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IK Multimedia is a multi-national company based in Modena, Italy. We have business units operating in 7 countries: Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Mexico, Brazil and Hong Kong. Our products are sold in over 120 countries with a network of 15,000 resellers and used by millions of musicians worldwide. IK Multimedia designs and manufactures apps, software, hardware and accessory products for music creation and playback on computers and mobile devices.

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Products by IK Multimedia

Latest reviews of IK Multimedia products

AmpliTube 5
Reviewed By adollseye
March 5th, 2023

As a producer/engineer of 18 yrs. I feel Amplitube 5 is a must in the studio. I have Helix Native and Guitar Rig 6 although Amplitube 5 has a few pluses over those. One of the downsides is the cost of upgrade/add ons. If your just a noodler looking to play guitar sounds on your computer, you will be happy with Amplitube 5. I did purchase it when it was on sale at 49.99 although it is mostly a host which comes at a cost in purchasing the upgrade. Enjoy.

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Total Studio 4 Max
Reviewed By glokraw
January 28th, 2023

Because of previous purchases, I happily filled in most of the gaps in my IK collection at a great price. So I received Mixbox with many hundreds of pro effects chain presets to study and use, a ton of guitar-legend setups and presets for the now MAXed Amplitube, T-racks MAX to fill out snow-days learning to mix and master from Warren & friends, with modeled effects gear I could only dream of owning...and some great SampleTank libs and Syntronik instruments. The MODO's are a bonus I've not had time to use...yet.

A tip: while waiting for a sampled instrument to load...P_R_A_C_T_I_C_E.

The sounds in IK instruments have a fullness that is rarely duplicated in bargain synths, and takes some work to duplicate in many high-end synths, and then only in the instances where similar sounds even exist...orchestras and soloist instruments not often being a synth's forte. IK's integration of effects is getting better with each major release, and makes a huge benefit for those studying what they now have.

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Total Studio 4 Max
Reviewed By vstdls
January 27th, 2023

Smidge of value in TRacks and Amplitude, but if you already have mainstay effects you're not getting much.

Syntronik and Samplitude are slow to browse presets and instruments even on a gen4 NVME drive, so there might be something good there, but who has the time. "Synths" are not synths but samples of synths. MODO Drum and MODO Bass are only V1 (V2 been out a while) and are not even complete: still offering to sell you kits on old software.

I regret the purchase. It will sit unused.

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Total Studio 4 Max
Reviewed By Doubl3 Gg
January 14th, 2023

So I had ORIGINAL T-Racks bootleg since 2006, THEN the T-Racks CS bootleg before deciding to go legit. Let me tell you, you can not beat the value in this VST program AND expansion. The effects are phenomenal and life changing as far as creativity and flow are concerned and I would highly recommend this to anyone doing their own recording and editing.

-Doubl3 Gg
Downtown L.A. and Vegas UnderGround

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AmpliTube 5 Max
Reviewed By Faydit
October 7th, 2022

Despite of a lot of improvements still not really convincing in my opinion.

A lot of the amp models still seem to have been unmodified overtaken from Amplitube 1 to 3, and so they unfortunately also sound.

The AC-30's sound much too clean, the Fulltone OCD, which in reality is nicely adjustable from decent, almost clean crunch to lots of gain produces too much gain even if the gain control is at 1, most Orange amps do not sound very convincing, if you know the real amps, even worse, the Tiny Terror in version 3 sounded nice, but the "improved" handwired version now has little to do with a Tiny Terror in my opinion, produces too little gain and all the typical dirty is lost.

The Amplitube Marshalls, if they are Plexis, JCM's or newer Marshalls simply sound disappointing, if you ever have played a real Marshall, the Jet City amps rather sound like transistor amps to me, but hardly like tube amps, completely scratchy tones, but also newer models like the Soldano or the Pink Taco do not really sound very convincing to me, to be honest.

I have some better, more naturally and authentically freeware amp plugins meanwhile, commercial ones from competitors even more, so theoretically the Amplitube package has a lot of features, unfortunately practically most of these sonically for me is outdated or badly programmed garbage, if you know the real gear.

Some of the newer models like the Mesa/Boogie II or the Leslie collection sound good, but they rather are an exception. The Fender Tweed amps rather - apart from some few exceptions - sound very disappointing to me.

A Copicat or Echorec still is not included in the pedal section, as little as eg. a COT50, Zendrive or Zenkudo, much less a Timmy, Okko or SHO / Box of Rock, a Jen Wah with selectable, different Fasel coils (white, red, green) or a Maestro, in the speaker section legends like a Goodmans Audiom or Axiom are missing, but also eg. a Celestion Blackback.

In the amp section also still a lot is missing, eg. an old Gibson or National amp, a original Vox AC-4 or AC-10, a WEm Dominator, Echolette or Dynacord, some more Diezel, a Dirty Shirley, Trainwreck or Fuchs, Dover, just to name a few.

On the other hand, if they do not sound much better than the typical Amplutibe amp simulation, they also will onyl disappoint me. Maybe some more talented and skilled programmers would be helpful, but obviously these are hard to find.

I personally meanhwile get better sounding results, if I breadboard a low voltage tube pedal and record it directly into my DAW and add a good cabinet IR of my choice.

Most of all, if the older components will not be updated to 2022 / 2023 standard, I personally find it better that they are removed from this - at the moment and in my opinion - bluff package of outdated, bad sounding tones.

Luckily there meanwhile are more than enough alternatives available. Maybe not so extensive, but much better and much more authentically sounding....

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TONEX Standard
Reviewed By Faydit
October 5th, 2022

After some more days of testing, another review here, as I cannot write much more under ToneX Max.

In principle ToneX and Capture works well, if properly adjusted and if you have some experience how to adjust everything properly and if if you use the right cables at the correct places (instrument and audio cables).

I have meanwhile managed to create some exellently sounding models, but most of them not with the first capture.

Nevertheless I am disappointed from most of the results from other users, but also from most of the Premium models.

Meanwhile there are a lot of models available, really good sounding and usable I personally find about 1 to 2 % of them, about 5% of the Premium models, which - in my opinion - are surprisingly few.

Nevertheless ToneX allows to create excellently sounding models, but not without some experience and proper adjustment, which also means, that your favorite live amp settings will not necessarily give you exactly the results, which you expect.

In my opinion one weakpoint of ToneX at the moment is a sometimes strange the bass reproduction.

I have not been so convinced of the cabinet capture first, but after some weeks of use I must admit, that you can get - comparably easy - very good results with little effort.

I have tried some captures with a simple SM57, some results sounded good, others not, especially smaller speakers (8" or 10") may need some post-eq-ing, while 12" speakers seem to sound really good and also more vivid, dimensional and authentically than eg. an analog speaker simulation or some - even really good - IR's via a hardware IR loader.

First I had been very pleased from the results of my speaker emulator, but after I had learned how to capture my favorite 112 cabinet properly, the real cabinet/speaker proved to be a different league sonically.

I also found that I could even improve the final result by using an additional (tube) preamp/eq for the microphone for fine-tuning. Also speaker capturing at room level works and sounds fine.

One still annoying aspect for me is, that meanwhile a lot, if not most of the user models on ToneX are no real, self-made captures, but captures from already existing third-party plugins or models, which are available as different software/hardware solutions like Fractal, Helix, Kemper, UAD and some others. Makes no sense to me, to create a(nother) model from an already existing digital plugin or model and not from real gear. (Quite apart from a lot of copyright and licensing problems, I think.). They also of course do not cover the dynamic range and the quality of a well made capture of a real, well adjusted amp.

ToneX has a lot of potential and I am really happy with some of my own captures / models meanwhile, but still could need some improvements in my opinion.

Still not perfect, but nicely innovative and hopefully - very soon - on the way to even more perfection.

Time will tell....

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TONEX MAX
Reviewed By Faydit
October 1st, 2022

In principle a good idea, but this first release is not really convincing me as much, as I excpected. As it is at the moment.

Capturing with an audio interface and ToneX Capture works well, if you have connected everything correctly.

If everything works, you need time, but you can get - with some experience - some nice final results, which can sound good, although I personally would not define these results as absolutely perfect or really authentically sounding, but at least chances are good, that they will sound better than a lot of the Amplitube amp and pedal models.

After having captured some of my gear, my first impression is, that in general treble usually sounds surprisingly good, while bass tends to sound more muddy, diffuse and loose than the one of the real gear. What not really convinces me, is sometimes the harmonics reproduction, also some (or a lot) of the original dynamics are lost, in general the tones have some tendency to sound a little bit too neutral, too compressed and sterile for my taste, something, which I also have experienced from other AI or neural network based plugins.

Also overdrive and higher gain settings tend to sound too clean, even if the levels are adjusted already higher, than the software wants it, overdrive tones can sound a little too overpolished, too compressed, especially in advanced mode.

The default mode for the learning process results in my opinion even in better, more naturally sounding final results as the advanced mode, which seems to "synthesize" the model too much and too intense, while the results of the default mode at least maintain a little more of any original, natural "irregularities and dirt", also harmonics reproduction sounds better.

After the first days of trying and using I must admit, that the ToneX models sound much more authentically and naturally thanmost other neural network based plugins, which I have heard and / or tested up to now.

The promised - but not really from me as intensely as desired recognizable - sonic authenticity also only concerns the captured sample itself, as soon as you adjust some controls of the final model, you rather land in some sort of digital fantasyland, so if you eg. have captured an amp with gain at 8, you hardly will get the same tone, if you reduce or increase gain of your model than you will get, if you do the same on the real amp. This does not necessarily mean, that the results do not sound good (most of them do surprisingly), but they definitely will sound different than the real gear.

I also did not find any options for any final post editing or sonic fine tuning of the captured models or any selectable options, which controls the final model should have or not outsinde of the predefined, but not really very flexible templates.

What I dislike most is, that ToneX is not really a sample based amp or pedal modeling system, but only a simple preset capturing system, there meanwhile are a lot of neural network based plugins available since years, which are capable of simulating even complete multi-channel amps with a lot of knobs and switches. So, why is ToneX not capable of this, at least as an advanced option?

From a convincingly working amp or pedal model I expect, that the whole range of possible sounds can be reproduced and that the controls (and switches) react exactly in the same way as on the original, real gear. This is unfortunately not the case here, you cannot even capture a single channel completely.

I do not really want to switch permanently between different models of the same pedal or amp (channel) and reload them, only if I want to make some decent adjustments.

Even if I capture some different settings, I cannot combine them to a single model, which accurately reproduces all possible tones of the real amp or pedal. I only can create a collection of different presets, which in my opinion rather is a recession to digital stone age, than any revolution, not to speak about user-friendliness.

I think, it cannot be so complicated, to implement a simple or optionally also more complex multi capturing system. Alone three different captures would increase the sonic authenticity, if you eg. capture a clean setting, a crunch and an overdrive setting with different, optimized tone stack adjustments for a single channel and the software is capable to combine them in a single model, this model would be much more authentically sounding than the single capture based ones.

Also I miss an option to export a model as vst, so that it is also usable and combinable with other, external plugins. If I eg. have captured a boutique pedal with my favorite settings and want to use it with my favorite amp plugin outside of ToneX or Amplitube, I have to place the complete ToneX in my signal chain. Works, but is not really an elegant solution, if I just want to use a ToneX pedal in front of one of my favorite amp plugins.

ToneX models are in Amplitube only implemented as amps, but you cannot deactivate an existing cabinet only add an additional amplitube cabinet or use a model without cabinet. As ToneX also creates pedal models, I find it disappointing that there is no additional option to add another ToneX pedal model in the pedals section, you can only use them instead of an amp but not combine a ToneX pedal plus a ToneX or Amplitube amp model, a feature, which I also miss in ToneX itself. Usually you do not use a pedal as amp replacement, but in front of an amp.

What I also miss is a more complex deep editing section for model creators. The trimming option after learning is a good idea, but not really good controllable, I found after release, that I trimmed some models too intense and could not correct the signal level afterwards, so I had to capture the whole model again. Better would be a post-editing section, which alows not only signal level corrections but also eg. some gain intensity modifications and an internal sound shaping optimization, which a creator can also apply to an already existing model. Also an option, to blend two different models parallel but also serial could be useful, I think.

A little disappointing I find, that the Premium model range is almost identical with the amps, which already exist within Amplitube. Ok, there also is a Dumble and a Klon Centaur, but both do not really belong to my favorite gear. Sonic mainstream, while some more "exotic" but really good sounding amps are not included. I hope that some users will fill this gap.

On the other hand one big advantage of ToneX is, that you can comparably simple capture pedals and amps, from which no plugins are existing anywhere else, you can capture some rare, customized or even unique pedals or amps, which makes sense, eg. I have not seen a Timmy or Zendrive anywhere around up to now, although they are very popular in reality, so I am curious what the users will publish in the future.

Another reason, why I bought ToneX is, that I like to develop and breadboard my own (tube) pedal circuits, but I am not really good in soldering pedals, so ToneX gives me the option, to capture an only breadboarded circuit, from which most probably never a single real pedal will be existing, although some of them sound excellent.

My first test worked flawlessly and - even more surprising to me - noiseless, although the breadboarded circuit usually reacts very sensitive even to a moving cable or disconnects a connection and also the final result sounds very much as intended, which impressed me a lot, despite of my other complaints here. Therefore one more star for ToneX, than I actually wanted to give.

This is great, I can breadboard my (tube) pedal ideas, capture them, but do not have to build any pedal by myself, but still have the final, convincingly sounding results as ToneX model available.

Useful I would also find, if creators could upload complete folders with eg. different captures / models of the same amp or channel with different gain and tone control adjustments, which other users can then download as folders too.

Another wish is, that I can combine a pedal with another amp or at least with a cabinet, if I want to use such a combination, without the necessity to capture pedal and amp in a single model.

Also the cabinet system needs improvements in my opinion. You can use your own external IR's or also some VIR cabinets, but if you activate them, you notice a significant loudness / output level reduction, but there seems to be no automatic or manual compensation or adjustment option for it available anywhere. Also in general some input and outpul level controls, as meanwhile even every average pedal plugin offers them, are missing. Capturing my own cabinets only gave me rather disappointing, too bassy and muddy sounding results, even with a SM57.

The basic idea of ToneX is really good, no doubt, but as it is, it still is far away from being perfect. A lot of different aspects still need a lot of improvements in my opinion. On the other hand, this is a first release, and nevertheless the essential concept works surprisingly good.

At the moment I am not really unhappy with ToneX, it can work fine and do nice things, but it also does not make me too extremely excited, to be honest and cabinet capturing is a complete weakpoint in my opinion, which urgently needs improvement.

A good start for (hopefully) something better and a little more professional in the future, I would say.

As it is at the moment, certainly not (yet) the promised sonic revolution of the guitar plugin market for me, but the potential for it is already there, if IK Multmedia improves the right things in the right way.

Hopefully soon and not only in some years....

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Syntronik Syner-V
Reviewed By YnJ
June 30th, 2022

This is just a sample pack and a skin for a sample player, not a synth, and while the samples are ok I guess, the sample player is not. It's the same UI for every so-called synth, the only difference is the skin, the samples take up a lot of space, and the filters are awful.

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