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The IK Multimedia TONEX Board is IK’s new flagship floor unit for TONEX captures: four footswitches, a touchscreen, a deep effects library, and enough DSP to run a serious gig rig or sit on a pedalboard as your amp (and then some). This is the full TONEX Board walkthrough from our video — what it can do, how to use it, and who it is actually for.

If the captures in the demos catch your ear, they are available at Signal Theory. Subscribe on YouTube for more modeling, amp, and pedal content.

What is the IK Multimedia TONEX Board?

TONEX Board is a compact floor processor built around IK’s Tone Model / capture ecosystem. Hardware at a glance:

• Four footswitches plus a color touchscreen
• Comprehensive I/O including effects loops.
• External footswitch jacks (TRS-style) so you can add more switches
• Enough power for 12 blocks (for amp/effects models and captures – up to four captures per preset)
• MIDI

IK already has TONEX One and the TONEX Pedal. Board is the step up: more blocks, more effects, gapless preset changes, and scenes. See more info on the TONEX Board page.

Headline Features: 12 blocks, four captures, gapless switching

A single preset can hold 12 effects slots. An amp + cab Tone Model uses two of those (amp capture plus its cab). You can also run an amp-direct capture with an IR instead of a captured cab.

IK is shipping TONEX Board with a large new effects library and says more effects will land often via firmware. At launch, there are 75 effects. Models include drives (classics plus Tone Model overdrive captures), modulation, delays, reverbs, compressors, gates, EQs, filters, pitch (octaver, mono/stereo shifter), and utilities including the effects loop.

DSP details:

• You can run up to four captures in one preset if you manage DSP.
• Captures (Tone Models) cost more DSP than many of the modeled effects.
• V1 and V2 TONEX captures both load on the Board.
• No audio gap between presets — jump from a clean church patch to a cranked Marshall (or a Dual Rectifier-style rhythm) instantly.

A “full” rig preset example in the video: compressor, two overdrives (one a Vemuram Jan-Ray capture, one a Marshall Guv’nor-style “Ambassador” model), a 1994 Matchless C30 EF86 capture with a Matchless 2×12 (G12H/G12M), stereo tremolo, a Boss CE-1-style chorus, analog + tape + ping-pong delays, room reverb, and hall reverb. This would be plenty to cover most any gig.

MODES: Stomp, preset, and scene modes

The CTRL button cycles operating modes. Status color: stomp is blue, preset is green, scene is purple.

• Stomp mode: three switches map to stomps (A/B/C).
• Preset mode: three presets in the bank.
• Scene mode: three scenes per preset.

Live view shows what A/B/C are doing. Edit view is the signal path.

How TONEX Board scenes work

Long-press any parameter on a block (mix, time, EQ, the block on/off “power” control) and assign it to scene. From there, each scene stores its own values. Practical setup from the video: scenes for ambience (dry / hall / wash with shimmer mix riding up), stomps for drives and a mod. You can sit on a scene, hop to stomp, and kick an extra drive without rebuilding the patch.

Tap tempo and tuner

Long-press CTRL for tap tempo (flashing green). Tempo can be global or per preset; the LED can be on or off. Long-press A for the tuner (mute, reference frequency, and input source so it still sees the guitar if you are coming in on a return).

Using TONEX Board as an all-in-one guitar rig

This is use case one: the Board is the whole rig. Four switches is tight, so IK gives you extra footswitch inputs — inexpensive TRS switches can add more on/off control. Gapless preset changes matter here: keep a dense effects preset for the set, then a second preset for “big amp only” instead of trying to cram every amp into one 12-block chain.

Using TONEX Board on a pedalboard (alongside other pedals)

Use case two: modular amp engine on a board. In the video, we used TONEX Board to cover amps (two in stereo) as well as a delay and three reverb. Everything inside TONEX sits in front of the amps.

Inside that patch: stereo in (inputs 1+2), EP-style tape echo, always-on room reverb, hall for ambient, Shimmer 2 for wash, then a split to a 1994 Matchless C30 capture hard-left and a Clubman capture hard-right, matching cabs, merge, polarity switch per side, XLR out. V2 captures are in phase; the polarity tools cover V1 mix-and-match.

In that role the Board replaces the amps (including a stereo pair) plus several delays/reverbs. Stomps were mapped to the three reverbs; scenes went base / ambient / wash (shimmer on + mix up). Fuzz, drive, and boost into those captures still sounded like the amps — that is the TONEX capture character Bradford has used for years with a pair of TONEX Ones.

TONEX Board software at launch

TOENX Board connects to a computer via USB-C. At launch the editor is mainly a librarian: move presets and Tone Models to the pedal. Building patches happens on the hardware. A full TONEX Board editor is in the works and will be coming soon. The unit itself is easy to learn; scene assignment is the main “read the manual” moment, and it is close to how Quad Cortex assigns scene parameters.

Who is the TONEX Board for?

• You already own TONEX One / TONEX Pedal captures. If you already own TONEX hardware and have a library of TONEX captures, the Board is the flagship that puts that library into a bigger live workflow.
• You want an amp solution for a pedalboard that can also handle a number of effects — and serve as a full-rig backup if a cable dies. Hop to an all-in-one preset, kill the analog pedals, keep playing.
• You want a capable all-in-one at a great price point. Using TONEX Board by itself as an all-in-one is impressive from a DSP and signal flow stand-point, but many users might want to add a couple TRS switches to expand foot-switch functionality.

TONEX captures from Signal Theory

The Matchless C30 and Clubman (and the rest of the library) are TONEX-Board-ready in the shop, including packs such as FROSTBIRD and 76 Mars JMP 50w, plus Pedal Capture Pack, Volume 1 – TONEX. Browse everything in The TONEX section.

TONEX Board FAQ

How many captures can the TONEX Board run at once?

Up to four Tone Models in one preset if DSP allows. NOTE: Amp captures (either amp+cab or direct + an IR) will use two blocks each.

Does TONEX Board have gapless preset switching?

Yes. Preset changes are instant, with no audible gap.

Can TONEX Board load TONEX V1 and V2 captures?

Yes. The whole TONEX universe of captures can go on the Board.

Is there a TONEX Board computer editor?

At launch, software is a librarian (transfer presets and Tone Models). A full editor is planned. You build presets on the unit today.

Can you use TONEX Board with a pedalboard?

Yes. Stereo in, dual-amp splits, FX loop, MIDI, and extra footswitch jacks. It can replace amps plus several time-based pedals, or sit as a full backup rig.

Can you use TONEX Board as an all-in-one?

Yes 100%. The TONEX Board is quite capable with the ability to run an amp capture plus 10 additional effects blocks. You may want to supplement switching via MIDI or TRS pedals.