Best way to get a little boost when soloing

[obispojoe]

I have a simple set up that I use live for a hobby band playing mostly classic rock tunes. I run my guitar into an irig HD2 -> laptop running amplitube 4 -> DI box which splits out to both a PA mixer and a personal stage monitor. I use a blueboard to change presets. Often when I play a lead, I'd like to add some boost to the signal so it cuts through the mix a little better. I'd rather not create a special amplitube preset to add this boost because I already have a lot of presets to get the the tones I want for each different song. So, my question is, how do you recommend to do this in a live situation? Would you add a simple physical boost pedal before the DI box? Would the new IKM z-tone buffer boost work as a replacement for the DI box and provide the boost as well the DI capability to the mixer and stage monitor? I appreciate any insights.

[garfy]

Hi obispojoe

By the looks of it, the the IKM Z-Tone will do the job you want, although if you're already happy with the tone of your setup it might be a sledgehammer to crack a nut. How about a straight volume pedal between the iRigHD2 and the DI box?

[Peter_IK]

Z-TONE Buffer Boost is actually perfect for this and will allow you to use Z-TONE control on top of it as well as being the best thing to put first on your pedalboard.

We are adding a "Usage" subpage to our site for the Z-TONE line to show diagrams and explain how they work in live & recording situations.

[obispojoe]

Since the usage page is not up, would you give me an indication on how the z-tone buffer boost would fit into my setup? Currently, guitar -> irig HD 2 -> laptop back to irig -> DI Box then split to a PA mixer and a personal stage monitor of my guitar alone. I got rid of all my pedals a long time ago when I took an extended hiatus from playing. Wish I hadn't done that! Would the z-tone buffer boost replace the DI box and be able to split the signal to the PA and stage monitor, or would I still need the DI box after the z-tone buffer boost? That's one of the questions I cannot answer from the existing available information.

[leonardrock]

I am also curious about the ztone DI box capabilities!

[gorguts6]

I don't think you'd need the DI box on top of the Pedal Boost to send your signal to PA.
I'm personaly struggling to understand which one is the best for my own set up.
I want to split my signal in order to record the dry (straight into the PA and then into Cubase) and the wet separately (through a valve amp that have a XLR DI output).
So far, my understand is that the Pedal Boost can do all the things the DI box is doing + the boost.
I cannot find something that the DI box offers that the pedal doesn't, in terms of features.
Also I cannot find their manuals online, that would help me to understand and decide which one to buy.
Any thoughts?