5 HeadRush MX5 Tips and Tricks!

[@matttactics8275]

Ive owned this pedal for around 7 months. Played it live for the past 2. Ive been trying to figure out how other ppl use it to get ideas. I run it with scenes and each scene is a different level of distortion. So i have a clean scene, little dirt, and then fuzz scene. And I dont usually switch banks, just use one rig all show. It works but im about to start experimenting with other methods. Thanks for the video!

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for checking out the vid! Yeah definitely a TON of different ways to use these units, so I hope this vid helped a bit! Much appreciated!

[@MotoMatt418]

I just got this thing on a whim at my local music store and I have to say this was an excellent video. I had no idea it could do the things you showed-especially the drop tuning. Sick little unit. Also, I wasn’t sure what an IR was so thank you for explaining 🤙

[@JustinBlair]

It's insanely fun to have all of this at your fingertips - thrilled that you dig it. Very glad the IR info was helpful- bon voyage with this awesome piece of gear!

[@JRusso238]

right angle adapter is next level life-hack! Thanks!

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks man! Glad to hear it was helpful!

[@tomm1413]

I literally just bought an MX-5! This is super helpful thanks!

[@JustinBlair]

Hey very cool! It's an awesome piece of gear. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@EliTheIceman]

Another Tom M. here … I just took delivery of an MX5 this week. Keeping to know it is going to be fun?!?!

[@tomm1413]

@@EliTheIceman After 3 months of using it and exploring the seemingly endless features, I can only say that it is a lot of fun! The presets aren't amazing, so I suggest just going straight in and trying some stuff! It will keep you busy for a while 😁

[@EliTheIceman]

Would you mind sharing a setting for one of the presets that you created?

[@secohen73]

Thanks for the tips on this unit. I may need to pick one up!

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for checking out the vid! Lemme know if you get it and have any questions on it \../,

[@stevegaede17]

Great vid! informative, brief, accurate and well edited. love it THANKS!! and yes it did help

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks so much! I appreciate it! Very glad to hear it was helpful \../,

[@leearmitage]

thanks some great tips, recently got one of these and still getting use to it, and there will be some videos to come on it

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks so much Lee! I appreciate it! Hell yeah - it's an awesome piece of gear - very fun to learn the ins and outs of it

[@Getsmore]

I love the JST IR’s Joey Sturgis tones. And for 30 bucks I probably got 100 different ones that are really good. They’re really the only ones I use now.

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for the rec! I haven't tried those out, but will have to take a look \../, Thanks for checking out the vid!

[@MikeMiranda777]

Really great tips! Thank you! I ordered one of the right-angle adapters too.

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks very much! I appreciate that. Nice! Hope it helps!

[@Getsmore]

When I run my headrush, pedalboard or MX five through my Mesa Mark Four I do the 4K cable method, but sometimes I’ll bring my head rush FRFR’s and run straight in

[@JustinBlair]

Yeah this thing is super versatile - can do a bunch of different setups with it - love it

[@HRpuffnstuff23]

This helped me a great deal thank you!

[@JustinBlair]

Glad to hear it was helpful -Thanks for checking out the vid!

[@betones_]

I’ve just got my MX5. Helped me a lot. Thanks

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks so much for checking out the vid - glad it helped!

[@pags409]

very good

[@JustinBlair]

Thank you! I appreciate it!

[@EOWRM]

Hello! I'm not sure I fully understand the dry/wet recording of the signal. Could you explain it in a more detailed way, please? How can I record the dry/wet signal in two different audiotracks?

[@JustinBlair]

No problem! Some DAWs may not be able to do this, but you should be able to arm two different tracks to record at the same time, with each track recording from a different source. If you are plugged into the computer via a USB, the Headrush labels the outputs 1/2 as the wet tones, and 3/4 as the dry tones, so arm one track as Headrush 1, and another as Headrush 3. Hope that helps!

[@lpgreene]

Great video! Thanks for sharing

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks so much! I appreciate it!

[@Chachibooyah]

These are awesome tips Justin. Can you elaborate on tip 5? What’s the process of getting the additional direct track out to the DAW? Thanks bro

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks very much, Dan! I appreciate it! Sure thing - so in your DAW, if you are able to arm multiple tracks to record at once, choose Line 1/2 on one track (the effected tone) and Line 3/4 on another track (the DI tone) and that should allow for recording both tones at the same time, one on each track.

[@Chachibooyah]

@@JustinBlair you’re the man! Thanks brother.

[@lennyjay22GbgLALV]

Great video! I have had my MX5 for about two years and I love it. I use an analog overdrive in front of it since I’m a stickler for precise timing when switching from clean to dirty and it works great.

[@themagicguy1]

the link for the angle adapter goes to a blank ebay page Great Stuff

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks so much for checking out the video! Ah, yeah you're right - sorry about that - here are a couple links that should work - the size is 5.5mm x 2.1mm, so one of these should work great: www.ebay.com/itm/252828392815 www.ebay.com/itm/252828406527 Looks like the original listing expired - just updated the video description

[@jason4906]

Hi, great video thank you! I have one question. On my MX5 the drop tune pedal only seems to go down whole steps? Could you share how you dropped to E flat tuning? I am not seeing anything for dropping half step down. Thanks!

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for checking out the video! Glad it was helpful. The drop tune pedals are actually in increments of half steps, so dropping '1' on the Headrush actually means dropping a half step. Hope that helps!

[@assafrodriguez]

Question about using IR - when adding IR to the chain (and turning off the cabinet), are you still can output the HR MX5 to an (real) Amp front? 10x!

[@JustinBlair]

Good question! Yes you definitely can, but you may want to make adjustments on both the amp and the MX5 to make sure your sound is coming out normal. For example, make sure to have the amp on the Clean channel, and adjust the eq to balance any eq-ing on the Headrush. Thanks for watching!

[@sbrave]

Thanks for the tips, and tip! How would you compare the built-in drop tune to Digitech Drop pedal? Any experience using a MIDI controller with this to do Program Changes? I can only seem to get my controller to do CC, to turn the effect blocks on & off.

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for checking out the video! The drop tune on this is great - very smooth, quick response, and no weird distortion of the tone like some pitch shifters have. Ah, I'm sorry I haven't used a midi controller with this yet.

[@sbrave]

@@JustinBlair I'll check it out, and in the first slot as you mentioned. Thanks!

[@JustinBlair]

@@sbrave My pleasure! Hope you dig it!

[@joaberios]

Can I use different configurations for the outputs simultaneously? One with IR and another without it in the same patch?

[@JustinBlair]

Great question - What I bet you could do is create a stereo split rig, with the L side including an IR and the R side without an IR, then use the L and R outputs as two separate outputs. I haven't tried this but I think it should work...

[@joaberios]

@@JustinBlair Thanks for the answer. I thought the same thing. If it's possible, it will be enough for me.

[@JustinBlair]

@@joaberios Sure thing! Hope it works out! \../,

[@ymelfilm]

Hi, can I address an external footswitch to operate the looper? Tks!

[@JustinBlair]

Ah, that's a good question - I'm not sure, since I haven't tried that. I know you can add an expression pedal to Headrush units, but I'm not sure about a switch for the looper...

[@ForFunGuitar]

Hello Justin. I have a question about an external expression pedal. Is it possible with the MX5 to activate the wah on/off without to toggle it, like the Helix LT can do ? When I have the expression pedal full open the wah is OFF, when I press it a little bit down , this activate the wah and I can sweep, when I go back to full open this set the wah off again. possible with the mx5 ?

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for checking out the video! Good question - yes you can. The MX5 has an expression pedal on it that is fully customizable/programable. You can set up the individual parameters of the pedal to control anything from wah, to volume, to phaser speed, to distortion, and just about anything else. There is also a jack to connect an external expression pedal as well, if you would like to have two pedals available. Hope that is helpful!

[@ironvip]

Hi, I have a question to your present number 007. I see you are using a stock cab instead of an IR. Is it possible to get a good sound with such set up in a live situation going straight to FOH or do you simply use other pedals etc to make it work? I am asking as I am not able to get a decent sound out of the stock cabs...

[@JustinBlair]

Great question - the stock cabs definitely can be used for some great tones, when mixed right (either live or in studio) BUT I personally vastly prefer IRs - when I actually play live, I almost always use IRs instead of cab sims. Have you downloaded their Celestion IRs? They're great. If you are interested in purchasing IRs, York makes some great ones. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[@ironvip]

@@JustinBlair I did and I do like them :) still learning how to use them properly in a mix. Thank you for your quick answer! Soon I will play my 2nd gig with headrush. hopefuly it will work well..

[@guitaroomixing6916]

Honestly I got mine in the box, it's hard to use and latency is noticeable

[@JustinBlair]

Oh man! That's frustrating - did you try contacting Headrush's support? There may be a defect on your unit...

[@CamposCaster]

Hello, let's see if you can help me with this. I know I can program different combinations of effects but having only 3 switches, I don't understand how in live situations, I can go from one to the other. I suppose that some switch will have to be tap more than once. In other words: Can I use it like the joyo pxl8 ?. And the other question is how does it sound directly into an amp without using the virtual amps and IR´s. Maybe I should use an M9 but I think the quality of the effects of the MX5 is much better

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for checking out the video! So what I do, personally, when I want to have one switch control multiple effects at once is to create two identical rigs, but have one of the rigs include the effects you would like to engage with the switch. So for example, if you want one switch to turn on a boost and a chorus, maybe during a solo, create one rig with the boost and chorus and one rig without, and swapping between those two using the 'next rig' and 'previous rig' switches. As for the amp input, it sounds great - if you turn off the amp sims and cab sims on the unit, it acts as a standard pedalboard and can go right into your amp's input.

[@Krystof.Veritae]

Great tips mate …. Do you have the part number for that angle adapter ? The link doesn’t work :( I saw few but there are size differences want to make sure

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks so much for checking out the video! Ah, yeah you're right - sorry about that - here are a couple links that should work - the size is 5.5mm x 2.1mm, so one of these should work great: www.ebay.com/itm/252828392815 www.ebay.com/itm/252828406527

[@Krystof.Veritae]

@@JustinBlair thanks mate

[@JustinBlair]

@@Krystof.Veritae Sure thing!

[@Setha107]

For the last recording tip. To get the DI, are you connected by USB? Or do you have the MX5 going into an audio interface with a instrument cable? Useful tips btw.

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for checking out the video! I am connected directly through USB from the HeadRush to the computer.

[@Setha107]

@@JustinBlair Nice, I figured it out. Thanks

[@JustinBlair]

@@Setha107 Great! Glad to hear it \../,

[@vitalianch]

i don't like using capo, can this unit tuning up the pitch? thx

[@JustinBlair]

Sorry for the late reply - There is a drop tune option, but the way I have raised the pitch before is to add a chromatic harmonizer, but have the effects level at 100%, and the dry level at 0%. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@santiii_alvarezz]

hello! I just bought the headrush mx5 and I have a problem... when I change the patch with the footswitch there is a small but annoying delay in changing from one patch to another? Does anybody know what is it due to? thank you!

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for checking out the video! Couple things to take a look at: -Have you updated your Headrush firmware? -Are you referring to an audio cutout while switching? if so, do you have 'Tails' turned on? -Also, I know some units swap when you depress the button, but the Headrush switches when you release the button - is that the issue by chance? If it's a software issue, a factory reset can help, otherwise, Headrush's support is great if you want to start a ticket with them. Hopefully that's helpful!

[@DanielDavis730]

Plug it straight threw a amp. Or better still straight into a pa mixer desk i plug a hotone mp100n into a line aray pa and mixing desk and is unusable. Had to go back to my real valve amp

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks so much for checking out the video! Got any Headrush tricks you like to use?

[@padawan9127]

Hi, thanks for the video. Can you attach an external footswitch like the boss fs7?

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for checking out the video! Most expression pedals will work just fine with the HeadRush units, but I don't think external footswitches do, unless you are using MIDI control footswitches. Hope that's helpful!

[@padawan9127]

@Justin Blair that's great thanks Justin. Subscribed!

[@JustinBlair]

@@padawan9127 Thanks so much! I appreciate that - May the Force be with you (hahah going off your username \../, )

[@willowil1]

sounds cut off, instead of naturally lasting like one would have with an amp, any tips on how to solve that?

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for checking out the video! Sometimes, the sustain can be cut off too early if you have the noise gate threshold set too high, or the 'tails' setting turned off. Try adjusting those, and that might help. Thanks!

[@asmallfarmhomestead3657]

Probably noise gate. Double click on the input icon and you can get rid of the noise gate. This will allow the notes to ring out naturally

[@GJ11598]

The drop pedal can do half steps?! I thought it only did full steps?

[@JustinBlair]

Yep! It can drop half steps as well. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@GJ11598]

@@JustinBlair care to share how to get a half step down?

[@JustinBlair]

@@GJ11598 If I am remembering correctly, I believe just choosing the 'Drop 1' option on the drop tune pedal will bring it down a half step.

[@GJ11598]

@@JustinBlair ahhh that makes sense, down 1 semi-tone which would be Eb....new to this all so sorry to sound like a noob lol

[@JustinBlair]

@@GJ11598 No problem at all! Never hurts to ask - glad I can help! \../,

[@coreblo77er]

Thanks for the tips. I don't really understand #3 though. Is the point that you make duplicates or triplicates to make them easier to scroll into without worrying about passing a single rig?

[@JustinBlair]

Thanks for checking out the video! The reason I have used the doubles/triples in a row is when multiple songs use the same tone in a row. Instead of having to remember how many songs use the same rig in a row, I find this method is easier to just click next rig for each new song. This isn't as big of a deal with shorter sets, but for long sets of 20+ songs, I personally have found it helpful. Thanks!

[@davidfletcher9728]

All u gots half a tip