Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Max Instruction Manual

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WARNING: Your Holy Grail Max comes equipped with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC-200BI
power supply (same as used by Boss® & Ibanez®: 9.6 Volts DC 200mA). The Holy Grail
Max requires 80mA at 9VDC with a center negative plug. Using the wrong adapter or a
plug with the wrong polarity may damage your Holy Grail Max and void the warranty.

HOLY GRAIL MAX

Reverb Pedal

Congratulations on your purchase of the Holy Grail Max, an easy to use, stellar
sounding reverb pedal from Electro-Harmonix. The HG Max delivers four types of
studio quality reverb: SPRING, HALL, PLATE and REVERSE all designed for the
discerning guitarist but also great with other instruments on stage or in the
studio. Included is a newly designed analog wet/dry control which provides a
constant volume curve as you turn the BLEND knob from fully dry to fully wet
while also keeping your dry signal analog through the pedal.

- REVERB DESCRIPTIONS -

SPRING – Spring Reverb is a simulation of the spring reverb found in many

classic guitar amps. In SPRING mode, the TIME knob controls both the size of
the springs and the overall decay time. As you turn the TIME knob clockwise, the
spring reverb gets bigger and longer.

HALL – is a simulation of the reverberations heard in large spaces such as a
concert hall or cathedral. In HALL mode, the TIME knob controls the decay time
of the reverb. As you turn TIME clockwise, the reverb time increases creating a
larger reverberant space. Using the TIME control you can obtain reverb spaces
ranging from a room to a large hall.

PLATE – is an emulation of a metal plate reverb commonly found in high end
recording studios during the 1960’s and 70’s. The Plate reverb is a very smooth,

tonally balanced sounding reverb that sounds great on many different
instruments, especially vocals. Turn the TIME knob clockwise to increase the
decay time of the PLATE reverb. When TIME is maxed, the PLATE reverb creates
a very long reverb decay; holding each note for over 30 seconds.

REVERSE – Reverse Reverb is an emulation of the reverse reverb trick
commonly performed in studios, where a note’s reverb fades-in, in reverse of

course, before the note is actually struck. The HG Max works in real time and

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cannot create backwards reverb for a note before it is actually played so the
REVERSE reverb in the HG Max will create reverse reverb after the note is
sounded. The length of time between playing a note and hearing the reverse
reverb completely fade-in is set by the TIME knob. The further you turn TIME
clockwise, the longer the note will take to fade-in. For short TIME settings, the
REVERSE mode can sound like a slap-back echo.

- CONTROLS -

REVERB Switch Knob – Chooses the reverb mode. From left to right, the

modes are SPRING, HALL, PLATE and REVERSE.

TIME Knob – Adjusts the decay time, or reverb length/size, for the SPRING,
HALL and PLATE reverbs. In REVERSE mode, the TIME knob sets the length of
time between striking a note and the reverb fade-in. While in PLATE mode, when
TIME is set to its maximum position, the reverb decay is over 30 seconds
creating a lush reverb wash with each new note.

BLEND Knob – Controls the wet/dry mix from 100% Dry (counter-clockwise
position) to 100% Wet (clockwise position). As the BLEND knob is turned, the
overall output volume remains nearly constant. Your Dry signal remains analog
from input to output through the HG Max.

FOOTSWITCH and LED – The Footswitch selects whether the HG Max is
engaged or in True Bypass mode. When the effect is engaged, the LED is lit.

INPUT Jack – This ¼” jack is the audio input for the HG Max. The input
impedance is 1M.

AMP Jack – This ¼” jack is the audio output from the HG Max. The output
impedance is 550.

9V Power Jack – Plug the output of the AC Adapter supplied with the Holy Grail
Max into this jack located at the top of the enclosure. The HG Max draws 80mA
at 9VDC with a center negative plug and accepts Boss® and Ibanez® style AC
Adapters. Please do not allow the power supply voltage to exceed 10VDC. The
Holy Grail Max does not take batteries.