Electro-Harmonix Synth9 Synthesizer Machine

Electro-Harmonix Synth9 Synthesizer Machine

The SYNTH9 does for analog synthesizers what the B9 did for organs and the KEY9 did for electric pianos: now anyone with an electric guitar can play analog synth emulations of classic Moog®, Oberheim® and ARP® synthesizers, amongst others, without the need for extra devices such as cumbersome 13-pin MIDI pickups!

GETTING STARTED

Connect the supplied power adapter to the 9V power jack. Plug your instrument into the INPUT jack. Connect your amp to the SYNTH OUTPUT jack. Set the DRY knob to minimum (fully counterclockwise) and set the other top row knobs to 12 o’clock. Select a preset (“OBX” is a good starting point) and step on the footswitch to turn on the LED. Play your instrument and adjust controls to your liking. For further inspiration check out the SYNTH9’s SUGGESTED FACTORY SETTINGS insert. Make copies of the included SYNTH9 USER SETTINGS page to keep track of your favorite sounds and settings.

CONTROLS AND I/O JACKS

DRY VOL KNOB The DRY VOL knob controls the volume of the untreated instrument signal present at the SYNTH OUTPUT jack.

SYNTH VOL KNOB For all presets except MINI MOOD, the SYNTH VOL knob controls the overall volume of the selected preset at the SYNTH OUTPUT jack. In MINI MOOD, SYNTH VOL controls the volume of the non-portamento synthesizer; CTRL 1 controls the volume of the portamento synthesizer.

CTRL 1 & CTRL 2 KNOBS See the preset descriptions on the following pages for details.

PRESET KNOB Turn the white numbered knob to select a preset sound.

INPUT JACK Plug your instrument or the output of another effects pedal into this ¼” jack. See Tips 1 & 2 on the following page for more on connecting your SYNTH9.

DRY OUTPUT JACK The DRY OUTPUT jack outputs the signal present at the INPUT jack through a buffer circuit. In either EFFECT or BYPASS mode, the dry signal is always present at the DRY OUTPUT jack.

SYNTH OUTPUT JACK The SYNTH OUTPUT jack outputs the mix set by the DRY and SYNTH volume controls. In BYPASS mode, SYNTH OUTPUT outputs the buffered bypass signal.

BYPASS FOOTSWITCH Press the BYPASS footswitch to toggle the SYNTH OUTPUT jack between buffered BYPASS and EFFECT mode. The status LED lights when you are in EFFECT mode.

PRESET DESCRIPTIONS

1. OBX – An emulation of the meaty sounding Oberheim® OB-X. CTRL 1 is a tone control. Use CTRL 2 to select between 4 octaves.

2. PROFIT V – The Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 provides inspiration for our versatile PROFIT V preset. CTRL 1 adjusts the sweep time of a downward filter envelope. CTRL 2 selects between 8 intervals of either octaves or 5ths.

3. VIBE SYNTH – A polyphonic synthesizer with decaying harmonic content and vibrato. CTRL 1 sets the power and sweep range of harmonics. CTRL 2 adjusts both vibrato rate and depth simultaneously. As you turn CTRL 2 clockwise the vibrato rate and amount increases.

4. MINI MOOD – A big sounding Moog® inspired synthesizer that blends a portamento synth with a non-portamento synth. (Portamento is when notes glide from one to another.) Turn the SYNTH VOL knob to set the volume of the non-portamento synthesizer. Use CTRL 1 to adjust the output volume of the portamento notes. CTRL 2 sets portamento time. This preset works best when you play monophonically, one note at a time, where every note is picked. To play faster licks, try turning down CTRL 1.

5. EHX MINI – An emulation of the classic Electro-Harmonix Mini Synth. CTRL 1 sets filter envelope sweep time and direction. When CTRL 1 is set to a point within its counter-clockwise range, it sets the attack time for the filter sweep; when set clockwise beyond “noon” it controls the decay time of the filter sweep. CTRL 2 selects between 4 octaves.

6. SOLO SYNTH – A fuzz-synth preset where a synth oscillator and a fuzz square wave guitar are combined to create one single extreme synth tone! CTRL 1 is a tone control. CTRL 2 selects between 4 octaves.

7. MOOD BASS – The Mini Moog® and Taurus pedals served as inspiration for this preset. MOOD BASS works best when played monophonically. CTRL 1 adjusts the sweep time of a downward filter sweep. CTRL 2 chooses between 3 octaves.

8. STRING SYNTH – Our emulation of an ARP® string synth. CTRL 1 is a tone control. CTRL 2 sets filter sweep attack time.

9. POLY VI – Inspired by the Korg® Polysix. CTRL 1 is a tone control. CTRL 2 sets modulation depth.

NOTES AND SPECIFICATIONS

· Buffered bypass

· Input impedance: 1MW

· Output impedance (for both output jacks): 500W

· Current draw: 100mA

TIPS ON GETTING OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE FROM THE SYNTH9

1. The SYNTH9 is generally best used as the first pedal in an effects chain. Place modulation, delay, and reverb effects after the SYNTH9. The unit will not perform well if placed in the effects loop of a guitar amp.

2. For optimal playability, set the guitar’s pickup selector to the bridge pickup and turn the volume knob all the way up (“10”).

3. Avoid placing a distortion or overdrive in front of the SYNTH9, which could muddy up the input signal and cause the tracking to be unstable. If you want to add overdrive or distortion, place it after the SYNTH9.

 4. The SYNTH9 has a built in compressor that is active on the synth sounds at all times. We recommend you do not insert another compressor into your signal chain while the SYNTH9 is in effect mode.

5. The usable tracking range on the SYNTH9 extends up to about the 23rd fret on the high-E of a standard guitar and down to the open A-string on a bass guitar. The SYNTH9 sounds equally good on bass as it does guitar.