July 1st, 2009 by Andres Gallo

$145

Design

A great design is something the guys at Electro Harmonix seem to have become masters of. They are consistently creating stompboxes that are not only incredibly simple to use, but which in spite of their simplicity pack a whole load of awesome tones. Fortunately, the Holy Grail is no exception, featuring only three knobs in their usual tank like durable container. It does not get any simpler than this, yet the control and range of tones possible is still pretty amazing.
The controls include a “Blend” knob, an “Amount” knob, and another knob which controls the type of reverb. The types of reverbs available are, the famous “spring” reverb, Hall Reverb, Room Reverb, and an odd sounding “Flerb.” The blend knob controls the mix of the reverb in contrast to the dry signal, while the amount controls the depth of it. With those two knobs you can get a wide range of different sounds which I will discuss in the sound section.
It’s simplicity is really beautiful for the sounds you can get out of it. Even when it’s off, with its True Bypass switching you can feel calm as your tone will be intact. Unfortunatelly, it was only close to perfect, as I can see people complain about it’s inability to use batteries.

Sound

“OMG…” Well yeah it really sounds that good. The spring mode is absolutely beautiful, with its thick yet clear shimmering tones. As much as I dislike putting thick and shimmering in the same description, I can’t see any other way in which to describe its sound. Shimmering sounds tend to be thin, but here the sound is really thick, and as it decays it just turns into a really nice shimmer bringing a new level of life to your clean tones. It gets most of this character when used through the amps FX loop where the reverberations come through more naturally. It works awesome with distortion as well, though to be honest if not set correctly it can make the sound mushy. Don’t let this scare you, however, as it can also beautify you lead tones.
One mode I see many people complain about is the flerb mode. In this mode, the holy grail does not sound like a reverb, but rather as some sort of modulation effect. I personally love the flerb mode because it is extremely unique. These modulations sound really cool when playing slow arpeggios with the guitar tone’s knob down creating cavernous creepy landscapes. I think this mode just requires some extra creativity from the artist as it sounds very odd, which then again is its best characteristic.
All the modes, are great in one way or another, but the spring mode alone makes the holy grail worth its price.

Reliability

Like usual its built like a tank; a really small tank, but one nonetheless. You probably seen me write this of another Electro Harmonix stompbox, but then again, most of their pedals share the same physical design.

Customer Support

Electro Harmonix customer support is very good. They have always been quick to respond to my emails, and have provided me helpful answers to my questions.

April 30th, 2009 by Andres Gallo

$43

Design

In music, dynamics are a big part of what separates the outstanding from the rest. I love compositions that use lots of changes in volume and energy but always found it really hard to keep different volumes consistent with volume pedals. I thought the only solution would be a custom made stompbox; and then I learned of the Electro Harmonix Signal Pad.
The overall design is spectacular following the specs I had been looking for. Consisting of a volume knob, and a true bypass switch it gives me that extra volume preset I needed in a small package. Combined with another volume pedal, it gives me lots of volume options. Also important, and very nifty is that is does not need batteries, unless you want the indicator LED. Overall, a simple pedal which I am sure many could benefit from. Don’t be fooled…this pedal can do much more than just change the volume, especially on tube amps where the gain heavily affects the tone.

Sound

Used in the FX loop it will act similar to the amps volume knob, with little change in the tone, but much in the level of loudness. This is where I use it myself, however, in front of the amp it is a really unique and useful pedal, working just like the volume knob of the guitar, but with consistency in the volume preset. Because of this you can then have a clean, a dirty tone, and a heavier tone from just two channels, or an overdriven/distortion channel and a clean channel from a 1 channel amp. The dirty tones achieved from rolling down the volume are absolutely beautiful, and hough such tones can be done rolling down the volume on the guitar; it is pretty much impossible to get the same tone twice which is where the signal pad comes handy.
Definitely recommended to all sorts of tone freaks…there are few things more annoying the finding an awesome tone, and not being able to keep that tone consistently.

Reliability

Its built like a tank.. A really small tank, but one nonetheless.

Customer Support

Electro Harmonix customer support is very good. They have always been quick to respond to my emails, and have provided me helpful answers to my questions.

March 13th, 2009 by Andres Gallo

$120

Design

Like the other Electro Harmonix effects, the Stereo Electric Mistress gives musicians a huge range of gorgeous tones, in an insanely simple and intuitive package. With that said, I think the design is great. With only three knobs, many different sorts of tones can be found, and more impressively is that the quality of the tones is very warm, and far from digital.
Most of you already know that this “flanger pedal”, also includes a chorus effect. The great thing about the implementation of these, is that here both effects run in parallel. This is something that is not possible using a separate pedal for the chorus, and one for the flanger. Having the effects run in parallel means that they are both blended together creating a much warmer, yet more defined mix. Instead of having the flanger run into the chorus or vice-versa, the effects are blended together. I also believe it is the only retail pedal in the market that has this feature.
My favorite feature and the last thing I discovered about the Stereo Electric Mistress is the filter matrix knob. While knob is literally the RATE knob, it’s function changes to a filter when its position is anywhere from all the way counter clockwise to a 10 O-clock position. This filter is awesome. It will freeze the sweep of the flange in a fixed position, so you don’t get that ever changing sweep that makes a flanger a flanger. Beyond 10-Oclock, on the other hand, the knob will control the rate of the sweep. Interestingly enough, the LED will change colors in accordance to the sweep. I know my tone is about right if the LED is yellow while on filter matrix mode.
The other two knobs, as obviously labeled, serve to control the depth of the flange and chorus effects. All in all, the Stereo Electric Mistress is very simple to use, without lacking in tones. Using it in stereo especially, it sounds completely amazing. The stereo is beautiful and gives the sound lots of body as the sweep pans between the two channels.
It isn’t a perfect pedal however. I mentioned I love the stereo outputs, but it lacks a second input for stereo. This means there is no way send another pedal’s stereo signal to it.

Sound

The Electric Mistress is known for being one of the musical flangers, where most sound overwhelmingly alien-like. With lots of transparency and tonal options it is definitely a must have modulation effect. The flanger itself is that famous Mistress tone, that shimmers, and yet unlike other flangers leave your tone thick and lush. Most flangers I have tried sound very, very different, and perhaps overly metallic. The chorus effect, is very good, and lush. The sweep which can be frozen has a huge range, and its beautiful when it creates those sweet flanger shimmering harmonics. The real beauty, however, comes in when both chorus and flanger are blended together. The sound achieved this way is very unique. The sound is very liquidy, but highly defined. It nails those classic tones from David Gilmour, and The Police, which are after all know for their use of the Electric Mistress.

Reliability

Construction is top notch. I don’t see this pedal breaking any time soon.

Customer Support

Electro Harmonix customer support is very good. They have always been quick to respond to my emails, and have provided me helpful answers to my questions.

February 20th, 2009 by Andres Gallo

$90

Design

Like other Electro Harmonix pedals the design is very simple and tank. In other words, their pedals seem to be made to withstand all the abuse given by even the most abusive feet, as they are obviously meant to be stepped on. The Metal Muff feature two stomp switches, and 6 knobs that make this one of the most versatile pedals for modern distortion tones. One of the stomp switches allows the pedal to be bypassed, while the other switch can add an extra boost to the sound of the pedal. This is extremely useful to make leads stand out from the harmonies. Two knobs control the volume and the gain, while the other four control the tone. One controls the amount of top boost when the top boost switch is activated, and the others are an extremely versatile equalizer that give the user the possibility of virtually any metal tone known to man from the darkest, to the scooped, to the brightest. Electro Harmonix are known for their vintage sound, and excellence in that department. This is their first attempt at a modern distortion and I have to say it is a huge success.

Sound

While it still does not sound like an amps natural distortion, it is definitely one of the nicest distortion pedals for those seeking a modern metal tone. While the pedal is versatile enough to pull off some good overdrive tones with the distortion knob way down, where this box shines, is in its ability to make brutal tones of all types. The Equalizer allows the player to make Dark tones, and even some bright tones, and the versatility of the equalizer can go so far, that users may even make tones that are too bright, or too dark, which is a good thing as it may be used to balance a bright or dark amp, and after all is not like you are forced to equalize the pedal to those extremes.

Reliability

I have never had a problem with Electro Harmonix products. My pedalboard is 90% Electro Harmonix, and all of the pedals are still working perfectly, and making me happy with their sound .

Customer Support

Electro Harmonix customer support is very good. They have always been quick to respond to my emails, and have provided me helpful answers to my questions.

December 26th, 2008 by Andres Gallo

$77

Design

This score scores high in its design with its simplicity, and range of tones. The pedal seems very reliable, and the knobs are very smooth. And while simplicity may sound like a bad thing to some, it does not stop the possibilities with this pedal, and the fact that there is no other pedal like it. This pedal is legendary. Now I am not saying the design is perfect. While it has a lot of control over the tone, all while being simple, the pedal has a huge design turn off. The physical design is huge, and clunky looking, which I honestly think was purposely done to look like the original. Luckily EHX, however, now offers a new Big Muff called “Big Muff with tone wicker,” which supposedly is the same thing in a smaller package with some new stuff for more control. Another aspect I disliked in the design of this amazing pedal is the power input which requires a non-standard plug for the AC adapter; fortunately all the pedalboards I have tried come with a cable to power the big muff, in case you are all wondering.

Sound

Thick, warm fuzz sound. There are many fuzz pedals, however, I think this is the best out of them all, with it’s low tightness thickness. Many of you may be wondering why I like its low-fi thickness. This is not a distortion pedal, but is something much more original, which is what made it so popular. It’s low-fi tightnness prevents the sharp distortion sound, but instead creates the famous smooth creamy buttery fuzz sound this pedal is so famous for. With only three knobs, you get some really cool tones, all which may be completely different. The sustain knob can give it some more sustain and gain, and when raised high, it can give some incredible sustain that sounds absolutely beautiful. The tone knob can make the sound very fuzzy and bright/gritty, and even liquid. The volume knob does its job nicely, and the pedal is very quiet. Another great thing about this pedal, as well all the new Electro Harmonix pedals is their true bypass. This means you won’t lose signal while the pedal is off, which PREVENTS something I find really annoying when there are too many pedals involved. That something is of course…signal loss, and such does not happen here.

Sound

Thick, warm fuzz sound. There are many fuzz pedals, however, I think this is the best out of them all, with it’s low tightness thickness. Many of you may be wondering why I like its low-fi thickness. This is not a distortion pedal, but is something much more original, which is what made it so popular. It’s low-fi tightnness prevents the sharp distortion sound, but instead creates the famous smooth creamy buttery fuzz sound this pedal is so famous for. With only three knobs, you get some really cool tones, all which may be completely different. The sustain knob can give it some more sustain and gain, and when raised high, it can give some incredible sustain that sounds absolutely beautiful. The tone knob can make the sound very fuzzy and bright/gritty, and even liquid. The volume knob does its job nicely, and the pedal is very quiet. Another great thing about this pedal, as well all the new Electro Harmonix pedals is their true bypass. This means you won’t lose signal while the pedal is off, which PREVENTS something I find really annoying when there are too many pedals involved. That something is of course…signal loss, and such does not happen here. Sound wise, I think this is a pedal that should be on everybody’s pedalboard; its that good.

Reliability

The construction is very solidly built. It was built in New York, where manufacturing standards are high. I just wish they could have made the pedal a lot smaller, as it would definitely fit in a smaller enclosure. I have been using this pedal for years and it still works and sound the same it did when I got it.

Customer Support

Some of the best customer support I have dealt with. They are very quick to reply. I never had an Electro Harmonix product break on me, therefore I don’t know how they deal with repairs and such.