application and a fun sub-app within AmpliTube’s latest version. Tonex trucks in IK Multimedia’s new cutting-edge AI Machine ModelingTM, a system predictably predicated on some clever machine-learning shenanigans.
Rather than modeling the circuitry of amps and pedals, AI Machine Modeling builds an algorithm by interpreting and mapping the sound of a rig – resulting in some highly accurate patches that mimic the real deal. These patches are accessible via Tonex software , just as AmpliTube’s accurate analog models are; Tonex’s pedals, though, let you bring those near-indistinguishable ‘Tone Models’ with all your other pedals via the Tonex Pedal or Tonex One. The former.
