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Post new topic EH C9, Key9, Pedal Reviews?
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Author Topic:  EH C9, Key9, Pedal Reviews?
Charlie Thompson

 

From:
South Carolina, USA
Post  Posted 6 Jun 2017 12:09 pm    
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I use a B9 and a Hammond Leslie. I have them in a separate rack with a loop bypass switch so I can turn them off and on together. The rack sits right after the Black Box. I tried a compressor but took it out. I only take this rack on gigs where it will get some use. Usually in a band that has B3 on their recordings. Does a pretty good job if you keep it simple with pads behind a band. I have a speed switch velchroed to the steel which to me is a big part of making it sound legit : slowing down, speeding up and stopping the rotor. I'm not wild about the sound as a lead instrument. I think it does the job when used appropriately.
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Richard Sinkler


From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
Post  Posted 7 Jun 2017 8:28 am    
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I have my effects wired with an effects loop pedal feeding them, thus keeping them out of my signal chain. My guitar plugs into the effects loop pedal -> B9 -> Mel9 -> Bad Horse -> effects loop return. I have my Tech 21 Roto Choir on the floor next to me, not in the effects loop, as I use the slow setting as a chorus type effect occasionally. I like being able to switch from slow to fast or fast to slow and have the ramping sound. The pedal board sits on top of my amp head to my right, within reach.

The Tape Machine and Hall of Fame are plugged into the effects loop in the amp.



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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting.
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ajm

 

From:
Los Angeles
Post  Posted 8 Jun 2017 8:26 am    
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(Taken and edited from another discussion on the B9 / C9 several months back.)

How I'm using it (which differs from most of the other posts):
Six string classic rock only (so far).
Organ output only.
Mono single track recording (no live use or stereo yet).

I ended up getting the C9, but if the truth were known I'd have probably been just as happy with either one. I'll admit that I was probably sucked into it to some degree by the Lord Purple (Deep Purple Jon Lord) preset. I've always been a fan. In addition, the Shimmer setting is pretty addicting. (I actually by accident found a use for it on one song I did.)

I fooled around with the C9 sparingly for a couple of weeks, then set out to record parts for a song I wrote. I didn't spend a lot of time tinkering and preparing sounds beforehand. Most of the adjusting and tweaking was done during the process. The settings that I have used so far are the Lord Purple and Compact.

I'm happy with the way that the recording turned out, but as you might guess, I found some quirks with it along the way. Nothing that I can't live with, mind you. In addition, I went to a guitar show a few weeks ago, where I knew that there would be an EH rep demoing products. I went prepared with a list of questions/comments.

1) A few times, on power up, there would be no sound. I read about this on the internet from a few other users. The solution is simply to recycle power. I mentioned this to the rep, he said that they know about it, and they said that recycling power is the solution. I don't know if this applies to the B9 as well.

I have since come to believe that unplugging the power at the unit is NOT the way to recycle power. IMO the best way to do it it to turn off the AC to the adapter, then turn the AC back on. Of course, if you are using a power strip to power other effects/wall warts, this might be an issue.

Why do I say this? I got ready to use the C9 a while back and it wouldn't work literally at all. I tried the old unplug power at the unit method multiple times with no success. I called EHX and arranged for a return/repair. I was all ready to box the unit up, but thought I'd try it one more time. Guess what? It worked on power up. And just as an experiment I tried recyclng the AC power several times, and the unit worked every time. I didn't send it back.

2) Compressor: With all due respect to some other posters, IMO, you are going to need a compressor.

I asked the rep about the premature decay of notes. He agreed, and if you think about it, it makes sense, and there isn't much you can do about it. With an organ, if you set your beer on the keys, go away, and come back an hour later, the notes will still be going. Our guitars, on the other hand, decay after the notes are sounded. Adding to that is the fact that some notes in a chord will decay below a certain threshold quicker than others.

If you are doing solos or quick chord “stabs” then this probably won't be an issue. If you are trying to hold notes or chords for a longer period of time, you will notice this issue. As others have said, I found that it helps a lot to go Guitar-Compressor-C9-Volume Pedal. (My chain was actually Guitar-Noise Gate-Compressor-C9.)

3) There is a slight volume boost on some of the presets. It is what it is.

4) On the Lord Purple setting, there may be a teensy weensy amount of distortion built in. It is very tough to tell. I ended up using distortion on my amp for that setting anyway.

5) Note that I was using the Organ output only. On some presets the Organ Volume control does not go all of the way to silence. I asked the rep about this, and it is sort of by design. In those presets the Organ volume, Mod and Click controls assume different “functions” and interact to give you a lot of adjustment range. Those presets are 2/Prog, 3/Compact, 5/Lord Purple and 7/Blimp.

B9/C9 versus the POGs: I believe that the processing for the B9/C9 versus the POGs are not the same. The B9/C9 add other intervals besides octaves in some cases. If you mess around with the units you'll probably find this.

Applications/Sounds: I read somewhere where the feeling is that the B9 has more “traditional” B3 sounds, and the C9 has a couple of “extra” sounds (like the Shimmer). You'll need to decide that for yourself.

I can see where having a separate “Leslie” that speeds up/slows down would be of some use to some people. The few times I needed this effect, I hit a chord and turned the Mod knob on the C9.

The end.
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