Tonex One+ Is Here: MIDI, Wireless, and Zero Excuses

The original Tonex One was kind of a miracle. A tiny little pedal, barely bigger than a pack of gum, running IK Multimedia's AI Machine Modeling technology and cranking out Tonex captures that sounded like you had a wall of real amps behind you. It was awesome. It was also a little frustrating.

Because here's the thing: the Tonex One had two glaring holes. No MIDI. And the only way to manage your tones was plugging into a computer via USB. In 2024, that felt like a reasonable trade-off for a $149 pedal. In 2026, with every other modeler on the planet offering wireless everything and MIDI integration? It was starting to feel like showing up to a gunfight with a butter knife.

IK Multimedia clearly got the memo. The Tonex One+ fixes both problems, and honestly, it might be the most exciting compact modeler upgrade of the year.

What's Actually New

Let's cut straight to it. The Tonex One+ adds two massive features to the original formula: full MIDI control (via mini TRS jacks and USB-C) and wireless Bluetooth editing through the new Tonex Control app for iOS and Android.

That might not sound revolutionary on paper. But if you've ever tried to build a serious gigging rig around the original Tonex One, you know exactly why this matters. The lack of MIDI meant you were stuck manually stomping between preset A and preset B. That's it. Two sounds for the whole gig. Hope you like versatility!

Now? You get full access to all 20 onboard presets via MIDI. You can automate preset changes, control parameters in real time, and even daisy-chain two Tonex One+ pedals together for dual-amp setups. The same Tonex captures you've been using at home can finally come to the stage without compromise.

The pedal is priced at $249.99 and it's available right now. Same ultra-compact form factor as the original. Same killer AI Machine Modeling engine. Just way, way more useful.

Wireless Editing Changes the Workflow Completely

Real talk: the biggest quality-of-life upgrade here isn't even MIDI. It's the wireless editing.

The original Tonex One forced you to sit at your computer, open the Tonex editor, plug in a USB cable, and then fiddle with your presets. It worked, but it killed the creative flow. You'd be in the middle of a practice session, think "I need a different capture for this bridge section," and then spend 10 minutes futzing with software before you got back to playing.

The Tonex Control app on your phone changes everything. Pull up the app, connect via Bluetooth, browse your favorite Tonex captures, drag them onto the pedal, tweak your EQ, and get back to playing. All without leaving your pedalboard. You can even browse ToneNET's 60,000+ community tone models right from your phone and download them straight to the pedal.

For home studio players, this is a dream. For gigging musicians, it's a necessity. Imagine swapping captures between sets without ever touching a laptop. That's the reality now.

Why This Matters for Your Captures

Here's where things get really interesting for Six String Lab customers specifically.

If you've been collecting Tonex captures from us (and you should be), you've probably hit the ceiling of what the original Tonex One could do with them. Two presets at a time. No way to switch mid-song without bending down and physically stomping. No way to automate anything for a live show.

The Tonex One+ blows that ceiling wide open. Load up 20 of your best captures, map them to MIDI program changes on your controller, and suddenly you've got a full amp collection at your feet. Your clean Fender capture on patch one. Your crunchy Marshall on patch two. Your face-melting high-gain Soldano on patch three. All switching instantly, all sounding like real amps because they ARE real amp captures.

And if you haven't tried our captures yet, there's never been a better time to start. Grab one of our free packs and load them onto the One+ through the wireless app. You'll hear the difference in about three seconds.

How It Stacks Up Against the Competition

The compact modeler space is absolutely packed right now. You've got the Kemper Player running Kemper profiles, the Nano Cortex from NeuralDSP, and a handful of NAM-compatible hardware units hitting the market. Even HeadRush has been making moves in the compact space.

So where does the Tonex One+ fit? Right in the sweet spot, honestly.

At $249.99, it's cheaper than the Kemper Player and the Nano Cortex. It's more compact than basically everything else on the market. And with the addition of MIDI and wireless editing, it no longer has the usability gaps that used to hold it back.

The trade-off? You still only get one algorithm running at a time (no stacking two captures like you can on the bigger Tonex Pedal). And while the onboard effects (reverb, compression, noise gate, EQ, modulation, and delay) are solid, you're not getting the deep effects processing of a full-blown Quad Cortex or Helix. But that's kind of the point. The Tonex One+ isn't trying to replace your entire rig. It's trying to be the best-sounding, most pedalboard-friendly capture player on the planet. And at that specific job? It absolutely crushes.

Building a Killer Compact Rig Around the One+

Here's how I'd build a pedalboard around the Tonex One+ if I were starting from scratch today.

First, load it up with killer Tonex captures covering your core sounds: a sparkly clean, a edge-of-breakup crunch, a thick rhythm tone, and a searing lead. That handles your amp tones. Then add a dedicated delay pedal and a reverb pedal (the onboard effects are fine, but external pedals give you more control). Throw a tuner at the front and a MIDI controller at the bottom, and you've got a board that fits in a backpack and sounds like a million bucks.

The MIDI integration is what ties it all together. With a simple MIDI controller, you can switch between captures, toggle your external pedals, and control everything with a single tap. No tap dancing. No bending down. Just clean, instant tone changes that sound incredible.

For recording, it's even simpler. The Tonex One+ doubles as a 24-bit audio interface over USB-C. Plug it into your computer, load up your favorite captures, and you're tracking studio-quality guitar tones without any extra hardware. If you need to change your amp sound after tracking, just re-amp through the pedal with a different capture. Done.

Should You Upgrade from the Original?

If you gig? Yes. Full stop. The MIDI integration alone makes it worth the upgrade. Being locked to two presets with no remote switching was always the original Tonex One's biggest weakness, and the One+ solves it completely.

If you're a bedroom player who only uses a couple of sounds? Honestly, the original Tonex One still does a fantastic job. Save your money and spend it on more Tonex captures instead.

If you're new to the Tonex ecosystem entirely? The One+ is the way to go. The wireless editing alone saves you so much hassle compared to the USB-only workflow of the original. And with access to ToneNET's massive library plus third-party captures from creators like Six String Lab, you'll never run out of tones to explore.

The Bottom Line

IK Multimedia took everything that was great about the Tonex One and fixed everything that wasn't. MIDI control, wireless editing, and the same incredible AI Machine Modeling engine in the same tiny package. The Tonex One+ is the compact capture player that gigging guitarists have been begging for.

And the best part? When your hardware is this good, the quality of your captures matters more than ever. That's where Six String Lab comes in. We've got Tonex captures that will make your One+ sing. We've got Kemper profiles, NAM captures, HeadRush clones, and NeuralDSP captures too, if you're running multiple platforms. And if you want to hear the difference before you commit, our free packs are waiting for you.

Now go load up that pedalboard and make some noise.