Headrush Prime – Test and review
A successful upgrade to the Headrush pedalboard.
In March 2023, effects manufacturer Headrush launched its latest flagship product: the Headrush Prime. Currently priced at around £1,000, this multi-effects board stays true to the concept of its predecessors while offering a host of new features that are sure to delight guitarists who also sing. In today's review, we take a closer look at the Prime to help you decide whether the upgrade is worth it.
Features and technical specifications
Similar to the Headrush Pedalboard that we previously tested, the Prime is housed in a sleek, black steel case. Measuring 63 x 31 x 10 cm and weighing over seven kilograms, it is a similarly heavy piece of equipment to the Headrush Pedalboard.
As before, the Prime features twelve foot switches and an expression pedal. Measuring seven inches, the touchscreen display is significantly larger than those of many competitors. Each freely assignable footswitch has its own small display for labelling purposes and a coloured light strip to indicate the type of effect assigned to the button.
Hidden away under the hood is a powerful multicore processor running an engine with roots in the Eleven Rack, which is familiar to Pro Tools users. As you would expect, it produces excellent sound quality.
In addition to its effects and amps, the Headrush Prime features a high-quality looper. As you would expect from a pedalboard, it has a 20-minute recording capacity, which should cover most situations. The looper can be integrated into the virtual signal chain and changes and reverses the speed of your playing.
In addition to the features you will already be familiar with from the pedalboard, the Prime offers a training mode. In this mode, you can transfer a song that you want to practise to the device and play along with it. You can select a section of the song and play it back at a different speed. This means that there is no need to fast-forward or rewind, and you can practise slowly at the beginning before gradually working your way up to the original speed.
Another new feature of the Headrush Prime is that it can be loaded with existing impulse response (IR) files and can also capture the sound profile of an external amplifier or effects pedal directly. This works surprisingly well, even for amateurs, as the Prime provides clear instructions with diagrams showing what needs to be connected where. The multi-effects device sends various sounds to the external amplifier or effects pedal and analyses the audio signal sent back. This analysis is used to create a profile that can be integrated into the signal chain like any other virtual device.
If you're a guitarist and a singer, you'll be pleased to hear that the Headrush Prime has a combined XLR/jack microphone connection and integrates Antares Auto-Tune technology. If you're not familiar with the term, Auto-Tune is a piece of software that is often used in professional recording studios to correct pitch.
Connections and expandability
In terms of connections, the Prime has little new to offer compared to the Headrush Pedalboard. However, this is not a problem as the pedalboard was already very well equipped in this respect. In addition to an instrument input, the Prime has an auxiliary connection (3.5 mm jack) and a microphone input. The latter is a combination XLR/6.35 mm jack connector, and the input volume can be conveniently adjusted using the rotary control located next to it. There are also two large jack connectors for connecting external expression pedals.
The Prime features a stereo XLR output. This has connections for left (mono) and right, and can be switched between ground and lift as required. Unlike the pedalboard, however, there is no longer a physical switch for this. The same applies to switching between amp/line on the stereo output (two large jacks).
Another switch has been omitted: the one for switching between 'rack' and 'stomp' on the stereo FX loop (four large jacks). Headrush has retained the headphone output on the Prime, but it is now a 3.5 mm jack instead of a 6.3 mm jack.
Alongside the conventional inputs and outputs, there is also a MIDI input and output. A new feature is the addition of a USB-A port next to the existing USB-B port on the pedalboard. These ports can be used to exchange files with your PC, connect MIDI controllers, or use the device as a USB audio interface.
As with the previous model, the power supply is integrated into the housing. Power is therefore supplied via a conventional three-pin IEC connector. Fortunately, an on/off button has been included again.
In summary, the Headrush Prime has the following connections:
Instrument input (6.35 mm jack)
Aux input (3.5 mm jack)
Pedal connections (2 x 6.35 mm jacks)
XLR stereo output (left/mono + right)
Stereo output (2 x 6.35 mm jacks, left/mono + right)
Headphone output (3.5 mm jack)
2 x send and 2 x return connections (stereo FX loop)
1 x MIDI input
1 x MIDI output/MIDI thru
1 x USB-A connection
1 x USB-B connection
Three-pin IEC power connector
Based on our experience, these connections should meet almost all requirements. For even greater convenience, the Prime supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The device can connect to the Headrush Cloud via Wi-Fi. Files can be exchanged with the Prime via the cloud. Bluetooth is mainly used to connect an audio source, such as a mobile phone. This will be of particular interest to owners of the latest iPhones, which no longer have a physical audio output.
Our video of the test
Amplifier simulations and effects
The Headrush Prime comes with 53 amp simulations, which is about a handful more than its predecessor. Added to this are 44 amp models from Revalver. The company is part of the inMusic Group and is known for its realistic simulations.
In addition to the amps, there are 15 cabinets and ten microphones, as before. As with the amps, Headrush has also added cabinet and microphone simulations from Revalver to the Prime: with 67 cabinets and 31 mics, there is a truly impressive selection available.
Since Headrush focuses not only on guitar but also on vocals with the Prime, there are also seven effects specifically for vocals. These include the aforementioned Auto-Tune, as well as distortion and doubler.
Metal and rock fans can look forward to the usual suspects in terms of distortion and overdrive on the Prime. In addition to the 15 simulations available in the overdrive category, the Headrush Prime offers eleven in the distortion/fuzz category.
The range of effects is rounded off by ten equalizers, six compressors, twelve delays, six reverbs, seven chorus sims, ten phasers and flangers, six modulators, seven wahs, seven pitch modulators, four volume pedals and three noise gates.
You can also integrate your own impulse responses. However, 300 IR files are also included.
As with the Headrush Pedalboard, the signal chain on the Prime is incredibly flexible. In principle, the individual effect stations can be selected completely freely. Parallel chains are also supported.
Here is just a small selection of the included amps and effects:
Vox AC-30 (revalver amplifier)
Peavy Classic 30 (revalver amplifier)
Diezel Herbert (revalver amplifier)
Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (revalver amplifier)
Budda ZenMan (overdrive)
Boss SD-1 (overdrive)
Boss DS-1 (distortion)
ProCo Rat (distortion)
Dunlop FuzzFace (fuzz/distortion)
As with the previous model, we are impressed by the sound quality of the Headrush Prime. In our review of the Headrush Pedalboard, we noted that competitors' products offer more amps and effects. However, Headrush has more than made up for this with the Prime, which now offers an impressive selection of additional Revalver amps and cabinets.
The ability to profile or clone the sound of external amplifiers and pedals, like some of its competitors, is a great addition to the Prime's already impressive range of features.
Operation
We were impressed by the Headrush pedalboard's user interface. So it's good to know that Headrush hasn't changed this formula with the Prime. With its touch functionality and large central colour display, the Headrush Prime is one of the best multi-effects devices on the market in terms of usability.
The Headrush user interface is very similar to that of popular digital audio workstations (DAWs). Everything works intuitively: changing the order of effects, renaming profiles or selecting presets.
It's also great how much of the Headrush Prime can be operated exclusively with your feet. Twelve footswitches and an additional expression pedal make this possible. Another well-thought-out feature is that each foot switch is labelled with a display and colour code. This allows you to quickly find your way around during operation.
Incidentally, there is no PC software for the Prime. Only a driver for the USB audio interface and a firmware updater are available. Nevertheless, we don't miss anything here, because the normal interface of the Headrush Prime leaves nothing to be desired.
If you would like more information before making a purchase, you can download the manual and quick-start guide in PDF format from the manufacturer's website. The manual is more detailed than the one for the Headrush pedalboard and contains excellent illustrations.
Conclusion
The Headrush Prime is an exceptional multi-effects unit that even meets professional standards. Compared to its predecessor, the Prime boasts three major new features. Firstly, there is now a practical training mode to support you while practising. Second, as with other high-end devices, you can now tap into profiles from external amplifiers and pedals yourself. Last but not least, Headrush has significantly expanded its range of amplifiers and cabinets by introducing Revalver simulations.
If you already own a Headrush pedalboard, upgrading may be worthwhile. While the current price of around £1,200 is not insignificant, it is entirely reasonable compared to competitors' products. If you are not yet a Headrush user and have a smaller budget, you could still opt for a Headrush pedalboard if you can find one. Otherwise, we would recommend the new Headrush Prime, which offers slightly more in all respects.
More reviews
Publish date:
Last updated: