Ugly Guitar Truth: EHX Synth9

Almost like clockwork, EHX has been issuing new versions of the 9 series. Each one giving us new voices to transform our guitars into. The B9 was so revolutionary that it was widely seen on pro and hobbyist pedal boards near and far. Electro Harmonix have continued to release up date to the line to keep us busy. The C9 gave us even more organ noises. The Key9 let us made keyboard sounds. The Mel9 was possibly the last thing many of us expected, but still expanded the pallet of sonic expression. Now, we can apply synthesizer noises to the now-familiar 9-series format. So is this all good new, or is there some ugly truth behind all this. Let's see...

It's A Little Bit Too Familiar

Five knobs, one switch. The try-and-true format of the 9-series is back and weirder than ever. The synth sound is a mystic and allusive beast for many guitar players. While synth-guitar is nothing new, the quality of said synth is something that has alluded many a play for quite some time. I've played several effects that are supposed to create synth noise but each one comes up shy. Line6, Digitech, BOSS and others have tried and have come up wanting. So, is this just more of the same? From the demo video they dropped recently, it looks like they are hitting at least a few of those sweet spots to recreate some classic 80's rock and synth pop hits. Is this the go to pedal for 80's cover bands? Probably.

This Is Not The Update You're Looking For

Much to the dismay of many of the 9-series fans, this is not the update that many are begging EHX for. There is no edit function, no customizable parameters, no usb connectivity. We now have 45 voices in the 9-series and no hint that we will even be able to mix-and-match or edit and deeper than the 4 parameters physically on the pedal. However, this pedal is the furthest we have ventured for any sound that we can create with a POG. Organ sounds were one of the key selling points of the POG for many player, but the Synth 9 gives us things the POG is not capable on its own.

Nailed It?

From the beginning of the 9-series, these pedals have been nearly perfect. Some would argue that they are, in fact, perfect. I would say to them, that the lack of some key features would show us that they are not. The B9 gave us great organ noises, but no expression pedal in or fast/slow Leslie feature (they stuck that is a completely different pedal). The Key9 did cool keyboard sounds, but lacked a little of the authenticity that we loved about the B/C9 units. The Mel9 was cool, but obscure. Now the Synth9 is taking on a huge task: upping the guitar-synth game. ... and it has? Look, the 9 series is great at what it does: being the next best thing to the real thing, or faking it just good enough.

Conclusion

Here is the next in what is becoming a long line of rather ingenious pedals. With the power of these pedals combined, you'd hardly ever have to hear the sound of your actually guitar again. I am impressed with the ability of EHX to keep finding niches for their family of funky sound machines. I thought they were running out of ideas. Turns out they are feverously coming up with new ways to make crazy sounds. And when you take a long at the guy running the show over there, it make a lot of sense. So, do  you need this pedal in your life? Well, you have to ask your self. Do I have a consistent need to play "Jump". 

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Ugly Truth About Mooer Mooergan Organ Simulator

Mooer is know as the leading innovato of tiny pedals. If they weren't the first to make tiny pedals, then they were the first to get recognized for making faithful replications of tested circuits in 1590A enclosures. They have done it again with non-other than EHX's B-9 in their sights. The Mooer Mooergan (pronounced /more-gan/) is an organ simulator. The few videos that have made it online suggest that it does its job. Is it a compact replacement for your B-9?

It's So Punny

I guess they just couldn't resist making the joke. I think they could have just stuck with naming it the Morgan and left let those who appreciate a good pun to draw the lines. Having said that, it is a tiny pedal doing the job of a pedal that four times its size. I love the fact that it can do this, however it limits the functionality of the pedal greatly. You can change the Wet and Dry signal and adjust the Modulation, but you are limited to the one organ sound. The Click knob isn't present either. That may not be a deal breaker, as you still have a very usable pedal when it is all said and done. Also, the size of this pedal reflects amount of time that it will actually be used.

Small Pedal, Small Blog

That pretty much it. I'm not going to rush out and sell my B-9. But those looking for an organ sound with a cramped Pedal board and tighter budget might be in luck. The sounds of an organ might be available to you yet. Does it sound as good? No. Is it as flexible? No. Does it make you think of an organ when you play through it? Yes. There is a gap in the 'sound like an organ' market. Mooer has done a good job of providing a tiny pedal that we could actually use.

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Ugly Truth About The Eletro Harmonix MEL-9 Mellotron Emulator

So Mike Matthews and company have been at it again. Offering us yet another pedal that we didn't even know that we wanted, EHX have served us a new polyphonic pedal that emulates... Mel... Gibson? Wait, that can't be right...

That's Right, It's a Mellotron Emulator... Whats a Mellotron?

Not only is this a pedal that we didn't know that we wanted, it is a pedal that emulates something that we don't know what is. The description provided by EHX never says "mellotron" outright. I'm guessing that it is trademarked by its makers. So, the suggest it. A mellotron, as I have recently learned was a type of keyboard that reproduced different voices by looping sample that have been recorded to tape or disks. So no one knows what a mellotron is, so why emulate it? Turns out that the sounds of this antiquated beast have been used by bands such as Genesis, Beatles and The Grateful Dead. Chances are, you've heard one of the those bands, or you may even like these bands. More importantly, bands around the country, and probably the world, are paid good money to cover these bands, so now guitarist are able to emulate the actually instrument played rather than play the riff while sounding like a guitar...

Another 9 Voices

If you have followed EHX's theme with these pedals, There are 9 voices in each box, this isn't surprising. It is a little frustrating. At this point, it's like buying a keyboard with 9 voices only for another keyboard to come out 6 months later with another 9 voices. The hardware in the pedals are staying the same. It's the software that gets the revamp. Why can't we shove a few more one and zeros in there to hook us up with a few more voices, or all the voices, or let us edit and create the voices... Come on Mike.

There Is A Pattern Here

It now seems like there is going to be a "9" pedal every 6 months or so for the rest of our lives. As long as we keep plopping down $200 for these things. Electro Harmonix is going to keep selling them to us. I'd love to see something like TC Electronics' Toneprint tech in EHX's polyphonic emulators. Let us edit and customize the 9 voices that we get to play with.

In Conclusion

I was impressed with the video that EHX released with this pedal. They have the promotion for these pedals really nailed. Show someone playing the pedal and make it sound great. If you make it recreate an iconic lick 'spot-on' then that's a bonus... There are several sounds in this pedal that sound great on the video. The Choir voices are pretty stellar. Also, I was impressed with the last little bit of the video where they strummed a acoustic guitar and made a guitar+fill sound. Making this a pedal that has a range of applications other than 'make you guitar sound like ________".

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Electro Harmonix Key9 Update

It has finally happened. Was now have teaser trailers for effect pedals. Just like when a major motion picture is upon us, we have gotten a glimpse of what the KEY9 pedal from Electro Harmonix can do. But is this the case of the "unwanted sequel"? I'm rather impressed by the authenticity of the voice this little box can achieve. Having said that, There are some let downs.

 So besides sounding amazing on "Somebody I Used To Know", this unit has a solid list of sounds that it really hits the mark. But if I'm being honest, the Rhoads sound was a little disappointing, but that be a strong case of "I already had a sound in my head and it doesn't live up to that exact specification even if that expectation might not be actually possible". That Rhoads that I mention is heavily influenced by the band that led me to fall in love with sound in the first place, Mutemath. If you don't know them, do yourself a favor and check out what they have to offer. If you are a fan of spacey-electro-rock that dips into a little bit of everything else, then they might be your thing. The band employs amount of Rhoads and that sound has haunted me ever since.

 Something That I like/don't like is the organ. Does it sound like an organ? Sure. But, do you think that the fans of this series of pedals wont already have a B/C9? Probably not. Even so, this pedal doesn't change on the fly very well. If you have one voice dialed in thing you have to wait for a break to flip you controls to another sound. Those wanting Organ and piano will have multiple pedals, so the organ setting is basically taking up space that we could have had another set of keys...

Should you get this pedal? Sure, it does some great thing that might come in handy for you. Do you often wish to make your guitar sound like other things? Then this pedal might be up you ally. If you like the B9 or C9, then this pedal might interest you as well. Want to turn your insane guitar solos into piano solos? Pump the brakes, make sure you get the sounds you want before picking this pedal up. The tracking sounds good, but there is a lot going on under the hood here. You might have to adjust your playing style to get the best results, but there is a lot of potential here.

The Ugly Truth About The EHX Key9

It feel like every time we turn around, Electro Harmonix drops a new pedal on us. I have no complaints about that. I love to look at new gear. Today I became aware of the newest their line of effect that make you guitar sound like keyboards. It is called the Key9 and after I ran around my house in excitement, I sat down to find out what I could about it. So... here's what I got:

It Has Its Obvious Advantages

Yes, those of us that get excited about making weird noises with our guitars rejoice when a new, weird pedal comes out. Making a guitar sound like a piano is great. Being able to translate guitar notes into a piano sounds makes a lot of sense. If you don't have a piano player, or you need a piano for that one bit in that one song, then you can easily emulate that sound with your guitar. Just like the B/C9 pedals, EHX has a nack for creating convincing filters for making you guitar sound like different things.

It Has A Wide Range

It looks like there is a lot of different sounds in this box (dynamo, wurli, suitcase, wallets, eighty eight, tri-calculous, yeti, oregon, 9786 drums) Not just different voices of pianos, but Vibe, Steel Drums, and Melodic Percussion abound. This pedal takes the idea behind the B9 and C9 pedals and gets a little crazier with it. I would love to make Rhodes sounds with this thing. I like the the other two pedal they've put out, but I haven't bought them. There are a couple reasons.

They Don't Replace The Keyboard Player

There has been comments that go along the lines of, "The Organ player better not be late" or "The organ player better watch out". Sure, these pedal sound good, and they extremely easy to use, but it's not going to replace another musician. The most obvious reason being that you can have either guitar or organ/keys. (Yes I know that you can have a stereo rig where only one side is an "organ". But you are still limited to playing one part. (and BTW, not all guitar parts sound good through the B9/C9/Key9)

They Are Pricey

I'm cheap, I know that. But I get to spend about $200 a year on pedals. The other two of these pedals go for just north of that figure. So, am I going to spend a years budget on a single effect that I'm going to use once a set (maybe) or am I going to but a couple cheaper ones... All I'm saying is that it's hard to drop that much on a neat, but limited, pedal. The real question here is, "Why haven't EHX released a pedal that is editable." In stead of giving us a few preset voices, give us the option of editing our own sounds with a choice of custom presets. The internals can't be that different on the pedals. I can't see too many people running three of these pedals on their boards.

Conclusion

Out of the pedals in the series, this is the one that have gotten my attention the most. Roland have been turning guitars into pianos for a while now, but now we have it in-line in stead of running a weird midi pickup and with a record of good sounding voices. I really like this idea. I hope that they pull off these sounds as well as they've done with the organ voices. If they do, then they just might get my money... some day when I can stop being cheap...