HeadRush debuts the amp-cloning and Auto-Tune-equipped Prime, “the most powerful, versatile, and realistic-sounding floorboard FX processor ever”

HeadRush has announced the follow-up to its flagship Pedalboard guitar processor, the HeadRush Prime. The new unit brings some powerful features to the table (or rather the floor) – including the ability to clone guitar amps and pedals – and new vocal processing capabilities. 

Owned by the same parent company as Numark, Akai, Alesis and M-Audio, HeadRush was conceived to corner the guitar market, debuting its first product, Pedalboard, in 2017.

Prime builds on Pedalboard’s core physical design, with an interface that centers around a seven-inch touchscreen. There are also 12 brightly-lit foot switches and an expression pedal, plus rotary knobs for more hands-on control.

Unlike Pedalboard, though, it offers what HeadRush calls “the easiest amp and pedal cloner ever.” The firm says you simply need to connect the device and the Prime will guide you through the rest of the process, using its touchscreen display.

As mentioned, Prime will also function as a vocal processor, and includes Antares’s industry-standard Auto-Tune tech, plus harmony, doubler, distortion, reverb and delay effects.

That all arrives on top of the features that made the original Pedalboard an appealing package, including a huge library of modelled gear and IRs (including ReValver models) and a looper that can handle 20 minutes of layered audio. Then there’s a wealth of I/O, including MIDI, USB, WiFi and bluetooth connectivity.

It’s a pretty menacing package that clearly has the likes of Neural DSP’s Quad Cortex in its sights. Indeed, Neural DSP claims to offer “the most powerful floor modeller on the planet," while HeadRush says the Prime is “the most powerful guitar FX/amp modeler/vocal processor.” To paraphrase Highlander, there can be only one.

The Prime is clearly priced to compete, too, coming in at $1,299, compared to the Quad Cortex's $1,849 price tag.

For more information on the Prime, head to HeadRush.