Amp, cab, and stompbox modelling were once, for lack of a better word, ‘controversial.’ However, in the wake of myriad bad-sounding digital patches and in a relatively short period of time, amp sim technology has improved exponentially, today being often indistinguishable from the real thing. This is a good thing for the space-short and cash-strapped guitarists amongst us – and even better still when Black Friday brings us digital deals aplenty – as it has with IK Multimedia’s own $50 tone-patch deal-sweetener.
The sweetened deal in question is the purchasing of IK Multimedia’s groundbreakingly affordable amp modelling hardware, which comes in two core forms: Tonex Pedal and Tonex One. The Tone X pedal is a chunkily-sized amp profiler pedal, and the Tonex One, its micro-format little sibling, IK Multimedia, is offering new buyers of either – between now and the 2nd December – a free package of 100 high-gain tones in the Metal Gems Collection.
Tonex started life as digital amp-simulating software but with something of a different aim to IK Multimedia’s now-industry-standard AmpliTube 5 system. AmpliTube painstakingly models amps, cabs, effects, and microphone responses to create an endlessly tweakable digital studio for recording your guitars; Tonex uses proprietary “AI Machine Modeling” to create flawless algorithmic sims (or Tone Models) of specific amps, rigs, and settings.
Tonex has a huge variety of its own Tone Models available for you to try – and with IK Multimedia’s generous Black Friday deal, you can get 100 of them with a Tonex pedal purchase for nothing. The Metal Gems Collection usually goes for $50 and contains 100 patches based on four different amps, namely the Peavey 5150, Diezel Herbert, Soldano SLO-100, and a Bogner Überschall.
Each amp has between 20 and 30 individual patches that swap out cab and mic types and add modeled dirt pedals for extra gain. This is a smorgasbord for the high-octane players amongst us and as good a sign as any to put off buying that 5150 for another year at least…
These briefly-free amp sims are hugely impressive, but only one of a few good reasons to get in on Tonex early. The Tonex ecosystem is an extremely powerful thing to be able to access from your pedalboard – particularly for the ability to model your own rigs, which could save your precious vintage equipment and your spine if you’re fixing to tour. Still, having a free 5150 in your pocket could well be reason enough to take the plunge.
Looking for more six-string-related bargains? Well, head over to our Black Friday guitar deals page, where you'll find serious discounts on some of the more popular models available today.
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“Honestly I’d never even heard of Klons prior to a year-and-a-half ago”: KEN Mode’s Jesse Matthewson on the greatest reverb/delay ever made and the noise-rock essentials on his fly-in pedalboard
“A wealth of features not seen before in a Klon-style pedal”: Walrus Audio’s Voyager MKII overdrive/preamp takes Centaur stage – equipped with footswitchable parametric mids, it promising “mythical magic” and absolute clarity
