electro-harmonix B9 Organ Machine User Manual

: June 6, 2024
: electro-harmonix

Table of Contents

GETTING STARTED
PRESET DESCRIPTIONS
NOTES AND SPECIFICATIONS
TIPS ON GETTING OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE FROM THE B9
WARRANTY INFORMATION
FCC COMPLIANCE
Documents / Resources

electro-harmonix B9 Organ Machine

Congratulations on your purchase of the Electro-Harmonix B9. The B9 transforms the tone of a guitar and/or keyboard into that of a convincing full body electric organ. The 9 presets were finely tuned to emulate some of the most popular and classic electric organ tones. The B9 provides control over percussive attack level, modulation speed, organ and dry volume. The tracking on the B9 can keep up with the quickest musical passages.

WARNING: Your B9 comes equipped with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC-200BI power supply (same as used by Boss® & Ibanez®: 9.6 Volts DC 200mA). The B9 requires 100mA at 9VDC with a center negative plug. Using the wrong adapter or a plug with the wrong polarity may damage your B9 and void the warranty.

GETTING STARTED

Connect the supplied power adapter to the 9V power jack. Plug your instrument into the INPUT jack; connect your amp to the ORGAN OUTPUT jack. Set the DRY knob to minimum and all the other top row knobs to about mid position. Select the preset named FAT & FULL and step on the footswitch to turn on the LED. Play your instrument and adjust controls to your liking. MOD controls modulation speed and CLICK controls percussive click level.

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. Modulation can be completely turned off when MOD is set fully counterclockwise. 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.

B YPASS 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. The dry signal is outputted regardless if the B9 is in Effect or Bypass mode.

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

PRESET DESCRIPTIONS

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.
Jazz- This preset has the cool, smooth jazz tone reminiscent of the late great organist Jimmy Smith. MOD Type: Chorus.
Gospel- This preset has the upper octave drawbars added to capture that great soulful organ tone. MOD Type: Chorus.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 1M.
Output impedance for both output jacks is 500.
Current draw of the B9 is 100mA.

TIPS ON GETTING OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE FROM THE B9

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

WARRANTY INFORMATION

Please register online at http://www.ehx.com/product-registration or complete and return the enclosed warranty card within 10 days of purchase. Electro-Harmonix will repair or replace, at its discretion, a product that fails to operate due to defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from date of purchase. This applies only to original purchasers who have bought their product from an authorized ElectroHarmonix retailer. Repaired or replaced units will then be warranted for the unexpired portion of the original warranty term.

If you should need to return your unit for service within the warranty period, please contact the appropriate office listed below. Customers outside the regions listed below, please contact EHX Customer Service for information on warranty repairs at info@ehx.com or +1-718-937-8300. USA and Canadian customers: please obtain a Return Authorization Number (RA#) from EHX Customer Service before returning your product. Include with your returned unit: a written description of the problem as well as your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and RA#; and a copy of your receipt clearly showing the purchase date.

United States & Canada
EHX CUSTOMER SERVICE
ELECTRO-HARMONIX
c/o NEW SENSOR CORP.
47-50 33RD STREET LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101
Tel: 718-937-8300
Email: info@ehx.com

Europe
JOHN WILLIAMS
ELECTRO-HARMONIX UK
13 CWMDONKIN TERRACE
SWANSEA SA2 0RQ
UNITED KINGDO
Tel: +44 179 247 3258
Email: electroharmonixuk@virginmedia.com

This warranty gives a purchaser specific legal rights. A purchaser may have even greater rights depending upon the laws of the jurisdiction within which the product was purchased.

To hear demos on all EHX pedals visit us on the web at www.ehx.com Email us at info@ehx.com

FCC COMPLIANCE

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment under FCC rules.