Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Machine

Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Machine

With 9 presets that were finely tuned to emulate the most legendary organs from the ‘60s and beyond, the Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Machine will transform your guitar or keyboard. Control the instrument’s signature percussive click and sweet modulation. Blend your dry signal to create lush layers. Enough tonewheel and combo organ inspiration to light your fire and cook up some green onions!

Here are some tips on getting optimum performance from the B9 Organ Machine.

1. The B9 is best as the first pedal in an effects chain. Place modulation delay and reverb effects after the B9.The unit will not perform well if placed in the effects loop of a guitar amp.

2. The unit performs best using the bridge pickup of a guitar.If a guitars pickup has a weak output, performance can be improved by putting a clean boost or a compressor in front of the B9. It is not advised to place a distortion or overdrive in front of the B9. This will muddy up the input signal and cause the tracking to be unstable.If overdrive or distortion is desired it’s best to place it after the B9.

3. Some guitar amplifiers have a uneven peaky frequency response that may cause some sounds to be over accentuated. A compressor in front or after the B9 can help smooth this out. This helps for a guitar player who’s playing is less than desirable in the dynamics department.

4. The B9 was designed to be used with a guitar. The unit can be used with a bass guitar BUT the range the bass player can play will be limited. The unit tracks best above the C note, third fret on the A string. Below that performance is compromised and not recommended.

5. The top range using a guitar in standard tuning is the 23rd fret. Above that the organ sound will not be heard.

6. Garbage in Garbage out. The B9 tracks great and will follow what ever you play, but it is not a talent booster. Sloppy guitar playing will sound like a sloppy organ player. The B9 will bend notes just a regular guitar does. Organs do not bend, so for a more authentic organ sound limit bending. Try sliding instead!

Quick Specs:

- Transform the tone of a guitar or keyboard into that of a convincing full body, electric organ

- 9 presets that were finely tuned to emulate some of the most popular and classic electric organ tones

- Control over percussive attack level, modulation speed, organ and dry volume

- Rugged and easy to use

- Use together with the C9 for dual keyboard possibilities!

- EHX 9.6DC-200 PSU included

- Dimensions in inches: 4.0 (w) x 4.75 (l) x 2.25 (h)

- Dimensions in mm: 102 (w) x 121 (l) x 89 (h)

Controls:

DRY VOLUME KNOB

Controls the volume of the untreated instrument level at the ORGAN OUTPUT jack.

ORGAN VOLUME KNOB
Controls the overall volume of the ORGAN preset.

MOD KNOB
MOD controls the speed of modulation. The type of modulation is contingent on the preset selected. The different types of modulation available are vibrato, tremolo and chorus. See the preset descriptions for modulation type.

CLICK KNOB
CLICK controls percussive click level. It was designed to simulate the harmonic percussion effect on classic B3 and C3 organs. The click will be added to the very first note or chord played. The click will retrigger only when current notes have been released and their amplitude falls below a threshold. For a few presets, CLICK controls parameters unique to the preset. See the preset descriptions for details.

BYPASS FOOTSWITCH

Press the BYPASS Footswitch to toggle the B9 between buffered Bypass and Effect mode. The status LED lights when in Effect mode.  
DRY OUTPUT JACK
DRY outputs the signal present at the INPUT Jack through a buffer circuit.

ORGAN OUTPUT JACK
ORGAN outputs the mix set by the DRY and ORGAN controls.

PRESET DESCRIPTIONS
1. Fat & Full- This sound adds an extra octave below and above to make your guitar sound twice as big. Fills out any band in an instant! MOD Type: Chorus.
2. Jazz- This preset has the cool, smooth jazz tone reminiscent of the late great organist Jimmy Smith. MOD Type: Chorus.
3. Gospel- This preset has the upper octave drawbars added to capture that great soulful organ tone. MOD Type: Chorus.
4. Classic Rock- This preset captures the classic rock sound of songs like Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale.” Add a touch of distortion for a classic dirty organ. MOD Type: Chorus.
5. Bottom End- This preset has the lower draw bar sound. Perfect for adding bottom to your guitar or playing B3 bass sounds. With the CLICK control up you can lay down a bass line like the one on Sugarloaf’s “Green Eyed Lady.” MOD Type: Chorus.
6. Octaves- This preset uses the fundamental tone plus one octave above. This sound is great for songs like Led Zeppelin’s “Your Time is Going to Come.” MOD Type: Chorus. CLICK control adds not only key click, but higher harmonics.
7. Cathedral- Turn up the reverb and you are at the seat of a giant cathedral organ! Psychedelic rock tones easily pour out. MOD Type: Tremolo. CLICK adjusts the tremolo depth.
8. Continental- This is the classic combo organ sound similar to classic songs “96 Tears,” “Woolly Bully” and “House of the Rising Sun.” MOD Type: Vibrato. CLICK controls vibrato depth.
9. Bell Organ- If you crossed an electric piano with an organ this is it. MOD Type:  Tremolo. CLICK adjusts the amount of bell or chime added to the sound.

NOTES AND SPECIFICATIONS
• B9 has buffered bypass.
• Input impedance is 1MOhm.
• Output impedance for both output jacks is 500Ohm.
• Current draw of the B9 is 100mA.

TIPS ON GETTING OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE FROM THE B9.
1. The B9 is best as the first pedal in an effects chain. Place modulation, delay and reverb effects after the B9. The unit will not perform well if placed in the effects loop of a guitar amp.
2. The unit performs best using the bridge pickup of a guitar. If a guitar’s pickup has a weak output, performance can be improved by putting a clean boost or a compressor in front of the B9. It is not advised to place a distortion or overdrive in front of the B9. This will muddy up the input signal and cause the tracking to be unstable. If overdrive or distortion is desired it’s best to place it after the B9.
3. Some guitar amplifiers have a uneven peaky frequency response that may cause some sounds to be over accentuated. A compressor in front or after the B9 can help smooth this out. This helps for a guitar player who’s playing is less than desirable in the dynamics department.
4. The B9 was designed to be used with a guitar. The unit can be used with a bass guitar BUT the range the bass player can play will be limited. The unit tracks best above the C note, third fret on the A string. Below that performance is compromised.
5. The top range using a guitar in standard tuning is the 23rd fret. Above that the organ sound will not be heard.
6. The B9 tracks great and will follow whatever you play, but sloppy guitar playing will sound like a sloppy organ player. The B9 will bend notes just a regular guitar does. Organs do not bend, so for a more authentic organ sound limit bending.