Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb

easy as hell

For all of you suckers that are hunting for high priced boutique pedals from some nurds in the dessert of texas...or you studio shredding dream theater cracks...go and waste your money on a tone anyone has.
I play a 5 year old holie grail in a Plexi from 1969 with a mingled greenback, V 30 pounder cabinet ! And my need for a reverb is great with this stupid littel box. Sound ? Yes I got mine ? Whats with you ?

********. the Acdc input doesnt work seriously, you must put it out and back again to make the "grail" work...also the screws from the input/output get weak every year ! the case is thin as a fishcane.

Never get a question answerd !!suckers

Im a bla bla bla, and i can bla bla bla, also I earn money with bla bla bla, playing since bla bla bla, so im a pro bla bla bla....

I bought this used and to say it is easy to use would be an understatement. There's a three way switch and one knob to control the amount of reverb. It doesn't get any easier then this.

Setup wise, I am mainly playing a Gibson 1958 VOS Les Paul into a Marshall TSL 100 head and Orange PPC412AD 4x12 cab using various other FX pedals both in front of the amp and in the loop. I run the reverb into the amps FX loop which is permanently engaged and it's the only pedal I use specifically with it's own power supply and not daisy chained as this mother draws a lot of current at 500MA's.

Firstly, these pedals seem to be hit and miss for some people. Noise wise, it doesn't add a single bit of noise to my sound and being true bypass, it's transparent. I power both my amp and pedals through a regulated / conditioned power strip which I have always found keeps noises to a minimum + using high quality leads as these two things are the cause of most noise in guitar setups.

As for the sound of this thing, I was blown away! This cheap reverb pedal I bought for ??40 to use with one of my non reverb amps actually sounds better then the spring reverb on 95% of amps that I have ever owned and used (and believe me, we're talking 50+). The Orange Rockerverb and Fender Twin Reverb are the only two amps with a better "spring reverb" that I've heard and this thing has no springs !!! I don't ever bother having the Marshall's reverb on, I just use this instead as it sounds miles better anyhow.

The reverb is very lush and deep but without being completely overpowering like a built in spring reverb when you set the level to high. Not really tried the hall or flerb setting but don't need to as the spring setting was bang on the money for me straight out the box.

It's not the strongest looking pedal in the world but a bit too early to tell. I think it will last as this lives in my pedalboard and is permanently on and never switched off with the footswitch so there's absolutely no reason why it wouldn't last.

I do gig without a backup of this as I don't have another one and if it stopped working mid gig, I'd just engage the Marshall's reverb instead.

Never dealt with them so I'm not going to offer up any rating here.

I've been playing for about 13 years and play in two different rock bands. This pedal is a good match for what I need in a lush clean sound and thick overdrives.

Gear wise, I've owned so many amps, guitars and pedals, I couldn't even start to list them all but recently I've thinned down my collection and the above setup is definately my sound so not really forseeing any changes in that setup in the forseeable future.

If you want a natural sounding spring reverb pedal that sounds better then the other digital pedals from Boss and Digitech etc and doesn't cost the earth then this is for you. I've owned both the RV5 and hardwire reverb pedals and both sound digital and sterile next to the EHX which sounds very natural and clear

If something happened to this, I would definately go out and get another one.

Ease of use was OK. Plug in and away you go. One knob and a 3 way selector switch for Spring, Hall, and "Flerb"? reverb choices. Not much to it

First of all, this is as noisy as you can get. It has the correct power supply and the hiss is louder than the guitar signal. Not easy to get above the noise floor on this. The adjustment knob is useless after about mid way. The effect is beyond useable and sounds fake. No natural sounds from this and what is a "Flerb"? Not a feature I would consider using but I did try it but only out of curiosity.

This not a very well built unit. Thin sheetmetal, flimsy feeling, the connectors don't look to be first rate, and it really has kind of a "cheap" feel about it. Careful not to cut yourself on the edges/corners.

No idea. I returned this before I would try customer support.

I recently bought a head and cabinet set-up with no reverb. I bought this before reading the HC reviews. That was my mistake. Please don't make that same mistake. Read others comments about the sound quality and try this in a quiet setting (if that is possible at the local GC). If you get it home and starts acting up, take it back. Do not be shy about this. It will not get better and you will hear the hiss and hate that you bought it. I took it back and considerd the higher priced gear. There is a reason the others cost more, because they are worth it. This thing? Well, not so much...

Plug it in, set the controls the way you want them, and go.

I use a Tradition Strat copy with a Humbucker in the treble pickup position. I also have 2 Fender Mexican Strats, one with Texas Special pickups. The Holy Grail sounds good with all of them. My amp is a 1966 Fender Concert with 4 10 inch speakers. Sometimes I will hook the Concert up to a 1966 Fender Bandmaster head and a 1964 2-12 Fender Bassman bottom, or a 15 inch Kustom speaker. The Holy Grail spring reverb setting sounds good with all of them.

I have been using it for about 6-7 years with no problems.

Haven't had to.

I play blues-rock. I have been playing guitar since 1965. I would buy another if this one shut down or was stolen.

well, its certainly easy to use-but I'll get right to the main point-only buy this product if you can't afford anything else.For all of the reasons below..

Firstly-is it noisy? yes-constant hiss (and yes, I am using the correct psu.)
effects parameters are breathtakingly poor-and Im not a fussy guy-you can choose from long to super long reverb-the dial for controlling the length of the reverb is poor in terms of incremental scale-seriously lacking and frankly, smacks of a homemade unit put together by an enthusiast..
instead of including a delay/echo as a third option after spring and hall settings, they give you 'flerb'-i mean..i wont waste my time or yours..
I bought mine as a v.good condition ebay find- half price-I would NEVER buy this full price and new.

used it at the 100 club-its been ok so far..

been playing decades.
like i said-dont buy it unless its dirt cheap and you're strapped for cash.

Possibly the easiest to use pedal in the world. One knob which increases the amount of reverb and a switch to chose from there reverb voices. perfect

The sound quality is great, better than the actual spring reverbs in both the marshall tsl 100 and peavey classic 50, much warmer with out losing the colour and characteristic of the instrument used. I mainly use this pedal with a Marshall jcm 800 super bass, orange 4x10 and 1x15 and a fender jazz bass. This effect works well to add atmosphere and huge sound to my band, it loses no bottom end

I love electro-harmonix gear to bits, but i will be honest, this pedal suffers like alot of their other products from poor jack in puts which have had to be retightened regularly and sometimes replaced. This has also happened to my russian muff. I have to say though that their newer products that come in aluminum die-cast enclosures are much more reliable.

never had any problems. always been able to repair them myself

just a great sounding simple reverb pedal,

Super simple to use

I got this pedal as I was tired of the spring reverb crashing in my Marshall amp. And what can I say... I was amazed at how well this pedal duplicates spring reverb in a very natural and warm way. the hall setting is fantastic too. I run it in the effects loop of my amp and it is noiseless and acts like it was a reverb actually built into the amp. It really is quite amazing for a digital set up... it doesn't sound digital or tinny in the least...

The flerb setting is cool, but I don't think you could play for long with it before the novelty would wear off, but it is a cool little thing to have in your arsenal of sounds.

I would definitely recommend this to someone who is looking to add a reverb sound to their amp.

I use it with a Gibson Es 335 and a Marshall on the clean channel and the tone is freakin awesome

A word of advice - the louder your amp gets, the more you need to tweak back how much reverb you are dialling in.....

I leave it on all the time and it sets there doing a very reliable job....

It's in a stury enough metal casing..... not built like a freakin tank like fulltone pedals, but much more sturdy than your average pedal...

not needed

A word of advice - this thing sucks down 500m/a, whiich is a lot of juice and you will need to get a converter to run it with your 9 volt power supply.... but a good guitar shop should have all the accoutrements you need.... :)

Very easy. 3-way mode selector switch (Spring Reverb, Hall Reverb, Flerb) and Reverb knob, which controls the amount of reverb. I didn't rad the manual b/c it was just so damn easy.

Also, this pedal only runs off a power cord (included) because of the massive energy required to power it.

I'm using a Tele, Jazzmaster, and SG through a Deluxe Reverb.

Spring Reverb is OK, but not great. It's not as warm as the spring in my amp. It's not bad, but nothing too impressive. The Hall Reverb is very nice and very lush and ambient. The Hall Reverb is the best feature of the pedal. The Flerb is a flanger/reverb effect and I find it completely useless. I wish they hadn't included it and made the unit cheaper.

I'll admit that I am bias towards digital and prefer analog. Obviously, the HG is digital and it shows. It sounds a bit too thin and unnatural compared to spring/tube tanks. It has small volume cut while engaged, which is common. It also has another signal problem I will get to below...

The biggest problem I had with the HG is that mine would often have massive signal cuts when I turn it on. It didn't start until I about 2 hours after I first started playing with it. The LED would light up but barely any signal would come through. After turning it on and off a few times, it would finally engage properly. I've read that this a problem with many HGs. Some people get units with this problem and some people don't. I guess it's luck of the draw.

If I had a good one, I guess I would feel comfortable gigging with it. However, mine was broken, so I returned it. I love EHX and have several of their pedals but never experienced anything like this before.

Never had to deal EHX. Usually their pedals work like a charm.

The fact that the pedal wouldn't work properly bugged me, but since I wasn't head over heels for the sound either, I just returned it for a refund. I'd rather just fork over the cash for a Fender Reverb tank. I liked the Hall Reverb of the HG, but in the end I didn't think the Hall alone was worth $118.

A lot of people like this unit, but it just wasn't for me. I'm not a fan of digital and the fact that you don't know if you're getting a defective pedal or not does not appeal to me. I still love EHX, so this won't hold me back from getting more of their products. Every company has problems with their products occasionally.

Really couldn't be any easier!. There's one large main knob that adjusts the effects level and a simple switch allows three distinct tones, each of which I find very usable for different styles. This is my second Holy Grail and I'll explain why below. The first (defective) one came with Big Muff directions (???). The (good) one I exchanged it for csme equipped with the proper Holy Grail directions. However, anyone with an ounce of intelligence can figure out how to use it in about three seconds.

To check the Holy Grail out, I used my Gibson Angus Young SG, plugged into an 80's Marshall 4010 Combo with vintage Celestion G12-65 speaker, along with a Jacques Overtube. This is already a "tone monster" combination but the Holy Grail makes it much better in ways I didn't anticipate. The Spring mode with the Overtube just rocks out with violin tone. The Hall mode, run clean through the amp, produces tones reminiscent of the bluesy ones Mike Bloomfield used to pull from his Les Paul. The Flerb mode brings Gilmour's Pink Floyd tones to mind. There is minimal hiss with this pedal and only a very slightly discernible loss in volume when the Holy Grail is employed, in contrast with other feedback I've read here. Solution? Turn the guitar's volume up a smidgen.

Here lies the rub! The first one I bought from Guitar Center had the wrong directions (no big deal) as I mentioned above. The big problem was that the volume cut out substantially on at least three occasions, probably within a total of an hour's use. Someone here, commenting about the same problem, talked about removing the casing and then reattaching it, to find that this somehow temporarily solved the problem. Well, it temporarily did, but I couldn't explain how. When it happened a 3rd time I thought about resoldering the wires but quickly ruled this option out when I considered the money I had just spent on this pedal. However, Guitar Center exchanged it for me without any argument and the second one sounds wonderful and has worked perfectly.

I've never dealt with E-H and didn't have to, since Guitar Center was very accommodating. I do believe E-H would have repaired or replaced the 1st unit for the cost of shipping if that had been necessary, but I can't say for sure because of Guitar Center's good customer support.

I love this pedal with my Marshall, for rock or blues. It would probably work well with Jazz, too, but that's not really my thing. I've been playing good garage band blues and rock since 1964 and still gig every now and then with a band I've been with 17 years now. I've owned other old Marshalls before and have usually purchased Fender Reverb Units (both new and vintage) to accentuate the tone. When I would eventually sell the Marshall, I've always sold the reverb unit as well. As far as I'm concerned, this pedal does the job of the more expensive outboard Fender units for a fraction of the cost and I would buy another immediately if it were lost or stolen. Of course, the key is to purchase one that works properly. By the way, the sales people at Guitar Center recommended the Holy Grail over the more expensive Boss Digital Reverb. I'm glad I listened!!!

Not too much to be concerned with here. The manual explains it all and the three functions, spring, hall, and flerb (light flanger with hall reverb) and all controled by a simple level knob.

KH 203, Holy Grail, Boss NS-2, Peavey 6505+. This combination is perfect for what I was going for. I typically use the flerb setting and use it to thicken up solo sections. The spring and hall reverbs are fantastic but you can't beat the sound of the flerb. I have no idea if it's noisy because I run the NS-2 directly behind it. I had heard a customer complain of a reduction in signal strength while using the Holy Grail but my signal strength remained loud and clear when I turned the unit on.

I just purchased it but I'm sure I won't have any problems with it as I take great care of my gear.

Never had to deal with them and hope I never have to.

I originaly purchased this for a cover band I was playing for and to make up for the fact that my amp lacked a reverb tank. After using it today with my southern metal/hardcore band I found it to be a great way to thicken up my solo sections. I really enjoy the flerb feature and the fact that a power supply is included with the pedal. I basically picked the Holy Grail over other reverb units because I've always been a fan of EH effects.

If you are looking for a reverb to add to an amp like the FENDER PRO Junior, then this is for you. I'd suggest replacing the speaker in the amp first (e.g. Jensen's Alnico 10R), and giving it a chance before changing tubes, but all in all, this neat, simple reverb pedal really does fit the bill.

Unlike some other reverb units, this one does work well with small amps.
My only reason for buying it was to supplement the above-mentioned "Reverb-less" amp. Personally, it serves no further purpose than what I've already described, but I can't see why it shouldn't work well with most amps. It doesn't add anything to what my '65 Deluxe can already do, so I'd suggest checking it in the store with a similar amp to your own. With this modified Pro Junior, it simply sounds terrific, especially on the HALL setting, but there's no doubt that the JENSEN speaker vastly improves the overall sound anyway.

It looks sturdy enough, and the company's name is built on a pretty solid foundation. However, it does have a little hiss as some other reviewers have mentioned, and that may become excessive in a live situation.
Personally, I can live with the hiss, but once again, the incredibly noisy Sovtek tubes only over-emphasize this, so I've gone for Electro-Harmonix AT-7's (and occasionally JJ AU-7's) in the pre-amp stage. Both vastly improve the problem.

Being of 60's (make that Beatles) vintage myself, this comes in useful on occasions. Although The Beatles rarely use much reverb, when it is warranted, this pedal is right-on the mark. I don't use it much with my Casino, but it's terrific for a bit of old surf or guitar instrumental material. (Think The Shadows or The Ventures).

I've been playing for over 40 years, so I'm well settled in what I like, and I certainly DO like this. It's not the "HOLY GRAIL" of reverbs, but it certainly gets close at times! (Maybe the HOLIEST GRAIL is a goer?)

This is a 7 months old EH Holy Grail Reverb unit. I bought it second hand and it has to serve me at home with a small reverbless guitar amp (in fact a Fender Bassman 20 with a guitar loudspeaker). The manual wasn't in the box, I don't need one. It's easy to handle. Most of us will use the included EH adapter: polarity is reversed to most of the Japanese boxes. Though you can use a 1.5V - 12V variable stabilized 1000mA adapter but you'll have to deal with the polarity!

Now I've got some Fender tube amps with reverb and in theze amps no reverb sounds the same!! The Holy Grail Spring Reverb fits right in. It's quite natural sounding if you don't over do it. The Hall effect is ok. The Flerb, you like it or not! Reverb level can be fine tuned easily to what you like to hear. There is only a very slight hiss when the effect is turned on and to my ears there is a small volume drop.

Well as I said it is only 7 months old and it is was well treated by it's former owner. Very clean! But I had some problems keeping it running when I got home. A plop and a massive volume drop!! Besides that the reverb type 3-way slide switch was making some ugly electric noises. The volume drop disappeared when I turned the reverb knob. Allright, dirty switch and potentiometer. When I took it apart I noticed two of the four chassis screws were lame, turn, turn, turn, but didn'go up. I managed to get all four screws out and had a look inside: what I saw didn't make me happy: the circuit board was kind a floating, it was attached very bad, thin wires too. It didn't look road proof at all. I cleaned the switch and the pot, put the thing together and switched on for quite a long time: problems gone. The verdict: The housing is weak and in my opinion not road proof. The electronic component are cheap and is connected with cheap, thin wiring.
Is it allright for me? Yes. I don't go on the road with it and with my electronic know-how I think I can keep it running.

Never dealt with them (their tubes are ok)

I like the clean Fender sound music. This Reverb fits in with that sound. I was looking for a good sounding, not too big, inexpensive reverb unit. I found one. I'll treat it gentle and it will serve me for sure.

It's very easy to use, because there's one knob for reverb level and one switch with three settings for hall reverb, spring reverb, and flerb (flanger & hall reverb together).

It works great in fromt of an amp if you use it by itself with no other effects. The pedal works best in the effects loop of a guitar amp if you use it with distortion, either the amp's distortion or a pedal in front of the amp. The Holy Grail doesn't work well with distorion or other effects when placed in line with them in front of an amp. The best set-up would be a distortion pedal (like a Big Muff) in front of an amp, and all other effects in the loop with the Holy Grail last in line. The reverb is excellent. The hall sounds like an empty warehouse with a concrete floor, and the spring setting sounds almost exactly like the reverb in a '65 Fender Twin. The flerb setting is odd and more of a novelty effect. As far as I'm concerned they could have done without the flerb, and put a plate-style reverb in there instead.

The nickel-plated casing is thin on the top, front, and back of the Holy Grail, and the coated-metal sides and bottom are also thin. The switch inside is a 3PDT type and is very sturdy, but the housing isn't suitable for heavy 'stomping'. It would be best to treat this pedal gently, and if done so it will be reliable enough to last a long time. I give it a 10 because I consider it a 'switch' box housing instead of a 'stomp' box.

Electro-Harmonix are a good company. I have spoke with them on the phone and they're polite and will answer any questions you might have.

For reverb in a pedal, this is really the only choice. It sounds much better than a Boss reverb pedal, and much, much better than a multi-effects unit like the Boss GT-8. If you treat the pedal gently, and use it in the effects loop of your amp (if you plan on using distorion with it), then this is your best choice for reverb. I don't think it sounds "digital" at all, especially compared to other digital reverb pedals or effects. The spring reverb effect alone is worth the price of this pedal, and will get the surf sound with ease. I give it a 9.

Easy to use, I find it best used in the FX loop.

I use it with a Strat and a 5 Watt Palomino tube amp. It makes the lil amp sound like a real tube amp. I use no other effects. The spring and hall settings are great and do what they do: produce reverb. I do not find much tone reduction/loss when using it in the loop. I give it a 9 because there are better sounding reverbs out there but it would cost over a $100 more.

Based on the previous reviews, I purchased the extended 2yr replacement warranty.

This is a great reverb for an amp without one. And for clean tones or a little overdrive this is the best value for stomp box reverbs. I've played for over 35yrs and have owned all kinds of guitar stuff. I tried the Boss, Digitech, Visual Sound, and Danelectro reverbs as well as echos and delays. I tried the Holy Satin, the Holy Grail Plus. All have different sounds and modify the tone of the guitar. I just wanted straight reverb, so I chose the Holy Grail. It has and does everything a straight reverb does, and is compact like my rig.

Very easy to use: Choose your type: Spring, Hall and Flerb... Dial in your amount of reverb you want and away you go.

Using it with a Kustom 100watt amp head through 2x12 celestion speakers (Randall) with my telecaster as well as on my efx loop for my kustom acoustic amp. I use it on voice and guitar. In my opinion it is one of the best reverb sounds that I have heard. I am positive there is better reverb out there but I haven't deep enough pockets to grab that kind of sound.

I have had this for several months and no traumas here. I do get a little cranky with the odd power supply that it requires and it can become a little painful to set up with a very special EH power supply for one pedal. Still wouldn't trade with it.

N/A never had to deal with them

Well first I should say straight up I am an EH junky. I have a massive soft spot for all their pedals, strings and tubes which may prejudice my overall rating. This pedal I use a lot and I love it. If it got lost or stolen I may consider upgrading to the later version such as the holier grail etc

simple one knob-job. i love this feature.

i use it with a n.z built malcom watts plexi-style 100w head and 68 sound-city quad. plus a barber ltd 'drive' pedal. it sounds fantastic , hard rock, blues, indie, jazz, all sound surperb thru this pedal.

no probs, so far owned it two years.

never. all good.

fantastic, simple, reverb-echo-type pedal. its a main part of my tone.

Very easy to use. Large knob and three settings.

On your amps clean channel with no other effects on the pedal does a good job but with other pedals on, overdrive etc it sounds bad.

Here is where it fails. Not just this pedal but a lot of EHX pedals I've owned. These pedals stop working after 6 months to one year of use.

If the pedal is under warranty and you have the receit you can send it to EHX in NYC and they'll fix it. The problem here is you not only pay shipping sending it out but also on the return...

A little too much hype with this pedal...

The good sound is inherent. The three-way switch and an intensity knob. I was able to patch this unit through mt Boogie Road King's effects loop. The spring setting can add to the inadaquate reverb on the boogie and almost make it sound Fenderish.The switch is large and positive, however in this case the King Kontroler does the switching task. The hall mode is more effective. The manual is simple and to the point and I even remembered to fill out the warranty card. Power supply is included a big plus.

I wanted the sound for Johnny A and the electric blues of Mike bloomfield. I almost went out and purchased a Marshall JVM because of the superior reverb. The noise factor is low and through the loop it is almost unnecessary to turn it above 12:00. The third position is reminicent of a chorus/flanger sound with gobs of reverb. When used with the GNX4 one must balance the reverbs or you can go dry on the reverb from the GNX4. Again I use it with a boogie Road King and have tried other reverbs this one is the best.

Not owned long enough.

No reason to contact or interact.

I play rock, trying to learn Jazz and this achieves the level of sound that I was trying to reach. 45years. Tons of stuff from 4 decades. If lost or stolen I would replace it with a higher end Holy Grail. This is the first product I have reviewed that is actually small enough to loose. I love its simplicity and the sound is exactally what I was looking for. I have tried and own other products this is superior. This always embelishes my music. If you need reverb or extera reverb these pedals are the real thing Bluwail wouldn't lie to you! If a rating of eleven exsisted (like on the volume knobs of my amps)it would be my rating.

One knob for level, one three position switch... easy enough, even for a beginner like me.

If you like surf music, from the classic sounds of the Shadows, the Chantays, Dick Dale and the Ventures, to the more contemporary Lost Acapulco, Sr. Bikini and the Surf Coasters, you got it all with this pedal! Great on Spring for classic surf and incredible on Hall for your modern stuff. Man, the Flerb is awesome for experimenting. I got this pedal for the spring but keeping it for the Hall! Clean sound, great tone, even with Entry level amps like the V-tone by Behringer. For just over 100 bucks your 50 dollar amp sounds like a 500 dollar one! Not very friendly with other pedals: I own a Digitech EX-7 and it drops the tone a little bit, but I discovered that if you connect your holy grail at the very last part of the chain (right to the amp and taking the other effects output as input for the holy grail) the brightness loss is minimal... I love it!

No probs so far...

I haven't had any problems with it, but their website is very good at giving info away.

I love surf music, and this thing satisfies me in every bit. Great sound with single coil pickups, great sound with humbucking. Adds brightness to cheap guitars and warmth to good guitars. I own a Gibson LP studio and a no name Stratocaster-ish and man, do I love this pedal!

easy.

it sounds pretty poopie. if you can imagine "cheap '80s digital reverb" you've probably got the picture. it does not interact well with other effects or the front end of an amplifier. it is cool for the occasional texture though. because it sounds cheesy and drowns/washes out the guitar signal, and because it's basically just one seriously long reverb/digital delay tail with a volume knob, I can't say that the sound is "quality. " this thing is an Atari, and not in a cool "vintagey" way........

sure. solid state electronics in metal boxes are very reliable. switch and knob still switch and knob.

I play guitar. Johnny Cash, Bert Jansch, Cake, Spoon & that sort of stuff. been playing two decades. Vox Ac30 top boost & Crate V58. Fender Jazzmaster. Gretsch country gentleman. martin d35.

Dead easy to use. One knob and an on/off switch. The best sound is around the 12 o'clock position. Before that, it's a little too polite and the effect gets lost. After that, it's too much verb for me.

It sounds lovely ....on its own. However:-

- the pedal does not interface nicely with other pedals. There is a tone degradation noticeable particularly when the pedal is on with fuzz or boost (I use BYOC Ultimate Fuzz and a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive respectively).

- there is a volume drop when the pedal is on. Since reverb is going to wash your sound out anyway, this is a double whammy. A similar problem with my Boss Tremolo ultimately stopped me from using it in my live set-up.

Not too good. On my pedal, if not everyone's, the sockets are rather poorly made. Some cables need a bit of jiggery-pokery-wiggly-wobbling to get a good contact (particularly in the OUT connection).

The footswitch is also not as positive as I'd like (I've no other EH pedals to compare but the switching on a Boss, a Voodoo Labs or MXR is far better).

Never tried.

Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend this pedal. That said, I don't know what alternative I would recommend as, when I first played it, I thought it was gorgeous. It's only by living with it for several months that its idiosyncracies (interaction with other pedals, volume drop, build quality, etc) become apparent.

easy yeah but for having only one knob and a switch its a little tricky to get the real voice of it for adding the right amount of reverb.

Somewhere around 1:00 - 2:00 theres a spot between where the guitar meets the reverb on the 'hall' setting that I love to tweak with to make the guitar louder than the reverb. the reverb sounds great and has a character that I love about it, I only use the hall setting. Goes well with a clean amp for adding reverb. sometimes there is a gritty sound that seems to sprout when messing with other effects but if you have other effects on then turn this off because it just a shimmer anyway.

ok i bought mine used so i cant really complain here but im really dissapointed about the reverb effect not coming on sometimes when i switch it on, in order to fix this i have to unplugg the battery plug in the back and plugg it back in, very ghetto.

i use a telecaster and fender tube amp with other effects. i like radiohead, interpol, beatles, nirvana.

Reverb is one of my favorite effects, I used to use the reverb on my deville but now I turn it off and use the holy grail for my reverb, I also got a line6 verbzilla which I use as a ambient effect, you can get the holy grail sound out of one of the verbzilla spring settings but not the same character... the holy grail has good reverb! love the splash back tone off the high strings from playing full chords. anyway when I fist tried the pedal it didnt impress me, just sounded like a reverb but after awhile I became truly surprised with the holy grail do to its concentrated sounding reverb.

If you know how to turn one dial, you've mastered this product and will get a great sound immediatly. One knob and one switch..all that anyone could possibly need in a reverb (and more actually) There is a manual but this will be the last one I read when I catch up on reading 20 years worth of manuals..if you know what I mean. It's not needed.

I'm looking for blues sounds, electric blues that came out of Chicago and Detroit, and those sounds came mostly out of Fender amps (by the 60's anyway). The reverb was the only effect available in that setting (occasionally some Vibrato) and it was enough. THIS PRODUCT DELIVERS THAT SOUND. Perfectly to my ears.

I bought it for the spring, but I'll be keeping it for the hall. You can play blues, but you can also use this as a component in any crazy thing you want to do that may need reverb. Plays nicely with others, just put it last in the signal chain.

I use a modded Mexican Tele (has 1 p-90) through a 80's version of a Princeton (a humble put trusty servant). Occasionally I dabble in wah. Not noisy unless you've messed up your AC power. Mines clean and I hear nary a hum. Beautiful.

I bought this one used and it had seen some miles, but it's been running like a champ for some time now. I happen to like the science-project-gone-mad quality of the Electro Harmonix boxes. I suppose they're not as sturdy (or heavy) as something cast. Oh well, I like it. I haven't had it long enought for a perfect mark, but I score this one high.

Electro Harmonix is not known for making themselves available easily. In fact a sent them an email about another issue, not related to this box, and I'm still waiting for a reply.

Hopefully the quality and simplicity of the design will mean that I can rate this low, and still not be too worried.

I've been playing for 20+ years and appreciate when a product nails a sound I want without getting to marketing-clever-cute. This purchase comes through for me. I have a Lexicon PCM60, an Alex, and loads of Alesis boxes, a Furman spring reverb, so I knew the sound I was looking for, and was very pleased that EH delivered up an honestly designed box for people with simple needs, like me

Simple 3 postion selector for Spring/Hall/Flerb. One knob depth adjustment.
I had it setup with good results in 5-10 minutes out of the box.
One page manual, quicker to just plug in, play with the switch, depth knob.

I bought this to try for passable spring reverb in place of the weak verb in my Boogie MK IIB head. It's last in line in my pedalboard before hits the amp input. I plan to try it in my amps effects loop to see how it sounds this way.
Used it on a gig last night, no noise problems at all. I find it quieter than the spring reverb in the Boogie and a Rivera Chubster that I use.
While it certainly isn't as realistic as the verb in several old bf Fender amps or even an Ampeg Reverberocket I've owned, it does a decent job for a digital pedal. Plus, you can really drench your sound in reverb or just get a pinch if that's what you want.
Passes the "Pipeline" test comapred to Boss, Digitech, and other digital reverbs I've tried.
I've not been impressed with the Fender re-issue tube reverb units. Can't get enough verb out of them when you want that drenched sound.
Sure, there's some nice alternatives out there if your willing to pay the bucks for an outboard boutique reverb. But when you're on stage competing with drums, bass,keys, horns, the best reverb gets kind of washed out anyway.

No problems yet, only used it once to date.

No experience dealing with EH.

I play Blues, Jazz, Ambient, but most live application is with a function band.
Have 40 years playing experience- old dude! I gig with Mesa Boogie MK IIB(1983) and newer Rivera Chubster amps with dot re-issue Gibson 335. Other pedals: Keeley Compressor (2 knob,) Fulltone 10th Anniversary FD2 Mosfet, Barber DD & Small Fry, Fulltone ChoralFlange,
Boss DD5.
Bottom line- I've read lots of reviews on the EH Holy Grail that almost persuaded me not to buy it. With GC's return guarantee policy I figured it was a safe bet. So far I'm very impressed with this pedal and would recommend to anyone looking for decent, reasonably priced reverb. For the extra money (about $150 more) the only other verb I've tried that's worth the price is the all analog Vanamps Reverb Solomate.

Easy, Switch with three settings and one knob.

I dont know what people talk about. I use this with my Peavey Valveking in the FX loop, its always on. I hear substancial noise in my amps reverb, but this one is pretty quiet. Its a great pedal i keep it at 1 o'clock. But on spring all the way up its great for volume swells. I think its a rad pedal that sits happily on my backline.

Ive heard that this breaks with constant stepping but its always on so well see.

Never dealt with them.

Cool simple pedal that has good sound.

You know the drill--one knob and one slider switch. They don't make pedals any easier to use.

beautiful, lush sounding reverb. both the spring and hall settings are VERY nice sounding and are definitely usable. the flurb is a definitely "effect" and not something i would use very much.

the problem, as has been noted many times in other reviews, is the noise. turn on the pedal and you get a very loud WOOOOOSH sound. i suppose that this noisefloor would be "acceptable" in a live gig setting where the "WOOOOOSH" would be covered up by drums, etc. But for practice and recording, it's totally unusable.

Unfortuantely, i bought it for recording......so it's going back.

I don't know. It's going back.

I've opened it up and there's not much in it......the case looks pretty cheaply made and the switch and jacks are cheap and not very well supported/reinforced, so i'm not sure it'd be up for the long haul.

Certainly it's not as "rugged" as a Boss pedal, which has always been my litmus for that sort of thing.

Never dealt with them.

Overall this pedal gets a 3. The reverb sounds great, but the noise makes it totally unusable for recording and practice (which is why i bought it).

great sound, as ehx says 'dick dale in a box'. i really like this pedal because its really simple and it has a very realistic reverb sound. one knob, three different modes(spring,hall,flerb. got the manual, sticker and everything. the manual says that the pedal is not to be used with any other adapters other than the ehx holy grail stock adapter, they say that something might break and the pedal wont work.

very, very realistic reverb. sound quality is qood, no hum when engaged. the spring setting can be anoying when the reverb knob is up all the way because there is a slight volume drop, and when the knob is up all the way on the hall setting, theres just too much reverb. the best is to set the knob at 12 or 1 oclock, thats when the reverb kicks in with no volume drop and such. the flerb setting is really cool, i use it a lot, especially with feedback, but you cant really hear it until its up to 3/4 of the knob or the whole way. what bothers me is that theres no reverse reverb function on it. i only had 90 euros, and i could either buy the digitech digiverb or this and i chose this because it wasnt too digital as the digiverb. i dont really mind not having the reverse reverb function, i'll get a special pedal for that in time... im using it through a Fender CIJ '06 Jazzmaster and a roland cube 15 amp, yeah i really have to switch this amp. maybe for an epiphone valve jr combo. i also use 4 other pedals, a big muff, a ds1(bad), a mxr blue box and a crybaby wah wah pedal. overall the sound of the holy grail is awesome through these.

yeah, i dont gig but i can depend on it, it's built like a tank.

never dealt with them....

i keep an open mind on music and i play noise/alternative,blues,surf and some funk. its perfect for all those, with my other pedals turned on it creates ear piecing feedback. i've been playing for 2 years. as i said my setup it Amp-Holy Grail-Big Muff-DS1-Blue Box-Crybaby-Fender Jazzmaster. i didnt compare it to any other reverb pedals, i thought of some different ones but i like this one the best (except the holier and holiest grails) i wanted to buy a phaser or a tremolo pedal, but i got this one since its most fun. as i said, i wish it would have a reverse reverb function. helps me with my sound, creates great feedback and echoes... i love ehx pedals, they are really good for the price and sound mind blowing.

It's as easy as it gets.... turn the knob for more......reverse the knob for less, as with all Electro-Harmonix effects it's a Musicians wet dream! Easy!

Spring Reverb in my opinion is the most overrated effect ever, I use vintage tweed amps that sound kick ass WITHOUT reverb, so when I add reverb I want it to be outboard, not permanently in my signal path 'messin with my tweed tone. This reverb is HANDS DOWN the best outboard, quick set up, add it when you need it reverb and I thank Electro-Harmonix profusely for making this sucker. Sounds magnificent! Flerb is so cool I can't imagine doing some of my tunes without it!

Two years of HEAVY use and no probs, but you have to use it's power supply, non electro-harmonix power supplys add noise. This is something that a lot of pedalboard users don't get because they try to use it with their pedalboards power supply. Does not not work, you have to use the power supply that comes with the pedal.

never had to use 'em.......

Unbelievable value! Spring reverb purists.....blah blah, yada, yada! I have sold so many so called "sought after" BLACK FACE FENDER REVERB amps over the years (at a large profit I might add) because of the lame signal path that spring reverb adds to an amp, only to retire to my studio to crank my tweed deluxe and occasionally add what I consider the best sounding reverb ever.... I don't want Holier, Holiest, Everso Holy! I want EASY, SOUNDS GREAT!

Very easy to use. it only has an on/off switch, a selection switch with 3 reverb choices and a mix knob. you can get dialed in very quickly.

The claim of this box is, and I quote from EH:

"The Holy Grail will make you a believer with its emulation of classic Spring reverb so faithful that even Dick Dale couldn't tell the difference"

Well, I own a spring tube reverb tank like Dick Dale and there is a big difference. I think The Holy Grail has a dark sound and the reverb tail is way too long. Since it does not have dwell and tone control you cannot adjust it. I can emulate the sound of the HG on my tube reverb unit by turning the dwell way up and the tone way down. That tone and dwell setting is fine for some things but not everything, but then again what can you expect for $89.99. But for the price I paid, it sounds fine. I have it on my pedal board and use it for one night stands, when I don't feel like bringing the tube reverb. I get used to it a few songs into the night

If you are looking for the true tube spring reverb sound, this is not it. If you are looking for an economical solution to a lack of reverb in your amp, this is fine. The question then should be: Is it worth the money? Yes, Its worth 89.99. The best thing about the newer units is that they are true bypass, so when it is off it does not color your sound at all. so when I use my tube reverb I don't have to unplug it from the pedal board.

I have only used it about a dozen gigs so far and it has never given me a problem

Have not had the pleasure

I play many different styles of music including surf music, Jazz, Rock, Pop, etc. I play an old strat through a custom made, point to point hand wired, Tweed Double Deluxe from SDG Vintage amps. He also made my tube reverb unit that is a replica of the old Fender.

No I would not buy another if this were lost or stolen. I would try something else

I'll give this a rating of 8 because it is so cheap. If I would have paid retail list price, $138.00, I would have rated it lower cause it is not worth that much

Does your guitar and amp sound good to begin with? If not this will not fix your shitty sound. If your guitar and amp sound good, this will make it sound much better. Unless you can afford an all tube vintage reverb unit for $1K+, you cannot complain about a $100 unit that sounds this great. If you still must, then buy a good combo with a high quality reverb and shut up, and realize it's limited too.... If you are running 5 gain stages, and need a good noise gate, then buy one...but don't blame the reverb for screwing up your sound. You probably had problems to begin with.

Sounds great on Spring, Hall, & Flerb. Spring is very warm and Fender like to mild slapback, Hall can go from subtle to a nice mild echo, and flerb is great for higher gain VH style or blues leads. You can get a subtle effect, a deeper effect, or lose your dry signal all together and warp it out. The Flerb sounds great in a mix, but not as well on it's own. Try it with several other instruments jamming though, and it can pick you up out of the mix quite well. Note that the drop in gain after 12 O'Clock is because you are only getting your sound with the reverb, and minus the dry signal. Those of you that don't like this unit, or complain because of that need to learn how to read a manual. Get a clue, don't blame your equipment for your ignorance.

Absolutely no problems. Now if you like to change effects with them powered on, or use bad power sources, or your amp and guitar hums normally, or you unplug your guitar while it's plugged into this, you probably damaged it yourself. This unit well will add effects to your trashy noise as well as good sounds. My amp and guitar are quiet, shielded, and sound good, and so does this. I have been using this for several months, and have had ZERO problems.

No problems, not an issue. Sounds like lots of folks have noise problems they like to blame on effects, rather than look at their buzzy amps, low quality cords, and unshielded guitars. Check out Tone Quest's review of this unit for the low down...

I play blues, jazz, fusion, funk, rock, punk, rockabilly, etc. This is a great all around reverb to use with both tube and solid state amplifiers that lack a reverb. Will it sound as good as a vintage Fender unit, probably not, but will a vintage Fender unit give you Hall and Flerb too for $100 or less? I have several low wattage tube amplifiers, and solid state units that lack a reverb. This is a great, cheap solution. If you make a living as a musician, well then maybe you need more than this, but for an amateur weekend jam player it is great. It doesn't sound digital either...unless you really push it...and it still sounds good to me then.

simple: one knob and one switch (spring, hall, flerb)

the sound is great.
my main reason for writing this review is to comment on the flerb. everyone seems to not think much of it, but i LOVE IT!
the spring and hall effects are great, but the flerb setting gives a cool slow flange to the spring reverb sound.
I use it a ton and nave even recorded with it and it sounds great!
it can adda really cool dimension...

usually mine works well.
every once and a while, it will hum loudly for no good reason, but then the next day sound normal again.
a few weeks ago it just stopped working. i messed around with it, and even took it apart to look for a loose joint. i didn't see anything wrong, and put it back together planning on buying a new one...but then it worked. and it has worked perfectly since...

never dealt with them..

nice pedal.
simple and fairly versatile for a straightforward reverb pedal.
i like it.


yes i'd buy another one. i'd thought about a holier or holiest grail, but i really love the simplicity of this one.

Just one knob and one switch. Pretty easy to get a good sound out of this box

The quality of effect itself is very good considering the price.
Spring and Hall I find very usable, Flurb is fun but not more than that. I used in front of a handbuild Tweed Twin and at first I found what I was looking for. But after a while......

....the problems started! Due to very poor quality of crucial parts the pedal started to hiss and sqirl. I found this problem in a lot of reviews on HS and people state that the pedal is very noisy. A little nuance on that: from the moment it starts to make noise, an op-amp has broken down, so in fact, your pedal has broken down and should be returned to the shop on a warranty basis.

Had two Holy Grails returned to shop I bought them from. On both occasions they were 'repaired' and after a while failed on me again. It doesn't really matter what kind of music one plays if your gear is not reliable. Whatever you play, it will always sound crap. It's a shame Electro Harmonics isn't prepaired to spend, say about, 5 dollars more on this one in order to make it more reliable. Bloody shame

Pretty easy to use, 1 knob, nice and simple.

I play a G&L ASAT Classic through a fender tweed clone. This thing is noisy as all hell. I would never even think of recording with it. The Spring reverb is weak, but the hall sounds cool. Thats what I use most of the time. The Flerb is a novelty, a kinda fun novelty, but a novelty none the less. Oh, and when you click this thing on it takes a little bit away from your tone. Not very much, but enough to aggravate me.

It works when it wants to work... Really have to baby it.

Maybe i'm just so hard on this thing cuz the I'm comparing it to the reverb on my Fender Deville, but overall I was not very pleased with this product. It's noisy, it's unrealible, and it eats my tone!!! RAWR!!!!! Maybe I will save up for a reverb unit...

Pretty easy to use, 1 knob, nice and simple.

I play a G&L ASAT Classic through a fender tweed clone. This thing is noisy as all hell. I would never even think of recording with it. The Spring reverb is weak, but the hall sounds cool. Thats what I use most of the time. The Flerb is a novelty, a kinda fun novelty, but a novelty none the less. Oh, and when you click this thing on it takes a little bit away from your tone. Not very much, but enough to aggravate me.

It works when it wants to work... Really have to baby it.

Maybe i'm just so hard on this thing cuz the I'm comparing it to the reverb on my Fender Deville, but overall I was not very pleased with this product. It's noisy, it's unrealible, and it eats my tone!!! RAWR!!!!! Maybe I will save up for a reverb unit...

Very simple: Switch to choose among 3 reverb setting, and 1 knob to adjust the volume/intensity of the effect.

Well, the reverbs actually sound very cool... MAJOR problem is the amount of noise and hiss from the pedal!! I tried it both at the end of my effects chain and in the fx loop - still noisy as hell. In fact, the noisiest pedal I ever owned. It's a shame.

It's an EHX... aluminum box looks nice, but easily scratched and dented.

Never tried to contact them.

I really wanted to like this pedal... but for me, it was unusable because it's too damn noisy. I gave up and returned it to the store.

The only downside is the no-standard power socket - but it's easy to swap out.

Hall and spring are just right for me. Flerb is fun but I'll never use it. Sound is OK - it doesn't suck tone. Problem is that it's just started hissing. It's been OK for 5 months but now the hiss is annoying. I play into a THD Bi-Valve. If I plug it straight into the amp then it's v. hissy. If I put it in the amp's effect loop then it's a lot less hissy - but still a bit annoying. I'll try returning it to the vendor. If it weren't for the hissing it would score 9

See above.

Fenders Mustang and modern USA Tele. Yam SG 2000 (70s). THD BiValve.

I won't buy another.

When you know what you want from a reverb ??
Very easy.
Set it at Hall, 9 - 10 o clock !!
Ready for anything !!

I have it since 5 years and it worked sometimes good and sometimes bad.
Sometimes it just dont want work, so I must put the adapter ( you need 500 mA. + 3,5 pin ) out and back again, sometimes I must repeat this 3 - 5 times, till it works. But than you can switch it on and off without any problem. Because my Plexi Amp has no reverb, I have buy that. Thinking that it give my some more "magic" because its called "holie grail", ( You know that "glory" Storys ). But at times I notice thats its not, I hold it the 5 years because, its better as nothing ;-) And a reverb is not the "importantsd" gear I need.
I have buy the new Engl souveraign 2x12 combo, with two seperate reverbs, so I dont need this anylonger.
I play since 20 years and have noticed that the best sound is coming from a good guitar, a goood amp ( with 2 channels + seperate reverbs ) and maybe a good Overdrive as Booster ( I use a maxon Ts9 ). And thats it, the more stombboxes you use, the more the main "natural" sound goes away. Also ( extrem ) with the Holie Grail.
I only used it at Hall, 9 - 10 O clock, sometimes, because the rest is f*** s****. What you eccept under a " Flurb" ?! You know !
I dont can say that its a tip, if you need a reverb ! Try something other out !!

Whats is wrong with EHX ??
It looks good but is build from cheap thin alu plates !
Turn in the guitar/amp cables, in and out can damege the box.
Stombing youre feet a littel bit to heavy on the on/off switch can destroy the cover !! Look inside the box and you understand why russian people drink wodka !! The paint job and the end manufacturing is made in the USA but the parts are made in UDSSR !

I dont speak russian and I dont know enough english "bad" words to contact them and say what I thing about them !
"WE ONLY HAVE THE DOLLAR SIGNS IN OUR EYES"

NO, NO, NO
I have spirit and magic in my soul and fingers.
I use Gibsons, Music Mans and Fenders.
I use Roccaforte and Engl Amps.
I play 50 - 100 gigs a year. Cover Stuff or own Music.
I play in studios.
I play since 20 years.
I had testet nearly anything that is popular in the guitar scene.
No, no, no.
This unit is s**** !!

Simple, and straightforward... Simple to get "GOOD SOUND"???

Sounds great till you turn your amp past "1". Then the noise takes over...

It is built cheap but I'm easy on stuff so it would probably last forever...

Didn't bother...

Holy Grail not so Holy...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I bought one about a week ago (Holy Grail) at Guitar Center. I think the spring-reverb effect is pretty impressive. The other settings don't interest me. This would be a really cool piece of equipment but...

It produces a lot of hiss in my old amps (Stock BFPR/New Build 5E5A Pro clone). No, really, a LOT of hiss!!! (Think LOUDER than driving on the freeway with your windows down). There is a bit of squeal, or high pitched whine, that is pretty annoying too. It would be even more noticable but it is somewhat drowned out by the hiss. The switch makes a loud POP when you step on it. The box itself is microphonic, tap on it and you will hear it in the amp. Yes, I tried it with more than one amp, more than one guitar, wall wart plugged in to a separate circuit, different cables, even different tubes...

I read reviews here that some are better than others so I returned mine to GC and got another. EXACTLY THE SAME ISSUES! This one will go back too. UN-USEABLE...

Reading the reviews for the Holi-er Grail there doesn't seem to be the same problem with noise. I'm curious if it has the same spring-reverb effect, the one part about this pedal I like (I'd appreciate some feedback about this pedal). I don't need/want all the extra doo-dads but if that is what a guy has to do to escape the noise...

It's a joke. It also sucks that you have to use the power adapter that comes with it unless you have the newer Pedal Power.

This is an awesome, practical delay. And I emphasize practical. The guy below compares it to a Fender reverb unit. Obviously, the Fender dominates. But what practical, touring musician, would bring along his/her priceless, vintage Fender outboard reverb unit? I sure wouldn't. The Holy Grail is an awesome, simple reverb. The verbzilla and digiverb are cool, but if you want simplicity at it's best, go with the Holy Grail. Great sound and can do a pretty cool gated reverb a la Kevin Shields. My personal favorite is the Spring setting. I read about people having horrible noise issues. I A/B'd mine and didn't notice any noise problems.

I have mixed feelings about ehx boxes. I don't trust them, but nothing's happened to me and I've had mine for a 4 months. I'll probably rehouse the Holy Grail. I've heard people blowing out their Holy Grail because they use an insufficient power supply other than the one that comes with it.

Never dealt with them.

This is a very practical pedal. I recommend finding it used because I don't think it's a 100 dollar pedal. I traded a Boss RV-3 for this and I have noticed a greater improvement in my tonality. Definitely check it out and see if it suits you.

Using this is obvious, there's so few controls.

I won't bore you with a list of gear, other than to say I'm comparing this with a Fender 1963reissue stand-alone valve spring reverb, modded slightly to take it as close as possible to the original spec (6L6 not 6V6 valve, JAN NOS 12AX7s etc).

I was attracted by the advertising, which implies this pedal can make the same sounds as a Fender reverb, and because it looks less fragile than the Fender. I did wonder why the EHX website's sound samples don't include any surf guitar. Now I know. Dick Dale may or may not be able to tell the difference but I bloody well can. The Holy Grail is no substitute for the Fender unit. The Fender has pots that control dwell (basically the overall delay time/how hard the srings get twanged), mix (clean and fx signal) and tone (treble roll-off on the reverb signal only). These three controls interact in a very complex way, giving everything from a fearsome BOING with almost no reverb tails to swimming-with-head-under-water reverb wash. The tone control is very important in this as it has a huge impact on the reverb character, and the Holy Grail has no way of adjusting anything other than "level".

And if you kick it it doesn't go CRASHH-HH-HH-H-H-H-H either.

On the plus side it's a good copy of the single-control reverbs fitted into Fender amps, and when my hyper-active sax player trips over it it doesn't go CRASHH-HH-HH-H-H-H-H.

One thing to watch - all these reverbs that go before the amp sound best if the amp is set (relatively) clean. Ultra-long, compressed and distorted reverb tails are not pleasant (or even interesting).

I didn't notice whether the Holy Grail butchers your tone when its (supposedly) by-passed or not. My (limited) experience of EH stuff is that it probably does.

No idea about reliability. My EH fx are both from the 1970s and I've owned them both from new. Apart from having to redo/repair lousy soldering on most of the joints (dry joints, joints with mountains of solder, wires attached to the board/sockets by a couple of hairs) all I can say is that they keep working.

Would I buy one if it got stolen? I didn't buy the one I was trying out.

One Knop and a 3 styles switch its enough for a reveb, isnt it ?
Maybe a seperate Volumen...but no.

I have it on Hall and set the effekt at maximum 11 o clock,
this creates a reverb I can use everytime ( Its always on ).
Clean, chrunch, fat distortion...it gives my sound a good deepth and
warm note from the beginning.
Spring is not good enough and flerb its to psycedelic... unusuable, for me.
The more you have the big Knop turn clockwise the more bottom
looses your sound. So 12 is extrem church like.

My live Set up : Gibson Paula, Fender 66 Strat, ESP M II - Holy Grail - Digidelay - Fulltone 69 - Jekyll & Hyde red - Crybaby 353 - in a Marshall 1959 Plexi - 4 x 12 Vintage 30 or Mesa Lonestar 2 x12 Combo.

The way I set it, its maybe simple but it works.

Have it for 3 years always on my Board an sometimes the effect is not ther. so I must put the Adapter off and than put it back again.
BIG BULLSHIT .
but I can Live with that.

YOU NEED A 3,5 PIN CONVERTER. That is not the normal Visual Sound BOOS, Ibaneze switches !!!!

An It has 500 mA Thats very much,

?

A reverb is a must have for any Guitar player
This one is good, simple, sounding and its cheap !!
For me it works well .

This device couldn't be simpler to use. I even manage to tweak it with my toe.

What can I say? It's changed my life.. I use it with EVERYTHING- Electric and acoustic guitars, all manner of keyboards including a Mellotron and a Vox Continental- and it never fails to be transformative in some way. The hall setting is so realistic that I expected to hear the sound of the janitor kicking his mop-bucket over. I could happily have one built in to each of my keyboards. My amps are all reverbless Selmers and this thing is a GODSEND.
BUT... it's obviously not true bypass because you can still hear the sound of frying fish in the background if it's turned up yet switched out. That's a bit of a shame. I shouldn't have to change switches when they must cost sod-all to EH in the first place.
Still, it's quite inexpensive considering just how brilliant it is. You really must hear a Mellotron 8-voice choir through this- it's utterly fantastic. The 'Flerb' setting can be wonderful with combo organs too. It would be a 10 were it not for the noise when supposedly bypassed, otherwise thanks EH. I'll have your babies.

I have to depend on it. Occasionally it's refused to 'start' unless the AC adaptor is plugged into the Grail before the mains. I looked inside it once and just saw an enormous IC.
I'm quite a techie but if this died I think I'd be better off throwing it over the hedge than attempting to repair it.
Of course I'll use it without a backup. Life's too short!

Question. Why did the paint start falling off within days? It looked SOOO pretty for the first week...

Never had to.

I love this thing. As previously stated, I'm sure that I would tape one to every instrument I own. I play allsorts from batty electronica to prog-rock via light music and folky stuff.
It just sounds ACE with everything. I'd cry if somebody nicked it. Shame about the bypass but I suppose I'll just have to bodge it myself. Let's hope it survives! I don't really trust anything that depends on one huge IC to last long when it gets trodden on repeatedly..
Anyway, it's a jewel.

pretty easy - more or less one knob. But you have to be carefull with it's position. So watch out...;)

I like it turned pretty much all the way up in the hall mode. It`s a slightly distored endless reverb, bit shoegazish, bit velvet undergroundish. Really nice, and far away from the sterile clean boss reverbs.
I only use it for certain parts of songs.
I do not use the spring mode because I think it's rather boring and not really usefull for the music I play. Mabey for blues it`s fine.
Same with the flerb mode wich I find pretty stupid.
Unfortunatly it`s a noisy hissing bastard. But just turn it off while your not playing, that`s what the footswitch is for.

my setting:
epihone firebird-tu2-fulldrive2-ts808-holy grail-double muff-OCD-supa trem-dd20 delay-fender stage lead.

We all know that electro-harmonix pedals do not last long. I do not know why they`re sill built that way. They don`t seem to learn. Nice sound, but not reliable. Be carefull with it!

no idea

I play indie pop-rock.
The holy grail is pretty much the best reverb I know, if you want a dirty reverb.
But be sure that this is what you want. Otherwise, go for a boring boss, or even better: play without reverb!

3 settings and a level control. Doesn't get much easier than this.
Instant satisfaction.

I couldn't be happier. I LOVE it.
As I have a Fender Bassman (without internal reverb) I was looking for a simple stompbox that could give me some nice ambience.
Incredibly hard to believe that this is digital... It sounds SO warm and convincing! Makes you want to rattle the box to check if there's springs inside :-)
It has 3 different modes:
- SPRING: mimics an accutronics spring reverb, as found in most combo amps. very realistic. sounds best if used in small doses.
- HALL: sounds like you're playing in a cathedral. my favourite. I set it at about 2 o'clock, perfect for droning shoegazer-stuff or spooky jazz.
- FLERB: reverb with a touch of flanger on the decays. not very useful for me, but a cool feature anyhow.
The level control actually reacts as a "wet" control, so if you crank it, the overall volume of your sound will be lowered a bit. That's the only drawback of this pedal really. But I don't mind, because lately I tend to leave it on most of the time.
Make sure you buy the new version, as it has true bypass!

So far so good. But better watch out with EHX pedals... they're not the most sturdy. And that's already an understatement.

A little remark: when I used it the first few times it made a loud pop when I engaged the switch. Very annoying, because this makes it virtually useless for live or recording applications.
BUT! After some days the pop started to get gradually quieter and quieter. Now we're about a month further on, and the pop has disappeared *COMPLETELY*!!
So: once the footswitch has 'worn in' there's no more popping problem.

I play a lot of different stuff... mostly indierock (Pixies, The Smiths, Echo & The Bunnymen, Fischer-Z, The Sound), 70s/80s postpunk (Gang Of Four, The Chameleons, Joy Division), new wave (The Cure, Cocteau Twins, The Sisters Of Mercy), classic rock, bluesy licks,...
I mostly use this pedal in combination with my Fender USA Telecaster, a T-Rex Alberta overdrive, Boss SD2 dual overdrive, Boss CH1 chorus, Boss BF2 flanger (the early 80s japanese one), Ibanez DE7 delay/echo and my beloved Fender '59 Bassman Ltd Reissue.
It sounds fantastic. While other pedals may have more possibilities (eg. the Boss RV-series) the Holy Grail simply SOUNDS much better. Warmer, more organic, more natural. I'll say it again: when you hear this, you'll have a hard time believing this pedal is actually digital. It sounds THAT convincing.
Imho, it even sounds better than some "real" reverbtanks I have heard in certain amps.
Hell, this box even LOOKS cool!!!

This pedal is very simple, 3 settings and a knob to ajust the intensity. Didn't take me long to get it sounding good.

My Set-up: Fender American Deluxe Telecaster through a late '70s Hiwatt DR-504

There are two MAJOR problems with the sound of this pedal. For one, when turned off, it changes the tone of the guitar. And secondly, when turned on this pedal makes a buzzing sound in the background...

... two things which somehow I don't recall hearing when i tested it out at the store, I feel real dumb.

I've only had it for two days, and I allready want to get rid of it, so I can't really say anything on this. However, upond doing further research I have noticed that many people have complained about the reliability of this unit.

If you care about tone, DON'T BUY THIS.

Easy to use. Can't be much easier, but don't buy this pedal. Read further.

I like the sound and the options. Spring, Hall and Flerb - really cool. I use Gibson guitars and a Matchless amp. Not Noisy at all - sounds true. Don't buy this pedal.

HOLY CRAP - the thing is terrible. Don't buy it - I've had it for just over a month and it totally crapped out. The reverb knob became a volume knob - it fades out my guitar signal. What's up with that? 35 days is how long I've had it!!!!!! Total crap.

We'll see, I've written them about it, but we'll see... If they fix this situation, I'll update you guys. But, really, beware.

It's a switch and a knob. If you can breathe, you can handle it.

I prefer the 'flerb' function on this pedal because it produces a nice chorus/vibrato mix into the reverb. The spring reverb is decent but at extreme settings it gets harsh and metallic. Same goes for the 'hall' setting.

This pedal worked for 8 months and then mysteriously, the knob acted like a volume, instead of an effect knob. When turned clockwise, it simply turned down the volume of the signal and there was no reverb effect, whatsoever. I sent it for repair and they obliged curteously, but the pedal worked for only another 3 months before the same problem occurred. At this point I stomped this pedal into a concave worthless can.

See above.

I've owned lots of pedals from various manufacturers over the last 20 years of playing and this is the first time I've had such an experience- and not the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It's too bad, because overall it is a useful item, and I loved the flerb setting.

If you can't figure this thing out, just kill yourself now.

I'm playing more drums than guitar now so some sacrifices have been made and my rig is really simple (hardly a rig at all) - a Gibson Special SG or Fender Standard Strat into a Dunlop CryBaby and this thing, out through a Sovtek Mig 60/Vox AD412. I used to have a Crate combo with digital effects and I always thought reverb was a decent atmospheric effect. Clearly I knew nothing because this pedal adds another dimension to whatever you're playing. Oh, and "flerb" blows my mind, maaaan.

I'd say it's built like a friggin' tank.

No idea.

It's not a bad thing to have. If you can afford it, get it. If you can't, start saving.

I wish all pedals were like this - one switch, one knob. That is so cool.

The spring reverb that this thing produces is almost too good to believe -- far better than Boss and Digitech, which sound sterile and digital by comparison. However, these pedals are NOISY, or at least the 2 that I owned were. Both produced a very noticeable hiss which seemed to increase over the course of a playing session (using the correct EH power supply, and high quality Monster cables). What a disappointment, because again, the reverb is really stunning, save for the noise. This maybe a random defect, since some users report no problems, and I almost bought a 3rd unit hoping to get lucky. Ultimately, I opted for a Line 6 Verbzilla (very nice; very quiet).

I played mine regularly for over a year without any "other" problems, before finally getting fed up with the noise. The insides evidence quality components and good workmanship. However, the fact that so many reviewers describe the same problem as me, while others report no issues at all, suggests a serious lack of quality control.

Been playing classic rock and blues on and off since 1972. Too many amps and guitars to list. If you're lucky enough to have a relatively "quiet" HG, hang onto it, because there's no better sounding reverb pedal out there. If EH would whip the noise issue, this would be one of the coolest pedals ever! However, given my experience, I would not buy it again, or recommend it to others.

Piece of p**ss. Just one knob to dial in the amount of reverb, spring, hall and "flurb" plus footswitch.
Second hand but unused (its immaculate and came with all the original box candy :-) ) bought via Ebay.

Too much gear to list again.. see my MXR Dynacomp review for my list of gear.
I've replaced my Boss RV-5 with this little sucker and the difference in reverb quality is astounding. This blows the boss away. BY comparison the Boss is fizzy and thin. An awful tinny sound I could never get on with. The Holy grail just sounds so flippin good. You can cut out ALL of the dry signal if you like - you can't do THAT on the BOss and the GRail sounds warma nd very deep. Lovely and authentic. And at the price it is an absolute steal. I was a bit sceptical, but the EHX Holy Grail is brilliant.

Hiss? What hiss? I use an extensive array of quality pedals linked with quality leads into a quality amp fed by quality guitars. No hiss... Maybe I struck lucky and got a specially good one??

Only just had it...

na

If you are looking for a reverb pedal try this one.

This thing is idiot-proof...nuff said

I play a myriad of guitars through the worlds largest rig and into a Matchless Chieftan. I bought this pedal because the reverb on the Matchless just doesn't do it for me. I like a fairly saturated sound and tend to use a lot of delay. In an attempt to reduce my use of delay I thought the Holy Grail would fit the bill for providing the nice full sound I look for...it did. While I wish this pedal had a bit more flexibility and a wider range of sounds it definitely gave me what I was looking for. If I'd popped for the Holier Grail I guess I would have gotten more, but I didn't feel like paying for one.

This pedal stays on all the time, so I guess that sums up how well it works. It does color the sound some, but I've compensated for the change in other areas to keep my general tone sounding the way I demand.

Seems pretty tough, but I don't like the switch. It does that really hard clunk when you step on it, and every time I get a pedal with one of those on it I end up replacing it with a good Switchcraft switch.

No idea what these people are like to deal with...

I've been playing for a long time and have a ton of boutique pedals. This is one of the few "mainstream can buy it off Musicians Friend" units I own, and I feel completely comfortable with its performance.

If someone took it I'd get another one. You can't beat it for $100.

I replaced the round knob with an old chicken head knob. Its a touchy-feely thing with me.

I just use the "spring" setting. Its close enough to the real thing through my Pro Junior.

As someone else noted below, I wish I could set the tail or decay a little shorter, especially on the 12 o'clock settings. The tail end seems to get in the way of subsequent notes. However, for surf settings (3 o'clock), it doesn't seem to be an issue.

As for noise, its quieter than my Fender amps with spring reverb. I've heard others say the newer Holy Grails have eliminated the hissing and would agree. I got this new in December '05.

So far, used at home only. I might try it at a jam for playing surf.

Overall, I'd say its a decent pedal for the money.

One Toggle Switch for the 3 modes

One Knob for the Effect Level

Very Easy

Rig: Ibanez PGM301, Mesa Solo Rectifier Head, Black Shadow 1x12 Wideboy Cab. I used the Holy Grail as the first in the Effects loop followed by a Digitech Digidelay, Digitech Multichorus, Korg DT-10 Tuner and a Dunlop Zakk Wah.

To start, i used the Effect on its own on the Spring Mode. This is a very good Reverb Effect adding a Rich Sound to the Clean Channel that cant be done with a Boss or Digitech. Next i moved the the Hall Mode and that was when the great sounds started. It added a great atmosphere to the sound keeping the Tone perfect without interfering at all. I added Chorus to the Hall Mode and i couldent believe my ears. All the Tone was there with loads of Clean punch and a great 'Angel' style sound. My Clean Channel is perfect now. I still use Delay for Channel 2 on the Amp because thats just the way it is...lol but i tried the Reverb in Channel 2 anyway and got the same great Sound without losing any Tone.

A few other Reviews on here have bashed this little Pedal and said it makes horrible noise. I assure you that these people are FOOLS with dodgy Cables or a bad Sound in the first place. This unit, with a decent Effects loop and good Monster, Planet Waves or Venom cables will give you NO unwanted noise at all and when turned off, the Bypass is as clean as a whistle with not a whisper

I will add this after a couple of months

not needed

I cant give it perfect untill i know how road worthy it is but for Sound alone, this unit reaches 8

If you don't mind a constant hiss, then it is very easy to get a good sound. If you're looking for that vintage obnoxious hiss coming through your amp, then this is the pedal for you.

Except for the hiss, it was great. No wait, it was terrible - unless you want hiss... then it is great. I can't think straight with all the hissing.

As long as you don't step on it it will hold up to almost anything. No wait, it's a stomp right? I guess I have to give it a bad score then because this thing is about as daintily constructed as anything I've ever seen. But if you want to bend it into an ashtray or something you probably won't need tools - you can do it with your bare hands. A piece of junk.

Overall rating - it is great unless you care about quality.. in which case it is junk.

Seriously, I cannot believe that an organization with as much name recognition and as much "at stake" with their reputation would put out a complete piece of crap like this. Just appalling - it is the worst money I've ever spent on gear in my life.

Get a digiverb.

Easy to use.

Has a little hiss but not that bad.
It will color your sound even when turned off.
Quality of reverb is good and very natural sounding.

reliable during the 6 months I owned it.

One thing to watch out for: If you plan to use a line mixer to run this pedal 100% wet, you may not like the result. The mix knob has the dual function of increasing the size and space of the reverb as you turn the knob clockwise. At 100% the reverb is deep with lots of feedback.

Very easy to use - 1 knob simply labeled "Reverb." 1 main critique: PLEASE, WOULD ALL EFFECTS MANUFCTURERS USE THE BOSS NEGATIVE CENTER TYPE POWER ADAPTOR???? THIS ONE DOES NOT, SO IT IS A REAL PAIN WHEN ALMOST EVERYTHING ELSE DOES.

I've tried the Danelectro Spring King and Little Lanelie, but this Reverb has wider range than the Little Lanelie and overall better tone than the Danno. With this said, no pedal will EVER compare to a real tube Fender outboard (or built in Blackface style) Reverb. But, if you don't want to lug around a Fender outboard for gigs, this would be your best choice for everything from mild to surf IMO. Keep your tube outboard for recording though.

So far so good.

The best plug in and play Reverb pedal I've tried for Spring reverb. Better tone than the Danelectro, wider range than the the Little Lanelei (the Little Lanelei has good tone but very limited Reverb intensity - not suitable for surf).

one Knop for intens.
one for mode

I m not sure why people tread this littel Grail so bad.
I got mine 3 years and the sound is amazing and just simple, I dont like pedals and amps with hundred of knops... sure you can pay a tube tape echo for 1000bucks and suck yourself or you put it on "HALL" and alway at 9 - 11 Oclock for distortio - clean sounds.

I play professionell since 12 years and i earn my money with this.
So you need a good and simple reverb with a great sound..take this.
If you want sound like Hendrix, Johnson, Page or Pink Floyd, practise playing, its in youre fingers and not in your equipment.

Sometimes it does not work so i must put the ac adapter out for a second an put it in again then it works, so 5

I dont care

Like I said Im a pro, and for a good sound you dont need many things.
A reverb, a delay, one overdrive and one distortion, a fuzz and a wah. a Gibson a Fender A Marshall a twin and go on.

This pedal is very straightforward. You've read the previous reviews.

This pedal is NOT bad, like some of the naysayers would have you think. Is there some hiss? Yes - In a quiet room with no other instruments or a full mix. There is literally nothing you will notice when playing live, and I use this thing on at all my shows.

I live room, flerb can be cool, but the hall is just too much. Set the knob low, nothing at all. Turn it uo just a little too much, a booming, muddy explosion.

No problems yet.

I play jangly brit style, and use this reverb to smooth out my tone.. I works very well, and I've had no complaints, except for the limited use of the hall setting.

Would I buy another one? Probably not - not because I don't like it', I'd probably invest in a high-end reverb, or buy a Fender Twin.

The HG is totally idiot proof.One knob for the wet/dry mix, one slide switch for"spring,hall or flerb".This makes dialing in your fave verb a piece o cake.

I use this unit with a '62 strat,Blackfinger compressor,Uni-vibe,whatever OD/DIST feels good at the time and finally,the Holy Grail into a THD Bi-Valve with any of several open back 12" Jensens or a 15" JBL.The Bi-Valve offers a tonal rainbow and this set-up sounds superb!I got a quiet unit with none of the hiss that some HG's have.

This one worked perfectly for six months,then no sound whatsoever!The LED was on,but that's all.

I took my dead HG to the store I bought it from and they sent it to the E-H service dept..One month later I had my HG back,working perfectly.Now (about 5 months later),the unit is starting to die on me AGAIN!!

I have been playing GTR for 20-ish years and my style is "wanna-be jazzer" along with the three Kings,Jimi,Jeff Beck,SRV,JRV,and Robben Ford as stylistic guideposts.A WORKING Holy Grail is very a useful tool for me.I am blessed with lots of low wattage tube amps as well as a blackface Super Reverb and Concert.Silvertones,Valco's and my handwired,AB763 based 2-6V6,2-6L6 & KT66 amp built by yours truly.If my HG were stolen,the thief would experience INSTANT KARMA as it is a piece -o- crap.Electro-Harmonix should buy full page ads in the gtr mags apologizing to those of us that spent our hard earned money on inferior junk!

Easy to use.

Reverb was great. However way too much digital hissing when turned up.

Seems built well

The digital hissing made me crazy. Sounded like a cheap Zoom pedal.
That's a shame too because the verb really has great potential. But I can't put up with all the background noise. The spring reverb on my amp is far from the best but it doesn't add all the noise!
It was sealed and brand new when I got it one week ago, today it's going back.

very easy to use, only one knob and 3 settings

i'm using it with a telecaster copy and a vox amp. when effect is on there is a sort of hissing noise, but this is quite quiet. its hard to get the right tone with the knob as theres either to little effect or too much, so it can sound weak. the effect is good for producing really weird noise, especially with the flerb setting, but for normal guitar playing these can be a bit off the wall. i wanted a bluesy, fender tone, but it doesnt seem to make any really guitar tones!

very reliable, always works, solid as a rock

dunno

i've been playing for 6 years and i bought it cos my amp had no reverb and i liked the tone for recorings, but then i got a fender blues deluxe, which is so much more my style- real tone, not just for weird sounds. i would be sad if it was stolen, but only cos i want to sell it!

this pedal is a MUST HAVE for any amp without an on board reverb. it is the most musical and deep sounding digital reverb cum stomp box. very easy to use.

i use it either in the fx loop of my marshall 6101 lm 100w head like an onboard reverb or at the end of a chain starting with EHX Big muff, Micro synth, electric mistress, memory man and ending with the holy grail. friends and partners, it really sounds very very pristine and creativity enhancing and inspiring(am i getting carried away or what)

i do not depend on any fx. if they work fine if not, back to the shelf they go. but it seems less toublesome than my otherwise really vintage e hx fx, which require "servicing" every three years. it is also much less noisy than the old e hx stuff. so vintage is not always better in every aspect.

still new.dunno.

experimental guitar music. check out www.azharkamal.de.

3 selector switch, one knob. if you can't figure this out, i would like to know how you manage to tune your guitar.

wonderful, the Hall, gets a little crazy if you crank it up all the way, but right in the middle is perfect. FLERB! Oh how i love thee

This is why I am posting this, I have been through 4 Holy Grails now. in 3 years. They have this habit of dying so no real reason. I've even sent them back to EH to get repaired and they still break. They are made like lightbulbs, they just break a lot.
DO NOT BUY THIS PEDAL! I AM SO FURIOUS ABOUT THIS MATTER, I FEEL COMPELLED TO WARN PEOPLE.
I am going to try to Holier Grail with the hopes that it last longer, because we use the Flerb in one of our songs, and the reverb a lot. It sounds great, but sound means nothing if i can't rely on it. Especially when it died at a gig last weekend. NOT COOL EH!

They will fix your pedal for you, but you have to wait about 2 months for it. But you shouldn't have to deal with crap like that. I've own at least 7 Boss pedals over the 8 years I've been playing. Even a Boss GT-7, and NONE of them ever broke! NEVER!
Pedals should not break, unless you're are jerk and you stomp all over them!

Sound = good
Reliability = NONE

don't buy gear you can't trust. Because you need that gear to work at a show and at practice, and if it doesn't, don't get it. Would you buy are car that you knew was going to stop working for no reason? NO!

Very easy. It has one knob that is basically a mixer: till 12 o'clock clean sound prevails and before 12 effect rules. Has one key that selects the 3 kinds of reverb/effect.

I've read many complains about the "noise" it produces. I think that it is caused by:

1. Bad ac adaptors and/or chain switches. I use only the stock alone.

2. Radio or other interferences. I've tryed it in the store and it had no noise. At home I've had some light "shhhh" noise. It was certainly caused by radio stations or machines working near my house. At the studios where I rehearse and record I've had NO NOISE at all.

By this experience I concluded that the noise problem depends on where are you playing. It appears in places surrounded by radio, TV or celular microwaves and/or eletroeletronic machines.

The sound is great. Really Fender spring verb like. So analog like that I could hardly believe it's digital.

Has REAL BYPASS.

Effects:

1. Spring: is as it says. After 2 o'clock its muddy (as a spring verb) and effect prevails over clean sound.

2. Hall: like analog reverb (great). After 1 o'clock its muddy (as a spring verb) and effect prevails over clean sound.

3. Flerb: flanger+ analog verb, totally trippy and great for creating psychodelic and/or dark ambiences. Sounds like 60's Pink Floyd strangethings.

I use this box with a Epiphone SG-400 w/ P-90 pickups, a Yamaha OD-10, a Dunlop Cry Baby, a Danelectro Dan Echo.

Looks ok, medium reliability. Fragile than Boss tanks, harder than Danelectro plastics. Think it's good to have a backup on the stage.

Have good assistence here in Sao Paulo/Brazil. A quite rare thing 'round here where most foreighn companies sell lots but fix nothing.

The only thing I regret is the high price of the EH products in Brazil.

I bought it because my 70's tube amp has no reverb and I needed some verb to play my blues and R&R.

I play since the early 80's.

Yeah, if stolen I would need another one. Have never seen any verb like this but spring verbs.

I like the most the analog taste, the "real" springness and the psycho sounds of the HG.

plug it in and play-simple-turn the dial til u find a sound u like n play-fx are always this simpe but ppl always like to complicate stuff

ok i use this in two contexts really

1) my rig when i can be arsed shipping it round everywhere
peavey wolfgang->peavey 5150mk1[FX loop out-boss NS-2->holy grail loop in]

i have a custom footswitch which allows me to turn the FX loop and the channel change on at the same time-so i get rhythm->one switch-> lead+FX and the NS2 kills all te hiss off the lead and runs nice smooth tone into my holy grail-sounds sweet ass....no hiss or anything off the holy grail-mits always on in this case and sounds amazing to me-and i play metal.....so those surfer ppl tha say it aint for metal heads are wrong-problem being to compenstae for the pedal seemingly turning my signal into reverb to get the amout of reverb i like i have t have the lead a fair bitlouder than the rhythm with out the Holy Grail-so if i switched the HG off my lead would be hell louder but coz of the way it is when its on it sjust right boost level

2) cant be arsed luggin gear round...someones put on a show wit house gear (usually them p.o.s marshall MG100 stacks)then it goes
Peavey Wolfgang->Hughes and kettner tube factor->boss ns2->nobels preamp booster->HG-> amp i always stick the NS2 after OD t ensure i get the best signal runnin into the HG coz mine is pretty much noiseless anyways and in ths application i actually use the HG footswitch-switching seems effortless and noiseless.....prob is because of the turning of ur signal into reverb effec rather than adding it over i have to do a funny kinda full foot sideways effort to hit the nobels (whichi use as a fixed volume boost) and the HG otherwise the signal just dies really in the mix live-without a boost faciity this pedal realy sucks ass but ive found with the boost it works really well................dnot really one for caring about daisy chaning-my HK needs a supply all of its own anyways so i just use a 4/6 way extention-it doesnt make that much difference to me tbh, cant see why someone would mark it down coz they cant daisy chain it....

um spring is ace but it masks ur guitar really fookin badly-hall is way too much live (we play big venues and it makes no sense to use that muc verb) an flerb.....hahhahahaha turn it right up-get a wah and a violin bow or take the bar off ur geet and use that as a slide...leave ur amp on clean and see what u can do with that-i always play withit just aint had the balls to use it live yet......

id give it a 10 if it didnt kill your guitar sound and turn it into reverb and because of the general kinda fiddlin u have to do to get an ace sound live (i.e boost facility etc) it could e seen as too much hassle-but the spring verb is well worth it

i gig regularly and anything will go eventually so gigging without a backup is insane......as it happens i have a fender twin reverb also and so my backup for this pedal is actually a twin reverb with the HK preamp into it to give me the OD i like so much-and as the reverb is footswitchable and doesnt override ur sound (seems to boost it for solos for some reason live and i have it o verb 2.5-3 nowhere past 3 thats insane) its actually a much easier rig to work with-i just love my 5150

N/A

ok well i play metal and i always want a good powerful rhythm channel then a single switch and i want vol boost-uber gain boost and a nice chunk of verb on it-HG delivers quite nicely on the verb front-think kirk hammett at the beginning of fade to black on cunnng stunts stood on that bridge playin that first solo-THATS the sort of tone i like (but without the mesa uck....)and it delivers on that front-i couldnt stop playin the likes of fade to black and hot for teacher when i firs bought it and even malmsteen esque stuff sounds pretty awesome thru this in terms of verb-i still get up onstage during soundchecks and when i hit that magic button on my footswitch to get that solo channel and i play a solo i still cant believe that that kinda tone is coming from a little verb unit that cost me 60quid.....awesome

9 coz it hasnt broke yet and so im not sure of its reliability thus yet and i havent had to dea with customer services yet-so its a-it cant be that god sorta score

if it was lost or some little shit robbed it at a gig id def have to go out and buy another

I think this is still allowed. I didn't buy the pedal, I did spend hours with it, and others in the music store, and I went in intending to buy the HG. I just didn't walk out with it.

Ease of use: Dead easy. This was smart of them, they kept it simple. I actually wanted simple. I wanted as simple as built-in verb usually is on an amp. It is easy to get "the best sound this pedal can give" right out of the box. Verb is subjective, and this is only my opinion, but right off the bat (like MANY pedals) I liked the sound. I had done lots of research here and other places, and was prepared to go with this if it was OK. Seemed to be the best in review. Was aware of noise hissing issues with some units, so I wanted to try out the exact unit I was going to take home. For the record, THIS unit I tried was completely silent. NO noise added at all!

It is REALLY easy to dial in sound. Only thing, the actual "mix" knob...seeemed pretty unuseable anything over about 2 o'clock (which would be almost no dry and only verb)...it's always an issue though, if you have a range it has to be on the edge. I just wished they had made the range wider and kept it more in the useable area...with finer adjusting.

BAD THING: But understandable. They use a non-standard plug for DC power in. This thing draws like ~500mA (that's a LOT!!) so I am guessing they didn't want folks just adding it on a daisy chain with their little 200mA power supplies, so this was to stop them from frying they power sup. So they shouldn't be dinged for that, but it is an annoyance. Luckily (the sales guy didn't know this til I made an issue while asking about price, etc.) the power supply is included.

I tried this out for some time in a music store. I borrowed a Strat and a Fender Hot Rod DeVille to use. Also I was using this (and all verbs I tested) in the effects-loop since this is where I was intending to use whichever pedal I ended up with) Four or five times while trying out the pedal I did something (sharp attack low, high, ringing chord, etc.) closed my eyes and listened, then turned off the pedal and turned on the built-in reverb on the amp. It isn't that I thought the DeVilles reverb was the best (I don't...really) but it was a real reverb. Then quickly turned off and tried again. I did this, but also simply played a range of styles on the HG without jumping back and forth. Some pedals, and definitely reverb when it is "right", make me jam with myself...I mean I can get a real mood going, and it sort of leads me to a style of playing. Hard to describe, but it's the same with all the "natural" effects like reverb, tremolo.

At the very first, I liked the sound. This is common for us guitarists...we like ANYTHING different right away. We also are a hopeful bunch, so we tend to WANT to like it, see what we can do with THIS sound and try it out. That's why you have to play with a pedal for at least an hour before even deciding if you like it, and have to always consider if the effect will cut through and sound as good with the band or in a mix, or if the utlra-cool effect will wash out with any other instrument near it.

Here's the thing. After only a short time, the reverb tail was starting to get on my nerves. It is WAY too long for me and my style (blues, R&B, rock). The worst thing with it is, as it took forever to decay out, it sounded more and more artificial. In the end sounding a little delay-ey. I STILL would have bought this pedal if EH had included either a knob for cutting the tail short, or even a "long/short" rocker switch for picking between the default or a much shorter one. They kept it TOO simple.

This might have not mattered in a band situation. I couldn't test that. But I did know that it wasn't doing it for me. I went back up to the desk, and asked the guy for any other recommendations for reverb that was NOT a Boss rv-"anything but 2"...

He handed me an EBS Dynaverb. I knew of it, having read reviews here. I wasn't sure this was for me, but thought "why not try it?".

Stopping here, I gotta say, I've been playing since the 70's. I have always had reverb built-in on my amps, and never gave it much thought. Some were better than others, but they all were spring reverbs, and sounded okay. Just now bought a Prosonic head, no reverb. Since reverb has always been a kind of taken-for-granted thing with me, I just figured "reverb is easy...I'll just buy a pedal".

Then I started researching here and on forums. Found that verb is actually HARD to please folks with. Maybe when you get it with the amp you just accept, but when you are going to BUY it you get all critical. I don't know, but I do know there was no clear "best".
Many liked the HG, but complained of noise on some units...and some mentioned the tail...though I really wasn't looking for that problem, I figured out pretty fast it was just unuseable for me.

Anyway, I tried the EBS Dynaverb, and it was BEAUTIFUL. It was, in my opinion, WAY better than the Fenders' built.in verb. It also is super-simple to get a good sound out of, I haven't gotten a bad one out of it yet as a matter of fact. The tails can be adjusted by adjusting the room type and verb type (9 different adjsutable verbs in one small package) and the mix worked great and it has a TONE control too!

This thing made me want to play...and I didn't think it sounded artificial at all. I got the EBS home, and it sounded fantastic. Played all yesterday with it as a matter of fact.

In the end, I just did not like the HG. Again, it is possible it would sound better in a mix, but even intros and such alone, it just...the only way around was to mix it so down in the mix it was like not having verb.

Gotta go low on this one.

No idea. Seemed solid enough, thought that doesn't mean anything.
For the record, the EBS was heavy and screamed workmanship to me.

Play blues, r&b, rock...Hendrix, SRV, BB King, T-bone Walker, Freddie King, Clapton, etc.

Been playing since the 70's (and boy are my arms tired),
didn't buy the unit. If you are thinking about this one, do yourself a favor and try the EBS alongside it.

Very easy to get a good sound, as this pedal is simplicity itself. It only has one big knob to adjust the dry/wet mix and a 3 position switch to select from spring, hall and flerb. The manual is OK, nothing special. AFAIK, this unit has been upgraded some time ago, by the addition of an expensive true bypass switch, in order to preserve your tonal integrity when off.

My setup is the following: Ibanez RG 470 L with a Duncan TB-6 in the bridge position > Shure UT-14 The Guitarist wireless system > Keeley Mod Plus TS-9 > Tech 21 NYC Sans Amp TRI-A.C. > Holy Grail > Fulltone Fat-Boost > Ernie Ball VPJR 6181 (with a Boss TU-12 H slaved out) > Tech 21 NYC Power Engine 60. All pedals are velcroed on a Rockcase pedalboard and, except the Holy Grail, are powered by a Cioks Baby power supply.
As stated below, the Holy Grail has a noise problem: it can only work quiet if powered by a dedicated power supply (not necessarily the EHX that comes along with it). If you try to power it from a power supply, together with other pedals, prepare yourself for the hiss/whine city. It might be a design flaw, but, other than creating the discomfort of needing a dedicate PS, I don't see this as a real problem. I think the low ratings given by other reviewers below for noise issues are not deserved. They simply didn't power up the pedal as recommended by EHX, they tried to power it daisy chained, noticed the noise issue and looked no further.

The spring setting is just perfect. It doesn't sound metallic or sterile, as in other reverb pedals. It's very much like a real tank reverb. Very natural feeling. Before 12 o'clock, the clean tone is just slightly blended with the effect, so that you can keep the pedal on all the time. I have it set at 12 o'clock and it doesn't muddy my sound. Beyond 12 o'clock, the blend increases dramatically.

The hall setting is lush, spacious and natural, again. Some people might complain a decay time set too long here, but EHX pedals are made so that you know they're on :-). It's a matter of taste. The blend is, however, subtle only until 9-10 o'clock in this setting, after that it increases dramatically, again.

Finally, the flerb setting is...intersting, but I don't see a lot of use for it. It's a sort of a mix between spring and flanger.

If there is one thing I don't like it's the fact that all three setting have the sweet spot in different positions (spring at 12 o'clock, hall at 10 o'clock and flerb at 1 o'clock), so if I want to change the mode mid song (by an acrobatic foot action), I am forced to adjust the blend knob too, which is, definitely, too much of a hassle.

The unit seems to be dependable, although I read a lot of horror storries (switches crapping out, etc.) It's, definitely, no "bullet proof" boutique construction, the aluminium enclosure feels kinda tiny, but I baby my gear and I can't give a low rating here only for the issues I am yet to meet, nor for what other people went through.

I sent EHX a couple of e-mails, they responded quick and were helpful enough. I don't want to find anything more :-)

I play rock, since 1996, ranging from indie stuff to heavy metal. I was playing 100% dry and felt the need for something to add just a bit of ambience. I was torn between the Digiverb and the Holy Grail, but I value simplicity over versatility, so I went with this one. Glad I did. If there's something I wish it had, it is a decay time knob and a stereo output (or, at least, a dual, wet-dry output). But I'm happy with the way it is.

Very easy to use. Single switch to switch between Spring reverb, Hall reverb, and the very cool "Flerb" reverb. Single knob to turn the level of the selected reverb. Very easy to use, just step on the button and it turns on, step on it again and it turns off. Simple stuff.

My setup is pretty simple. Ibanez GRX with DiMarzio p/u's >Holy Grail Reverb>Dunlop CryBaby Wah>Line 6 Spider II. The Line 6 amp gives me a really crisp clean tone, and compounded with the fluid reverb pedal it gives it an amazing texture. The reverb sounds pretty strong if turned up high, but can be a light reverb with the knob turned lower. I've heard that this pedal has a problem with noise, but I have not experienced this on my amp or a Marshall amp I tried at Guitar Center. For a great example of the "Flerb" effect listen to the intro to the song "Reality" by Staind. Mike Mushok uses the pedal throughout the song, and it sounds really cool.

I would definitely depend on it. I would use it without a backup in a heartbeat

Not sure, haven't had to get ahold of customer support yet.

I play everything from progressive rock like Rush and Dream Theater to hardcore bands like Lamb of God and Trivium. I'll play whatever I like to hear. I've been playing for 2 and half years. I have a Line 6 Spider II 30w combo, Crybaby wah, and an Ibanez GRX (with Air Norton and D-Sonic pickups). If it were lost I would most definitely buy a new one in a heartbeat. I tried the other reverb pedals but none sounded as smooth and rich as this one.

very easy as there's just one knob to use.. but it would be useful to have another knob to adjust the decay time and flerb rate.

fender american strat with bridge emg pickup->engl tube toner preamp (with mxr 6 band eq in the fx loop)->ehx holy grail->fender pro junior amp. In my setup there's absolutely no noise coming from from this pedal. Always use it in the effects loop or with a clean amp setting, it might be noisy and it will definitely sound bad if used before distortion. The reverb trail is very realistic, but just a bit long to my taste, and there's no way to adjust it. It would be perfect if there were a room setting or decay time knob. Flerb setting sounds good but would be much more useable if there were a rate knob.. Anyway, the Holy Grail reverb is better than any reverb pedal or rack Boss has made.

I play all kinds of rock, indie and fusion. Play for 15 years. I would buy it again. I really like the sound quality and noiseless operation. My Pro junior doesn't have built-in reverb and I think this pedal sounds better than many amps' built-in reverbs, my former amp had a reverb but it always hissed and was unusable to me. I really think this is a pro quality pedal sound-wise, forget the weak boss reverb pedals, I had a Boss GX-700 rack and it had a much more artificial and weaker reverb when compared to the holy grail.

As everyone here has said, it doesnt get much easier. Just remember, less is more! (dont crank the knob all the way) The milder settings sound the best, especially at volume.

I havent owned an Electro-Harmonics pedal since the seventies...
Funny thing...I got a chance to see Albert Cummings a few weeks ago,and was blown away! (for those who have seen or heard this guy, I immagine like me, you're still picking your jaws off the ground!) I was sitting less than 3 feet from his pedal board, and got a good look at it. Very simple! Boss TU-2, Klon Centaur, HOLY GRAIL, Boss digital delay,TS-808,vox wah, straight into a Fender Vibro King. He was basically only using the KLON,the HOLY GRAIL,the TS-808 (for boost), and the wah. The Holy Grail was on all the time!
I have since put the same chain together, and have the same sound comming from my strat! (too bad I'll never play like this guy).
I asked him if the Holy Grail was important to his sound, or just an add-on, and He was very adament about it being essential! Hey, good enough for me.

Cant say as yet, havent had it long enough, but even all the rankers here seem to agree that the company is responsive concerning problems.
If you havent heard this guy yet, dont worrie, YOU WILL SOON! (I'm sure!) www.albertcummings.com (think: Stevie Ray meets Billy Gibbons meets Pat Travers meets Johnnie Winter!

see above

Put this chain through a Fender "65" Super, and both of my Marshall "59 SLP plexis (one with loop, one without)
Sounds great, minimal noise....but as stated earlier,use the lower settings.

Very easy. Three setttings and one knob to dial in the sound you want.

Totally Unusable.
When I brought the pedal back after playing it for a few hours, the effects salesguys all sounded like they had never heard about the noise problem mentioned by most people here.

I bought the pedal against my better judgement only because I had heard there were all kinds of revisions to the pedal making the noise issue a non-issue. SO I thought I would take a chance.

I ran the pedal direct from a fender strat into a reissue 59 bassman.

With the volume on the bright channel at 3, and the pedal setting at about 3 oclock, you could already hear the hiss/noice. Turning the amp up a bit to more realistic volume club settings, the pedal hissed like nothing I have ever heard.

I played it for about an hour and then returned it.

It is too bad becasue the sound at *extremely* low volumes was very nice.

See above.
I would never use this pedal and I think it's a joke that it is still being sold. Maybe there are the lucky ones that get a pedal that doesn't hiss, but count me in the long line of those that didn't. As a result, I probably won't rush out to try anything else made by EH.

I have been playing for so many years now that I have lost count. I have played with a wide variety of pedals as well and I have never heard the hissing (even my old boss rv2 never hissed as bad as this baby).

Nevr dealt with them. Returned the pedal to the store and got a store credit for the Digitech Digiverb.

I could hear some really nice sounds of reverb trying to come through all the hiss. Too bad. I would loved to have kept it.

If someone stole it I would be laughing my arse off.

Very simple to use

I thought the quality of the reverbs was very good for the price paid...however, I found this unit to be far too noisy when engaged and returned it. Great reverb destroyed by surprisingly loud hiss. Too bad.

Can't say...didn't keep it. I'd imagine it would last a while if properly cared for. Based on just the feel of it, I'd say you would have to baby it far more than, say, a Boss pedal.

Did not deal with them. I can say that Musician's Friend made it easy to return. What can I say...I live in a city without an E/H dealer.

My amp does not have reverb and I planned to just leave it in the efx loop to add some space to my sound. It added some space and too much noise. I was using properly shielded cables but this just sounded like hiss. Perhaps I had a bad unit. I think I'll try Boss or (more likely) do without reverb.

Incredibly easy to use, with spring, hall and flerb switch, and then a large knob to turn and dial in the amount of reverb.

The hall reverb is gorgeous and I use that most. Spring reverb adds a little extra twang to what I can already get on my amp. Flerb is great if you used sparingly - I like to combine it with tremolo for a lovely washing sound. On the whole the sound that comes out of this unit if glorious, warm and full.
BUT it can be a little noisy. Once you've played through it for a while it's not so bad, but there's noticeable hiss when the effect kicks in.

Only had it for a month or so, but it's built well so I can't foresee any problems.

I play atmospheric instrumental music, and this pedal has been a godsend. It's lush. Highly recommended.

One knob, a reverb type selector switch, on/off switch!

Setup: Fender Roadhouse > CryBaby > DS1 > DS2 > Vol Pedal > CE5 > DD5 > Holy Grail > Fender De Ville

It's pretty quiet and works very well with my DD5 and CE5. It help fills in the gaps in-between the delays. After using them together, I'll feel the signal is pretty dry the moment I turn off the Reverb. I'll not seperate them from now. I feel the sound produced is transparent and clean, great! But I wouldn't say it's super lush and warm, but neither thin as air as some reverb unit produces. I've heard good reports on the holiest grail that's really lush. I guess for that price, it had better be! But for what I paid, I'm very satisfied with what it gives.

I noticed when the knob is turn up beyond 2 O'clock, the overall volume drops quite a bit. Most probably due to extreme phase cancellation between the wet and dry...

Just got it today, so I wouldn't know

One knob for wet-dry mix - easy.

Very good spring simulation though it goes from too little to too much very easily. Nice spacious hall which can get pretty large feeling. If you like natural hall and spring sounds and are not too fussy then for the money it simply can't be beaten but if you're after a specific tone it may not give you what you want. Personally, despite liking it a lot I find that it just doesn't give me the edge I want for aggressive solos.

Okay here's the final word... The newer pedals are superbly built and without any problems. They use an expensive 3 way stomp-switch which gives a rgenuine hard/true bypass. Absolutely nothing in the signal path bar wires and jacks.

HOWEVER... There was a period in manufacturing not so long ago when Electroharmonix used an unreliable components manufacturer (though they don't like to admit it) and these dodgy pedals are now out there and changing hands frequently. Some are still even as yet unsold on shelves here and there!

Unfortunately there is no external cosmetic difference between the old and new ones so the best thing to do is buy one new from a high volume retailer I'm afraid!

Finally, the PSU/adapter is in fact not critical at all. The unit has it's own internal regulator which is happy with a wide range of voltages. The reason for Electroharmonix insistence on their own brand PSU is because this thing generates digital noise on the supply line so if it shares a PSU with an analog pedal you'll get awful interference, pops, clicks and whines!

In short. new = 9/10. Old = 1/10.

Depends who you speak to. Mostly pretty useless. Occasionally well informed and helpful.

Great unit for the straightforward player wanting quality natural sounds in a compact unit at a bargain price providing you go for a new one.

Simplicity may not satisfy all players though and secondhand units are sadly a bit of a gamble.

Oh and the flerb... a flanger without rate control is unlikely to be of much use to anyone and it's not extreme enough to be crazy fun.

Why trust my opinion? I have a BSc in Audio Technology, have been playing guitar professionally for 15 years, released two CD's and have worked as Engineer, Technician and all sorts of other boring music jobs for the last decade. Oh and I play only bloggy sportastic moggle guitars through frump-biscuit amplifiers using a precision 9.1045 volt 312mA PSU for maximum thrang. Not.

One knob, no explaination needed. very easy

I bought this to use with my new orange rocker 30. didn't come with any onboard reverb. I was going to buy a nice reverb tank like the soldano or a fender but instead I decided to try this because it was so much cheaper. I'm glad I did. This thing sounds lush. The great tone on the orange became inspiring. It sounds better than the reverb on my mesa rectoverb by far. this is at the end of my chain going into the front of the amp. no loop on the rocker 30. I only use the amps own distortion. going into the front of the amp still sounds killer. my setup is as follows. SG standard> boss tu-2>boss ce-2>boss bf-3>boss dd-6> using both outputs on delay, one goes right to my rectoverb the other goes into the grail then into the front of the orange. I put all my effects into the front end of the mesa too. The loop on the rectoverb sucks. but still an awesome amp. no noise at all. i hear nothing except the sweet reverb. I do power all pedals with a voodoo lab pedal power which is plugged into a furman power conditioner with the amps and everything is linked with monster cables. I find a lot of people blame pedals for noise when it's really their fault for using shitty connectors and power options.

I've only had it for a weak now, but no problems yet. I have had several other EH pedals and have never had any problems with them ever.

no idea. never needed them.

I like playing everything from nice blues to very hard agressive metal. as far as tones go I like a nice glassy clean that almost blooms and lot's of crunch. i would definitely buy this again if it were lost or stolen. as far as the other reviews on reliability, sucks to be them. I seem to get lucky with my EH pedals they have all been awesome. Keep in mind with EH if subtle effects are what you want go elsewhere. When these are on you know it. That's why i love them.

its one of the easiest pedals out there - even if you're not an effects-head

Here's where I get a dilemma.

It sounds pretty good at the store, even at semi loud levels. And it sounds OK if you run alot of gain at home or even at a loud practice/jam/gig volume. BUT if you play as naturally as possible with a guitar>pedal>tube amp setup and use a more classic setting like pure tube amp breakup for that lovable, responsive overdrive - you will notice tone loss. Enough to really make a difference. Like I said, dont worry if you play with insane amounts of distortion or play at lower volumes, it seems to sound pretty smooth in those situations. But you can really notice some unpleasant side-effects when running loud using nice thick tube breakup. It just sucks a little magic out of your rig and I cannot accept that, not when I rely on subtle nuances and classy sounds

The first one I got started working funny as soon as I got it home. It would work, then not work.....all the while the light would stay on (YIPPEEEE!!!)

So I took it back and the guitar store let me trade it in on another.

Got the 2nd one home and it worked long enough to let me get my impression of it (read above) but after a week I started getting the same problems. I dont know if the whole bunch of them are prone to this madness, or just the 2 I had but I dont care anymore.

I decided to try the digiverb when I took the 2nd one back and not only does it feel and work solidly as it should, but Ive found none of those problems I did with the Holy Grail. Even at higher volumes it sounds great. It can sound just as authentic as the HG if set correctly and Im sure it will outlive the HG.

Im giving this pedal a 6 based on how I feel about it. I would probably give it a 7 overall if it worked all the time. Theres nothing worse than getting a pedal that sounds pretty decent only to find out in real jamming situations it reacts differently or alters the tone. It would be cool if they could get it to only add reverb and not take anything away from your sound - but even then there is a better reverb pedal on the market (Digitech Digiverb) but I just did'nt give the digiverb any time at the store because I was caught up in this Holy Grail fuss. Yes it did sound OK while it worked at lower volumes but because of the sound at high volumes and the reliability problems please make sure you get a good one, give it hell at the store - just dont say I didnt warn you about what it does in real gig/playing situations

The holy grail pedal is a no-brainer for use. The brief description in the accompanying leaflet is all to get the pedal working.With only 3 settings and a rotery knob for intensity, the dimmest of axe-weilding neanderthals will be re-inventing their peter green routes in no time.

Im using two gordon smith humbucking-equiped guitars, a 50th anniversary strat and a prs custom 22-brazilian.There is a minimum of noise when switched on-nothing to upset yourself with at jam/gig levels.Im using the pedal with a vox wah only in front of a peavey bandit{latest type} and a boogie 22 plus with boogie 1x12 extenstion cab.When played in the spring reverb mode, its instant classic 60s vibe that out-guns your fender valve unit...true. Try it with a good strat. its transparent and warm as hell on a saturday night!With humbucking guitars, the black magic woman vibe smacks you around the chops and pulls you to and fro. inspiring stuff! Beware though. The effect is signal activated-switch to the dirty channel of your amp and the reverb can sound too much. I dont like the flerb setting...perhaps a room setting would have suited us most.Overall, buy one and thank E.H for giving us a true-sounding lush fx to get all excited over when you gig. its that fine.

Sure I CAN DEPEND ON IT. THE JACKS STAY IN, ITS BUILT LIKE A BRICK AND DELIVERS OODLES OF WHAT I WANT.

Never needed to contact them.Got a feeling i never will.

Im into santana, peter green and any blues at all.
Ive been flogging the dead horse that is guitar playing for thirty years.im inspired again because of the grail.if stolen, id take a contract out on them...or just go to my nearest retailer and surely buy another.
BUY IT.
Regards,
Jeff Levy

Very Easy to use one knob and one swithch to select spring, hall, or flerb.

Excellent sound quality. Simply superb. I wrote an earlier review where I complained about the hissing in the background but i have concluded that my unit is defective because many players say that thiers are silent. But the reverb is sooooo good through this thing that I am going to replace mine with another silent one. The reverb is great so If I can find a silent one I'll give EH a 9 on tyhis because I never give 10's. NOT YET ANYWAY!! For now just an 8 --- stay tuned...

The spring reverb is a good convincing spring reverb, The Hall is my favorite very lush and transparent, The Flerb is useless as far as i'm concerned.

It always works no problems yet..

This reverb is so good that I am writing a favorable review even though my unit is hissing a little bit. That should tell you something about the quality of Reverb itself. So before you buy one check it out first for noise. If it's quite then belive me you have a keeper.

I've been playing for over 25 years and play several nice guitars through fender tube amps (deville, twin, and blues junior). I run it through the FX loop of my Fenders. Other FX -- Boss Giga Delay, Boss CE5 chorus, Boss DD6 Delay, VOX Wah. Various distortion boxes--I keep it simple --- great tone --- great player --- tastefully and purposfully used FX.

Extreamly easy to use! Choose a reverb setting and turn a dial! I like simple so I give it a 10..

Here's where I could not belive my ears! I plugged this into a BF Deluxe Reverb and tuned the amps reverb down all the way and kicked on the Holy Grail, set at spring revber and the dial at about noon. It was great! Then I switched the Holy Grail off and turned the Deluxe Reverbs, reverb to about 3. I honestly couldn't tell the difference. The room reverb on the Holy Grail is great too! The Flerb (Flange / Reverb) is cool to play around with but I really won't use it during any shows.

I will use this Holy Grail all the time as I am playing smaller venues as I get older. I play nothing but strats through a 1956 Tweed Deluxe amp! We are a power blues / rock trio so I needed some verb to fill things out..

By the way, I also tried out the Holier Grail and it was NOT worth another $100.. Don't get ne wrong, it was great but not worth $100 more than the Holy Grail!

All this EH stuff is built like a S_it Brick House!

?? Never called EH

Since I A-B'ed this against a Real Tube Driven Spring Reverb unit and I really couldn't tell the difference, I bought it right then and there! I have used many amps with killer reverb on board, this thing is the real deal.. I have been playing as a pro for 25 years. I am also analog freak, I always refused to use the digital stuff, but now I am.. The holy Grail sounds awsome! The price is right too!

Super easy to use. One big fat knob, a nice 3 position slide switch, and a stomp button. Dial in the amount of reverb or "hall" effect and you're good to go. The "Flerb" setting is unique, but kind of wasted.

I use it with my Peavey Audition 20 after a Dunlop Cry Baby and it sounds fine. I have read the negatives but have experienced NONE of the problems of hiss, whine, etc. I like others, leave it on ALL the time. Set it and forget it most of the time occasionally dialing in a bit more when I want it. My guitars are a jumble of inexpensive models: a 1980's D'Agostino Strat I totally rewired and added some EMG's; a Jay Turser JT133;a Chinese "Rockster" I disassembled, rewired and stuck 2 EMG's and a Mighty Mite single coil with 5-way super switch, and a soon to be completed "Tele" clone with a double rail humbucker at the bridge, 5-way super switch and Mighty Mite at the neck.

Since it's on all the time I can't vouch for the stomp button, but I've had it for some time and zero problems. It stays on for days at a time since I forget to unplug it and/or shut it off and it works just fine.

Never had to use customer support, don't know.

I just love playing. Jazz, blues, rock, country, slide, whatever. I bought the Holy Grail to add to my small Peavey without reverb on board and I'm totally satisfied with it. I leave it on many times and forget it and it's never had a problem. Electro Harmonix seems to be a pretty good outfit from my own and others experiences.
I'd recommend it highly.

Pretty easy....one big knob and 3 settings. It was easy to get a sound out of it. what I love is that i can adjust the knob with my feet during songs and the switch as well, that's just easy and cool.

I put this at the end of an effect loop through a Fender deville. I was hissing like crazy. I tried this in my apartment (that doesn't get very good grounding) and the deville is tricky sometimes with the fx loop. I decided to put the pedal at the end of my other pedals from the guitar to amp. That stopped the problem. The spring is nice but i find that I have to turn it to 11-12 clock before I notice it bouncing a bit. The hall you can hear at 9-10 clock easy. The flerb...yeeeaaa....i think they should have given another option because flerb is kinda cheesy and I donn't hear it till I have the knob at 12 clock.

I seems well made, the instructions say only to use its adapter, that came with it. I wonder if it would short out or something if i tried something else. I doesn't take batteries, i think. I hear bad things about electro-h when it comes to reliability. I mailed the warranty in but i hope i don't have to use it.

haven't dealt with.

I play in a jazz combo. We play latin, swing, spacey jams, funk, and groove. The pedal's simplicity is great and it the selling point along with it's decent tone. I've been playing 6 1/2 years. My pedals are: Ernie Ball Jr Volume Pedal, Boss CS-3 compressor, Cry Baby whah, TS-7 ibanez tube screamer, Sans Amp GT2, Electro-Harmonix Small Stone (Russian), H2O Liquid Chorus and Echo by Visual Sound. If it were stolen Id probably get another one. I compared it to the rv-5 by boss and it came down to siplicity, uniqueness, and cost. The rv-5 cost $140 usually.

Very.

I have an Ampeg VL-502 head, which I love, but its built-in reverb tank just doesn't cut it. Hard to explain, but I just don't like it.

Enter the Holy Grail. In the effects loop. On all the time. I don't get any hiss or extra noise AT ALL. It's completely SILENT, except for the yummy reverb.

The 'Flerb' is basically useless unless you're playing in a key that suits the flange tone, but who cares about that. You're buying it for reverb, right? The reverbs sound great!

The knob is very easy to turn, feels solid, very intuitive. You can go from dry to huge rooms sounds no sweat. You could easily use this as a foot pedal for interesting reverb and echo effects, but I don't. I just turn it on and pretend it came with the amp in the first place.

I don't stomp on it. It feels pretty solid to me and has worked every time for 6+ months now.

I would definitely gig without a backup. I don't expect any trouble with this one.

Haven't dealt with them. Again, I'm not too worried about this one. I've been pretty gentle with it.

I would go into musical styles, etc., but I don't think it matters. It's reverb. If you like reverb, you will probably like this pedal. Just give it a listen before you buy it.

Piece o' cake

Very nice!

Unbelievable crap. Mine didn't work 25% of the time I powered it up; unplugging the power connector and then plugging it back in always solved the problem, but... Then one night, maybe a year and a half after I bought it, it suffered a massive stroke and died. Red power light on, no reverb, no nothing, just as it was for alllllllllll those people who reviewed this pedal before me. Understand, not only did I not abuse this thing, I babied it; I left in plugged in, in one spot, almost always turned on, halfway up, hall reverb only, never left the house once in the time I owned it, smoke-free, dampness-free, dust-free, one hour a day on average, never gigged, teamed up with quality gear... I bet I pushed the on-off switch all of 100 times over its lifespan! And despite that care, it just rolled over and died. Bad luck? Hardly; look at the other reviews below... One after another after another! What a fucking piece of crap. Result of my experience? I will never buy another E-H product again, and I will sell my E-H Deluxe Electric Mistress before it similarly self-euthanizes, as it doubtlessly will, probably sooner rather than later.

Who cares? The product is such utter garbage I personally could care less whether the support folk wish me a pleasant day and a fine life or not.

If it were stolen, I would chuckle a bit, admire the cosmos' sublime sense or irony and humor, and somehow get on with my life. If these things were $10 I'd probably buy several replacements (figuring none of them would last very long) for the dearly departed. They're not, though, they're $100. Too bad, they sound quite good... but not for long! They should put expiration dates on these things.

It's about as easy as you can get.A selector switch,one knob and stomp switch.That's it.

I use Sovtek MIG-50s,a combination of strats and 3 different dist. pedals plus chorus,digital and analog delays.I love the reverb effect that this produces but as noted in earlier comments it has kind of a jet engine compressor section whine.I found that it is kind of tolerable if you keep the knob at about 9 or 10 o'clock.It makes this noise even when "stomp" switched off.Very strange indeed.If this is a true bypass pedal then i would think that you have some D.C. voltage leak at the input/output jacks causing this noise..And i question the hanging in thin air pc board mounting.It doesn't look very sturdy to me.Make sure you have a power adaptor of 300 milliamps minimum or this will sound very weak.

Don't know, just got it.

don't know,i'll find out when and if it breaks.

I play blues based rock with an overtone of fusion.I've played now for thirty or so years.If it were stolen i would buy something else.I do like the effect but the B-52 whine makes me question my purchase.

Can't get any simpler. No manual Doesn't need it.

I played on one of these twice at local shops before i got one. All the stores in my area were charging too much for them but I found a great deal on one and I got it. I love it. It sounds so pretty to my ears. I use it with an Sg into a Whammy pedal, Crybaby wah, TS-9, DS-1, Big Muff, BF-2, DD-3, Small Stone, and a Small clone. Amp wise I'm using a Single Rectifier. This pedal along with the DD-3 are in my effects loop. It really sounds great with all of my pedals. I have heard complaints about a hissing noise but I haven't experienced any noise.

The box is solid. Hopefully all the wiring inside is too!

Never dealt with them

I play a lot of hard rock/alternative, some jazz, and classical. I really needed a reverb since my rectifier didn't have it. It sounds beautiful to me especially the hall setting. I have been playing for about 6 years. I'm a music major in college and study classical guitar in school. This is a great pedal in my opinion. I would be really upset if it was stolen or something went wrong with it.

Couldn't be easier. Selector switch for type of verb. Knob to dial it in. Footswitch to turn it off. That switch is the most important part of the unit. You will definitely want to turn it OFF!!!

This pedal has a lovely background hiss. As an added bonus, it also has a high pitched whine. I have never heard such a noisy DIGITAL effect in my life. Worthless junk. Off to eBay with it!

Don't know and don't care. It is unusable.

Emailed customer support from their web site. Never heard anything from them.

GARBAGE, JUNK, RUBBISH, CRAP [insert more synonyms here]!

Couldn't be more simple!!! A Mode selector for spring, hall or flerb, one knob for the amount of reverb and a footswitch to turn it on/off. Choose your prefered mode and dial in the amount of reverb that you want and away you go!!!

Absolutely the most important thing when using this unit is to place it last in your signal chain after every other stomper...Or, use it in your effects loop if you use your amps own overdrive. It MUST be placed after your drive source.

I leave this unit back at the amp and it is left constantly on, so it causes no hassles at all. Just set it up and forget about it. Perfect!!!

I use this unit with my Vox AC30TB and it sounds amazing. There is no reverb on the amp at all and there is no effects loop. I set this unit up on top of the amp, so it is the last thing in line before the signal reaches the amp. My pedalboard contains the rest of my effects including my different levels of overdrive.

This unit brings even more life to the jangly sound of my '72 Thinline Telecaster and Vox AC30 combination, and sounds anything but fake and digital. I use the hall setting at 9 o'clock and that is perfect to give me enough reverb to bring the whole setup to life on both clean and driven sounds. Sound is amazing!!!

The other guitar player in my band plays a lovely fender valve amp and we both agree that the reverb is no better on his amp than on mine, with the grail. Very natural. Dont do the dog with the amount of reverb and it sounds great.

I have had no problems with interferance or background noise at all. Use all good quality equipment and you should be okay...or maybe im just really lucky...either way, its not a problem for me.

Personally, i have had absolutely no problems with the Holy Grail. I look after my equipment and keep them cased or boxed as required.
I leave it turned on constantly through rehersals and gigs, so the switch gets very little use and is only ever turned on by hand, as i leave the unit on top of my amp and not on the floor.

Admittedly, the unit is my most flimsy in terms of construction. The power chord is pretty pathetic, thin and weak looking. The unit itself is cased in very thin sheet metal, but with the slightest amount of care the whole package should last a very long time.
EHX pedals have always been made like this and i have seen some very old EHX pedals knocking around so they can last alright.

I had a Big Muff before and had no problems with it either, until i realised that i never really liked the sound of it anyway and got rid of it...fuzzy bastard of a thing!!!

Never needed....touch wood!!!

For me, this unit is great...it brings my whole setup to life with a very natural touch of Hall reverb. Other reverb pedals that i've heard sound radiculous, but this does the real fender reverb very well....perfectly in fact!!!
I wouldnt consider using any other verb unit as i know now that this one can deliver and doesnt leave me wishing it did anything better. Reverb is such a subtle effect, when used properly, that some people may not bother buying a unit at all, but it does add to the overall sound of your already killer setup.

For vintage, reverbless amps...this is the unit to have!!!

Actually, just thinking back, my girlfriend bought me this pedal for my birthday...jesus, what a girl...now thats marriage material. How the f*ck did she know i needed reverb??? Was she sitting at a gig one night and thinking to herself..."Yeah, what he needs now is a touch of nice natural reverb"??? I think not!!! Maybe i was talking in my sleep or something.

1 knob - goes around. 1 footswitch - stand on it. 1 slider switches - changes things.
Can't be that hard??
Even Noel Gallagher could use it. Piece of p**s :-)

This pedal is without doubt the best reverb pedal I've ever played. I sold my Boss to buy this. GOOD MOVE! The tones available are stunning and easy to find :)
I've been using this with a Rat II and a Gibson SG standard. It sounds stunning. If you play surf guitar but can't stretch the wallet to a Fender Twin this will more than fill it's shoes.

The only use I can find for the Flerb is white noise... think Sonic Youth, Mogwai. Kind of a flange/reverb except it sounds rubbish :( Still it's great fun!! You'll get lots of funny looks from your band members if ya use it.

I would give this a 10 but the volume drops as you crank the reverb knob. Swtiching is very silent. Mines permantly ON so that ain't a problem :)

No problems at all. Mines secondhand too.
Power supply looks like it could be a problem in the future. Poor 3.5mm jack, it don't take batteries so could be a pain to replace. If your gonna get one I'd recommend mounting it on a pedal board with cable ties. I'll have to be careful! I always break PSUs

?? in the UK. No support

It's amazing the amount of usable tones from one knob is stunning. I got this at a great price. I bought it to re-sell on EBay to make some ###. I thought I'd give it a try before I cashed it in... NO CHANCE!!!! I tried it once and it's been on my board ever since.
My advice get one and turn it on, leave it on!
I play blues, surf, punk, rock, and some metal I can find tones for most of these styles (except metal, got a big muff for that!)
I've been through a loud of other reverb pedals, this beats them all.
Although this only has one knob for reverb level. You don't really miss the other knobs tone level ect. It's too good. You have to try it to know what I mean! GET ONE
IS THERE A BETTER REVERB? Haven't tried the Holier Grail yet...

Then holy grail is as easy to use as any other pedal if your read a little and experiment a little more. Thats why companies spend money on owners manuals.

The spring and hall settings are really good effects mixed with the right music. You can't expect to use this pedal if you are playing death metal or any high gain music. Find something else. I play alternative slower rock with some blues influence and it sounds great. Through a marshall avt150 head. The reverb produced is definitly different but always pleases. Metal head this ain't for you.

It is dependable and I do use it on gigs but only for certain songs. Don't ever base all your music solely one one pedal. Have some variety.

I've never dealt with this company.

This pedal fits great with any type of music except for metal and high gain music. Too much noise comes through when you play it through all that noise.

Easy enough to use...but that's not why I'm writing this review.

Sound quality?....you're kidding me, right? Noise like you couldn't believe and a real high pitch whine in the background. Through a power conditioner, plugged straight...where ever and whenever this crap pile is plugged in, it sucks. And the flerb setting? WTF is that? BUT WE'RE STILL NOT TO THE POINT OF WHY I WROTE THIS REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HERE IT IS!!! It worked (I'm sorry..."powered on" would be a better term) for 2 weeks and died....forever....dead. SO I retruned it thinking I got a bunk unit. Nope. Same horrific noise and whine and lasted EXACTLY 13 DAYS JUST LIKE THE LAST UNIT!!!!

I will never buy a product from EH ever in my life. What crap. Furthermore, I will tell every guitarist I know the same thing.

Contrats EH, you put out a crap product and now it's gonna cost you, becasue I'm going to tell everyone I know what total garbage you make. Guess you probably shouldn't have cut all of those corners to make a quick profit, because in the end, you are the one's who end up losing.

DON'T BUY THIS PRODUCT. IT IS THE WORST OF THE WORST!!!

Garbage. Noisy beyond words when it does work, which seems to be only 13 days. Don't buy this product...let me repeat....DO NOT BUY THIS REVERB. GARBAGE GARBAGE GARBAGE GARBAGE GARBAGE GARBAGE GARBAGE!!! The absolute sorst I have seen in my 25 years of playing.

The unit is very easy to use in fact it could not be simpler (it only has one knob on it) turn it up you get more reverb, turn it down you get less. If you can't figure this baby out you better go back to kindergarten.

There is also a 3 way switch for SPRING, HALL, or FLERB settings. The Spring and Hall are both useable I usually prefer the Hall setting. The FLERB to me is unusable but if you are just looking for some wierd trippy sound effects than I suppose you could find a use for it.

The reverb sounds very very good. I play guitar through several verieties of Fender tube amps and a nice Peavy (yes Peavy) tube amp. I am able to dial in nice long or short reverbs with this unit on all of the amps. I play alot of music that reqires clean guitar like Jazz or acoustic stuff but I also play satrianiesque rock. I find that for the cleaner styles it's much more important to have a really transparent reverb unit than with the higher gain music. Nice sounding reverb!!!!!!!!

ONE BIG DRAWBACK!!!!!!! NOISE!!!!!!! There is a high pitched whine that comes in evertime I switch this thing on.. The unit is still useable because the noise is much softer than the music but It's still a big drawback in my opinion. I am looking for something else to replace it.

I'm really geting into recording these days and I want silence in between the artful noise. so because of the noise I am giving the grail a 5.

Well it works but noisily.

Its under warranty i should call EH but haven't yet

Nice sounding reverb for the price. Would be nice to have more than one knob for control but I can actually get good Hall or spring reverb sounds with this thing and a decent amount of control with just the one knob.

I would love to give this thing an 8 or a 9 but I CAN'T BECAUSE OF THE NOPISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It couldn't be easier to use. Switch for the three types of reverb and a knob.

I play rock/classic rock/jam through a '70 Fender Bassman. Mostly clean sounding. This reverb pedal sounds GREAT!! I don't use the "Flerb" setting much, but the spring and hall are great sounding reverbs. Some people complain about noise, but I have no noise at all. Very rich and lush reverb sounds!

I just got it, and have used it at a gig, no problems.

I play classic rock and jam music. My amp has no reverb, so I needed a good reverb pedal, and this takes the cake! I've read some reviews, and this isn't a pedal for metal-heads and shredders with their mesa boogies and other high-gain amps. Its for players who want that classic vintage reverb sound for the price. Overall, a 10.

Very Easy to use. Plug and play, flip a switch dial it in...

Way too noisy. The one I have was ok at first, then over the course of a month or so it developed this siren like hum and was totally unusable. I sent it back to the manufacturer. It came back and was ok for a bit, but within a couple of hours of use it was unusable again. However, it's now very quiet. Unfortunately, that's because it died.

You're better off pointing your amp into a tiled bathroom for reverb than to depend on this piece of shit.

They did fix it for free once, but you get what you pay for.

Total waste of money.

Easy to set up, input-output. You have to use EHs own power-adaptor and it does not take batteries. One knob for "Reverb" (mix) and a three way switch to selesct one of the three settings.
It makes very much noise (I'll come back to this later) and the only way for me to use it was through the FX-loop.
Like one other stated in a review; If you need a manuak for this thing, you really should consider not playing at all!! Easy...

First of all... I received my Holy Grail two days ago. I tried it at home first, then i took it to a gig the same night. Only tried it twice.
On the gig I used it with my Budda Superdrive, together with 4-5 other pedals. My main problem; THIS PEDAL IS VERY VERY NOISY!! I was warned by a friend of mine that had tried the same pedal earlier, but I still wanted to try one. In front of the amp it is impossible to use this pedal, and I had to take it out of the chain after half a set. The I tried to put it in the FX-loop and it is much better, but still very noisy. I usually have delay and also chorus in the FX-loop, but nowadays I am much more comfortable with all having all my pedals in front of the amp.
I'll explain the noise to you: Imagine an old cheap Boss distortion pedal, set with volume and gain at 12 o clock. That is how much noise this little device makes.
Anyway, the reverb is great, very big. Can't belive the can make such a big sound ou of such a small pedal!! Problem is, I do not always want very big reverbs, and there's no way to change this!!

Had it for two day, then returned it.

I play quite much different music. I wanted to use this pedal for two different bands. One is a live cover band and the other is a kind of warm, country, pop kind of thing. The actual sound is gret for both (could use a "smaller" reverb though).
Have been playing for seven years and I own quite some equipment (even though music equipment is quite expensive in Nortway. Fender US strat is 1500$!!)
Today I tried the Boss RV-5, sounds good, no noise, and it has so much posibilities.

Give it a "time" knob and make the noise go away, it'll be a GREAT pedal!!!

Simple, simple, simple....select type, turn dial, on/off switch. Barney Fife might have a problem with this, but that's it....

Great in front of an amp, horrible for direct to board or any direct application. Tone sucker after you turn dial more than 50%, so it's good for about 50% of the time. Sounded good at the store, but......

...here's the problem. Guess I didn't notice it at the noisy guitar store. "Flerb" setting creeps into the "hall" reverb....almost like the switch is shot. Figures, I bought it used at a Music Go Round....I should have known better. Then after reading the multiple reviews of unreliability (after purchasing of course), I guess I really should have known better. Luckily, I can still return this heap to the junkyard known as Music Go Round.

None...but I have bought EH tubes before and they were crap too....burned out within a month (12ax7's)....rumour has it that the owner of this guitar buys inferior Sovtek leftovers, and rebrands them as EH. People are buying into an inferior name, but eventually this will catch up with them and they will go the way of the dodo. Musicians are gullible folk, but loyal to quality and spread the word fast in forums such as this....EH, get your act together and start producing something quality.

Very disappointing....back to the drawing board. YOu know...you really do get what you pay for...what a surprise eh?

dial in your tone.....easy! it's cool.....then you find out electro harmonix is pure dung!

going into a bassbreaker.......no noise, used it in the studio a few times...worked fine....................for about a month....when it broke i had it checked out...it checked out to be a piece of sh#t...i gave 'em my money and i'll never do it again......you'd be better off spending more money with analogman.com or something that is actually BUILT,,, not put together like a pile of crap....

do not depend on this thing.......lucky for me it died during a time that i did'nt really need it....in other words i was not recording or playing live. after i had this thing inspected by a professional....here is some advice....yes it sounds cool...for a while.....then it breaks....pile o sh@t....end of story....by the way the only reason i'm writing this review is b/c i've owned several of these and they all broke..i've also owned an electro-harmonix big muff...guess what.....sounded great...and IT BROKE! after losing so much money i just had to write.

they are really good at making a profit......anybody who can sell pure crap for top dollar.....gotta be doing good

very good before it broke........sounds like they are taking the fender route........sounds great......then it will break.....save your money and buy from someone else..........all in all they had a great idea....but in the end this company is bullshit and needs a new direction. if your money is important to you Don't BUY!!!

If you can exercise a decent amount of restraint and get over the amusement of adding way too much reverb it's pretty easy to get a good sound out of. There's three settings, one of which is a fairly niche setting (that would be "Flerb"; Flange and Reverb).

I didn't get a manual with it. I suspect if you need a manual for this then plugging it in would probably merit a pretty heavy challenge and thusly, actually using a computer to submit a review would be right well ouf of your intellectual capacity.

The danger is, of course, overuse.

If you need a reverb pedal you're generally in one of two camps:

-Bought a cheap amp that has no reverb and was done for the reason of keeping the costs down.
-Bought an expensive amp that's generally marketed to purists or appeals to the vintage crowd and rather than hear everyone complain about it the manufacturer didn't put a reverb in there.

This pedal will not make a cheap amp sound expensive. It will not make an expensive amp sound like a real spring reverb unit. There is no substitute for the real deal.

With that said the unit does a great job of replicating the sound. For most folks this will be more than adequate. For purists they're going to want to start hunting around for the old brown Fender reverb tanks.

I use this pedal on my Trace Elliot Velocette amp and when my stock Fender reverb tanks blow out (usually the result of an idiot move on someones part) on their respective amps (DRRI, Hot Rod Deluxe and a Blues Jr). My guitars are the typical Strats and Les Pauls. Nothing special but semi-vintage.

I've read alot of bad things about this pedal and after opening it up much of it makes sense. The main circuit board is barely held in place. The solder connections aren't especially beefy. The case is at least 4 times larger than it needs to be and almost none of it functions as a bracing area except for the jacks.

Someone would do well with a re-build kit for these things. Make it smaller, make some serious braces for the board and beef up the connections and you'd almost totally erase all the failures detailed here.

I'd be reluctant to gig without a backup. And then I'm not sure a backup would be another Holy Grail. It's a terrible design and while EH should be commended for keeping the price of such a great sounding unit down for another $20 they could have an indestructible and irreplaceable unit in alot of peoples arsenals.

The one I got had some "issues". I emailed EH and they got back to me withing 24 hours. Of course they wanted another $15 for the repair if it was out of warranty. For a $100 unit it begs alot of questions though; paying another quarter of the units retail cost more than once suddenly puts you in an area where digital units with higher reliability start to become an option and real-deal vintage units may start to show up.

But hey....they answered my email.

It's a good little unit with some very basic, simple and devastating flaws. For my Blues amps it's a perfect match of simplicity and cost. I see alot of people using them and the unit was the default answer from alot folks when I asked for a recommendation.

I'd be reluctant to buy anything from EH again after opening the unit up. While their tonal reputation is quite good the reliability isn't. I wouldn't let myself be a victim of that.

I don't debate that I got the unit for a good price. However had I paid retail for it I probably would of returned it and opted for something else.

very easy to use
single knob for reverb

impressive out of a cheap digital box!!!
very very much close to fender tube spring reverbs.

if you are using reverb 3 to 6 out of 10 in spring reverbs go for the grail. i use it 10 oclock in spring mode and it's enough reverb for me. however sound gets unnatural reverb if you go above 1 oclock on holygrail. if you use more this is not for you!!!

spring mode is best
plate is ok
forget about flerb mode (what the???)

i used to use boss RV5.
they sound totally digital, not even a comparison to holygrail.

big strong box
i opened it up and see that there is a small chipboard in it and a large space. i wish it were smaller.

it has reverse polarity DC adapter plug which causes a slight disturbing sound if you plug into different serial adaptor cable with other pedals. so you have to use its own adapter :(

no idea

been playing professionally for about 15 years
best sound for hundred bucks
good spring sound

Easy to use ,one switch and one knob , I like that , I just got mine today , there is a manuel but it's so simple the manuel is not needed , I'm not sure of the year but it is new stock .

I got this pedal to add reverb to a fender pro junior and a pignose G40-V and a original pignose practice amp , just to add some depth , it seems quiet and I use fender strats and most of the amps I own are all tube , the pedal sounds great to me and adds just what I was looking for , reverb , like any pedal if you crank it all the way up it is too much and the three settings all have their place , I prefer to play dry and direct most of the time but at home the reverb fills the room .

I have not had it long enough but it looks like it will hold up , even though it is made of sheet aluminum and not heavy cast metal like other pedals I have I still take care of all the equipment I own , if you stomp on any pedal enough times hard somethings going to give , besides it looks good and has a better switch than many case pedals with a tiny micro switch which by the way do break , it looks vintage .With reasonable care it should last a good long time .

I have'nt dealt with them so far , I only had a big muff and did not care for the sound of that fuzz or any fuzz for that matter .

I play blues guitar mainly and since I'm 54 I also go back to beatles and other groups from the sixties . I have been playing for over 40 years . I do own a TS-9 and a Boss blues driver and an old ibanez analog delay and a vox distortion and a dunlop cry baby wah and this holy grail . I first got the digitech X series , let me tell you , this pedal may be well made as a boss but there is just to much in the way of controls and six settings , after about an hour I used 2 out of the six and also if the gain on the dig is past noon the entire signal fades away , I thought there was something wrong but this is how they all are . and the people talking about the grail being poor in construction , how long do you suppose those 4 tiny knobs will hold up ? the spring had a odd blip at the end also , so I retrurned it and got the holy grail for the same price and get the sounds I need with one switch , sure the others have more control if you like to bend down and play with controls , I want to set it and play , that's all . I like the sound of the grail and any pedal will cost you a small amount of tone or volume , I also like the fact that it has the power adapter included , what good are batteries when they last less than an hour , effect pedals such as these reverbs all eat batteries in short order. The grail sounds real the others did not .I would not change a thing on this pedal . I would replace it if lost and I would get another of the same . One thing I would like to add is why do pedals need to be built like a tank , sure it's a more secure feeling but what good is a pedal built like a tank that sounds fake and digital ? This pedal does all I need it to do and it gives me a break to have reverb added to the mix when I;m in the mood for a change of pace , so it does help change the way I play certain styles of even blues and gives me the hendrix stage sound . I had my doubts reading all the reviews on this site with all the beginning issues of this pedal failing and this is why I choose the digitech first , I know I gave this product high ratings , but in all fairness it just sounds the best and is not over done like the others , last thing with a 3 position slide switch you can find the setting fast , the digitech has 6 settings on a rotory knob 1-6 and then tiny words that spell out the settings all in a row , who can see this , why not be able to bypass the ones you don't like 4 of them , if you like to play with knobs and I don't , the grail is not for you .