® M9 Stompbox Modeler v2.0 DELAY MOD DISTORTION FILTER VERB Advanced Guide An in-depth exploration of the digital technologies and musical machinations of the M9 Stompbox Modeler.
Please Note: Line 6®, DL4™, MM4™, FM4™, DM4™, Verbzilla®, POD® and Vetta™ are trademarks of Line 6, Inc. All other product names, trademarks and artists’ names are the property of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6. Product names, images, and artists’ names are used solely to identify the products whose tones and sounds were studied during Line 6’s sound model development for this product.
M9 v2.0 Advanced Guide M9 v2.0 Advanced Guide © 2009 Line 6, Inc.
Table of Contents Features................................................................................... 1•1 Firmware Update v2.0..................................................................................... 1•2 Setup Details........................................................................... 2•1 Tuner, Setup Mode.......................................................................................... 2•1 Looper: Levels & EQ...............................................................
Looper Details......................................................................... 5•1 Looper & Live Guitar..................................................................................... 5•1 Expression Pedal Control................................................................................ 5•1 Looper Switches.............................................................................................. 5•2 Looper Tutorial........................................................................
Features Features Welcome to the M9 Stompbox Modeler v2.0 Advanced Guide. This guide contains indepth details of your M9’s features and functionality not included in the Pilot’s Handbook. With over 100 Models and a Looper in one device, there’s a lot to work with. Our goal with this guide is to provide you with the information you need to make it easy to find the sounds you’re looking for. In the chapters that follow, we’ll be referring to the six Knobs that adjust the various parameters of the M9 effects.
Features Firmware Update v2.0 Here’s an overview of the new features we’ve included in the v2.0 firmware update: 1•2 New FX Models We’ve added over 20 new models in the v2.0 firmware. These include Pitch Glide, Smart Harmony, 6 different Mod FX including 2 unique Flangers, a Pattern Tremolo and a handwired MXR® Phase 90-inspired Phaser, a new Particle Verb, a Bass Octaver, 5 custom EQs and 8 Wah models from the POD X3 series.
Setup Details Setup Details Before you begin using your M9, it’s always a good idea to get in tune. Tuner To enter Tuner mode, press the 2B+3B switches simultaneously. The LCD will immediately display the Tuner. The current note you’re tuning will be displayed in the lower center of the LCD. If you’d like to tune to a reference other than standard 440, turn Knob 3 to select from 425 to 455.
Setup Details Looper: Levels & EQ In the first Setup screen you’ll see two Looper Levels to adjust in the center of the LCD. The first is Play, which determines the volume of your Looper’s playback as balanced with your live guitar. The second is Overdub, which determines the volume of your loop in Overdub mode. 2•2 To clarify, if your Overdub Level is set to 90%, each time your loop begins a new overdub its volume will be reduced by 10%, sounding quieter and quieter with each overdub pass.
Setup Details The other four Knobs in Setup screen 2 are dedicated to expression pedal assignments. Any or all 3 FX Units in the M9 can be controlled by an expression pedal when you plug one into the Pedal 1 or Pedal 2 jack. You can use up to 2 pedals at once. Each pedal can be assigned to control an FX Unit or the Looper. You have 3 selection choices here: Off, Pedal 1 or Pedal 2.
Setup Details Dim With the v2.0 updatee we’ve added a new feature that allows you to turn off the Dim setting for FX that are not active. With Dim set to OFF, only the active FX LEDs will be lit. All other LEDs will be off, making it easy to see which FX are currently ON. With Dim set to ON, the inactive FX LEDs will be dimly lit. 2•4 Auto Save & Manual Save Knob 2 in Setup screen 3 toggles between Auto Save and Manual Save.
Setup Details MIDI, Gate, Display The MIDI, Gate, Display screen is where you can back up your Scenes and folders, perform a Factory Reset, set up the global Noise Gate and adjust the contrast of the LCD Display. • MIDI Channel 1 thru 16 or Omni is set with Knob 3 MIDI Gate Display DUMP SCNE? THRESH CONTRAST DECAY V. 2.
Setup Details • Turn the Model Select knob until “RST FACT?” is displayed. 2•6 MIDI Gate Display RST FACT? THRESH CONTRAST CH 1 DECAY V. 2.00 • Press and hold TAP while you press down on the Model Select knob - “Reset To Factory? Are You Sure” will be displayed. RESET RESET TO FACTORY? ARE YOU SURE? • To initiate the Factory Reset, press down on the Model Select knob again. All Factory defaults will be reset, including Scene Presets and Global settings.
Model Details Model Details The following are details about a few late-breaking models and features that were implemented in the current M9 firmware. These were the result of customer requests, as well as features the development team wanted to add in the final months of development. Tap-based FX Many guitarists who use time-based FX like to set their delay times to a note value relative to the song tempo, as opposed to setting delay times in milliseconds. This has been included in the M9 as Tap-based FX.
Model Details DryThru Models 3•2 Another popular request from DL4 users was to provide a completely dry signal path when using specific Delay models with a dry Mix setting, so that no tone coloration was added. When we originally created our Tape Echo, Tube Echo, Sweep Echo and Echo Platter models, for example, we also modeled the dry path of the classic delays these models were based on.
Model Details Expression Pedal Details Almost any parameter in the M9 can be controlled by an expression pedal, as long as you’ve set up your FX Units and Looper assignments accordingly in Setup Mode. To set up expression pedal heel and toe values for the parameter you’d like to control, here’s an example of how to do it. Let’s say you’d like to control the Mix level of a Reverse Delay.
Model Details Tube Compressor Model In addition to the 5 compressors taken from the original M13 Stompbox Modeler, which are all typical stomp box type compressors, we’ve included a new Tube Comp model in the M9 based on the studio classic Teletronix LA-2A® Optical Compressor, known for its smooth, easy to adjust, tube sound. You’ll find it at the end of the Distortion FX group.
Scene Mode Details Scene Mode Details The M9 offers you two different ways to select your Scenes, depending on how you like to work. Your choices are Momentary Scene mode or Latch Scene mode. To clarify what we mean by a Scene, it’s basically the equivalent of a unique pedal board setup, which you can program yourself. It includes up to 3 active FX and another 3 FX set up but bypassed. When you select a particular Scene, all 6 FX are immediately loaded into your M9, exactly the way they were saved.
Scene Mode Details • When your Scene loads, you’ll see its first active effect displayed in the LCD. You can tweak the parameters, if you like, or you can activate any of the bypassed FX. 4•2 • To see the next effect displayed in the LCD, press the Tap switch + the Model Select knob simultaneously. • If you’re in Auto Save mode, any changes you make to the Scene will be saved, like a real pedal board. (see Page 3•2 for details on Auto Save vs.
Scene Mode Details Auto Save Whether you’re in Momentary Scene mode or Latch Scene mode, your choice of Auto Save or Manual Save is an important one. In Auto Save mode, any change you make to your Scene is saved automatically. This includes not only the on or off state of the individual FX in your Scene, but every parameter you adjust in every effect. Let’s load a Factory Scene and see what happens in Auto Save mode.
Scene Mode Details Manual Save To see how Manual Save differs from Auto Save, let’s do a Factory Reset and start over. If you have any special Scenes saved, you can defer this exercise until you back up your Scenes. Assuming you’re okay to do a reset, press the 1B+2B switches simultaneously to enter Setup mode. Navigate to the MIDI screen and turn the Model Select knob so it displays RST FACT? 4•4 MIDI Gate Display RST FACT? THRESH CONTRAST CH 1 DECAY V. 2.
Scene Mode Details Scene Copy With the M9 you can create your own custom Scenes and save them in all 6 Scene memory locations. You also have 4 Scene folders that you can back up on your computer, as described below and in Chapter 1. This gives you the flexibility to customize and store an unlimited number of Scenes to build your own M9 library of sounds. Once you begin tweaking your FX models and creating combinations you like, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with Scene Setup mode.
Scene Mode Details Effect Copy The main purpose of Effect Copy is to enable you to copy your current effect to another FX A or B location, and to save it there with all your edits intact. This can be very useful when you’ve been tweaking an effect and you get it sounding exactly right, but you’d rather have it routed either before or after another effect in your Scene. Effect Copy makes this extremely easy to do.
Looper Details Looper Details The Looper in the M9 is similar to the looper in the DL4 Stompbox Modeler. It gives you up to 28 seconds of mono recording time at normal speed, or 56 seconds at half speed. Keep in mind your loop will play back in mono, even if you’re running stereo FX. Looper & Live Guitar When you record and play back a loop, your current Scene will still be active. In fact, while your loop is playing you can select a new Scene at any time.
Looper Details Looper Mode You enter Looper mode by pressing and holding the TAP switch. In Looper mode, the six A B switches control the Looper, enabling you to record and play back a loop while your current Scene is active. Here are the details: 5 6 7 2 3 4 5•2 1 1 Looper Switch – when you press and hold the TAP switch for a few seconds it will remain lit solid red, indicating the two rows of FX A & B switches will now control various functions of the looper.
Looper Details To clarify, if Overdub Level is set at 80%, every time your loop cycles in Overdub mode it will decrease in volume by 20% in relation to your live guitar. For no reduction in volume, set Overdub Level to 100%, but be aware that hot levels may build up and distort. EQ – your recorded loop will also be affected by the EQ settings you make in Setup mode. If Hi Cut is set to On, your loop will play back with the high end slightly attenuated.
Looper Details Looper Tutorial If you’re new to loopers, here’s a basic example of how you might use the M9 Looper along with your live guitar. We’ll step thru the recording of a loop, add an overdub or two, then experiment with Half Speed and Reverse. Before we begin, make sure you’re in Momentary Scene mode. Press 1B+2B to enter Setup mode, then navigate to the Prefs / Scenes LCD and make sure MOMEN SCENE is displayed in the lower right.
Appendix A : Reference Appendix A : Reference MIDI Control The M9 will send and receive MIDI CC and Program Change messages on any MIDI Channel from 1 thru 16 or Omni, selectable from the MIDI screen in Setup mode. MIDI implementation includes MIDI CCs for Looper Control, FX Unit On and Bypass messages, Tap Tempo, Expression Pedal CCs and Program Change messages for Scene select. It is therefor possible to control the M9 from a MIDI controller or a computer sequencer.
Appendix A : Reference FX On/Off Toggle Memory Location FX Unit 1A MIDI CC# 11 0 to 63 = Bypass 64 to 127 = On FX Unit 1B 12 0 to 63 = Bypass 64 to 127 = On FX Unit 2A 14 0 to 63 = Bypass 64 to 127 = On FX Unit 2B 15 0 to 63 = Bypass 64 to 127 = On FX Unit 3A 17 0 to 63 = Bypass 64 to 127 = On FX Unit 3B 18 0 to 63 = Bypass 64 to 127 = On Scene Select A•2 Memory Location Scene 1A (Fldr 1; 3) Scene 1B (Fldr 1; 3) Scene 2A (Fldr 1; 3) Scene 2B (Fldr 1; 3) Scene 3A (Fldr 1; 3) Scene
Appendix A : Reference BPM / Milliseconds BPM 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 102 104 106 108 110 112 114 116 118 120 122 124 126 128 130 132 1/4 Note 750 732 714 698 682 667 652 638 625 612 600 588 577 566 555 545 536 526 517 508 500 492 484 476 469 462 455 1/8 Note 375 366 357 348 341 333 326 319 312 306 300 294 288 283 277 272 268 263 259 254 250 246 242 238 234 231 227 1/16 Note 187.
Appendix A : Reference Miscellaneous CC Commands Command Bypass All + FX Loop Bypass All - FX Loop Tuner Mode Looper Levels A•4 MIDI CC# 23 24 69 --- 0 to 63 = Bypass 64 to 127 = Undo Byp. 0 to 63 = Bypass 64 to 127 = Undo Byp.
Appendix B :Tips Appendix B : Tips This chapter includes some helpful tips on how to save and recall your custom Scenes, as well as step by step instructions on how to update your firmware. It’s important to be aware that the M9 will function differently depending on whether you have it set to Auto Save or Manual Save mode, as described in Chapter 4. In the following examples, we’ll outline those differences and hopefully answer any questions you may have regarding saving and recalling Scenes.
Appendix B :Tips Recalling The Current Scene If you change a Scene’s configuration, then you enter Scene Select mode and recall the same Scene you’re already on, the Scene will not change from its current settings. If you select a different Scene, however, then go back to your previous scene, you will get different results depending on whether you’re in Manual Save or Auto Save mode, as follows: • When in Auto Save mode, the M9 will retain all the changes you just made.
