HeadRush announces Prime multi-effects and amp modeler with Auto-Tune

March 21, 2023 · 2 sources

HeadRush announced Prime on March 21, 2023, a multi-effects and amp modeling floorboard that the company calls "the most powerful, versatile, and realistic-sounding floorboard FX processor ever"¹. Guitar World describes it as the follow-up to HeadRush's flagship Pedalboard processor, which the company debuted in 2017².

The unit centers on a 7-inch touchscreen that displays the signal chain, with 12 footswitches carrying color LED rings and color-customizable OLED scribble strip displays, plus an expression pedal and rotary knobs¹². Sounds are edited and arranged through Stomp, Rig, Hybrid, Setlist or Song modes, changed by holding the top-right footswitch, and a Hands-Free mode adjusts parameters via the expression pedal¹. Preset switching is gapless, with reverb and delay tails sustaining as sounds change¹.

HeadRush calls its onboard Amp Cloner "the easiest amp and pedal cloner ever," saying the Prime guides the user through the process on its touchscreen². The unit offers amp, cab, effects and mic modeling, with settings shareable over the HeadRush Cloud, and Guitar World reports a library of modeled gear and IRs including ReValver models¹². Vocal processing includes Antares Auto-Tune, Vocal Harmony, Doubler, Distortion, Delay and Reverb¹. A practice tool downloads songs over wi-fi, slows them down and loops difficult parts, and Bluetooth lets players access audio from other devices through the floorboard¹.

The looper holds a maximum of five minutes per loop and up to 20 minutes of layered audio, saves loops as .WAV files for export over USB, plays downloaded .WAV files as backing tracks, and syncs over MIDI to external devices such as a drum machine¹. A multi-core processor runs the unit, which has a steel chassis¹. Connectivity includes wi-fi, Bluetooth, MIDI and USB, a stereo effects loop, stereo XLR outputs, a mic input with level, a 1/4-inch external amp output and a 1/8-inch headphones output¹.

Prime is available now¹. MusicRadar reports no official price on the HeadRush site, with the unit listed at $1,299 at Sweetwater; Guitar World gives the same $1,299 figure¹².