For a few years, IK Multimedia’s TONEX has been the quiet favourite of players who want great amp captures without spending a fortune. The original TONEX pedal and the tiny TONEX ONE proved the sound was there. What was missing was a proper floorboard: a screen, more switches, effects and routing. In September 2026, IK delivered exactly that with the TONEX Board.
At €1,099 it lands right in the middle of the touchscreen modeller wars, against the Neural DSP Quad Cortex Mini and Line 6 Helix Stadium. So is it the bargain of the bunch?
About this review: we haven’t had a TONEX Board on our bench yet. This review is based on IK Multimedia’s official specs, launch material and published hands-on reviews, together with our own experience of modellers. We’ll update it once we’ve spent time with one.
What Is the TONEX Board?
The TONEX Board is IK’s first large-format floor modeller. It combines TONEX Tone Models (IK’s AI-based amp, cab and pedal captures) with AmpliTube effects and a touchscreen interface, in a compact floorboard. Think of it as the full TONEX ecosystem plus a proper multi-effects rig, without needing a laptop at the gig.
Specs at a Glance
| Spec | TONEX Board |
|---|---|
| Price | €1,099 ($999.99) |
| Released | September 2026 |
| Display | 5-inch touchscreen |
| Controls | 4 footswitches with LED rings, 5 endless rotary encoders |
| Tone Models | 2,000 included, 60,000+ on ToneNET |
| Effects | 76 (AmpliTube effects plus new TONEX effects) |
| Per preset | Up to 4 Tone Models and 12 effect slots |
| Routing | Dual Rig, parallel paths with splitter and mixer, stereo |
| Modes | Preset, Scene and Stomp |
| Presets | 1,440 slots |
| Inputs | 2 |
| Outputs | 2 XLR, 2 line, headphones |
| FX loop | Stereo |
| Control | MIDI, 2 expression pedal inputs, USB-C |
| Audio | 192 kHz / 24-bit, 123 dB dynamic range |
Sound: Where TONEX Has Always Been Strong
The heart of the TONEX Board is the same capture technology that made the TONEX pedals popular. Tone Models aim to reproduce how a specific amp, cab or drive pedal sounds and feels, and the free ToneNET library gives you access to tens of thousands of community and commercial captures. The Board ships with 2,000 Premium Tone Models and runs the TONEX 2 player with the updated V2 models.
New here is the effects side. Instead of a handful of basic effects around a single capture, you now get 76 effects, most of them taken from AmpliTube, IK’s long-running amp and effects software. Combine that with up to four Tone Models per preset and you can build genuinely complex rigs.
You can also capture your own amps and pedals to create personal Tone Models, so your real rig can come with you to every gig.
Routing and Workflow
This is where the TONEX Board grows up compared with the smaller TONEX pedals:
- Dual Rig lets you run two separate signal paths, for example two amps blended in stereo, or guitar and bass rigs side by side.
- Splitter and mixer modules allow parallel routing, wet/dry and stereo setups.
- Preset, Scene and Stomp modes cover everything from switching complete rigs to using it like a traditional pedalboard. Scenes work like Snapshots on a Helix: change several settings at once without a gap in the sound.
- The 5-inch touchscreen with five endless encoders and photo-realistic gear graphics means editing on the floor rather than on a laptop.
Connectivity
For a board this size, the I/O is generous: two inputs, two XLR outputs for direct-to-PA use, two line outputs for amps or monitors, a stereo effects loop, a headphone output, two expression pedal inputs and MIDI. That stereo FX loop is a nice advantage over the Quad Cortex Mini, which squeezes its loops onto a single TRS jack.
What Reviewers Have Flagged
No product is perfect, and early coverage points out a few things to know:
- USB audio interface is “coming soon”. At launch, the USB-C port doesn’t yet work as a full recording interface; IK has promised it in a firmware update.
- No Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Browsing and downloading from ToneNET requires a computer, unlike the Quad Cortex’s cloud access built into the unit.
- Firmware pace. Some players question how quickly IK will deliver updates, based on the pace of past TONEX updates.
- Price vs the original TONEX pedal. If you mostly need captures and a couple of effects, the much cheaper TONEX pedal or TONEX ONE may still be enough.
TONEX Board vs Quad Cortex Mini
| TONEX Board | Quad Cortex Mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €1,099 | €1,299 |
| Screen | 5-inch touchscreen | 7-inch touchscreen |
| Footswitches | 4 | 4 |
| Capturing | TONEX Tone Models | Neural Capture V1 and V2 |
| Effects | 76 (AmpliTube) | 100+ |
| FX loop | Stereo | Dual, on one TRS jack |
| Wi-Fi / cloud | No, computer needed | Yes, built in |
| USB audio | Promised in update | 16 channels |
On paper, the Quad Cortex Mini is the more complete package, with a bigger screen, built-in cloud access and a working audio interface from day one. The TONEX Board fights back on price, a proper stereo loop and one of the biggest capture libraries in the world. If you’re already invested in TONEX captures, the Board is the obvious upgrade. If you want everything in one unit today, the Quad Cortex Mini is the safer choice. Our Quad Cortex Mini review has the full picture.
On a tighter budget? The NUX MG-300 still does a lot for a fraction of the price.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Excellent capture-based sound, with access to 60,000+ Tone Models
- 76 AmpliTube effects and up to 12 per preset
- Flexible Dual Rig and parallel routing
- Preset, Scene and Stomp modes
- Stereo FX loop and generous I/O
- Undercuts most touchscreen rivals on price
Cons
- USB audio interface not available at launch
- No Wi-Fi or Bluetooth for ToneNET
- Only four footswitches
- Smaller screen than the Quad Cortex
Verdict
The TONEX Board is the floor unit TONEX fans have been waiting for, and it makes the touchscreen modeller class more affordable. The sound and the capture library are its biggest strengths, the routing is genuinely flexible, and the stereo loop is a real plus. The missing USB audio and lack of wireless features are the main compromises, and how quickly IK delivers its promised updates will decide how well it ages.
Our early rating: 4 / 5 (based on specs and published reviews)
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