Electro-Harmonix MEL9 User Manual

WARNING: Your MEL9 comes equipped with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC-200BI power

supply (same as used by Boss® & Ibanez®: 9.6 Volts DC 200mA). The MEL9 requires
100mA at 9VDC with a center negative plug. Using the wrong adapter or a plug with the
wrong polarity may damage your MEL9 and void the warranty.

MEL9

Tape Replay Machine

Congratulations on purchasing the Electro-Harmonix MEL9 Tape Replay Machine.
Now any electric guitar player can have access to nine magically quirky, dark and
unique Mellotron® sounds. No more extra devices such as special and
cumbersome 13-pin MIDI pickups! In addition to electric guitar, you can trigger
the MEL9 with any instrument that produces an electrical output, such as a
keyboard or a bass, down to 55 Hz or A1.

The polyphonic MEL9 has superior tracking; you can create single notes or
chords with ease. The MEL9 will follow guitar bends, dive bombs, slurs, and any
other guitar expression/performance techniques you can throw at it!

GETTING STARTED

Connect the supplied power adapter to the 9V power jack. Plug your instrument
into the INPUT jack; connect your amp to the EFFECT OUTPUT jack. Set the DRY
knob to minimum (fully counterclockwise) and set the other top row knobs to 12

o’clock. Select a preset (“ORCHESTRA” is a good starting point) and step on the

footswitch to turn on the LED. Play your instrument and adjust controls to your
liking.

Mellotron is a registered trademark of David Kean, M. Resch AB and
Markus Resch.

CONTROLS

DRY VOL KNOB

The DRY VOL knob controls the volume of the untreated instrument level on the
EFFECT OUTPUT jack.

EFFECT VOL KNOB

The EFFECT VOL knob controls the overall volume of the selected preset at the
EFFECT OUTPUT jack.

ATTACK KNOB

Use the ATTACK knob to set the volume swell speed, or the speed at which the
effect begins to be heard. Turn the ATTACK knob down (fully counterclockwise)
for a fast attack with minimum swell. Turn the knob up to increase the amount
of swell and to have the notes fade in more gradually.

NOTE: When using the BRASS preset, the ATTACK knob adjusts the speed of a
filter sweep. This adjustment controls how quickly the BRASS sound gets bright.

SUSTAIN KNOB

The SUSTAIN knob controls the amount of time a sound continues to play after
you stop playing. When the SUSTAIN knob is turned down (fully counter­clockwise), the fadeout time is at its minimum setting. Turn the knob up to
increase the fadeout time.

NOTE: When using the BRASS preset, the SUSTAIN knob adjusts the amount of

“lip buzz”―characteristic of brass instruments such as trumpet―heard at the
onset of new notes. “Lip buzz” is a subtle addition to the BRASS preset, and at

times you may have difficulty hearing the impact on the sound produced by
adjusting the SUSTAIN knob.

PRESET KNOB

Turn the white numbered knob to select a preset sound.

DRY OUTPUT JACK

The DRY OUTPUT jack outputs the signal present at the INPUT jack through a
buffer circuit. In either EFFECT or BYPASS mode, the dry signal is always present
at the DRY OUTPUT jack.

EFFECT OUTPUT JACK

The EFFECT OUTPUT jack sends the mix set by the DRY and EFFECT volume
controls.

BYPASS FOOTSWITCH

Press the BYPASS footswitch to toggle the MEL9 OUTPUT jack between buffered
BYPASS and EFFECT mode. The status LED lights when you are in EFFECT mode.