IK Multimedia TONEX ONE presets and settings

Starting settings on the IK Multimedia TONEX ONE

Values as the TONEX Editor app shows them, on the unit's own scale; each drawn knob shows that value's share of the range. They are where to begin, not IK Multimedia's numbers: pick the amp model first, then move one control at a time from here.

Set the input trim first

Before any tone settings, set the level going into the pedal, since every Tone Model reacts to how hard it is hit. Hold ALT for 6 seconds until its LED turns blue: that is setup mode. Play as hard as you will in the song and turn the TREBLE micro knob, which raises or lowers the input trim there, using its LED as a meter: IK's four readings are no input, low input, good input and clip. Stop at good input. In the same mode the BASS micro knob picks dual or stomp mode, the MID micro knob turns the cab on or off for every preset, and the main knob sets the global volume. TONEX Editor has the same Input trim in its global setup.

Clean

Load a clean Tone Model and start at Gain 3 to 4, Bass 5, Mid 5, Treble 6, values as TONEX Editor shows them on its 0 to 10 scale. Gain sits under ALT on the main knob: IK describes it as the Tone Model's input gain, used to saturate the model more or less, so on a clean amp it decides where the breakup starts. Set the loudness with the main knob's Volume instead. IK makes Bass and Treble shelf EQs and Mid a bell EQ, so small moves go a long way. For room, press ALT and turn the TREBLE micro knob, which then sets the reverb's mix; the reverb type, Spring 1 to 4, Room or Plate, is picked in TONEX Editor.

Edge of breakup and blues

A clean or crunch Tone Model pushed harder: Gain 5 to 6, Bass 4 to 5, Mid 6, Treble 5. The grit comes from Gain, which drives the model, not from Volume, which only sets the level. For a little squeeze on the front of each note, press ALT and turn the MID micro knob up a touch: under ALT it sets the compressor's threshold. If the ALT LED turns red, the output stage is clipping, and IK's fix is to lower the TONEX ONE's volume.

Classic rock

A drive Tone Model, Gain 5 to 6, Bass 5, Mid 6 to 7, Treble 6. Keep Mid up: rock rhythm guitar sits in the midrange, and a scooped preset disappears behind the drums. TONEX Editor also gives every preset a Presence control, a high shelf at 1.6 kHz, and a Depth control, a peak at 80 Hz, both 0 to 10, which the pedal's own knobs do not reach. Reach for Presence when the sound needs bite, before you add Treble.

Metal

A high-gain Tone Model, Gain 4 to 5, Bass 4 to 5, Mid 5 to 6, Treble 6, with the reverb low. A high-gain capture already has its distortion in it, and backing the input gain off keeps palm mutes tight where more would only add fizz. Press ALT and turn the BASS micro knob, the noise gate's threshold under ALT, until the hiss between chords stops and no further, or the ends of held notes get cut off.

As a drive pedal in front of an amp

Put the pedal in stomp mode, so the footswitch turns the preset on and off, and load a Tone Model of a drive pedal: IK's Tone Models can be a stomp on its own, a stomp with an amp, or an amp with or without its cab. IK's manual says that by connecting it in mono you can use TONEX ONE as your overdrive, distortion or fuzz pedal before your amplifier, and a regular instrument cable does that. Start at Gain 3 to 4, Bass 5, Mid 6, Treble 5, with Volume a little louder than the pedal bypassed, and let the amp do the rest. IK notes that a stomp can't be a time-based or phase-based pedal, and that some vintage fuzzes and overdrives with parallel paths inside can't be modeled.

Where to plug it in: cab on or off

Into headphones, an FRFR or powered cabinet, or a PA through a DI box, keep the cab section on, as IK's manual says for each of them. Into a power amp with your own cabinet, or into the return of an amp's effects loop to skip its preamp, bypass the cab to avoid what IK calls unwanted double cab filtering. The global switch is the MID micro knob in setup mode: counter-clockwise until it turns green for the cab on every preset, clockwise until it turns red to bypass it, and while the cab is bypassed the ALT LED blinks every 5 seconds in normal use. The output is a TRS jack: a Y cable gives a stereo pair, and a regular cable a mono feed.

Dual mode, stomp mode and the 20 presets

TONEX ONE stores 20 presets and plays three of them: preset A and preset B in dual mode, where the footswitch flips between the two and there is no bypass, and one in stomp mode, where the footswitch turns it on and off. To change which presets those slots hold, press ALT and the footswitch together: the ALT LED turns purple, and the BASS, MID and TREBLE micro knobs stand for preset A, preset B and the stomp slot. Press the footswitch to pick a slot, turn its micro knob through the 20 presets, then press ALT and the footswitch together again to confirm. IK's tip for three sounds on stage is to leave browsing mode on and let the footswitch cycle the three slots. There is no save step: the pedal saves every change to the current preset as you make it.