Headrush vs Big Sky

[@warwickgb]

Hi Peter, these sounds great all the way from England. Both units are a similar price, but the MX5 has so many more features amps, distortion pedals , tremolo, octaves etc etc. I think your presentation is excellent, it’s very easy to see people reviewing one make vs another and rubbishing the one they don’t like, but you don’t do that. Unbiased and honest, even if the Strymon sounds slightly better (it should do being a dedicated unit) but very close. Agree about the size of the MX5. Its brilliant turning up at church with all my gear on me. When I think of dragging a double Marshall cabinet up 2 flights of stairs , it doesn’t bear thinking about. Keep the videos coming!

[@forthecreator1]

Yeah I’m not missing dragging my half stack around!

[@carloscedillo5081]

Wowwww !!!! You’re awesome man! You deciphered the strymon

[@Wiensy90]

Very impressive! Love how you're able to dissect a tone like that. Excited to try out these out on the MX5. Thanks a million!!

[@TravisBrooksPhoto]

This is a great comparison and really helps to see how close you can get with the Headrush!

[@codyt5]

Wowzas, loved those tones! 🤩 Can't wait to download the Headrush rig and give it a test drive!

[@forthecreator1]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@user-yw9pn7nw2z]

So I downloaded your preset of the cloud reverb, I am also a worship guitarist and I kinda of need this sound. anyway, when I was playing through it I changed the shimmer to an Air reverb and it totally nailed the cloud sound! These are the settings I used: Nonlinear Time: 8.6 Color: 6407 Size: 60% Mix: 50% I hope you try it! thank you for all your presets and IRs! God bless man!!!

[@forthecreator1]

That’s great to hear! I’ll give these settings a try

[@user-yw9pn7nw2z]

@@forthecreator1 Yeah I've been sitting with my mx5 tweaking your preset If you bring the party verb mix down to 36% and the eleven verb up to 54% it just gets closer and closer to the real thing.

[@willman100]

That’s a beautiful tone

[@nataliebluemusic]

Great video!! I have a Helix floor unit, but now that Headrush just released the Core I am SO tempted to buy it. It seems like the perfect unit for a solo artist who primarily plays solo gigs.

[@forthecreator1]

I think it would be perfect for solo work. Especially with the dual paths allowing stereo vocal AND stereo guitar at the same time

[@J-London]

Huge thank you for sharing your rigs! I have been chasing these on my pedalboard for a while now.

[@XENONEZZ2]

Strymon have some kind of secret 'organic' source that they add to all their pedals..:-)

[@forthecreator1]

I can hear some of the secret ingredients: it’s adding both a high and a low octave, plus modulation…and while it’s passing through the dry signal untouched, it’s compressing the signal before it hits the reverb

[@iamtorrego]

@@forthecreator1you got it!

[@AriaMehr648]

Absolutely great video, tnx a lot🎉

[@brianball9884]

Sold all my strymon to get Headrush prime…. Very useful video,, bless you sir. Love my Headrush for church so much easier

[@FranciscoCastillo-py1bx]

great video, tnx m8 for these awesome tones

[@stevebuckerfield3868]

Excellent video. I’ve been a bit disappointed with the reverb and delays on my MX5. But, I’ll try again having watched this video. Great work.

[@madibriannajurilla5327]

Another great content. You’re such a blessing!

[@forthecreator1]

Thanks!

[@railmdc8449]

bro im glad to see u making videos love your work keep it up

[@forthecreator1]

Appreciate it

[@MrReStories]

Thanks Peter, that was so informative. As to the question, I would say no, it is not worth the extra money and hassle to plug in a Strymon. You play that Rig in a big hall full of people and not one of them would know the difference. Having said that though, I would love to hear that Strymon coming at me thru my IEMs - it's so beautiful. 🙂

[@forthecreator1]

There are currently 7 guitar players that I play with regularly, and 4 of them have a big sky. I fairly easily recognize those sounds in my IEM…but when I’m out front listening in the context of a whole band playing through the PA, I truly can’t tell which reverb anyone is using.

[@MrReStories]

@@forthecreator1 Yes, I suspected as much. I mean, can anyone truly hear the difference between a Squire or US Strat in the context of band? I sometimes wonder if the thousands we spend on gear in pursuit of worshipping the Lord wouldn't be better spent and more wisely used on other things. I recently moved churches and went from big production to "no" production. The band sits off stage and there is no worship leader. It's such a massive contrast. The amazing thing is that it's actually better! Everyone in the congregation sings and you can hear your brothers and sisters worshipping the Lord. It's so much nicer than "verse 2 3 4, chorus 2 3 4 click click click". The money that could have gone into a flash desk, PA and production instead goes into people who need to hear the word of the Lord and into supporting those taking that message. It's been eye opening for me.

[@georgemavimbela]

true@@forthecreator1

[@georgemavimbela]

@@MrReStories Quote" The money that could have gone into a flash desk, PA and production instead goes into people who need to hear the word of the Lord and into supporting those taking that message".... I agree ..However the Dynamics change if its a bigger church/ministry that streams/minister to Multiple Physical locations(Satelite_Church Branches) and Online LiveStreaming Across the world...The high Grade Audio Equipment, skilled Engineers and very competent Production team is a must have....

[@KaraokeKarl]

Thanks buddy. Good info

[@DaveMcEvoyMusic]

Great video & great comparisons, I’m a solo acoustic musician & slimmed down my set up to a headrush core for vocals & guitars & 1 x acoustic , Shure sm58 & cables , it’s less to go wrong & as you say it’s a quick set up & tear down. I did previously use strymon big sky & cloudburst but found for the expense of them playing live they are not nessesary for me as unless the audience is dead silent when I play a lot of the ambience from reverbs is lost …that’s just my opinion … awesome video 👌🏻

[@noiselessrocha2251]

Awesome!! You always get nice tones.

[@Mahdi_ddA]

I love songs like do it again elevation worship its my favourite i love it i h hope one day ive got an headrush mx5 its my dream and to play with it on tour with elevation worship ⭐🌞🌟🌟🌞🌞⭐🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸

[@arch23]

Gerat video! It is interesting to try the vibe, shimmer, etc - after the reverb...

[@forthecreator1]

Actually I did, but edited it out of the video. Didn’t seem to make a huge difference

[@johnguataquira5185]

Excelente video, Gracias.. Un saludo desde Colombia

[@craigthompson1730]

I’ve done something similar to try to reach these sounds. Using layered reverbs (shimmer, ambi, eleven), but I hadn’t tried adding in the vibrato. Thank you for this video.

[@forthecreator1]

Now that you mention it, I should have tried the Ambi

[@luigra123]

Wow man you really nail those effects... for the cloud, after shimmer or before i think an octaver+1 is missing... i'm going to have a try on this and then let you know how it goes... or sound lol... god bless you!

[@user-ct3gp3fu6k]

Could you please upload these files on headrush cloud? I’ve tried but I couldn’t get your files through my pc

[@lucidghostgirl686]

The strymon is worth the extra effort

[@gaboalher5669]

¿Muchas gracias, por compartir tu tiempo y dedicación a sacar lo mejor de este grandísimo pedal, que AMP y CAB ocupaste para este video?

[@joemiller9856]

I think you got very close. Seemed to be that you needed a touch more “haze” on the cloud attempt , on the higher frequencies. Appreciate your time investment in this as I am a prime user.

[@forthecreator1]

Thanks Joe! Hopefully I’ve given everyone a starting point so they can tweak and improve

[@Mahdi_ddA]

Hi im a guitarist and i love worship music Really i live in italy but i watch your videos every day im a 22 years old i love headrush i hope one day you gift me an unit its my dream im a special guy but i dream every day someone gift me an headrush to realized my dreams and make my music you are an amazing artist really i wish that day arrived to someone gift me an unit 🎸🌟🌟🌞🌞🌞🎸🎸🎸🎸

[@CornerstoneWorshipTutorials]

Great video brother! I've been playing around a *ton* with Headrush's reverb, and I can't really get it _as_ nice as I would want, but like you said, is it necessary? When I'm playing in the mix at church, almost no one is going to be able to tell probably. So thanks for this video!

[@forthecreator1]

I’m so glad you found this to be helpful!

[@jamespagdilao2531]

Hi so how are you running the Big Sky into the prime without it drastically altering the tone? I have one and the last time I looped it into the Prime it thinned everything out and added gain/drive.

[@forthecreator1]

I ran it stereo in, stereo out, through the effects loop. I set the mix the effects loop at 100% (no dry signal) and spent a few minutes turning the effects loop on and of while adjusting effects loop input and output levels so that there was no change in gain or level whether the effects loop was on or off (gain matching). I can’t remember the exact settings, but as a former audio engineer I had no difficulty doing this and it only took 5 minutes. So it’s definitely doable

[@chrisstout8451]

I am looking at purchasing a Gretch very similar to what you are playing. That’s the sound I’m missing.

[@forthecreator1]

That’s the Chinese version (the more expensive ones are made in Japan). I put TV Jones Classic pickups in it, and it works great for me v

[@chrisverhoeff369]

Hey Peter, great sounds as usual. I've been experimenting a lot with signal chains and noticed that you have the IR at the end of the chain. I can't really tell the difference but i do have the slight notion that the reverbs and delays sound a little more open after the IR. What is your take on that?

[@forthecreator1]

Like you, a lot of my rigs have time-based effects after the IR. I always try both and decide what sounds best in the moment

[@chrisverhoeff369]

@@forthecreator1 thanks, that confirms things for me. And if you don't mind me asking how loud are you playing? I'm on 7 of the main volume knob of the gigboard and it the output I adjust the dB's to stay in the green area. How about you?

[@forthecreator1]

I also leave main volume on 7. With all the rig settings at their loudest (eg. All drives turned on) I’m OK with master meters hitting the yellow…but never hit the red

[@im58woody]

I think you got extremely close to the Strymon tones. Great ear to hear everything going on in the Strymon. Beautiful tones regardless of the unit you’re playing through.

[@forthecreator1]

Thank you!

[@mahall85]

Hello, I’m a worship leader and I’m considering a multi-FX pedal solution for my new acoustic guitar. I want something that can do IRs, preamp stuff, and some reverb and possibly delay. I adore Strymon, but after hearing this (and considering I’m not a lead guitar player), I’m strongly considering the Headrush Core. Do you think this would be a worthy consideration for my situation?

[@forthecreator1]

Absolutely. Core will cover anything you would likely want or need for acoustic guitar. For me it would be compressor, eq, IR, reverb

[@AtTheSourceStudios]

I agree the strymon does sound great but I think you were overcompensating in dialing down the tone so much on the headrush rather than just lowering the effect on the mix level. The Strymon verbs sounded much brighter in most of the comparisons but overall really great work and regardless you made the headrush sound fantastic! And no IMO you don't need the strymon at all. The headrush is plenty capable.

[@forthecreator1]

Yeah you may be right about that. Download and tweak, you’ll probably get even closer!

[@stevekirkby6570]

Yea, good demo - but you are using 1/2 the Headrush blocks to emulate the Big Sky sounds... I think it's worth putting one on the Headrush outputs just to get that creamy sound :) .... and of course save the headrush for other stuff like modeling / IR's and such.

[@forthecreator1]

For many people, your suggestion would be exactly right. I have a Prime, which has 14 blocks available, so I’m not too worried about running out of blocks

[@moroboshidan7960]

Is your tone needs allows it, you could use the parallel path and put the vibrato and reverb on one path and other things in another. This isolates the vibrato only till the reverb, so I guess it gets closer to the Big Sky. Your rig doesn't sound exactly like the BS, but honestly, only guitar player would notice it IF they were looking for the difference. Good playing will easily surpass any small difference in fx.

[@forthecreator1]

The parallel path an interesting idea!

[@jakobarendtlaursen1894]

Could you make a video about utilizing more guitars. I have a hss strat, a tele and a gretsch. In what scenarioes would you use on over the other?

[@forthecreator1]

That’s an interesting question. 80% of the time I use the guitar that is most different from what the other guitar player is using. Eg. If they other guy is playing a Gretsch I’ll play a single coil guitar. We’re giving the sound guy a broader tonal palette to work with., which means there can be room in the mix both of us: we’re not competing for the same sonic space. I tend to shy away from Chimey AC30 and Fender tones for the same reason: most of the other guitar players go in that direction, so I go to the Marshall/Soldano/Bogner direction to make my sound intentionally different (my tone is usually darker than the other guitar player)

[@jakobarendtlaursen1894]

Ok. I'm in a smaller group with only 1 electric guitarist, so my question is about using guitars for more specific purposes and making their sounds differ to take advantage of their differences

[@forthecreator1]

If I’m the only guitar player: as I practise the songs, I find certain songs that don’t “sound right” with one guitar or another. Eg. Unrivaled with the U2 style dotted 8th delay: the Gretsch sounds too dull for that part, so definitely a strat/tele. I prefer not to change guitars in the middle of a set, so I go with whichever guitar is most needed for one of the songs on the list. Having said that: I have played all guitars on all songs at some point, and I can always make it work by adjusting the tone/volume/pickup selector on the guitar. Session pro guitarists use a graphic EQ to make one guitar sound like another…so that’s definitely an option too

[@evangelannobilbrew7090]

Nice videos, you always tempt me to buy an MX5 even tho I'm a fun of Line 6🤣

[@forthecreator1]

MX5 is like a V8 in a Honda Civic. It looks small and inexpensive, but has all the horsepower of the big Headrush

[@evangelannobilbrew7090]

Oh yeah exactly I don’t doubt that but the only thing is that Headrush doesn’t have a lot of amps, cabs and fx like Line 6 that’s what’s holding me back from buying an MX5

[@evangelannobilbrew7090]

Oh yeah exactly I don’t doubt that but the only thing is that Headrush doesn’t have a lot of amps, cabs and fx like Line 6 that’s what’s holding me back from buying an MX5

[@evangelannobilbrew7090]

Oh yeah exactly I don’t doubt that but the only thing is that Headrush doesn’t have a lot of amps, cabs and fx like Line 6 that’s what’s holding me back from buying an MX5

[@evangelannobilbrew7090]

Oh yeah exactly I don’t doubt that but the only thing is that Headrush doesn’t have a lot of amps, cabs and fx like Line 6 that’s what’s holding me back from buying an MX5

[@reverenshoo7]

Does MX5 have a dual delay effect in it? If doesn't have , is it possible to create one?

[@asmallfarmhomestead3657]

Yes you can run two delays together

[@forthecreator1]

Yes, MX5 can run more than 2 delays at the same time. In my MX5 FOR WORSHIP video you can see I’m running 2 delays, 3 reverbs and 4 amps all at the same time. MX5 is MUCH more powerful than similar priced modelers from other brands

[@steveanddebbieperticone9075]

Couldn't you clone the big sky into the headrush?

[@forthecreator1]

Cloning is only for amps and overdrives. Doesn’t work for effects such reverb

[@hybrydsanity5857]

are you using the pedalboard or the prime on this vid ?

[@forthecreator1]

Pedalboard (so the video would be relevant to all models)

[@paulcanz]

Cool sounded good that’s the one I have , thought about the prime but I got a Tonex pedal and a one so it’s plenty! And then some , thanks!

[@romulohellmuthraeder]

How do you record you guitar?

[@forthecreator1]

USB out of Headrush into Ableton Live on my laptop. I then import the audio file into Davinci Resolve video editing software. I import the video files to Resolve, and synchronize them to the original audio file

[@romulohellmuthraeder]

​@@forthecreator1where can I get this ir? I've downloaded the preset, but I dont have the same IR. Thx.

[@forthecreator1]

@@romulohellmuthraeder I used a standard IR that everyone running the current firmware would have access to. If you don’t have the IR then you might need to update your firmware

[@romulohellmuthraeder]

@@forthecreator1 thank you. Mine is updated as well. I'll check and download it again.