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.