Electro Harmonix Holy Grail Max reverb

I've been using a Holy grail Nano for some while now, and I thought the time had come to upgrade to its "deluxe" version, the Holy Grail Max.

I’ve compared both versions side-by-side extensively and I’ve come to the conclusion that there ARE sonic differences. They’re subtle, but they definitely are there. I’ll elaborate…



Nano Holy Grail has the best sounding spring reverb. There’s a sweetspot around noonish that cannot be duplicated 100% identical on the Max version, no matter how hard I tried. There’s a little something that gives it that “extra” organic quality. It has something to do with the behaviour of its wet/dry control.



Holy Grail Max has a superior Hall reverb, without ANY doubt. It’s a bit deeper, and more full-bodied. Pretty big surprise for me. Someone seems to have fine-tuned and perfected the algorithm.



Other observations:

- HG Max has an extra Plate algorithm, which wouldn’t be my first choice to use with my synths, but it sounds absolutely GORGEOUS on vocals. GORGEOUS!

- The added Time control of the HG Max comes in superhandy. Might not seem like a big deal, but it expands the sonic possibilities greatly.

- Not sure whether replacing Flerb by Reverse was really necessary (imho they are both kinda “gimmicky” modes with limited use), but to be honest: it works as a charm! No weird artifacts, no glitches, great sound. Experimentalists and post-rock musicians will love it, especially in combination with a delay after it.



Final conclusion: initially, I had bought the Max to replace my Nano, but I’ve decided that I will keep them both!

I've been using a Holy grail Nano for some while now, and I thought the time had come to upgrade to its "deluxe" version, the Holy Grail Max.
I’ve compared both versions side-by-side extensively and I’ve come to the conclusion that there ARE sonic differences. They’re subtle, but they definitely are there. I’ll elaborate…

Nano Holy Grail has the best sounding spring reverb. There’s a sweetspot around noonish that cannot be duplicated 100% identical on the Max version, no matter how hard I tried. There’s a little something that gives it that “extra” organic quality. It has something to with the behaviour of its wet/dry control.

Holy Grail Max has a superior Hall reverb, without ANY doubt. It’s a bit deeper, and more full-bodied. Pretty big surprise for me. Someone seems to have fine-tuned and perfected the algorithm.

Other observations:
- HG Max has an extra Plate algorithm, which wouldn’t be my first choice to use with my synths, but it sounds absolutely GORGEOUS on vocals. GORGEOUS!
- The added Time control of the HG Max comes in superhandy. Might not seem like a big deal, but it expands the sonic possibilities greatly.
- Not sure whether replacing Flerb by Reverse was really necessary (imho they are both kinda “gimmicky” modes with limited use), but to be honest: it works as a charm! No weird artifacts, no glitches, great sound. Experimentalists and post-rock musicians will love it, especially in combination with a delay after it.

Final conclusion: initially, I had bought the Max to replace my Nano, but I’ve decided that I will keep them both!

Gebruik de Spring op Vocals voor Live toepassingen en werkt uitstekend.
Ook de andere presets zijn zeker de moeite, mss mogen de reverb-tijden nog iets korter voor sommige toepassingen.

Zeer tevreden

De klassieke reverbs die geweldig klinken plus een reverse effect en die is heel cool.

Après quelques recherches pour trouver une reverb qui sonne un peu analogique dans les 100€, j'ai jeté mon dévolu sur la holy grail.
J'ai dépassé mon budget et tenté la max car le reverse mode peut être cool pour du sound design et le flurb ne m'attirait pas du tout.

Reverb super inspirante. La spring m'a un peu décue au début par rapport au ressort de mon ampli mais dès le lendemain je l'ai adoptée.
De fecon générale je trouve les early reflections un peu fortes et aurait aimé que le volume de la reverb monte plus progressivement.
Mis à part ça.
Super pédale de reverb.
Je pense que la version normale s'achète les yeux fermés.