IK Multimedia releases Metal Gems Signature Collection for TONEX, featuring 100 high-gain Tone Models of legendary amps. Firmware update for TONEX Pedal adds built-in chromatic tuner.
Metal Gems is an exclusive collection of 100 high-gain Tone Models, meticulously captured to deliver both classic and contemporary metal tones, giving users instant access to 4 legendary amps: a Diezel Herbert, Bogner Uberschall, Soldano SLO-100 and a Peavey 5150.
The essence of these high-gain jewels has been preserved in stunning high-definition using IK's cutting-edge AI Machine Modeling Technology in conjunction with a sonically perfect environment to produce the incredible guitar tones available today.
Collection Overview
- 100 Tone Models based on legendary high-gain amps including with and without cab
- A Premium Tone Model collection for use across the entire TONEX ecosystem
- Compatible with all TONEX versions including the free TONEX CS and TONEX App
- Captured at a professional studio with ideal acoustics and the perfect gear
- Created using cutting-edge AI Machine Modeling technology with advanced training
- All Tone Models can easily be loaded to TONEX Pedal and used for live performance
The Featured Models
Diezel Herbert
The Diezel Herbert is a 180-watt fire breather that can go from dynamic cleans to ultra-tight distortion. 30 Tone Models deliver that Diezel signature definition and tightness perfect for modern and classic metal tones. The collection includes all 3 distinctly voiced channels captured with different cabs, mics and outboard gear.
Bogner Uberschall
The Bogner Uberschall is a renowned high-gain guitar amp prized for its all-tube distortion and clear string separation. 25 Tone Models deliver searing lead and rhythm tones with tight and powerful bass, ideal for players of extended-range and drop-tuned guitars. The collection includes clean and high-gain Tone Models using multiple stomps to tighten and drive the amp into brutal territory.
Soldano SLO-100
The SLO-100 redefined high-gain amplification in 1987 as one of the first amp heads to feature powerful harmonics and impeccable gain, sustain and responsiveness. 25 Tone Models feature clean, drive and high-gain tones with several using a TS-9 and Furman PQ-3, captured with a variety of settings, speakers and other outboard gear to achieve a wide range of tones for hard rock to modern metal.
Peavey 5150 Block Letter
The Peavey 5150 is one of history's most iconic high-gain amps, instantly recognizable on any stage. Renowned for its bloom and juicy harmonic saturation, the 5150 was quickly adopted by many top metal guitar players. 20 Tone Models feature a variety of captures including some with stomps and with 6 different cabs to deliver a wide range of skull-crushing, gig-ready tones.
A New Tuner for TONEX Pedal
The release of Metal Gems coincides with a free firmware update for TONEX Pedal featuring a game-changing chromatic tuner. The new tuner inside TONEX Pedal can replace any tuner currently used with its easy-to-read display, selectable reference frequency and three operating modes: Mute, Thru, and Off.
To update to firmware 1.2.3, connect TONEX Pedal to a Mac or PC with an internet connection and launch TONEX. Navigate to the librarian section and select "Update Firmware." Once complete, the pedal will restart automatically with the new firmware installed and the tuner ready.
This update and future improvements represent IK’s commitment to ongoing TONEX hardware improvements, software refinements and additional Tone Models.
Metal Gems Signature Collection is available now to purchase via ToneNET and within any version of TONEX for Mac/PC for $/€49.99.* For a limited time, Metal Gems is included free with new purchases of TONEX Pedal and TONEX MAX.
For more information, please visit ikmultimedia.com.
IK Multimedia TONEX Pedal Amplifier/Cabinet/Pedal Modeler with Z-Tone Active Direct Box
TONEX Pedal w. Z-Tone ADIThe final day is here! Enter Stompboxtober Day 31 for your last chance to win today’s pedal from Keeley and finish the month strong!
Keeley Octa Psi Transfigurating Fuzz Pedal with Polyphonic Pitch Shifting
Meet the OCTA PSI Transfigurating Fuzz – The Ultimate Combination of Pitch-Shifter, Octave Generator, and Tri-Voiced Analog Fuzz! Key features include: Instant Effect Order Switching, Flexible Output Configuration, Momentary or Latching Octave/Pitch, and more! Each pitch shift mode includes an up, down, and dual setting, resulting in 24 different modes.
Does the guitar’s design encourage sonic exploration more than sight reading?
A popular song between 1910 and 1920 would usually sell millions of copies of sheet music annually. The world population was roughly 25 percent of what it is today, so imagine those sales would be four or five times larger in an alternate-reality 2024. My father is 88, but even with his generation, friends and family would routinely gather around a piano and play and sing their way through a stack of songbooks. (This still happens at my dad’s house every time I’m there.)
Back in their day, recordings of music were a way to promote sheet music. Labels released recordings only after sheet-music sales slowed down on a particular song. That means that until recently, a large section of society not only knew how to read music well, but they did it often—not as often as we stare at our phones, but it was a primary part of home entertainment. By today’s standards, written music feels like a dead language. Music is probably the most common language on Earth, yet I bet it has the highest illiteracy rate.
Developed specifically for Tyler Bryant, the Black Magick Reverb TB is the high-power version of Supro's flagship 1x12 combo amplifier.
At the heart of this all-tube amp is a matched pair of military-grade Sovtek 5881 power tubes configured to deliver 35-Watts of pure Class A power. In addition to the upgraded power section, the Black Magick Reverb TB also features a “bright cap” modification on Channel 1, providing extra sparkle and added versatility when blended with the original Black Magick preamp on Channel 2.
The two complementary channels are summed in parallel and fed into a 2-band EQ followed by tube-driven spring reverb and tremolo effects plus a master volume to tame the output as needed. This unique, signature variant of the Black Magick Reverb is dressed in elegant Black Scandia tolex and comes loaded with a custom-built Supro BD12 speaker made by Celestion.
Price: $1,699.
Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine is one of the loudest guitarists around. And he puts his volume to work creating mythical tones that have captured so many of our imaginations, including our special shoegaze correspondent, guitarist and pedal-maestro Andy Pitcher, who is our guest today.
My Bloody Valentine has a short discography made up of just a few albums and EPs that span decades. Meticulous as he seems to be, Shields creates texture out of his layers of tracks and loops and fuzz throughout, creating a music that needs to be felt as much as it needs to be heard.
We go to the ultimate source as Billy Corgan leaves us a message about how it felt to hear those sounds in the pre-internet days, when rather than pull up a YouTube clip, your imagination would have to guide you toward a tone.
But not everyone is an MBV fan, so this conversation is part superfan hype and part debate. We can all agree Kevin Shields is a guitarists you should know, but we can’t all agree what to do with that information.