Electro-Harmonix Holy Stain Multi Effect

Multi-effects units tend to be hit or miss, in my experience, while some can be the most fantastic thing you’ve ever experienced. Today’s pedal, the Holy Stain from Electro-Harmonix, falls somewhere in the middle. Not the best at some functions, but really good at others, the Holy Stain is definitely a pedal worth checking out, even if you might not be using all of its functions all the time.

Mix, Amount, Volume and Tone start off the main knob control section. The Amount knob works differently with each different mode on the Holy Stain, depending on which one you’re using at any given moment (more on those in a minute). Volume and Tone work primarily with the Dirt section of the pedal (overdrive and fuzz), adding in low or high end frequencies as needed, and adjusting the output volume to fit with your guitar’s amp and pickup configurations. Color, meanwhile, gives three distinct flavors to the drive section: Bright, Dark and Warm, while the Dirt mode knob lets you select between the Clean, Fuzz and Drive portions of the pedal’s raunchier side.

The Reverb section of this pedal is great – nothing super fancy, but just enough options to really add some thickness to your guitar or bass’ sound. With a Room and a Hall mode to choose from, there are plenty of tones you can coax out of the Holy Stain for all your ambient needs. The Pitch Shift and Tremolo portions are nice as well; again, nothing over-the-top, just a couple of solid options for mixing it up a little bit, and keeping your sound fresh and tight. The only place I wasn’t overwhelmed was the dirt portion of the pedal. While not awful, it just doesn’t have the tightest crunch or overdrive sound to it, and the Fuzz mode was something I didn’t see myself using very often, either. That said, I didn’t get this pedal because I thought it would replace any of my drives, so the things I wanted to use it for worked out just fine for me.

All in all, this is a super-fun pedal to play with, and would really add some sparkle and shine to any rig. If you’re looking for a killer overdrive or balls-out fuzz, I’d probably check out a few more options, but as they say, beauty is in the ear of the beholder…wait, that’s not right, is it? Anyway, Electro-Harmonix doesn’t put out bad pedals, and this one doesn’t fall into that category either, by any means. With a handy mode selection stomp switch, changing sounds on the fly becomes a simple no-brainer, whether live on stage or tucked away in the studio. Plus, there’s even an Expression Pedal out to fine tune and adjust your sounds with quickness and ease. Great reverb, cool pitch shifting and a thick and warm tremolo all add up to a rad multi-effect that will provide hours and hours of pure tonal enjoyment.