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B9 pedal issues.....

B

BassManDan123

Sep 23, 2019
11
1
#1
I recently purchased a used Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Pedal. For some reason the open “A” String as well as 5th and 4th fret on the low “E” string distort and pitch warbles. Even though every other notes plays perfectly (even lower pitches).
Does anyone use this pedal with their bass? Is my pedal busted or is does this pedal not work with those frequencies?
 
#2
BassManDan123 said:
I recently purchased a used Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Pedal. For some reason the open “A” String as well as 5th and 4th fret on the low “E” string distort and pitch warbles. Even though every other notes plays perfectly (even lower pitches).
Does anyone use this pedal with their bass? Is my pedal busted or is does this pedal not work with those frequencies?
Click to expand...
EHX has stated about the 9 series that the "open A" is as low as it is supposed to "reliably" track. In my experience (I have a Mel9), you can sometimes go a little lower. If you have specific issues with those notes (right at the open A) perhaps there are weird harmonics or resonances coming from your particular bass?
 
#4
BassManDan123 said:
I tested the pedal with four different bass and on every base the low “A” and “Ab” do not work but “G, F#,F and E” work.
Click to expand...
Well, that's a little bizarre. The only other question I have is if there is anything else in your pedal chain. If not, then maybe you should contact EHX.
 
#6
I sold my B9 a while back, but I never had any tracking issues. My main organ sounds were the Pipe Organ and Cathedral Organ. I play a 5 and it tracked down to the low B just fine based on memory. I definitely recall not having to change my playing for it. But the Cathedral sound didn't really need to go that low.
 
#7
I have a Mel9 and it will track down to open E on my main basses*; it does prefer the front pickup, tone rolled back a bit or worn in strings and a solid but not too heavy a touch.

*my main basses are all humbucking or dual coil, single coils do not track as well lower down.
 
#8
Sorry Bell and Cathedral. Looking back on it, maybe I didn't like the other organ sounds much because it didn't sound great on lower strings, but I guess that was because the sound is so harmonically rich and full in upper registers that you get most of the low sound you need on those higher up.

On a similar but different note, depending on the type of organ sound you're looking for, I found the Ocean's 11 Shimmer got me most of the organ type of sound I wanted, plus with a nice atmospheric reverb underneath. I wasn't looking to get rid of the B9 at all, yet that little Ocean's 11 covered that ground well enough for me.
 

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