Two pedals, one giant leap in sound
Electro Harmonix have been reshaping what guitar pedals can do since 1968. Founded in New York by Mike Matthews, the brand quickly earned a reputation for innovation. The LPB 1 gave players louder, more driven tones. The Big Muff Pi became the fuzz pedal of choice for everyone from Pink Floyd to Smashing Pumpkins. The Electric Mistress flanger and Memory Man delay set new standards in modulation and ambience.
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Even after a turbulent 1980s, Matthews brought EHX back in the 1990s with reissues and bold new designs. The early 2000s saw the arrival of the POG, a polyphonic octave generator that became a legend in its own right. More recently, the 9 Series — including the MEL9 — took things further, letting guitarists summon the voices of other instruments with a stompbox.
Today, the POG3 and the MEL9 represent that legacy of pushing boundaries.
The POG3 🚀
The POG3 is all about flexibility. Six independent voices let you blend sub-octaves, octave-ups, and your dry signal with precision. Each one can be panned in the stereo field, instantly making chords feel massive. The built-in filter, detune spread, and attack shaping move you into synth-like territory. With MIDI, expression pedal support, and 100 presets, the POG3 is both a live performance workhorse and a studio sound design tool.
What impressed us most was the musicality. Organ swell presets fill the room like a cathedral, while subtle octave blends add that perfect 12-string shimmer. Detune and spread functions give chords an ensemble-like richness, especially when paired with reverb. It’s easy to see why the POG line has become a modern classic.
The MEL9 🌌
The MEL9 is pure inspiration. It takes nine Mellotron voices — Strings, Choirs, Cello, Flute, Brass, and more — and packs them into a small, reliable pedal. The charm of vintage tape replay comes through beautifully without the maintenance nightmares of a real Mellotron.
In practice, it makes a guitar feel like an orchestra. A single note on the Cello preset sounds cinematic. The Choir setting layered under clean chords feels haunting and ethereal. The tracking is impressively accurate, even with full chords, and it works just as well on bass or keys.
On their own, both pedals are powerful. Together, they are transformative. Running the MEL9’s strings through the POG3’s octaves creates lush orchestral walls. Layering Choirs with octave-ups feels like a choir filling an arena. Even the simplest lines turn into cinematic arrangements.
What stood out most in our testing is how natural they sound together. Instead of feeling like two effects stacked, the interaction feels seamless, almost as if you’re playing a brand new instrument.
🎸 POG3: Six voices, stereo panning, filters, detune, MIDI, and 100 presets
🎹 MEL9: Nine classic Mellotron voices, from Strings and Choirs to Brass and Flute
🌌 Stacking magic: Combined, they create full orchestral textures from a single guitar
📜 EHX legacy: Innovating since 1968 with pedals like the Big Muff Pi and Memory Man
🎶 Creative power: Both pedals feel like instruments in their own right, not just effects
