“The amount of functionality stuffed into this mini pedal is, quite frankly, astounding”: IK Multimedia Tonex One Joe Satriani review

What is it?

In a seemingly endless quest for the preservation of pedalboard real estate, IK Multimedia took things to an extreme with the Tonex One. A modeling amp pedal capable of housing a selection of 20 Tone Models from the Tonex stable, all in a mini pedal format with a full 3-band EQ, gate, compressor, and reverb to boot. Now enter a certain Joe Satriani, here to combine his considerable expertise to a new special edition of the pedal.

Working from the Joe Satriani Amp Vault collection added to the Tonex library in June 2024 and combining that with the addition of the delay and modulation effects debuted in a November firmware update in the same year, Satch has curated 20 presets preloaded into the pedal to reflect tones from across his considerable career.

Specs

• Launch price: $229/£229/€229.99
• Type: Amp modeling and multi-effects pedal
• Controls: Bass, Middle, Treble, Gate, Comp, Reverb, Volume/Gain, Alt button
• Features: Curated Satch presets, amp and stompbox modeling, multi-effects
• Connectivity: 1/4 In and Out, TRS Out
• Bypass: Buffered Bypass
• Power: 9v DC centre negative, 120mA
• Dimensions: 48 mm/1.89″ x 94 mm/3.7″ x 53 mm/2.09″
• Weight: 160g
• Contact: IK Multimedia

Build quality

Build quality rating: ★★★★½

Guitar World reviewed the Tonex One back in July 2024, and this new version of the pedal is almost unchanged in terms of build, which, to summarize, is solid. The exception is a rather striking and brilliantly reflective chrome finish, in keeping with Satch’s Ibanez ‘Chrome Boy’ signature guitar. The one downside is that the reflective nature can be a little dazzling if you get a bit unlucky with stage lighting, but it nonetheless looks fantastic.

Usability

Usability rating: ★★★★☆

Even in the context of the fast-moving technological evolution we’ve seen in amp modelers so far, the same realisation remains with the Tonex One; the amount of functionality stuffed into this mini pedal is, quite frankly, astounding.

As reflected upon in our original review, the drawbacks to this include the memorization of button presses to access some of these features and the difficulty of browsing through the presets on the pedal. The updates to the software are where things get interesting. Previously under fire for a lack of user friendliness, the updated version – renamed Tonex Editor – is much improved.

The biggest and most important change is in how the software reflects the presets loaded into the pedal vs the presets in the software and the huge collection of user presets found in ToneNet. It is now obvious which is which, and they’re presented much more cohesively within the software’s ‘Librarian’.

I’m a user of both the current and prior versions and this alone makes for a much smoother experience.

The editor now also does a much better job of, well, editing. Previously, presets would be edited within the software and then dragged and dropped into the pedal.

This update comes with the addition of real-time editing, allowing the software to make changes directly on the pedal whilst it is being played. The fact that this wasn’t included at launch is arguably an oversight, but the change shows that IK has listened to player feedback and reacted accordingly.

These are all general updates to the Tonex ecosystem, with the last bit of housekeeping since our first review being the much-anticipated delay and modulation effects added in November.

But in terms of usability, there is no way to access these on the Tonex One, this has to be done through the software.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. The number of functions on the hardware itself that required the memorization of certain button presses, combinations, and holds already exceeded what was practical, and therefore, it’s a reasonable compromise not to squeeze yet more into something so small.

However, sounds cut differently in a band mix, so the requirement of a laptop in order to adjust the delay or modulation at a gig or rehearsal room is a bit tricky.

I’m not sure what the perfect solution is here, and of course players have the option to add their own effects pedals alongside the Tonex, but either way, I think these are still worthwhile additions to the features in this tiny, value-packed package.

Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★★

Outside of the chrome finish, what makes this a Satriani signature pedal are the 20 preloaded presets created by the man himself.

These presets make use of the Satch Amp Vault Tone Models (worth $99 on their own, which users also get full access to upon purchasing the Tonex One Joe Satriani), the Tone Model parameters that were already adjustable, plus the new modulation and delay effects to create a selection of sounds from Joe’s extensive catalogue of virtuosic guitar.

Playing through a Les Paul and the Tonex Cab I recently reviewed, I was disappointed to find that the tones didn’t immediately give me satch-like chops! What they did do, however, is give me Satch-like sounds, exactly as promised.

With the Tonex Tone Models already well reviewed, the use of Satch’s own amps in the Tone Vault, and Joe in charge of utilizing the parameters of the presets and effects, it should come as no surprise that the sounds are very reminiscent of the songs they are aimed at.

Although it is worth bearing in mind that effects not already contained within the Tonex eco system aren’t reflected in the presets – so bring your own Wah.

Perhaps the most iconic of Satch’s tones is that searing, mid-focused, Satriani lead. The Tonex One Joe Satriani has this nailed, but more than that, I was surprised to hear it morph into amp-like feedback impressively so for a piece of digital gear. For this, the Tonex Cab has to share some credit.

A few personal highlights for me are the Alien Rhythm, The Extremist Lead, and Love Thing Clean presets. The Alien Rhythm is a fairly basic, tight, throaty sound, great for gainy riffs and rhythms. The Extremist Lead furthers the gain and adds some delay for that soaring Satch shred, and the Love Thing Clean adds some satisfying width with a healthy amount of chorus, tape delay and reverb.

You can hear all of these in action in the track I recorded with the Tonex One below.

When using a lot of gain as Satch often does, it is fair to expect a noisy afair, however, this is not the case. The noise gate has been carefully applied to each of the presets in order to clamp down on this and remarkably manages to stay out of the way of the sustain.

It does affect the ability to back off via the volume control, but this is as expected, given the amount of gain we are talking about.

Diving into the newly added modulations and delay effects a little deeper, IK has adopted a ‘simple but effective’ mindset. Not built for those who want endlessly tweakable parameters, but more so that we have the essentials that are needed to get good sounds.

And good sounds we do indeed get. Two modes for the delay – Digital or Tape. The digital is crisp and clear, whilst the tape adds a little bit of flutter, and I spent way too much time enjoying it.

There’s a Ping-Pong option to add some width, Time, Feedback, and Mix controls for the general parameters, a Sync option, and the ability to set the delay block pre- or post-tone model.

The modulations include a Chorus, Tremolo, Phaser, Flanger, and Rotary (one engaged at a time) and follow the same train of thought with a set of either 3 or 4 simple controls, a sync option, and the ability to have it set pre or post the tone model. I felt the chorus had a tad too much low end, which is less of an issue if you like your clean sounds with a bit of beef, but the rest were full of the wobbly goodness you would hope for.

Verdict

Put simply, the Tonex One Joe Satriani, does exactly what it says it will do. It’s a collection of Satch’s sounds, from ethereal cleans to soaring high gain, all in a tiny little box. It may not turn you into a legato-fuelled monster, but it will certainly put your tone in the Satch ballpark. I guess the rest is up to you.

Beyond the Satriani of it all, the updates to the Tonex ecosystem in general have made the software much more useable and the hardware even more capable. While there are some drawbacks to this mass functionality in the Tonex One’s minuscule form factor, it is nonetheless a brilliant and mightily versatile unit.

Guitar World verdict: A dream combination of IK’s tech and Joe Satriani’s vault of coveted amps plus presets tweaked by the man himself, the Tonex One Joe Satriani accurately delivers a selection of iconic Satch tones that you can literally place in the palm of your hand.

Also try

Hands-on Videos

Jason Sadites

IK Multimedia

Hear the TONEX Joe Satriani Amp Vault Signature Collection in action – YouTube

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