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Electro-Harmonix MEL9 Tape Replay Machine Pedal

BH #ELMEL9 • MFR #MEL9
Electro-Harmonix MEL9 Tape Replay Machine Pedal
Key Features
  • Works for Guitar, Bass, and Keyboards
  • 9 x Emulated Mellotron Sounds
  • Vintage Tape-Based Keyboard Sounds
  • Attack and Sustain Controls
The MEL9 Tape Replay Machine by Electro-Harmonix is a guitar pedal that takes us back to the good old '60s and '70s prog days of vintage tape-based keyboard sounds. With their homage to the beloved Mellotron, Electro-Harmonix aims to emulate nine sounds (Orchestra, Cello, Strings, Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Brass, Low Choir, and High Choir) of that magnetic-tape monster of an instrument.
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Expected availability: 3-5 weeks
$259.50
$44/mo. suggested payments for 6 Mos.
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Important Notice

  • This item is noncancelable and nonreturnable.
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Electro-Harmonix MEL9 Overview

The MEL9 Tape Replay Machine by Electro-Harmonix is a guitar pedal that takes us back to the good old '60s and '70s prog days of vintage tape-based keyboard sounds. With their homage to the beloved Mellotron, Electro-Harmonix aims to emulate nine sounds (Orchestra, Cello, Strings, Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Brass, Low Choir, and High Choir) of that magnetic-tape monster of an instrument.

Forget having to book the New York Philharmonic for your next horror movie soundtrack; grab a MEL9 and your guitar, bass (works down to the open A), or keys and feel free to bend, slide, pitch-bend, and whammy your way into creepy madness – this tape relay machine can track all the death-defying stunts you execute on your instrument, with no added MIDI devices to cramp your style.

With Attack and Sustain controls you can adjust how your sound breathes in and breaths out (crescendos and decrescendos), while also having the liberty of mixing the effected and dry signal via their dedicated volume knobs and individual outputs  – hook up a stereo-spread using two amps and kill the crowd with your wall of Mellotron'd sound.

The MEL9 comes with a power supply.

  • Pays homage to nine Mellotron sounds: Orchestra, Cello, Strings, Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Brass, Low Choir, and High Choir
  • Works with guitar, bass (down to open A), and keyboards
  • No instrument modifications, special pickups, or MIDI implementation required
  • Tracks guitar bends, slides, whammy dive bombs, and more
  • Mix your dry and effected signal to two separate outputs
  • Dry output signal is at unity gain
  • Attack and Sustain controls for setting volume swell and decay durations
  • 5-note polyphony
UPC: 683274011837

Electro-Harmonix MEL9 Specs

Controls
2 x volume knobs (dry and effect)
1 x attack knob
1 x sustain knob
1 x 9-position effect knob (chooses effect type)
Connectors
1 x 1/4" mono output, dry signal
1 x 1/4" mono output, effected signal
1 x 1/4" mono input
Power Supply
9.6 VDC, 200 mA
Does not support battery operation
Dimensions
4.0 x 4.75 x 2.25" / 10.2 x 12.1 x 5.7 cm
Packaging Info
Package Weight
1.575 lb
Box Dimensions (LxWxH)
7.35 x 6.2 x 3.2"

Electro-Harmonix MEL9 Reviews

A groovy addition to any guitar rig

By Steve
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2016-09-29

I got the last one in stock (time to reorder, B&H!) and I can see why... the Mel9 pedal adds a completely new vibe to any electric guitar setup. It's very dynamic and responsive, only slightly losing track with very soft notes. Send the dry out to one amp, and the effect out to another (or the sound board) and your sound palette gets very big very quickly. Like everyone else probably did, I immediately dialed in the flute sound and learned Strawberry Fields Forever, but it doesn't stop there. Strings, cello, orchestra and choir sounds are super-fun and very authentic - even down to the warbly tape sound. One thing I'm considering is putting an EQ pedal on Mel9 as its sounds can be a little harsh in the midrange. Dial that back, add some reverb, set the attack and decay at about 1 o'clock, and you have a string pad like keyboard players have always enjoyed - at a fraction of the cost of MIDI guitar synth. Play around with pickup settings too, as the effect sound definitely responds differently to neck vs. bridge pickups. Playing speed is also a factor... most of the sounds take a little time to bloom, so staccato, rapid picking probably won't let the sounds fully develop. But for adding a huge layer and vintage texture to your sound, the Mel9 is where it's at. I can't wait to try it on bass guitar too. This one will be used a lot.

A fun pedal

By Skizz
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2016-07-25

Yes, this pedal is pretty cool! I particularly like the orchestra and choir voices, though the rest are interesting too. I got it, added it to my pedal board, and tried it out at a gig. Audience members were looking around trying to figure out where all the orchestral sounds were coming from. My bandmates thought it was hilarious that our scrappy garage band suddenly had this new big production sound.

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question

Has anyone ever tried this with an electric violin? Seriously thinking about this for my Strat, but if it is awesome with a NS Design Wav 5 that could seal the deal immediately...
Asked by: RAYMOND F.
An electric violin with passive pickup will require pre-amplification to utilize this pedal.
Answered by: Jeff P.
Date published: 2018-08-26
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