The nano cortex capture sounded slightly better to me, but you do get a great deal with the headrush. If you're on a budget or just need a mini quad cortex go with the headrush, but if you got a bunch of pedals or plugins to cover your effects get the nano cortex
Glenn! Really liked the little intro/explanation you gave. Letting people know your background, how you got to where you are now, and the point of why you're making this video (wanting to save people their hard earned money and not stroking other people's egos)! Fingers crossed this might help stave off at least some of the critical comments.
Nothing to be critical about. The new HeadRush Flex Prime is going to destroy its compittion. This really is a game changer and it is new technology taking capture tech to the next level. The Flex Prime is a beast!!!!
@Thrive-Off-Grid I know that, and you know that. But because Glenn didn't join a circle jerk to praise the nano cortex, others will take that as he's trying to take a dump on their purchasing choice 😂
I can’t lie, I’ve definitely bought something and then looked for purchase validation. I’ve had times where something I have bought, Glenn and others didn’t like. That being said, sometimes I have found that I still really like whatever it is and get good tones. Other times, Glenn and others were right and I should’ve watched a video first. The point I making is, Glenn will be the first to tell you, but whatever you want. But he is trying to SAVE YOU MONEY!! There’s not a lot of people out here trying to do that. Good on you Glenn, been subscribed for years and am not going anywhere!
After your Tonex One video I purchased one on discount for 150 bucks and I've been having a blast capturing all of my amps ever since. And the Flex Prime looks like a great contender as well, since it's packed with great effects.
Dave over at Late Night Lessons still uses a rack mounted V-Amp 2 and sounds great for what he does. Wish more guitarists focused more on learning and writing songs.
Dave is awesome he gets any tone he wants out of his V-amp. Kayla Kent gets her Dimebag tones out of one of those old Johnson modeling combos. It’s not the gear it’s the player and their ears that dial it in .
@CapstoneTider My first electric guitar amplifier was a V-Amp 2 floor unit, a little Line 6 POD clone. Dad liked it because it had a headphone jack, lol. All the built in modulation effects tripped me out as a teen.
I sent the Nano Cortex back because of dropout/latency issues when switching presets. I then purchased the Friedman IR-J (600 $) and a M-Vave Chocolate midi controller (amazon $25) to switch the presets in the preamp and It is all the tone I ever wanted. Now I pair it with efx I already have (my pedalboard of pedals and Eventide H9, Boss SDE3000 and power amp of my choosing). Most of us have a lot of gear we've already purchased and tweaked to our liking, so adding a preamp or a pedal is fairly easy. This video is for someone who wants to completely start anew with a new do it all unit.
I’ve had a Headrush Pedal Board for a few years now, one of the first models and it’s awesome! I can make any guitar tone I want with ease! It’s insanely good! Too many people just don’t put enough time and effort into actually learning how to use them! Glad somebody finally gave the Headrush some recognition for how good it is! Cheers Glen! 🤘🤘
“I love these comparison videos you make! They show us, the consumers, that we don’t have to buy the newest products just because everything has to be bigger, better, and flashier. It’s not only a waste of money but also a waste of resources and rare-earth minerals!” Great work Glenn🤘
I just got the flex prime a few days ago, I’m in love. Previously been using my Mac with an interface and a midi controller. Now I’ve got it all bundled into a small box I can toss into a backpack and still have room for more stuff.
A cortex B headrush I love playing these blind test shootout games. This time I think I hear some more texture in A. But I mean I could be telling myself that just to hear SOMETHING. Truth is, they both work great. Who cares if one has a little something the other doesn’t?! The listeners certainly don’t.
Ive been tempted with the full size quad cortex just because Ive seen people running the whole band thru one unit, if it has enough DSP for that then the cost is fair. 2 guitarist and one bass with one unit sounds like a good deal.
Very cool and I couldn't tell minus the initial switch between Mix A to B because of the high. Everything else sounded the same. Thanks G, Z, and the rest of the family. I truly hope all goes well for whatever has happened to your wife G. Love and Chugs 🤘🧡🔥🧡🤘
As an old head from the 70s and 80s, I don't think I ever thought that one thing was better than the other. Its all in how you play it. A good guitar player can make a dixon sound like a nanocoretex.
The certain things that surrounds the parts makes a huge difference. That the main difference in low quality and high quality conversation these days now the conversion chips are super cheap. It does mean there's also a smaller gap... just there's a greater cost in the parts surrounding these parts still. The only other thing is the fact companies have to make money so all the parts seem cheap until you decide to build it yourself and quickly hit the constant walls of frustrating things that you give up and just buy something. That all being said... a lot of companies mark things up quite a bit more than other companies and that when great advice from someone like you comes in. I myself have had a bunch of horrible buys in the past... this channel doesn't help me that often because this is not me field instruments... but there's been some great studio advice along the way, things like CAT5 cables... then, even if this isn't my field, it's entertaining and always love any content cutting through the BS, that is always tasty whatever the subject is lol
I get to maybe also suggest things to any guitar or bass players I meet in the future... maybe should keep some hair spray with me as a welcoming gift if that ever happens
Glad to see you covered the headrush Glenn I wish you would have brought up the super cloning ability and the VST / plugins cloning ability I've been super happy after I purchased the headrush core for around $600 bucks it has a shit ton of useful IO plenty of routing options it's an incredible value compared to the gear over $1,000 and I don't require any purchase validation it just works😊
Been rocking the Headrush Core for the last 6 months, the new update 4.0 includes all the bells and whistles this new pedal offers. Will be my last buy cause im retired now. So much fun and the sounds are close for 1000 bucks Canadian. Thanks for reviewing!
And now that TONEX has released the update with effects on board-hahaha! I managed to snag mine used for less than the price of both Nano Cortex and Headrush! And I got the big one, not the small version. I absolutely love it! 🤘
@@petewelsh9978 I love them. For me its perfect because i normally only use a small bit of chorus and delay and thats all i really need. I set the patch up so i have clean channel, dirty channel and then dirty with effects. Gonna sell my other multi fx now since i dont need it anymore.
Glenn! I can see that you're playing with the format and what you've done with this video is a step up! Good job. I preferred the QC in the mix, but I'd probably buy the HeadRush due to ease-of-use, price, and I can still dial it in anyway. Thanks for this review. Love your show!
These effects processor/amp capture devices look like way too much fun to even be legal. I'm going to have to get one. Thanks for making one of the most entertaining and informative shows on the internet, Glenn!
They’re fun, but they’re not for everybody. I love my helix but you definitely have to have patience to essentially build a new rig for every preset. The process of picking every pedal, amp, cab, mic models for the cab, reverb, etc from like a hundred options and then programming scenes or bypasses for every preset can get exhausting at times, especially if you don’t already know what the gear sounds like.
Honestly, I didn‘t come here for the comparison. I‘ve long learned that the most important thing about the music we play is… well, the music. Gear is a means to an end, and we should make informed decisions that won‘t leave us in debt. Thank you again for posting objective thoughts out here, Mr Frick!
the headrush is great. i think the nano is a good option if you have already the quadcortex… so you can share your captures and presets with your band.
Been using a Headrush MX5 for a year or so and have loved it. Glad they made a newer and better version. Might have to get one just to have 2 rigs that I can use in case I ever get another guitarist for my band. It's part of my signature tone.
Hi Glen, great channel 👍 I've recently bought a hotone stage 2 , half the price of a quad cotex and like a lot of new modlers sounds great, keep up the good work 😊
I still have and use My Eleven rack!! It definitely was a nightmare to set up, but it ended up being a pretty useful tool. I've played with it being the whole chain and I've just used it in an FX loop and it keeps me entertained. Midi pedal control makes it honestly usable even today
All you need is a cab sim pedal! they are all IR based and cost about 30 bucks! anything will sound good with one. even those old mutiFX pedals you hate. as long as the cab IR is there you cant possible go wrong.
Most Americans (people who live in the CONTINENT of America) started from humble beginnings. Most are still there. Some of us managed to get out of that and have some success. Kudos to you Glenn for showing us how to do it without emptying our wallets. Oh and for no reason other than to keep tradition going: fuck you Glenn.
I'm guessing, but A is the Headrush and B is the Nano. I couldn't really tell, even with a great headset (to eliminate room noise). I love the way this technology is going. Keep making these vids, Glen! 🤘😎
I went from Helix LT to Headrush PedalBoard, then got the MX5 as a backup for it when gigging, but almost immediately switched to using the MX as my PRIMARY rig. The new Flex Prime has a bunch of cool new toys, but for the core functionality I can get everything I need ouf of the MX5 which is a bargain at $350 CAD in the used market. When they actually make the performance value of it better (mostly MIDI implementation) or add XLR on-board I might consider upgrading. Maybe next gen! (or unless a great discount hits my radar!)
When you weren't showing which was which, I thought "A" sounded way way better. Clearer, not just louder. Cut through the mix more pleasantly, but not better. Way better tone. I wasn't surprised to find out that was the Nano, Neural make good tone, that's for sure. If you can't tell them apart with your ears, I have to question how well you hear. Night and day.
With or without the labels, I still had a hard time distinguishing things. I think this completely makes your point. Saving money seemed to load a lot more functionality into the hands of the user. I'm not in the market for this kind of gear at that price point, but it does make me want to look deeper at gear oriented for acoustic instruments as I'm sure some of this logic may apply.
Once again, fantastic video Glenn. Personally, at that price point, I would go with the Line6 Pod Go. Has a lot more footswitches and a lot of amp models. It does not have a capture feature, so for those who find that important, the Headrush will be more up their alley.
Very cool stuff as always Glenn. I hope whatever is going on that things are improving for you and your family or will soon. So I was trying to spread the good word about the miniscule difference pickups make and it has caused chaos and pandemonium on my channel 😂
I just bought the valeton gp200. I can't go any higher than that, it's already so expensive living in a 3rd world country. But it's worth my every penny i spent and pretty happy about it.. not gonna buy any gear anymore. 1 guitar, 1 amp, and a multi effects is all i can afford
m-vave have tank g and blackbox at $50-&70, have bluetooth, internal battery, can use 3rd party IR, and also using AM2 data file for amp cloning/capture/train with ANN software.
Glad headrush is getting a little recognition. It has always seemed looked down upon in the modeling/cloning world. I had the MX5 (the Flex Prime before they added Cloning) and absolutely loved it. With one small pedal, I could cover a massive range of tones and easily switch between them when gigging. The thing I love about the Headrush ecosystem is that they don't gatekeep features. Their cheapest models have nearly if not all the processing power and features of the flagship, just less I/O and user interface options. However, I recently sold mine. Why? Well, I saw this Flex Prime coming. As soon as the flagship Prime was released, it was only a matter of time before they made the smaller version. This is my newfound problem with the hype machine you discussed in this video. Tech is evolving so fast that units like this become obsolete in a matter of a year or so. And then, as the hype machine moves on to the next thing, the unit you spent your money on is effectively worthless. As a guitarist, I get bored with the same gear and find inspiration in tinkering with new things (guitars, amps, pedals, etc). But if the gear you buy is worthless in a short amount of time due to hype, it becomes massively expensive to try new things. So now I've moved to a hybrid setup of a Tonex for amp tones, but actual pedals for everything else. That way, when I get bored, I can sell the pedals in exchange for something else of similar value. Great video Glenn! Keep it up
I still dig my Hotone ampero I think its blows away a lot of the modeling units but each to there own but ya there's a lot of great options out there killer vid , bottom line u speak the truth !! love it
How dare you not simply do a dedicated video on the nano cortex and fondle it's metaphorical balls! On a serious note, your family's in my prayers whether you want it or not. Fu-... love you Glenn!
In the studio, David Gilmour is still using the same Zoom 9030 he’s been using for 30 years. So there is still something to be said for old gear and not to stress whatever is the latest and greatest. This was mentioned in the recent Rick Beato interview w him
I’m still good with my Helix, free updates… continuing to improve. It’s going to take a pretty massive improvement to get me to buy something new. I still have my valve amps, so I think that helps stay grounded.
I am not opposed to digital solutions at all. I have been a Helix user (well, LT) for years now, and absolutely love the sounds I can get from it. I also have a Tonex One (killer), a Pod Go (also killer) and a Two Notes Opus (pretty amazing as well). All of those (except for the Helix) are cheaper than the Nano, and most of them (barring the Pod Go and the LT) are cheaper than the Headrush...
Headrush knocking it out of the park nowadays. I was hoping for a little bit lower price from the headrush, but it is what it is. Maybe if they do one without an expression pedal they. An drop the price by $100
I feel like the bass pokes out more in the mix with the headrush vs the nano cortex. After seeing the frequency response graph it might make sense given the headrush didn’t have as much high end and low end as the nano cortex, but like Glen said, you can probably just adjust the EQ to fix that. Thanks for the great vid!
Mix A is Cortex I was right without cheating, there’s something going on in the low mids and bass to my ears without even seeing your graph, but they’re both quality
I know it’s old, but I’ve been happy with the Helix ecosystem. I have a Stomp XL that I got for $550 secondhand on a Nano+ pedalboard with a Digitech Drop pedal (saves insane amounts of DSP, plus no menu diving/patch editing to change tunings). There’s enough room left over for one more pedal, or a DI box if you find that sound engineers look at 1/4” to XLR adapters funny, or even a mini expression pedal if you need to have one. It’s all I really need (I have to be honest with myself and ask the last time I used the whammy or wah expression pedals on my “big” pedalboard). I’m curious about the quality of the modulation, delay/reverb, and other effects on the Headrush. Part of the reason why I went with the Helix ecosystem was their long history of crushing it in this department. They even hired the Digitech crew when they were going under a few years ago and brought the Whammy/Drop Tune algorithms with them. I’d love to know how the Headrush stacks up in comparison. Btw, I highly recommend the Stomp XL over the regular Stomp unless you are shockingly limited on space - the extra buttons (especially for the tuner/tap tempo) and having 4 snapshots per preset instead of 3 is huge
yes, I can tell there is a difference, ones a bit darker than the other. I'll stick with my old school set up of pedals and amps, otherwise I'll spend more time tweeking settings than playing the guitar
Yep, and he uses a $400k dumble and countless custom shop PRS guitars and mesa boogie amps made specially for him. He probably has $500-$750k worth of gear on stage behind him…
@@Vicente_Moreno Idk the way I see it and the way I've seen countless bands and artists do, basically they upgrade whenever they have the money and whenever they feel like experimenting with new things. That said I seen a documentary about the band The Prodigy and they still use gear from the 90's, in the interview they said "hey if it works for what you need to do and it ain't broken don't fix it and no need for new gear." I saw them in Mantova here in Italy in 2009, wow! They really know how to control a crowd and put on a show❤️😍
I'd really like to see you do more of these pedal videos, because for many of us, it's what we use, it's all we use. I'm sitting here with an ageing Helix and Laney 2x12 FRFR and that's my rig. The Helix still sounds fantastic but Line 6 is taking forever with a sequel and I'm seriously thinking about other units, and it's hard to trust other reviewers, they're full of it.
It´s good to see that the Headrush Cloning delivered good results in this specific case, however it´s definitely a hit and miss and less consistent that the profiling of contenders. Just try the (free) Amp Cloner Demo to capture hardware or software. Sometimes it turns out nice, sometimes it´s completely unusuable. I believe the Hotone Ampero 2 would seem to be a more serious contender.
At first I thought I could hear a difference in the low end but then I scrolled down so I couldn't see when it was switching and now they sound identical. With a good amp capture it looks like the speaker choice wins again for the tone.
Glenn, Did you try to put the flex's dsp to its limit and see basically how much is even possible to put in a rig because thats the most important thing when you have a multi fx with lots of option!!
I've gotten used to what the Quad Cortex sounds like whenever it clones amps so I was able to tell the difference between the two pretty easily but I don't think the Nano sounded better than the Flex Prime. Simple adjustments and you've got effectively the tone capture. Cortex whether its the Naon or Quad always sound a bit cleaner and higher in the treble part of the EQ due to its digitization, but I don't think it quite makes it better. Good shit, Glenn! Love it when you do these shootouts! Would love to see you do shootouts between some of the more popular digital models vs the real things I.E. the EV 5150 red channel in the latest Helix update vs the real thing!
Can't tell the difference on my small monitor speakers. I tried the big headrush when it launched and didn't love it. A bit buggy, especially when switching presets. Perhaps they've ironed some of that out now. Either way, sounded solid here for sure.
I remember when Revalver was owned by Peavey way back when. I actually used it on an album back in 2016. I remember their "cloning" technology as well. At the time nobody really cared that much about it. You could also use guitar profiles too and make your guitar sound like an acoustic, or any other kind of guitar. It wasn't that good, though. I remember the idea of profiling an amp seemed super foreign to me and I didn't understand it at the time. But they had it all the way back in 2014-2015 and for a plugin to have it all the way back then was crazy.
I thought that mix A sounded better. It had more clearity and note separation but that's probably nothing a little EQ cant fix.
2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1
Basically the main differences are where the guitars frequencies are cutted or bring down in a mix, over 8000 hz is just noise that makes all the cymbals and vocals sound horrible and under 200hz where the kick and bass lives, if you are a guitar player probably don't care about this, but in a mix those frequencies will be cut down or bring down, the sound of a guitar is between 220hz and 5000hz, so, why spend more money on a limited equipment with no screen while you can get the whole thing with touch screen for less? Everybody went crazy for the nano cortex but is still marketing for me (with all the respect of course, Neural are a great company but the nano cortex should be around $350)
Mix B has less gain saturation and presence, which I prefer... if that translate to it being the cheaper unit? I don't know. EDIT 1: Looking at your frequency graph comparisons, I would say A is the Neural and B is the Headrush. EDIT 2: Well look at that. I have ears that work. They are very close. It would have been interesting to have them compared with the actual amp as well.
I have the original pedalboard that I got in trade and Ive had it about a month now and last night i sat down and really took a deep dive into this thing and ive gotta tell ya, guitarists today have been spoiled tremendously with the tech at their disposal and for half of what cheap stuff used to cost 20 years ago.
TL072 surface mount at Mouser can be had for as little as $0.23, through hole are mostly under a buck. More proof that the big A and it's Membership / free shipping isnt always the cheapest.
Gleeeeeennn!! Thanks for the video, dude. I play on a NUX MG30 that I paid a shocking 240 bucks for. It's a cute little device that makes “serious” guitarists burst out laughing, and you know what? I couldn't care less. It's amazing. Why would I pay $1000 for something I don't and won't use? I love the MG30 and it ticks all my boxes. Comes with an extra Dual Footswitch and they keep improving the Software and adding features. What's not to love? I swear, Gear snobs are the worst.
I heard about your wife. I hope everything turns out alright. If you need anything else from us, just let us know. We'll be here when you return. Good luck, and praise Crom!
Maybe Glen, you should do a comparison and share your thoughts on how units like the Pod Go and Headrush stack up. Like the mid tier multieffects segments
Hello Great video. Will it work fine for a bassist? I'm looking for some thing that could replace my pedalboard... Does it have a pitch shifter? Any distortion like the Darkglass B7K? I need to "voyager léger" (travel light, I'm planning to move to... Canada)! Thanks for your content! You are one of the few youtubers that don't make "advertising videos"... I loved the V shape Shecter ones (for my son).
Whatever you are going through my prayers are with you and your family glen
I never would've doubted that two items with a $50 difference could sound sonically similar. I'm not shocked. They're both sick.
50 dollars cheaper but with 100s more effects, better interface, expression pedal etc.
The nano cortex capture sounded slightly better to me, but you do get a great deal with the headrush. If you're on a budget or just need a mini quad cortex go with the headrush, but if you got a bunch of pedals or plugins to cover your effects get the nano cortex
Glenn, I saw your announcement this morning. I hope your wife is okay soon. Will be thinking of you both and hoping for the best.
It really is amazing how good the sub $1000 modeling gear is getting, and my wallet is grateful for it 💰
Glenn! Really liked the little intro/explanation you gave. Letting people know your background, how you got to where you are now, and the point of why you're making this video (wanting to save people their hard earned money and not stroking other people's egos)! Fingers crossed this might help stave off at least some of the critical comments.
Nothing to be critical about. The new HeadRush Flex Prime is going to destroy its compittion. This really is a game changer and it is new technology taking capture tech to the next level. The Flex Prime is a beast!!!!
@Thrive-Off-Grid I know that, and you know that. But because Glenn didn't join a circle jerk to praise the nano cortex, others will take that as he's trying to take a dump on their purchasing choice 😂
There will always be criticism: whether warranted or not.
Hoping that you and yours are ok. We're here for you!
I can’t lie, I’ve definitely bought something and then looked for purchase validation. I’ve had times where something I have bought, Glenn and others didn’t like. That being said, sometimes I have found that I still really like whatever it is and get good tones. Other times, Glenn and others were right and I should’ve watched a video first.
The point I making is, Glenn will be the first to tell you, but whatever you want. But he is trying to SAVE YOU MONEY!! There’s not a lot of people out here trying to do that.
Good on you Glenn, been subscribed for years and am not going anywhere!
After your Tonex One video I purchased one on discount for 150 bucks and I've been having a blast capturing all of my amps ever since. And the Flex Prime looks like a great contender as well, since it's packed with great effects.
Dave over at Late Night Lessons still uses a rack mounted V-Amp 2 and sounds great for what he does. Wish more guitarists focused more on learning and writing songs.
We forget gear is only the tools we use. It’s pointless to have many and “high quality” tools if you’re not using them for work.
I have one of those. I couldn't afford a POD. It's awesome though.
Dave is awesome he gets any tone he wants out of his V-amp. Kayla Kent gets her Dimebag tones out of one of those old Johnson modeling combos. It’s not the gear it’s the player and their ears that dial it in .
Thanks for that. I've been wondering what kind of amp that was.
@CapstoneTider My first electric guitar amplifier was a V-Amp 2 floor unit, a little Line 6 POD clone. Dad liked it because it had a headphone jack, lol. All the built in modulation effects tripped me out as a teen.
Glenn, can you please have a look at the new Ampero II as well? It does amp captures too, among many other things.
If you haven't already, check out the Hotone Ampero Stage II. It's basically a Quad Cortex at a 3rd of the cost.
I sent the Nano Cortex back because of dropout/latency issues when switching presets.
I then purchased the Friedman IR-J (600 $) and a M-Vave Chocolate midi controller (amazon $25) to switch the presets in the preamp and It is all the tone I ever wanted. Now I pair it with efx I already have (my pedalboard of pedals and Eventide H9, Boss SDE3000 and power amp of my choosing).
Most of us have a lot of gear we've already purchased and tweaked to our liking, so adding a preamp or a pedal is fairly easy.
This video is for someone who wants to completely start anew with a new do it all unit.
does the irj feel different from the amp captures?
It was nice meeting you at B&H during AES 🙏 for your family for whatever you're going through.
I’ve had a Headrush Pedal Board for a few years now, one of the first models and it’s awesome! I can make any guitar tone I want with ease! It’s insanely good! Too many people just don’t put enough time and effort into actually learning how to use them! Glad somebody finally gave the Headrush some recognition for how good it is! Cheers Glen! 🤘🤘
“I love these comparison videos you make! They show us, the consumers, that we don’t have to buy the newest products just because everything has to be bigger, better, and flashier. It’s not only a waste of money but also a waste of resources and rare-earth minerals!”
Great work Glenn🤘
I just got the flex prime a few days ago, I’m in love. Previously been using my Mac with an interface and a midi controller. Now I’ve got it all bundled into a small box I can toss into a backpack and still have room for more stuff.
A cortex
B headrush
I love playing these blind test shootout games. This time I think I hear some more texture in A. But I mean I could be telling myself that just to hear SOMETHING. Truth is, they both work great.
Who cares if one has a little something the other doesn’t?! The listeners certainly don’t.
video starts at 05:45
actually its starts at 0:00 ... : )
Thank you
Ive been tempted with the full size quad cortex just because Ive seen people running the whole band thru one unit, if it has enough DSP for that then the cost is fair. 2 guitarist and one bass with one unit sounds like a good deal.
LOVE the intro.
New visitors will benefit from the context...Then they need to buckle up and enjoy the ride!
Eff YOU, Glenn!
Very cool and I couldn't tell minus the initial switch between Mix A to B because of the high. Everything else sounded the same. Thanks G, Z, and the rest of the family. I truly hope all goes well for whatever has happened to your wife G. Love and Chugs 🤘🧡🔥🧡🤘
As an old head from the 70s and 80s, I don't think I ever thought that one thing was better than the other. Its all in how you play it. A good guitar player can make a dixon sound like a nanocoretex.
Agreed !
Ampero II is also a great choice when compares to Nano Cortex when it comes to captures functionality + flexible gapless effect chains
headrush underrated for REAL
Thanks Glen, I’ve just bought Boss Gx-100 :)
The certain things that surrounds the parts makes a huge difference.
That the main difference in low quality and high quality conversation these days now the conversion chips are super cheap.
It does mean there's also a smaller gap... just there's a greater cost in the parts surrounding these parts still.
The only other thing is the fact companies have to make money so all the parts seem cheap until you decide to build it yourself and quickly hit the constant walls of frustrating things that you give up and just buy something.
That all being said... a lot of companies mark things up quite a bit more than other companies and that when great advice from someone like you comes in.
I myself have had a bunch of horrible buys in the past... this channel doesn't help me that often because this is not me field instruments... but there's been some great studio advice along the way, things like CAT5 cables... then, even if this isn't my field, it's entertaining and always love any content cutting through the BS, that is always tasty whatever the subject is lol
I get to maybe also suggest things to any guitar or bass players I meet in the future... maybe should keep some hair spray with me as a welcoming gift if that ever happens
Thanks Glen, this makes so much sense. All this hype and stuff, but when you close your eyes you can even tell the difference between Mix A and Mix B.
Glad to see you covered the headrush Glenn I wish you would have brought up the super cloning ability and the VST / plugins cloning ability I've been super happy after I purchased the headrush core for around $600 bucks it has a shit ton of useful IO plenty of routing options it's an incredible value compared to the gear over $1,000 and I don't require any purchase validation it just works😊
Been rocking the Headrush Core for the last 6 months, the new update 4.0 includes all the bells and whistles this new pedal offers. Will be my last buy cause im retired now. So much fun and the sounds are close for 1000 bucks Canadian. Thanks for reviewing!
I sent my Boss GX-10 back and ordered the Headrush. When it arrives on Saturday it will be Christmas in November! Praying for you and your family!!!
And now that TONEX has released the update with effects on board-hahaha! I managed to snag mine used for less than the price of both Nano Cortex and Headrush! And I got the big one, not the small version. I absolutely love it! 🤘
The Tonex fx are disappointing 😢
@@petewelsh9978 I love them. For me its perfect because i normally only use a small bit of chorus and delay and thats all i really need. I set the patch up so i have clean channel, dirty channel and then dirty with effects. Gonna sell my other multi fx now since i dont need it anymore.
Glenn! I can see that you're playing with the format and what you've done with this video is a step up! Good job.
I preferred the QC in the mix, but I'd probably buy the HeadRush due to ease-of-use, price, and I can still dial it in anyway.
Thanks for this review. Love your show!
These effects processor/amp capture devices look like way too much fun to even be legal. I'm going to have to get one. Thanks for making one of the most entertaining and informative shows on the internet, Glenn!
They’re fun, but they’re not for everybody. I love my helix but you definitely have to have patience to essentially build a new rig for every preset. The process of picking every pedal, amp, cab, mic models for the cab, reverb, etc from like a hundred options and then programming scenes or bypasses for every preset can get exhausting at times, especially if you don’t already know what the gear sounds like.
The Superclone feature is incredible
Honestly, I didn‘t come here for the comparison. I‘ve long learned that the most important thing about the music we play is… well, the music. Gear is a means to an end, and we should make informed decisions that won‘t leave us in debt.
Thank you again for posting objective thoughts out here, Mr Frick!
Thank you for including your Bloopers at the end Glenn, makes the video complete! (Perfection? No such thing.)
I'd love to see you shootout the Hotone Ampero Stage II vs Cortex or tone x
the headrush is great. i think the nano is a good option if you have already the quadcortex… so you can share your captures and presets with your band.
Been using a Headrush MX5 for a year or so and have loved it. Glad they made a newer and better version. Might have to get one just to have 2 rigs that I can use in case I ever get another guitarist for my band. It's part of my signature tone.
Hi Glen, great channel 👍 I've recently bought a hotone stage 2 , half the price of a quad cotex and like a lot of new modlers sounds great, keep up the good work 😊
I still have and use My Eleven rack!! It definitely was a nightmare to set up, but it ended up being a pretty useful tool. I've played with it being the whole chain and I've just used it in an FX loop and it keeps me entertained. Midi pedal control makes it honestly usable even today
All you need is a cab sim pedal! they are all IR based and cost about 30 bucks! anything will sound good with one. even those old mutiFX pedals you hate. as long as the cab IR is there you cant possible go wrong.
Just ordered, super stoked!
Most Americans (people who live in the CONTINENT of America) started from humble beginnings. Most are still there. Some of us managed to get out of that and have some success. Kudos to you Glenn for showing us how to do it without emptying our wallets. Oh and for no reason other than to keep tradition going: fuck you Glenn.
I love the Cascom effects, Glenn! Takes me back to my time working at a TV station in the '90s...
i have a crate and a street cube. im a happy caveman with my guitar sounds. 🍻
I'm guessing, but A is the Headrush and B is the Nano. I couldn't really tell, even with a great headset (to eliminate room noise). I love the way this technology is going. Keep making these vids, Glen! 🤘😎
tone snob, so spot on ...
I just ordered a line pod go with flightcase for under 400 bucks at Thomanns Blick Friday sale. For that price a no brainer.
I went from Helix LT to Headrush PedalBoard, then got the MX5 as a backup for it when gigging, but almost immediately switched to using the MX as my PRIMARY rig. The new Flex Prime has a bunch of cool new toys, but for the core functionality I can get everything I need ouf of the MX5 which is a bargain at $350 CAD in the used market. When they actually make the performance value of it better (mostly MIDI implementation) or add XLR on-board I might consider upgrading. Maybe next gen! (or unless a great discount hits my radar!)
When you weren't showing which was which, I thought "A" sounded way way better. Clearer, not just louder. Cut through the mix more pleasantly, but not better. Way better tone. I wasn't surprised to find out that was the Nano, Neural make good tone, that's for sure. If you can't tell them apart with your ears, I have to question how well you hear. Night and day.
With or without the labels, I still had a hard time distinguishing things. I think this completely makes your point. Saving money seemed to load a lot more functionality into the hands of the user. I'm not in the market for this kind of gear at that price point, but it does make me want to look deeper at gear oriented for acoustic instruments as I'm sure some of this logic may apply.
Glen, I've sent a few songs to you using the cloning feature on the prime! I love the Headrush feature.
The band was called "Scorched Earth Prophecy"
Once again, fantastic video Glenn. Personally, at that price point, I would go with the Line6 Pod Go. Has a lot more footswitches and a lot of amp models. It does not have a capture feature, so for those who find that important, the Headrush will be more up their alley.
Very cool stuff as always Glenn. I hope whatever is going on that things are improving for you and your family or will soon.
So I was trying to spread the good word about the miniscule difference pickups make and it has caused chaos and pandemonium on my channel 😂
Hope everything gets better mate.
I just bought the valeton gp200. I can't go any higher than that, it's already so expensive living in a 3rd world country. But it's worth my every penny i spent and pretty happy about it.. not gonna buy any gear anymore. 1 guitar, 1 amp, and a multi effects is all i can afford
Id prefer the core - 150 bucks more and without the pedal but the UI was designed with a 7 inch screen in mind, it just controls way better.
I’ll buy one of these when it comes in head or Amp form when a power amp and speaker doesn’t need to be used in addition to the huge price tag.
m-vave have tank g and blackbox at $50-&70, have bluetooth, internal battery, can use 3rd party IR, and also using AM2 data file for amp cloning/capture/train with ANN software.
The 16 year old version of me with an Ibanez Gio, a Radio Shack instrument cable and Crate amp approves.
Glad headrush is getting a little recognition. It has always seemed looked down upon in the modeling/cloning world. I had the MX5 (the Flex Prime before they added Cloning) and absolutely loved it. With one small pedal, I could cover a massive range of tones and easily switch between them when gigging. The thing I love about the Headrush ecosystem is that they don't gatekeep features. Their cheapest models have nearly if not all the processing power and features of the flagship, just less I/O and user interface options.
However, I recently sold mine. Why? Well, I saw this Flex Prime coming. As soon as the flagship Prime was released, it was only a matter of time before they made the smaller version. This is my newfound problem with the hype machine you discussed in this video. Tech is evolving so fast that units like this become obsolete in a matter of a year or so. And then, as the hype machine moves on to the next thing, the unit you spent your money on is effectively worthless. As a guitarist, I get bored with the same gear and find inspiration in tinkering with new things (guitars, amps, pedals, etc). But if the gear you buy is worthless in a short amount of time due to hype, it becomes massively expensive to try new things.
So now I've moved to a hybrid setup of a Tonex for amp tones, but actual pedals for everything else. That way, when I get bored, I can sell the pedals in exchange for something else of similar value.
Great video Glenn! Keep it up
I still dig my Hotone ampero I think its blows away a lot of the modeling units but each to there own but ya there's a lot of great options out there killer vid , bottom line u speak the truth !! love it
I have an Hotone Ampero 2 stomp and sounds great too 😊
How dare you not simply do a dedicated video on the nano cortex and fondle it's metaphorical balls! On a serious note, your family's in my prayers whether you want it or not. Fu-... love you Glenn!
In the studio, David Gilmour is still using the same Zoom 9030 he’s been using for 30 years. So there is still something to be said for old gear and not to stress whatever is the latest and greatest.
This was mentioned in the recent Rick Beato interview w him
I’m still good with my Helix, free updates… continuing to improve. It’s going to take a pretty massive improvement to get me to buy something new. I still have my valve amps, so I think that helps stay grounded.
I am not opposed to digital solutions at all. I have been a Helix user (well, LT) for years now, and absolutely love the sounds I can get from it. I also have a Tonex One (killer), a Pod Go (also killer) and a Two Notes Opus (pretty amazing as well). All of those (except for the Helix) are cheaper than the Nano, and most of them (barring the Pod Go and the LT) are cheaper than the Headrush...
GLEEEEN!! I really hope you and your family are ok...
Headrush knocking it out of the park nowadays. I was hoping for a little bit lower price from the headrush, but it is what it is. Maybe if they do one without an expression pedal they. An drop the price by $100
Glenn, just saw the post in Discord, I do hope whatever is wrong will turn out alright for your wife and family.
I feel like the bass pokes out more in the mix with the headrush vs the nano cortex. After seeing the frequency response graph it might make sense given the headrush didn’t have as much high end and low end as the nano cortex, but like Glen said, you can probably just adjust the EQ to fix that. Thanks for the great vid!
I’ll say that A has like a little bit more presence than B. Both sound great tho! It’s kinda crazy. Headrush definitely improved tons!
Mix A is Cortex I was right without cheating, there’s something going on in the low mids and bass to my ears without even seeing your graph, but they’re both quality
There's definitely like a db or two drop off when you switch to the B rig, but aside from that nearly identical sounding.
I know it’s old, but I’ve been happy with the Helix ecosystem.
I have a Stomp XL that I got for $550 secondhand on a Nano+ pedalboard with a Digitech Drop pedal (saves insane amounts of DSP, plus no menu diving/patch editing to change tunings). There’s enough room left over for one more pedal, or a DI box if you find that sound engineers look at 1/4” to XLR adapters funny, or even a mini expression pedal if you need to have one. It’s all I really need (I have to be honest with myself and ask the last time I used the whammy or wah expression pedals on my “big” pedalboard).
I’m curious about the quality of the modulation, delay/reverb, and other effects on the Headrush. Part of the reason why I went with the Helix ecosystem was their long history of crushing it in this department. They even hired the Digitech crew when they were going under a few years ago and brought the Whammy/Drop Tune algorithms with them. I’d love to know how the Headrush stacks up in comparison.
Btw, I highly recommend the Stomp XL over the regular Stomp unless you are shockingly limited on space - the extra buttons (especially for the tuner/tap tempo) and having 4 snapshots per preset instead of 3 is huge
My dad had an 11 rack I recognize that thing I had so much fun with that
7:38 sickest burn ever
You should do a review on Mooer products. I'm finding them very interesting. Not a ton of bells and whistles, but simple and effective.
yes, I can tell there is a difference, ones a bit darker than the other. I'll stick with my old school set up of pedals and amps, otherwise I'll spend more time tweeking settings than playing the guitar
Santana makes music still to this day and he doesn't trip on gear😂❤
Yep, and he uses a $400k dumble and countless custom shop PRS guitars and mesa boogie amps made specially for him. He probably has $500-$750k worth of gear on stage behind him…
Isn't he one of the guys who popularized the first boogie amps? Maybe I'm wrong but I think he's the kind of guy who would trip on gear lol.
@@Vicente_Moreno Idk the way I see it and the way I've seen countless bands and artists do, basically they upgrade whenever they have the money and whenever they feel like experimenting with new things. That said I seen a documentary about the band The Prodigy and they still use gear from the 90's, in the interview they said "hey if it works for what you need to do and it ain't broken don't fix it and no need for new gear."
I saw them in Mantova here in Italy in 2009, wow! They really know how to control a crowd and put on a show❤️😍
I'd really like to see you do more of these pedal videos, because for many of us, it's what we use, it's all we use. I'm sitting here with an ageing Helix and Laney 2x12 FRFR and that's my rig. The Helix still sounds fantastic but Line 6 is taking forever with a sequel and I'm seriously thinking about other units, and it's hard to trust other reviewers, they're full of it.
It´s good to see that the Headrush Cloning delivered good results in this specific case, however it´s definitely a hit and miss and less consistent that the profiling of contenders. Just try the (free) Amp Cloner Demo to capture hardware or software. Sometimes it turns out nice, sometimes it´s completely unusuable. I believe the Hotone Ampero 2 would seem to be a more serious contender.
At first I thought I could hear a difference in the low end but then I scrolled down so I couldn't see when it was switching and now they sound identical. With a good amp capture it looks like the speaker choice wins again for the tone.
Great video, Glenn! Way to break it all down for us.
Ever thought about doing an 8-bit version of "The Eagle Has Landed" for that "vs" bumper music?
Glenn, Did you try to put the flex's dsp to its limit and see basically how much is even possible to put in a rig because thats the most important thing when you have a multi fx with lots of option!!
I've gotten used to what the Quad Cortex sounds like whenever it clones amps so I was able to tell the difference between the two pretty easily but I don't think the Nano sounded better than the Flex Prime. Simple adjustments and you've got effectively the tone capture. Cortex whether its the Naon or Quad always sound a bit cleaner and higher in the treble part of the EQ due to its digitization, but I don't think it quite makes it better.
Good shit, Glenn! Love it when you do these shootouts! Would love to see you do shootouts between some of the more popular digital models vs the real things I.E. the EV 5150 red channel in the latest Helix update vs the real thing!
Can't tell the difference on my small monitor speakers. I tried the big headrush when it launched and didn't love it. A bit buggy, especially when switching presets. Perhaps they've ironed some of that out now. Either way, sounded solid here for sure.
I remember when Revalver was owned by Peavey way back when. I actually used it on an album back in 2016. I remember their "cloning" technology as well. At the time nobody really cared that much about it. You could also use guitar profiles too and make your guitar sound like an acoustic, or any other kind of guitar. It wasn't that good, though. I remember the idea of profiling an amp seemed super foreign to me and I didn't understand it at the time. But they had it all the way back in 2014-2015 and for a plugin to have it all the way back then was crazy.
I thought that mix A sounded better. It had more clearity and note separation but that's probably nothing a little EQ cant fix.
Basically the main differences are where the guitars frequencies are cutted or bring down in a mix, over 8000 hz is just noise that makes all the cymbals and vocals sound horrible and under 200hz where the kick and bass lives, if you are a guitar player probably don't care about this, but in a mix those frequencies will be cut down or bring down, the sound of a guitar is between 220hz and 5000hz, so, why spend more money on a limited equipment with no screen while you can get the whole thing with touch screen for less?
Everybody went crazy for the nano cortex but is still marketing for me (with all the respect of course, Neural are a great company but the nano cortex should be around $350)
Mix B has less gain saturation and presence, which I prefer... if that translate to it being the cheaper unit? I don't know. EDIT 1: Looking at your frequency graph comparisons, I would say A is the Neural and B is the Headrush. EDIT 2: Well look at that. I have ears that work. They are very close. It would have been interesting to have them compared with the actual amp as well.
I have the original pedalboard that I got in trade and Ive had it about a month now and last night i sat down and really took a deep dive into this thing and ive gotta tell ya, guitarists today have been spoiled tremendously with the tech at their disposal and for half of what cheap stuff used to cost 20 years ago.
Best wishes to you and especially your wife, Glenn.
B sounded like it had more low end freq and less treble. I was listening threw Kali LP-6 and a volt 276
TL072 surface mount at Mouser can be had for as little as $0.23, through hole are mostly under a buck. More proof that the big A and it's Membership / free shipping isnt always the cheapest.
Gleeeeeennn!! Thanks for the video, dude. I play on a NUX MG30 that I paid a shocking 240 bucks for. It's a cute little device that makes “serious” guitarists burst out laughing, and you know what? I couldn't care less. It's amazing. Why would I pay $1000 for something I don't and won't use? I love the MG30 and it ticks all my boxes. Comes with an extra Dual Footswitch and they keep improving the Software and adding features. What's not to love? I swear, Gear snobs are the worst.
I heard about your wife. I hope everything turns out alright. If you need anything else from us, just let us know. We'll be here when you return.
Good luck, and praise Crom!
Maybe Glen, you should do a comparison and share your thoughts on how units like the Pod Go and Headrush stack up. Like the mid tier multieffects segments
Hello
Great video. Will it work fine for a bassist? I'm looking for some thing that could replace my pedalboard... Does it have a pitch shifter? Any distortion like the Darkglass B7K?
I need to "voyager léger" (travel light, I'm planning to move to... Canada)!
Thanks for your content! You are one of the few youtubers that don't make "advertising videos"... I loved the V shape Shecter ones (for my son).