Synthesizer pedals may be familiar, but Electro-Harmonix has developed an unparalleled suite of symphonic and synthesizer tones that could successfully place your guitar anywhere between a classical odeon and Chicago's Berlin nightclub. The String9 String Ensemble pedal features a streamlined UI that lets you easily dial in your sound, boasting a dedicated knob for selecting any of the nine onboard presets, modeled after a host of historic synth patches and iconic EHX effects. Independent effect and dry volume controls allow you to mix at the output evenly and precisely, with a separate dry output jack that reliably carries through your input signal at unity gain. Control knobs vary with each preset, tailored to maximize your modulation of these hallmark ensembles. Music Experience musicians are impressed that no special pickups or MIDI are required, allowing you to seamlessly morph your guitar or bass into any number of tame or unruly synthetic symphonies.

Electro-Harmonix STRING9 String Ensemble at a Glance:

• Simulates nine string ensemble and string synthesizer sounds
• Tracks impeccably and works on guitar without mods, special pickups or MIDI implementation
• Independent Effect and Dry volume knobs let you precisely control your mix at the Effects output
• Controls 1 and 2 have been designed to adjust specific parameters for each of the nine programs
• Dry output jack outputs the input signal at unity gain
• Compact, rugged, easy to use
• Power adapter included

Presets for a world of tone

1. Symphonic: re-create full-scale orchestration, with responsive outputs that complement variations in playing, picking, legato, and more. CTRL 1 can be used to add brightness, while CTRL 2 handles sustain and release, functioning similarly to a reverb.
2. June-O: this patch delivers its namesake classic string-synthesizer patch heavily used throughout the early 1980s, boasting huge sounds with lush textures that feel like droning techno basses or bright, organ-like chords. CTRL 1 functions like a standard tone adjustment, while CTRL 2 is a 5-octave switch, ±2 octaves on either side of your input.
3. PCM: use this for capturing the vintage digital keyboards’ take on smaller string ensembles, great for string parts that follow the guitar, broadly expanding its pallet. CTRL 1 handles tone, and CTRL 2 introduces a vocal vibrato, increasing its depth as you dial it up.
4. Floppy: experience the peculiar qualities of classic mechanical string machines, with all the characteristic warble and noise of the plastic discs and tapes used in the originals. CTRL 1 handles tone, while CTRL 2 takes care of sustain and release time, letting you create lush soundscapes to back your guitar part with sonically interesting overlaps.
5. AARP: if you’re looking for some textbook wonderfully ’80s synths, then this preset has you covered, producing bright, consistent orchestration reminiscent of its namesake machine. For added character, use CTRL 1 to engage a Small Stone Phase Shifter and modulate its speed, leaving sustain and release times with CTRL 2.
6. Crewman: reproduce iconic Italian synthesis with this patch, boasting bright brass with organ-like qualities, sweeping through every register with the panache of a Pink Floyd track. Time and direction of rich filter envelope sweeps are handled with CTRL 1, broken out into two parts. In the counterclockwise direction, the sweep begins from a closed point, with the knob position designating attack time. Past “noon,” the filter sweep flips, starting open and dialing in its decay. In both cases, sweep time increases as the knob’s position approaches its highest value, while CTRL 2 takes care of sustain and release.
7. Orch Freeze: add lush orchestration to either follow or complement your playing, allowing for tremendous expression and harmonic contrast. CTRL 1 allows you to shape and refine the tone of the strings for the optimal blend.
8. Synth Freeze: if you’re looking for bright, crisp synths that are full and tight in both monophonic and polyphonic patterns, then this has you covered. CTRL 1 offers the same degree of tone-sculpting as you’ll find in preset 7.
9. Vox Freeze: this combination setting pulls choir and string sounds from the EHX MEL9 pedal, inspired by the audio tape oscillators of the mellow electro-mechanical keys of the 1960s. Use CTRL 1 to texturize your tone, boasting a Small Stone Phase Shifter whose speed can be easily adjusted.

Note: Each of the “freeze” options function in the same way, boasting “auto” and “latch” modes via hallmark EHX Freeze effects, handled with CTRL 2. In “auto” freeze, what you play sustains indefinitely until you either lightly tap the strings above the pickups, or the pedal receives an additional input, following along as you play. With “latch” freeze, inputs are infinitely sustained, toggled with the stompbox. “Auto” and “latch” modes are selected when CTRL 2 is in at any value in pre- and post-noon positions, respectively.

What Electro-Harmonix Says...

The polyphonic STRING9 String Ensemble transforms a guitar into nine different string ensembles and string synthesizers while requiring zero modifications, special pickups, or MIDI implementation. It relies on the same technology powering all EHX 9 Series pedals. In a 9 Series first, the STRING9 includes the signature EHX Freeze effect on 3 of the presets to sample and hold notes and chords with infinite sustain. The pedal is equipped with independent Effect and Dry volume controls so players can precisely tune their mix at the Effects output jack, plus a Dry output jack that always outputs the input signal at unity gain. Controls 1 and 2 have been designed to adjust specific parameters for each of the nine programs adding usability and flexibility to each sound.