• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

EHX B9 vs C9

B

Bob Coldwell

May 8, 2015
1,171
1,043
70
Duluth, Minnesota
#1
I know this has been discussed, but my search capabilities haven't allowed me to pinpoint my specific questions.

I've watched lots of demo videos of both of these pedals and they both sound great. Is one actually better? I know - largely subjective. But does one track better? Have more useable sounds? More features? Is the C9 an improvement on the original B9?

I'll confess I want to use this on my acoustic guitar solo act board. It already sports a Mel9, of which I find 4 of the 9 settings suitable for me.

But it or a second EHX organ pedal may find its way to my bass pedal board, which implements octave up/fifth via an Akai Unibass. So the "lower than open A" doesn't really apply here.

Again, I'm asking mostly as a guitarist, but TBers are very knowledgeable and very gear crazy. So, tell me what you think.
 
#4
I find that they track the same and require the same technique adjustments to work well. I love them.

In the end, I think the first setting on the B9 is probably the best of the two pedals. But the c9 has more sounds that work well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mam1862
#6
Bob Coldwell said:
Someone on another forum suggested Electro-Harmonix should build a pedal that combines the best presets of all the 9 series pedals. I suppose that will never happen, but it would be wonderful.
Click to expand...

People have been talking about it for years - a series 9 Deluxe pedal with sounds from each of the b9, c9, synth9, mel9, key9 etc. I bet sooner or later they'll do something similar. It's a pity that EHX doesn't use something like the toneprint system because then you could create your own perfect keys pedal for your own needs.
 
#7
I use the B9 and the Mel9 for quite a few songs. Mostly used as background just to fill in. I also use the Strymon Lex with the B9 depending on the sound I'm looking for. The Mono Bass Synth looks interesting but I'm waiting for more reviews. A combo pedal would definitely be a slick idea although might be costly as well as a pedal on the larger side in size.
 
#8
mam1862 said:
I use the B9 and the Mel9 for quite a few songs. Mostly used as background just to fill in. I also use the Strymon Lex with the B9 depending on the sound I'm looking for. The Mono Bass Synth looks interesting but I'm waiting for more reviews. A combo pedal would definitely be a slick idea although might be costly as well as a pedal on the larger side in size.
Click to expand...

For me the key to getting them to sound good was the Strymon lex with expression control over speed and sending the output of the Lex directly to the PA while my "clean" bass goes to my amp and PA.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mam1862
#9
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, gentlemen. In my mind, a "Deluxe 9" pedal wouldn't have to be larger or more expensive. It would still have only nine presets - the top picks from the other pedals. I would even be satisfied with choices from the B9, C9 and Mel9. I know, I know: We all have different wants, needs, tastes. So who would decide which presets to put in there?

This pipe dream pedal will probably come along right after I finally make up my mind between a B9 and C9.

Slight derail:

1 The Mooer Mooergan was awesome, though it didn't hang around long. Is it true they dropped it due to threat of litigation from EHX? Did it even go into production?

2 Earthquaker also makes an organ pedal. The videos I saw of it didn't do a lot for me.

3 Also, I've been revisiting some demo videos of the Mooer Soul Shiver. It's a 3 mode chorus that can cop a Leslie sound for under a hundred bucks
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Jay Ingram
#10
I use a C9 after running my signal through a Hog2. I can adjust the various octaves beforehand. that way I can get a nice chord like feeling while playing a single note. It makes tracking a lot cleaner. A touch of reverb and some grit gives an incredible ambient organ sound. I like that it actually doesn't sound exactly like an organ, but some kind of living breathing creature that is struggling to be an organ. (this is a good thing)

The drawback to a "greatest hits" pedal would be the inability to switch presets remotely. In fact, that's kind of a drawback with the pedals right now.
 
#11
Thanks for the replies. Still on the fence. Still watching demo videos and comparing.

B9 has more usable sounds, but some sound similar to each other. I think it has more Leslie capabilities than the C9 though, which I like.

Also, the B9 has several drawbar functions, but the C9 has the one that adds a 5th harmonic.

What about the settings that have vibrato? Can you adjust the speed to get it to repeat in time to the beat? I thought I saw a B9 video that did just that. But I don't know if it's superior to the C9 in that department.

As stated in my original post, I'm interested in this for my solo guitar set, but would certainly love to have it in my bass setup too. Also, I'm pretty sure the flutes and Telstar get a big "thumbs down", no matter what.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back