Electro-Harmonix C9 Organ Machine

The Electro-Harmonix C9 Organ Machine is a compact stompbox that turns a guitar into organ and vintage keyboard sounds, with no additional equipment needed. Electro-Harmonix describes it plainly: "The C9 will transform your instrument into a convincing full body, electric organ or vintage electronic keyboard"¹. Nine presets cover Hammond, Farfisa, Vox, Clavoline and Mellotron organ territory, and a dry volume control lets a player layer the original guitar under the organ or mute it entirely².

The C9 is a follow-up to Electro-Harmonix's B9 Organ Machine, using the same underlying technology. Where the B9 concentrated on Hammond-style sounds, the C9 reaches into a wider range of organ types, and press coverage at launch framed it as a nod to the late 60s and 70s tones of Keith Emerson, Ray Manzarek, Jon Lord, the Beatles and Led Zeppelin². Both pedals were later described by Premier Guitar as award-winning³.

What the C9 does: guitar into organ

Plug into the mono input, pick a preset, and the pedal converts what you play into organ voicings in real time. Guitar World's review put it as "Nine presets instantly transform a guitar into the realistic sounds of Hammond, Farfisa, Vox, Clavoline or Mellotron org[an]"⁴. Because the dry signal has its own volume control, the C9 works both as a full replacement for your guitar tone and as a layering tool: Premier Guitar's launch coverage noted that a player can "mix the sound of their original instrument with the organ to create lush layers, or mute it ent[irely]"².

The pedal sits in EHX's "9" series of keyboard-emulation pedals. MusicRadar's series coverage notes that the company "has emulated organs with its B9 and C9 Organ Machines" and that the C9 "appeared shortly afterwards" following the B9's 2014 launch⁷. Guitar World found the C9 especially suited to players covering Deep Purple, ELP, the Doors, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Sixties garage rock, U2 and Porcupine Tree⁴.

Tracking is the practical question with any pitch-to-keyboard conversion. MusicRadar's review addressed it directly:

So the pedal follows single notes and chords quickly, but the organ voice arrives a fraction of a beat behind the attack, the same behavior reviewers found on the B9⁵.

The nine organ presets

Presets are chosen with a nine-position knob, which the maker's page describes simply as selecting "an organ patch"¹. Pedal of the Day's review walked through all nine modes with commentary, and its characterizations give a player a useful preview⁸:

The spread is the point of the pedal. Delicious Audio's coverage drew the contrast with its sibling: "Where the B9 featured many types of Hammond sounds, the C9 branches out into many other kinds of organs"⁹. Guitar.com similarly described the C9 as building "on the success of the B9 Organ Machine with nine authentic sounds"¹⁰.

The controls

The control set is small and shared across the preset types¹²⁹:

• MODE knob: a nine-position selector that chooses the organ patch¹².
• ORGAN VOLUME knob: controls the overall volume of the organ preset¹².
• DRY control: sets the level of the untreated guitar signal, from blended to fully muted².
• MOD control: adjusts the speed of the modulation².
• CLICK control: in at least one mode it works with the Mod knob. In Shimmer, the Mod and Click knobs control Attack and Sustain, so cranking both changes the envelope of the keyboard voice⁸.

Because Mod and Click change function depending on the preset, it is worth experimenting with them each time you switch modes rather than setting them once and leaving them⁸.

Outputs and power

The C9 has a mono input and separate output jacks for the dry guitar and processed organ signals⁴. The maker's page describes the ORGAN OUTPUT jack as carrying "the mix set by the DRY and ORGAN controls"¹. The separate dry output opens up routing options: the organ signal can go to a keyboard amp or the PA while the dry guitar keeps its usual path, or both can run into the same front end.

Power comes from a nine-volt supply, and the pedal ships standard with an EHX 9.6-Volt/DC200mA AC adapter². The maker's current product page lists a 9.6VDC-200mA power adapter as included¹.

The C9 and the B9

The B9 Organ Machine, launched in 2014, came first, and the C9 appeared shortly afterwards¹²⁷. Both are Organ Machine pedals from the same maker¹¹³, built on the same technology¹¹³⁴, and both were later called award-winning in EHX press materials relayed by Premier Guitar¹¹³⁴. The practical difference is voicing: the B9 stays close to Hammond tonewheel organ sounds, while the C9 widens out to Vox Continental, Mellotron flute and other vintage electronic keyboard tones⁹. A player who wants one pedal that covers the broadest range of keyboard sounds gets that from the C9; a player focused on Hammond sounds is already well served by the B9.

What reviewers said

MusicRadar's overall verdict was favorable:

Pedal of the Day's reviewer went mode by mode and found the pedal convincing enough that "it's easy to forget you're playing a guitar pedal," reserving particular praise for Shimmer and Mello Flutes while noting the Prog patch could use more bass and key click⁸. Guitar World's review highlighted the realistic preset sounds and the separate dry and organ outputs as practical strengths for cover players⁴.

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