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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Something I'd loved to check out for harp
Something I'd loved to check out for harp
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barbequebob
2618 posts
Jun 25, 2014
12:12 PM
I just saw this pedal from Electro Harmonix for guitar called the B9, which turns a guitar into a B3 organ, and I'd love to try this out with a chromatic. Has anyone had a chance to check one of these out yet?


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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
timeistight
1598 posts
Jun 25, 2014
1:15 PM
That demo sounds fantastic.

You couldn't get those chord voicings on harp but I want one anyway.

Last Edited by timeistight on Jun 25, 2014 1:15 PM
barbequebob
2619 posts
Jun 25, 2014
1:33 PM
I can imitate a B3 to a point playing a chromatic, but getting a true organ sound wold be a trip.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Dog Face
266 posts
Jun 25, 2014
1:56 PM
YES! My guitar player picked one of these up today. I will surely yank it off his board next practice and give it a run on harp. I'll play with it and see if I can get a video with good audio.
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Brad

Last Edited by Dog Face on Jun 25, 2014 2:00 PM
rbeetsme
1550 posts
Jun 25, 2014
2:50 PM
Ha! I ordered one today! Not due in till July or August.
The Iceman
1776 posts
Jun 25, 2014
5:08 PM
Interesting.

Notice the guitarist is playing his guitar with an organ sensibility and full understanding of how organs play chords/lines.

No bending of strings, etc.

Hope the guitar players get into this mind set when they learn to use the pedal.

Hope Dog Face does a demo w/harmonica.
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The Iceman
HarpNinja
3897 posts
Jun 25, 2014
6:23 PM
I want to try this so bad! Comes out in July.
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Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog
Rock Harmonica Lessons
Frank
4655 posts
Jun 25, 2014
6:26 PM
Hard to believe it is a new pedal, a B3 organ pedal wasn't available prior to now?

Last Edited by Frank on Jun 25, 2014 6:28 PM
Frank
4656 posts
Jun 26, 2014
2:55 AM
Wholey instant amazingness...just watched the video and am in AWE - This pedal will be dangerous in the hands of a smart harp player, or a waste of money for player who lacks smarts...that said, I would give my lower lip to have a day or two to mess with it before purchasing - to make sure I'm smart enough to use it...I'm not a pedal player, but love trying them out.

This is the pedal - that may put Jason Ricci on the map. I bet he could make a top 40 instrumental with this pedal :)

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The Centipide Saloon
Tip Your Waiter Please

Last Edited by Frank on Jun 26, 2014 3:13 AM
Diggsblues
1390 posts
Jun 26, 2014
4:13 AM
I want one !!!!!! Sometimes I jam with an organ player
in the Budesa Brothers.
Ok this is the real deal.

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Frank
4659 posts
Jun 26, 2014
4:31 AM
I can envision every harmonica player in the world owning one by 2018 :)
rbeetsme
1551 posts
Jun 26, 2014
4:47 AM
I hope it works as advertised. I've had some guitar pedals that simply didn't work with a mic.
Stevelegh
974 posts
Jun 26, 2014
6:40 AM
Before everyone starts messing their pants and goes off spending next months grocery money, there's a couple things I'd consider. One downside and one upside.

First off, the demo is showcasing the guitar being played like an organ. No vibrato and most importantly the some of those chord inversions are nothing like what a guitar player would play in normal situations. I'd say as a guitarist, you'd have to adapt your playing to suit. I don't know how chords would work on the harp down on the bottom four holes, but it could be quite cool.

On the upside, I think a lot of guitarists will buy these and find they're not for them. I'd give it a couple months and grab one cheap on Ebay.

Last Edited by Stevelegh on Jun 26, 2014 6:41 AM
HawkeyeKane
2547 posts
Jun 26, 2014
10:04 AM
Hmmmm....this actually could have potential applications for me. I play a lot of organ parts in my band. And I just bought a Danelectro Rocky Road rotary pedal. The wheels are turning in my head here...
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 photo NewMBHsigpic.jpg

Hawkeye Kane - Hipbone Sam
barbequebob
2620 posts
Jun 26, 2014
10:29 AM
If you're using a chromatic, your chord voicings may be different in some cases than on a diatonic and one of the first things I'd be listening to are some of the best B3 players who ever lived, not just for solos, but the chord voicings and how they used them, listening to people like Jimmy Smith (my all time favorite B3 player), Johnny Hammond Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Bill Doggett.

Otis Rush, a great blues guitarist, also studied B3 players for chord voicings.

About the only thing that would be tough for most harp players to pull off unless they had two mouths would be to do the stuff Jimmy Smith used to do, and that's his chording and solos while locking down the groove playing the bass pedals more than good enough to make some of the finest bass players ever feel jealous.

The rotary simulator pedals like the Neo Instruments Venilator or the one that Hammond puts out is fine for imitating the sound of a Leslie, but still retains the sound of whatever instrument is getting plugged into is pretty cool in its own right, and Buddy Guy was probably the first guitarist to plug his guitar into a Leslie on the Junior Wells Hoodman LP for Delmark in the mid 60's was a forced necessity because his amp died in the middle of a recording session and the Leslie was the only thing available, but this pedal is so far beyond just that.

From watching the demo, the chord formations the guitarist was using (since I also play a little bit of guitar, it helps in figuring things out) aren't all that different that I would hear a jazz or a jump blues/jazz influenced guitar player use but having something to make it sound like a real B3 takes things to an entirely different place.

Much of the time when I play chromatic, regardless if it's in 3rd position, 1st position or anything else, my own approach has been more along the lines of the George Harmonica Smith school of chromatic, which includes guys like Kim Wilson, William Clarke and Rod Piazza, all of whom learned directly from George, and being able to use dynamics and play the "swells" that B3 players often use (which for a harp player is gonna require that you get your breath control in order immediately), for gigs as a sideman, here's another way of approaching things and still sound like what you belongs there.

Stevelegh, what you say about adjusting how you play to suit things is spot on, just like when you're learning horn parts when I gigged in a band that had a 5 piece horn section and I had to unlearn the usual harp player things and adapt to what they're doing, hitting lines in unison at times, in harmony at others times, etc., which the average harp player is gonna have tough time dealing with because the average player is often times too horribly undisciplined to be able to cut that stuff.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
MN
389 posts
Aug 16, 2015
1:27 PM
So, did anyone pick up a B9? Reports?
Martin
859 posts
Aug 17, 2015
4:30 AM
Yeah, strange silence on this particular gadget -- that appears to be the non plus ultra when it comes to producing organ sounds. But perhaps not on harmonica?
Moon Cat
531 posts
Aug 17, 2015
11:08 PM
The attack (Tapping staccato sound on the top of every note) on this pedal is super annoying…You can supposedly dial it out (as it has a knob for that purpose) but it never really comes out enough for me on most of it's settings and is always there a bit too much still on the others that I don't really like. Bummers... The pedal works great for guitars of course and I haven't tried the C-9 but my guitar player John Lisi uses one about twice a night (which is good for these things on any instrument). Other harp players besides me love this pedal.. I can't personally really deal with it's draw backs. Like a lot of EH stuff, they always seem to have one little flaw that messes 'em up. I've had better luck combining a Chorus with the E.H. Micro Pog which is not perfect either (setting change volume, rendering lower/higher octave preferences combos subject to severe volume change…NEEDS a volume knob bad! Theres a new one maybe it has it?...) -J
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www.mooncat.org

Last Edited by Moon Cat on Aug 17, 2015 11:14 PM
HarpNinja
4126 posts
Aug 18, 2015
5:53 AM
Jason, check out a Strymon Lex for Neo Ventilator. I use the Lex (but choose to play octaves rather than use a pitch effect). It sounds wonderful.
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Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog
joshnat
239 posts
Aug 18, 2015
11:05 AM
For the last few months I've been using an EH Pitchfork with a Behringer rotary pedal to get this sound. I don't usually use reverb, but I added a reverb pedal to the chain as well. The Pitchfork was recommended here. It will let you play an octave above and below at the same time, which is how I started to use it--but it gave me a very "ice rink organ" type sound. Recently I switched it to just an octave above and I'm getting more of the B3 sound I was after.

I've put the Pitchfork, rotary and reverb pedals in a separate loop on my board with a bypass switch so I can switch from comping on organ to soloing on harp--or vice versa--with a single stomp. I really like having the flexibility for an entirely different sound, and some of my band's songs really benefit from the organ tones.
Martin
862 posts
Aug 19, 2015
4:26 AM
@joshnat: I, for one, would be really interested in a sound sample of that setup.
I recently tried a Pitchfork but came away rather disappointed -- but I didn´t give it more than, say, 15-20 minutes. Maybe it requires more.
Also tried a Behringer rotary (but not in an EXC combination) and it did very little for me.
Sound samples would be very appreciated.
MN
390 posts
Aug 19, 2015
5:19 AM
Sounds like there's a real need for a good harp organ pedal. Hopefully the fine folks at Lone Wolf read this.
JustFuya
954 posts
Sep 20, 2016
10:16 AM
I just heard a great clip using a MEL9 on Harp-L. I am absolutley not a gimmick or equipment guy but I was impressed with what I heard on that short video. Has anyone had recent experience with this thing.
Killa_Hertz
1760 posts
Sep 20, 2016
12:11 PM
This Pedal is on my short list of ones to get. It looks very cool. I have heard a few great things done with it on harp and guitar. EHX makes killer quality effects. Either this or the POG. But I think this is more practical.

I heard one guy use it with a Leslie Cabinet Simulator pedal. ( Rotary Pedal) I actually brought this up the other day when talking about how the harp could be more versatile in a band situation. I dont think its gimmicky at all. I think that , if done right, you could essentially add an organ to your band. I'm really curious how it would react with a Chromatic. If you could actually play the chromatic (unlike me) could you essentially play full Organ Parts??


Edit: Ahh I just read Jasons Review above. WhompWhomp. Maybe ill see if I can try one first .... lol.

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Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on Sep 20, 2016 12:16 PM
florida-trader
997 posts
Sep 20, 2016
12:30 PM
I have one. The effects are pretty neat but when the pedal is in the bypass mode it kills the volume of my mic. I am not a gear head so perhaps there is something that can be done to resolve that issue. I found myself plugging the B9 in when I wanted to use it and just disconnecting it when I didn't. Less than ideal situation.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
 photo BMH Banner resized for email signature_zpseilpcgeo.jpg
Killa_Hertz
1762 posts
Sep 20, 2016
7:53 PM
Tom that's awesome. Im gonna try to get the Guitar Center folks to let me play with one.

A possible solution to your problem. I know big time guitar tone guys use an actual bypass loop pedal. It similar to those old A/B switches you used to have on the TV. I was thinking of getting one because i find alt of pedals kill tone when off.

Anyways they are pretty cheap and should fix your problem.

Like this.

https://reverb.com/item/23818-saturnworks-compact-true-bypass-looper-loop-pedal?_aid=pla&pla=1&gclid=Cj0KEQjwvIO_BRDt27qG3YX0w4wBEiQAsGu3ebL3sC4xzePq9xpJ3BGqjG8z28f1CNVkHPcAVHYmJZ0aAr6i8P8HAQ
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JustFuya
958 posts
Sep 21, 2016
7:41 AM
It's a little pricey for experimentation but I'm considering it as a recording tool.

I don't get much joy from BTs and I don't like the idea of computer generated accompaniment. I am thinking it would be perfect for laying down a track by enhancing my one finger approach to the guitar.

And then of course I'd love to see what it can do for harp.


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