Line 6 M9

[mr_fender]

Anyone out there use the Line 6 M9? I picked one up the other day at GC to try out and so far I'm quite impressed. Delays, Reverbs, Choruses, Phasers, and Flangers are all really good. The distortions are better than I expected. Many of the models are quite close to the real deal. I still prefer my Tubescreamer clone to the model in the M9, but it is still very much usable. The compressors, esp. the tube compressor model, are quite good. Everything is really quiet too. Some of my old pedals add a bit of hiss, hum, etc., but the M9 models are very quiet. I don't have much use for the filter effects (not my bag, baby), but some of them sound pretty cool. The only effects I'm having trouble with are the wah's. They are all very peaky and sharp sounding. It's like the "Q" is too high on all of them. In front of my Mark IV's lead channel, they are very shrill and irritating sounding. On the clean channel, they are decent. The character of the different models are pretty close. Crybaby sounds like a crybaby. Vox sounds like a Vox. I just wish there were more adjustment options for them all so I could reduce the "Q". Overall, the construction seems solid. The layout and operation is intuitive and easy to learn. I'm actually considering taking it back and upgrading to the M13 for a little more $$$. M13 has one more effect pedal block and more switches, but is quite a bit bigger. M13 has an effects loop too, allowing for four cable method use. However, the M9 is very compact and fits on my pedalboard very well. Tough to decide.

Anyone else have any thoughts or experience with the M9 or M13?

 

[mr_fender]

Just an update...

Still farting around with the M9. So far here's my grading of the various effects:

Compressors: A
They sound great and are very quiet. They add practically no noise even we set really high. Tube compressor is my favorite. Very transparent and natural sounding.

Distortions, Overdrives and Fuzzes: C+ to B-
They sound OK. The EQing on them is finicky, and they sound a bit thin and flat compared to analog pedals and especically comprared to a tube amp. They lack the harmonic complexity of the true circuits and are less responsive to pick attack and volume control changes. Tubescreamer model has a bit of a pumping and breathing thing going on the clipped part of the tone that is a bit odd. It's more noticable into a clean channel. The big muff model is OK and the tube drive model is very tube like.

Choruses: A
Great analog sounding swirl with great clarity and definition. Not muddy sounding like some real analog choruses can get. Lots of options and textures to pick from.

Phasers: A
Again, great analog sound with clarity and definition. Script Phase 90 model is spot on. I wish there was a EH Small Stone model in there though.

Flangers: A
Sound great like the chorues. Very analog sounding and clear. Lots of options here too.

Rotary: A
Sounds like a leslie to me. Especially with a bit of breakup. I wish it had actually speed settings instead of just fast and slow switch like a real leslie, but otherwise sounds great. An adjustable ramp time would be nice too.

Delays: A
All of them sound great. I really like the analog w/ mod (Deluxe Memory Man) model. Very nice textures.

Reverb: A
I have the verbzilla pedal and this has all the same great verb tones in it. Hall and plate verbs are fantastic. '63 Spring is pretty good, but the real unit is sweeter sounding.

Wahs: C
Very harsh and peaky sounding. I found most of them unusable with high gain as it just made for pronounced harmonic squalking on top of my playing. There's no sweet, warm Voodoo Child tone in here. There's no adjustability in any of the wahs, which is a shame.

Univibe: B+
Real univibes vary quite a bit, so it's hard to say if it's a good copy or not, but it does sound pretty darn good with some tweaking. I was able to get a machine gun and bridge of sighs thing going pretty easily.

Harmonizer: B
It does it jobs prety well, but doesn't track as well as some. My old G Force had a far better harmonizer in it.

Whammy: A
They did a pretty good job capturing the Digitech Whammy here. With a good expression pedal, it's great.

Overall, I'm still quite impressed. Like the vast majority of modeling products, it falls short when it comes to gain effects. Digital modeling has yet to fully capture the harmonic complexity and varying frequency response of analog and tube distortion. For now I'll stick with my true bypass, analog tubescreamer clone and a real analog wah pedal. The modulation, delay, and reverb effects are all fantastic. This is where digital modeling really shines. You can get all the great effects without the irritating noise of many of the originals. The M9 is quiet and transparent enough to work well in front of amps, but for me most of the effects sound better in the loop. Switching between its true bypass and dsp bypass modes, I could tell no difference in tone with all of the effects modules bypassed. The unit is very quiet. The tuner works quite well, so my Planet Waves tuner will off to eBay soon. I'm still considering upgrading to the M13 for 4 effects at once and 12 scenes on deck, but I probably would not be using with the four cable method. While the compressors might be nice in front of my amp, they are quiet enough to work in the effects loop just as well. Even without the gain and wah effects, the M9 is worth every penny just for the choruses, delays, and reverbs. The looper is fantastic too. It's way more flexible than the looper in my Boss DD-7. I really like the way it blurs the lines between old fashioned pedals and a programmable processor. You get the best of both worlds and can use it either way. Add a mini amp gizmo for channel switching and you get one button preset changes with amp control. Very nice indeed.

 

[Turumbar82]

thanks for the detailed review. I'm thinking of getting one of these for modulations, delays, and reverbs. I'm interested in using it for making spacey, atmospheric sounds like the octo setting and the particle verb and stuff like that. I'm trying to talk my fiance' into getting one for me for christmas! lol

 

[emperor_black]

No Tuner or Equalizer? Those are two pedals i tend to use along with a delay.

 

[ned]

It has everything the M13 has just in a smaller package so I'm pretty sure there are both a tuner and parametric EQ. The EQ was added in the latest update I believe.

 

[emperor_black]

Yeah, I checked and there are several eq's including parameteric eq's which are really cool. but i didnt find any tuner in the list.

 

[Turumbar82]

yeah there is definitely a chromatic tuner in it. It's mentioned on the Line 6 page under "Specifications" http://line6.com/m9/specs.html

 

[howdycb]

Hi All,

I know that it is officially called "double posting" but I posted this question in the "Modern AMP: Express" section too ...

I own an Express 5:50. I am looking into multi-effects units and like the simplicity of the Line6 M9. However ...

I would like to place the M9 in the loop. I really really wish that they would include a port that would allow channel switching in the amp (ala Boss GT#). So ...

Due to wishful thinking I stumbled across the following idea: is it possible that the expression pedal ports of the M9 might function as a latch switch? The Express channels can be switched red/green via the 1/4 port when this port "sees" an open/closed circuit. This can be done with a simple latch switch (I use a Boss FS-5L switch to do this currently). The expression port on the M9 responds to a 0-25 Kohm pot of a simple volume pedal. If the expression port of the M9 is connected to the Express port, could the Express "see" the the same thing (an open/closed circuit)?

I know this is a shot in the dark and the question but I just had ta ask ...


Happy Thanksgiving
cb

 

[mr_fender]

To sum up for a couple of posts above, yes the M9 does have a chromatic tuner and EQ pedals. EQ pedals, the compressors, and the volume pedal are all grouped under the yellow (distorion/overdrive) group. I use the Graphic EQ on my Mark IV, so I don't have much use for the EQ's, but they do seem to work well and are quiet. The tuner works very well too. As posted by Ned, the M9 contains all of the same effects as the M13 with version 2 software update. The only difference is the M13 allows for one more simultaneous effect (i.e. four effects blocks), and it has a programmable effects loop. The M13 has separate LCD screens and knobs for each effect block, while the M9 uses the same LCD screen and knobs for all three of its blocks. You hold down the tap button and press the model select knob down to switch the screen to the next active effect block. Turning on or A/B switching an effect block will also switch the screen to that block. On Both M9 and the M13 you can only adjust the parameters of an effect that is on.

Howdycb: To my knowledge there are no hardware switching capabilites in the M9 or the M13. Both do however have MIDI switching capabilites. Changing scenes on the M9 and M13 sends MIDI program changes messages, so you can use the M9 and M13 to control an external MIDI switching unit that can handle amp channel switching, etc. A neat little product I stumbled upon is the RJM Mini Amp Gizmo (http://www.rjmmusic.com/miniampgizmo.php). It's a compact little hardware switcher that responds to MIDI program change messages. With this you can specify an amp mode or channel to correspond to any given M9 or M13 scene, and will give you one button patch changes with amp channel switching.

 

[ned]

And RJM is a forum supporter so please support them.

Fender - where in Central Texas? We should get together and jam.

 

[cscotto]

Hi,
I have the M13. I think the distortions are a little better than the grade you gave them. The Tubescreamer sounds nearly identical to a stock TS9. I have a bunch of boutique pedals, like an Analog Man modded Tubescreamer, and that sounds better than both of them.

I never use the wah, but all the other effects I would give the same grade. I have an MXR Red Box compressor, and the M13 captures it perfectly. I personally would buy the M13 over the M9 for the effects loop. I use the four cable method. The M13 also allows you to assign the four effects blocks in many positions relative to the effects loop. For example, I have distortions pre effects loop and all others post.

 

[Anonymous]

Great review mr_fender!! That was far better and more detailed than most of the "reviews" I've read at HC.

I'm currently using an M13, it recently replaced my now retired Boss GT-8.

 

[Jacko123]

Hi guys, Thank you for the great review. This was originally posted in November. Any other Line 6 M9 users out there? I have Mark V. I think I'd use this pedal in the Loop.

Has anyone else tried it? My main goal would be to replace all my modulation pedals and delays. Maybe even my GE-7 EQ and tuner.

Thoughts?

 

[MesaMonster]

Greetings all. I just go my new M9 this weekend. I am having a lot of fun trying all the different effects. Currently, the M9 will be able to replace 8 of my pedals. The issue I am having, that would make me completely satisified, is there is no global volume. As soon as I activate an FX, there is a drop in volume. Is there or will be the capability to set global volume?

Is there a way to set volume unity for individual FX?

I am running a Mesa Boogie RK II head into a 2x12 cab. Going into the front of the amp, I have a Bad Horsie Wah into a FullDrive 2 OD into a Ernie Ball volume. The M9 is into the loop. I have a loop control that mixes the dry and wet signal. This does not have any bearing on unity.

Sure could use some help on this or I may send it back.

Thank you.

 

[Harsh]

Thanks for a great review. I do agree with one of the posters that the OD/Distortions deserve a better rating. I use the M9's Tube Drive in front of my Dual Recto, and it has replaced my Maxon OD808. It doesnt have the Maxon smoothness, but comes quite close, if set correctly.

 

[elpingua]

Both the m13 and m9 offer great value for the money. I don't think any of the effects are top notch but it seems like they all range from decent to pretty good.

I'm debating picking one up versus a Axe FX but kind of leaning forwards the m13. The tuner and looper are nice features as well.

 

[kingston11]

I had the M13 for 3 weeks, and then took it back.

I liked it alot, but the major cons I had about mine were:

1. Some of the footswitches were very fluid, while about 4 or 5 were NOT. 2 of them were so hard to press in, I couldnt imagine them working a year from now. They literally grinded when I stepped on them.

2. I thought MOST (not all) of the OD's and Dsitortions were pathetic and weak. This is compared to the gain I get from my amps, and pedals I have made myself.

3. I dont care how many effects are in it, its $500 bucks. To ME, not worth it. $300? Sure...

4. I couldnt see the display/backlight well enough no matter what I did.

5. Although it sounded GREAT practicing by myself... when I took it into band practice, the louder I played the more "fake" the effects sounded. Some guy on an HC review summed it up better than I ever could, but when it came time to play live, I HATED the tone rom the M13, except for the delays oddly enough.

But, the delays were great.
I love phasers, and have built and modded all of them, but the phasers on this are not usable, IMO.
I have or have had most of the effects on the M13, and many are VERY VERY close to the original. Most arent. They arent as warm and organic as my original pedals. An audience couldnt hear the difference in a live setting probably, but I would not record with the M9 or 13.
I like Line 6, dont get me wrong. It just wasnt for me.