Z-Tone DI Question

[Aquila Rossa]

Z-Tone DI arrived much sooner than I expected.

I have a question though. Should a battery have to be in it for the unit to power up? The manual says it can be powered by battery, or 48v phantom power, but without a battery the unit does not power up on 48v. What's the deal with that?

I used a multimeter to test the mic cable and it does have 48v when phantom is enabled on my interface (Audient iD14).

Another question is will the battery go flat if 48v is supplied and my guitar is left plugged into the Z-Tone? -- I am currently unplugging it just in case.

P.S. The unit does help with the guitar signal into DAW. My Audient iD14 interface has a good sounding DI, but the adjustable Z on the IK unit helps me fine tune it, plus there are other handy features like padding down hot signals etc. Well worth it, especially with a bundled AT5 SE licence and free shipping from Italia to NZ. I kind of wish I had got the Axe I/O though, because then I'd be able to patch in outboard effects easily etc. Oh well.

[Aquila Rossa]

Can nobody answer the question about whether the battery goes flat if I leave my guitar plugged in, either while on phantom power or not? I guess I will just have to risk sacrificing a battery to find out for myself (I have been unplugging it just in case).

The unit not working without a battery initially made me think there was an issue with phantom power not working to power the Z-Tone, but I now am guessing it just needs a battery in to work. Some clarification on that would be appreciated too.

[mod redacted please review the rules thank you] I thought the Z-Tone would sound better. However, I find it useful if I want to run real dirt pedals into amp sims. The Z-Tone can tame their hot signal before they hit my interface (then I boost the signal back up in DAW, so the amp sim gets a hot signal like it is being boosted by the pedal).