tonymckenziecom | 2 years ago

Headrush Prime is yet another device that can capture amps, effects etc. but is it really worth buying? or just another also ran? Find out in this super close up review.

Contents:

0:00 Start
0:28 Intro & preamble
0:45 Unboxing
2:12 Inside the Prime
3:25 Power Supply
4:14 Main Board
5:25 I/O Board
7:41 Main Processor
9:35 Aggravation time!
13:31 Chips close up
17:23 Processor Detail
21:29 Top controls
28:04 Main I/O
33:42 Thoughts so far
34:50 Elephant in the room
39:47 Screen control
40:53 Device input
42:14 Processing power?
44:22 Effect control
45:42 Hardware Assign
47:33 Scene editing intro
49:23 Moving blocks
49:55 Choose a rig
51:05 Signal paths
57:53 Change switch modes
1:00:20 Make new presets
1:00:55 Expression pedal
1:02:06 Hands free mode
1:02:47 File browser
1:03:45 Set lists
1:06:16 Practice tool
1:08:45 Looper
1:10:24 Headrush Cloud
1:13:35 Using Windows PC
1:14:21 USB transfer
1:14:43 Re-amping
1:16:03 Amp Cloning
1:19:00 Mic Dry Out
1:20:54 Global EQ
1:21:56 Global settings
1:24:19 Tech Specs
1:25:14 Warranty
1:26:35 Summing up
1:32:55 Take note!
1:34:21 Review score
1:35:54 Manual
1:37:00 Played examples
1:38:00 Good info
1:38:09 Track 1
1:42:01 Track 2
1:45:40 Track 3
1:49:26 Track 4
1:51:45 Real JCM800

Links:
Line6 Helix Floor Pedal Review: https://youtu.be/0sN-bwrDf2Y
IK Multimedia TONEX Review: https://youtu.be/FrS1hwOuLm4
Patch downloads from Andrew: https://digital-guitars.com/headrush-patches

Reviewing the Headrush Prime is not simple! there are so many features such as amplifiers, effects, speaker cabs IR's, the cloning of other products, the controls and other important things to consider. It's big and similar to the Line6 Helix in size so floor space must be considered.

For the price the Headrush Prime could be seen as a bargain, and there are many that suggest the Prime is great for gigging on stage, but there can be issues that no-one really talks about that could cause major problems when gigging. For example even we 'knocked' the power lead in the studio (that faces out) and off went the Prime immediately... what would you do in the middle of a gig?

I cover everything that the Headrush Prime has to offer, not always in ultimate depth, but if you wanted a tutorial video this review could work.

Firstly, I unbox the Prime, then show inside to example the quality of this effects processor, then I look at the controls and I/O. Moving on, you will see most features and how easy or hard they are to use, and the usability or lack of complexity becomes very important for a device that has no software to 'fall back on'.

Viewers will rush to see the cloning that the Headrush Prime supports, but don't assume that there's really much difference than many other effects processors like the TONEX and others which all have their own particular foibles in this respect. This is NOT a Kemper Amp, nor is it a Neural Networks DSP quad cortex device.

*I encountered one pretty major problem on the Headrush Prime* - watch the video for that, and I did report it to Headrush, but to date there has been no particular reply or fix. I did update the headrush firmware from version 3.00.00 to Version 3.00.1 (I think it was) but that solved nothing. TAKE NOTE THAT IT REMAINED UNRESOLVED.

It seems like many companies are jumping on the 'cloning' aspect just to try and be different, but sadly they will likely all do that. I have reviewed very many amp simulators over the years and I go back as far as 2011 - there's nothing really new here to see.

I discuss likes and dislikes, and I give a fair and reasonable score of the product based on my own experiences as a paying customer.

Lastly, myself and Alan Bruce play through the Headrush Prime with a few different settings and different guitars as reference of the tones that were in the unit by default in the headrush patches.

The very last track was a Marshall JCM800 Studio Tube amp just to keep things in perspective.

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