DI version of IK's impedance-tweaking technology also announced
(Image credit: IK Multimedia)
IK Multimedia has introduced the Z-Tone Buffer boost pedal, which takes its AXE I/O interface's tone-shaping capabilities and puts them in a pedal-sized enclosure.
The guitar/bass preamp/DI pedal features two channels – Pure, a completely transparent and ultra-accurate preamp circuit, and JFET, a Class A JFET input buffer for “subtle harmonic enhancement, midrange focus and warmth.”
There’s also an active/passive pickup selector, Z-Tone variable impedance control (the same one found on the AXE I/O), a Boost circuit for added volume and drive, alternate outs for mixers and PA’s, a ground lift switch and a buffered signal for longer pedalboards and cable runs.
The Z-Tone Buffer Boost runs on a 9V battery or standard 9V pedal power supply.
Additionally, IK has unveiled the Z-Tone DI, a studio-quality active DI box that lets users add Z-Tone tone shaping to line-level sources like mixers and interfaces.
The DI features adjustable input and output gain, a balanced main output with ground lift swell as well an unbalanced out, a -20dB pad for an extended operating range and a "Link out" that mirrors the input signal directly.
The unit runs on either a 9V battery or +48V phantom power.
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The Z-Tone Buffer Boost is offered for $169.99, while the Z-Tone DI sells for $149.99.
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.