Want to buy a used ToneX pedal? That’s another $20, please
Lots of pieces of guitar gear now come with accompanying software that unlocks their full feature sets – this isn’t inherently bad, but in the case of IK Multimedia’s recent ToneX pedal, there’s a sting in the tail. If you buy one second hand, you have to pay to free it from its previously registered user, and access the full suite of software.
READ MORE: IK Multimedia’s ToneX Pedal brings AI-powered guitar rigs to your board – here’s what it costs
On 25 April reddit user u/Funkmasterjo__D shared the story of their encounter with IK’s software-locked hardware to the Guitar Pedals subreddit. After purchasing a used ToneX Pedal on Reverb.com, they went to register it – and got an error message, saying the pedal was already registered to its first owner.
Registering the ToneX pedal doesn’t just subscribe you to a mailing list or extend your warranty – it lets you download amp captures from the wider community, arguably one of the pedal’s biggest selling points. If you don’t, you’re stuck with the stock amps and cabs included in the pedal of your own profiles. Understandably, u/Funkmasterjo__D persisted, communicating with the Reverb seller in order to reset the registration – but both found that things weren’t that simple.
After a lengthy correspondence with IK Multimedia’s support, they discovered that the only way to register their pedal would be to purchase a Licence Transfer Credit. For $20.
This can also only be done 90 days after the initial purchase of the pedal. Say, for example, you buy a second-hand ToneX Pedal the original owner purchased and registered just the day before. Even if you are willing to pay $20 to free it from its perpetual soul-bond of a registration, you still have to wait three months before you can use all of its features – through no fault of your own.
Additionally, as pointed out in IK’s EULA, bundled software such as the full ToneX Max suite that comes with the pedal is not transferable, even with the purchase of the transfer credit.
While these sorts of practises offer a way for IK to continue to make money from the used market, they aren’t exactly consumer-friendly – it’s never nice to discover that you have to pay more money to fully use a piece of hardware that’s already sitting on your desk, especially when the reason for that is only indicated in the depths of an EULA.
What’s notable about this is that broadly the guitar industry does not operate like this – software-locks like these generally remain in the realm of AAA video game publishers and car manufacturers. Universal Audio pedals, for example, can be registered to unlock extra effects and amp models – but resetting them is easy and free, meaning you can easily purchase or sell them on the used market. The same goes for Line 6’s units.
IK Multimedia did not respond to a request for comment from Guitar.com. However, a post was made on IK’s forums in February of this year asking whether the ToneX Pedal and its software was transferable, with posters specifically asking about how it could retain value on the used market. An IK representative responded to clarify that, yes, you do need to wait 90 days, and you do need to go through the $20 transfer credit process, and no, the ToneX Max suite that comes with the pedal is not transferable even with a credit.
It is then implied by the representative that IK is considering feedback about this, and “suggestions have been put in front of the right people and we may have some news soon.” But this was posted on 30 March – and is the last update in the thread, and so it’s unclear as to whether any change will come from this.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net