IK Multimedia TONEX Board Quickstart Guide
The TONEX Board is IK Multimedia’s next-generation pedal that provides their best amplifier and cabinet models as well as captures along with more than 70 modeled effects, including many from the AmpliTube collection. With a large touchscreen, plenty of knobs and straightforward navigation, you can build and customize signal chains with ease. The TONEX Board brings newfound flexibility in signal routing, effects loops and outputs. We wrote this guide to help you get started.
- Register Your TONEX Board & Update the Firmware
- Setup & Connections
- Front Panel Controls & Navigating Presets
- TONEX Board Editor App
- IK Multimedia Video
Register Your TONEX Board & Update the Firmware
Installing the TONEX software
Register with IK
You can plug in and start playing right away, but to access everything that comes with your purchase, you’ll need to install the IK Multimedia Product Manager app on your computer and use it to register your TONEX Board’s serial number.
- On your computer, go to the IK Product Manager page and download the version for your operating system, macOS or Windows. Run the installer.
- Launch the app, then log in using your IK Multimedia account, or create a new account.
- In the home page, click the Hardware tab and the Register button. Input your serial number, which is found on a red card in the box. Click “Register.”
Authorize & Download the Software
After you register your serial number, on the Software page in the IK Product Manager app, you’ll see that you can install AmpliTube 5 and TONEX MAX. Follow the prompts to install both. TONEX MAX installation requires 4.5GB of disk space.
There are four apps in the TONEX ecosystem:
- TONEX Modeler to create your own captures on your computer
- TONEX Player to play Tone Models on your computer without TONEX hardware
- TONEX Editor to manage earlier-generation TONEX hardware presets
- TONEX Board Editor to work with the TONEX Board unit.
Learn more about each app in the Software tab of the IK Multimedia TONEX Board product page.
Update the TONEX Board Firmware
IK Multimedia regularly provides new firmware updates to the TONEX Board that fix bugs and add new features. The first time you take your unit out of the box, you need to update the firmware. This is done through the TONEX Board Editor app on your computer.
After you’ve registered your unit’s serial number and installed the software, connect your TONEX Board to your computer with a USB data cable. Power the unit with the included 9-volt power supply. Turn on the power.
- On your computer, launch the TONEX Board Editor app.
- If there’s a firmware update available, you will be prompted to install it. Follow the instructions in the app and on the screen of your unit. Be patient during the update, which should only take a couple of minutes. Don’t unplug anything or turn off anything until the update is complete.
- When the unit reboots, the firmware update will be complete. The TONEX Board Editor app should proceed to the home screen.
Download the Newest Owner’s Manuals
Look for the newest version of the owner’s manuals in IK Multimedia Product Manager.
In the IK Product Manager, click the Hardware tab. You’ll see your registered TONEX Board. Under Manuals, you’ll find links to download the owner’s manuals. Check this every time you update the firmware, as new documentation will explain the newest features.
Check for Updates Often!
We recommend that you connect your unit to the TONEX Board Editor app on your computer often to check for a firmware update.
When there’s a firmware update, it’s often accompanied by updates to the TONEX MAX software package. Launch IK Multimedia Product Manager and install any updates to maintain compatibility.
Setup & Connections
TONEX Board Back Panel Connections
Turn off the power and turn the Volume knob on the front panel all the way down before you make connections.
Power
Connect the 9-volt power supply that comes with the unit, and turn the power on and off with the switch.
Input
Connect your guitar with a TS instrument cable to the 1/L input. For stereo input or two instruments, connect a second cable to the 2/R input.
External Control
Using 1/4-inch TRS cables, you can connect external footswitches or expression pedals, sold separately, and configure them to control parameters within presets. Set up external controllers on the touchscreen using the Settings gear icon > Global Setup > External Control. To assign parameters to a controller, learn more in the TONEX Board User Manual > Macros.
MIDI
Connect standard 5-pin DIN cables to send MIDI commands to other gear, or to use external MIDI controllers to control the TONEX Board.
Returns/Sends
With 1/4-inch TS cables, you can connect external effects configured through one or two mono effects loops or one stereo effects loop. Presets can be configured to insert an effects loop at any point in the signal chain.
XLR Output
Use XLR cables for balanced output. Use the 1/L port for mono and add the 2/R port for stereo.
Output
The 3/L and 4/R 1/4-inch TS unbalanced outputs can be used instead of the balanced outs, but you can also configure presets with complex signal chains where the four outputs are routed separately.
Phones
Connect headphones with an 1/8-inch TRS plug.
USB
The USB-C port is for connecting your unit to your Mac or Windows computer to run the TONEX Board Editor app to load presets and impulse responses (IRs) and update the firmware.
The TONEX Board front panel showing a preset in Edit view
Front Panel Controls & Navigating Presets
Place your TONEX Board on your desk. Turn down the Volume knob, plug in your guitar and your headphones, and then turn up the Volume knob just a bit.
Set Your Input Level
- On the display screen, tap the gear icon to go to the Settings menu.
- Tap “Audio Panel.”
- Strum your guitar, and using the meter, set the audio Input level using the Trim 1 setting. Watch the audio meter and make sure your loudest playing is in the green region.
- You can also adjust the Headphone output level on this screen.
- Tap “Close.”
Browsing Presets
Start by pressing the Home button.
The TONEX Board’s sounds are organized as banks of three presets each. Get acquainted with the range of presets in the Factory banks by using the Browse knob to scroll through them while you play. Tap the Browse knob to enter the Preset Browser, where you’ll see that presets are organized into Setlists: Factory, Extra and Bass. Tap to select a different one.
Views
In the Home view you’ll see the name of one preset. Along the bottom you’ll see one main parameter for each block of the signal chain. For example, you may see an effect, an amp and cabinet, and additional effects. Adjust the one parameter for each block using the five knobs beneath the touchscreen. Swipe left on the touchscreen to reveal the names of additional blocks in the preset.
Press the Edit button to enter Edit view and see the signal chain with icons representing each block. On the touchscreen, tap any of the up to 12 blocks in the preset to select the block. Then you’ll see the individual parameters for that amp or effect. You can dial in each parameter using the knobs, and again swipe left to see additional parameters.
Tap the icon of the block a second time and you’ll see categories and lists of effects or amps that you can scroll through. You can replace the existing amp or effect with your selection and then dial in the parameters. Make a new selection and you’re back in the Edit view.
It’s easy to change the pedal order. Touch and hold a block, and you can drag it to a new position in the signal chain.
Save a preset by pressing the Save button and confirming or making changes to the description of the preset. You’ll see three Scenes, which are variations in the signal chain that you can customize. In Scene mode you can select among Scenes using the three footswitches. This gives you alternate sounds within one preset.
The Live button puts you in Live view, which gives you the most important information when playing live. You can see what each footswitch does depending on the mode you are in, and you have access to quick parameters via the knobs. Learn more in the TONEX Board User Manual > User Interface > Views.
Preset Structure
On the TONEX Board, a preset is a signal chain of up to 12 slots that can include:
- TONEX Tone Models
- Overdrive, distortion and fuzz pedals
- Reverbs, delays, and modulation effects
- Cab blocks for a modeled speaker cabinet or an IR that you load
You can also insert a Utility block to create chains with complex split, mix and parallel options.
If you want to plug external effects into the TONEX Board’s Send and Return ports, then you can insert the effects loop anywhere in the signal chain of a preset by using an Effects Loop block.
A TONEX Tone Model is a capture created by modeling classic gear. A Tone Model can be any of the following:
- Stomp
- Stomp plus amplifier
- Stomp plus amplifier plus speaker cabinet
- Amplifier
- Amplifier plus cabinet
On a Tone Model you can adjust input gain, equalization, the blend of the signal for parallel processing, and overall volume.
A “Stomp” is a capture made from one or more guitar effects pedals such as boost, overdrive, fuzz, distortion, EQ, or preamplifier pedals.
In addition, TONEX Board lets you choose from AmpliTube modeled overdrive, distortion, and fuzz pedals, along with reverb, delay, and modulation effects with multiple parameters that you can dial in.
If a Tone Model consists of a capture of an amp together with a speaker cab, then you won’t want to put a Cab block after it. If the Tone Model is an amp only, then TONEX Board will add a Cab block after it, and you can choose the speaker cabinet model assigned to it.
Learn more in the IK Multimedia TONEX Board User Manual > Views > Edit View.
Footswitch Control
There are three modes:
- Preset
- Scene
- Stomp
Toggle between modes using the CTRL footswitch.
In Preset mode, the A, B, and C footswitches load a different preset within a bank. Stepping on the A and B switches together moves down a bank, and stepping on the C and CTRL switches together moves up a bank.
In Scene mode, the three switches engage a different Scene within a preset.
In Stomp mode, within a preset, you can turn three individual effects blocks on and off with the footswitches. Which blocks are affected is programmed into the preset. (“Stomp mode” has nothing to do with the Tone Model capture called a “Stomp.”)
Learn more in the IK Multimedia TONEX Board User Manual > Controls > Footswitches.
TONEX Board Editor App
The TONEX Board Editor app
Use the TONEX Board Editor app to transfer presets and IRs from your computer to your TONEX Board. More features will be coming in future updates.
TONEX presets from other models of TONEX gear can be imported into the TONEX Board using the TONEX Board Editor app. These presets will be converted to the TONEX Board’s new format. Make sure you keep a backup of your presets in their original form so you can continue to use them with the TONEX product on which you created them.
Learn more in the TONEX Board Editor User Manual.
IK Multimedia Video
Here’s IK’s introduction:
ikmultimedia: TONEX Board – One Board. A Universe of Tone
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