Thoughts on Electro-Harminox B9 Pedal?

Best I've heard. Search the online demos, there's one in particular that's really convincing. I'd love to play with one, but I doubt I'd ever buy one. I just wouldn't have that much of a need. All IMO. CS

 

Plus, you'd probably want to buy a Leslie pedal, and they tend to be spendy, too!

 

I tried one out at my local GC. I liked it a lot until they brought me the Pog2. To my ear the Pog had a much richer tone plus you can save presets.

 

I really like it. I bought it a year or so ago and had it on my board for a while but was looking to pare down the number of pedals I had to carry around so I took it off and left the Mini Vent to provide all I need in a gig setting for rotary sounds - people seem to be well enough fooled by this on its own into thinking there's a keyboard in the mix!

I used the B9 on a couple of tracks on my most recent CD (combined with the Mini Vent) and it was a very passable copy for a real organ tone t0 flesh out the rhythm section.

 

I like mine; but it is quirky. It's very sensitive to pick/finger attack as well as chord voicing. Works well with some guitars, not with others. It does sound good, though. I wouldn't pay full price, I don't think it's worth that, but if you can find a used one, it's a lot of fun.
If you're careful with your fingering, it gives a convincing B-3.

 

Our other guitar player had one (for 4 weeks). He returned it to Guitar Center. We did about 50 songs in 3 sets in one night. He was able to use it creatively in 2 songs. The pedal sounds fantastic when used properly but it's still a gimmic.

At the price of admission I'm not sure that I'd ever get my money's worth out of it.

They do sound great.

Off topic (but food for thought.....maybe). I bought an Akai Miniak with the vocoder mic used for $150. I can play a Hammond B3 and move the 3 parameter wheels and it's like sliding draw bars. If you want keyboards.........I'm just saying.

 

Saw this video this morning and thought it sounded pretty organy. It has the advantage of also being a vibe, octave and drive unit... maybe a little more utilitarian bang for the buck. The B9 does spot on organ sounds but like others have said, it would hard for to justify as little as I would use it...


The Sub n Up also has built in modulation for some organ sounds. The patch called Organ Donor isnt really B3 as much as Phantom of the Opera but I bet there are more to be had. I think I would go for an octave pedal that can do a believable organ rather than a dedicated organ pedal.... skip to the 1:16 mark....

 

It's a fun pedal. It has a few things that need to done in order to get the best out of it though....

*It likes a medium output bridge pickup
*Likes to be first in the FX chain and a compressor can help though it isn't essential
*If you use hybrid picking with smaller 3 or 4 note voicing's then so much the better

 

I had a B9 a few years back, it was good, but you have to "think" like a keyboard player to get the best out of it
block chords plucked rather than strumming , it had a slight lag as well, plus if you bent a note , that was it, the sound trailed off.
I liked it and used it on maybe 10 songs in a 50 song set list. Many times the punters were wondering where the organ player was

I since sold it and bought a C9, which I have found better ( for me) . more usable sounds, plus it doesn't seem to lag, plus you can bend a note and the signal doesn't drop out '

 

I got one a couple years ago, I like it. You can either use it to play full-on organ parts, or mix in a little organ to the guitar sound to thicken it up. It takes some practice to get used to the attack, it's tricky to regulate the volume. In the right spot, it sounds great.

I was cranky though when they released the C9, I wished they made one pedal with the best 6 or 7 sounds, instead of trying to sell us two expensive boxes with 2 or 3 good sounds each.

 

I've got the C9 and it's brilliant. Sounds great, works with acoustic, electric, before or after dirt. Cons: I thought running an EHX freeze into it would work better than it does, it doesn't sustain forever for some reason. The other con is, I prefer to just use a rotary sound live because it's just more direct sounding. The way you mix and amp the organ up makes a huge difference. Finally there's a bit of a learning curve to remembering what the knobs do in different modes.

So I'd recommend it but you might have more fun with a pog-rotary combo like some mentioned above.

 

My experience too. I use it on a few songs a night and almost every time, any musicians in the audience approach me on breaks and ask about it.
I have a Leslie simulator on my Line 6 M9 that works pretty nicely with the B9.

 

Hell No.

 

I was looking for a convincing B3 as well. I purchased an Earthquaker Devices Organizer instead of the EHX B9. I had too many volume drops using it on my pedalboard, so I sold it. The EHX C9 had a Lord Purple setting that seems to be just what I'm looking for.

 

I have a key9 and really dig it. I think it is very useful to have a few non-guitar tones available on my board.

Like others have said, you do have to alter your technique and mindset for best results - organs etc don't bend notes, etc. I generally switch to thumb and fingers when using it and stick to simple three note voicings, no big open position chords. Also a compressor on before it helps a lot in terms of the impersonation and volume drop some experience with it. I would imagine the same is true for the b9 and c9.

I have read that for live use of organ sounds, the c9 is easier to dial in on the fly. No personal experience. The organ sound on the key9 isn't the best, but considering all the other sounds it brings to the table (Rhodes! Vibrophone!), for me, its the one.

 

I've had one for awhile and I love it. My keyboard player had a song that he played that he had programmed with a acoustic guitar sound. When it came time for me to take my solo I turned on my B9 and got the stare of a lifetime. Afterwords we agreed not to step on each other's toes but I still love trying to play Procal Harem songs with it. Much more controllable with a comp after it.

 

The "Organ Donor" is fun but over the top for me. Try the SubNUp with the dry signal + octave below into a chorus pedal, and maybe a tremolo pedal. Not exactly organ-like but a usable sound.