Now shipping, the MOTU ZBox ($39.95 MSRP) is a guitar pickup adapter that matches the output impedance (Z) of a guitar with the instrument inputs on audio interfaces or other devices.

According to the company, guitar inputs on audio interfaces, mixers, PAs, wireless transmitters and other like devices (often labeled instrument) usually have impedance levels that differ significantly from those typically found on guitar amp inputs. This mismatch can make a guitar sound unnatural (too bright, thin, and brittle) or feel wrong while played through software- or DSP-driven amp models.

By providing the proper impedance levels, ZBox fixes that problem and restores natural guitar tones that would otherwise be lost through a non-amp input.

To operate the ZBox, you plug in a guitar to the unit's Lo-Z or Hi-Z input and then plug the ZBox's built-in, 16-inch cable with 1/4-inch jack into the guitar input on the destination device (audio interface, wireless box, mixer, recorder, or PA, for example).

The ZBox features matching circuits that emulate the two-jack switching network found on many classic amplifiers, along with analog simulation of the input tube grid. It's housed in a compact (1" x 1.75" x 2.5"), lightweight aluminum housing that can be tacked on (via duct tape or Vel-cro) to a guitar strap for live performance through a wireless transmitter.

Since the ZBox is not a computer interface, it does not require any software drivers, nor does it require a power source or extra cables. All it needs is the cable from the guitar.