There is a big gap on RU-vid for videos that talk about this kind of combinations. It’s an overcrowded place with RU-vidrs talking about drive sounds , amps, cabs , IRs and capturing etc. But quality videos of using the vast array of modulation, reverb, delay, pitch shifts, and looping possibilities with an external analog drive is difficult to find. I’m downsizing my board and planning to get this with a D&M drive and an AMT 11B pedal.
Wow. What a teacher/player/techy! I gotta get to your site brother. Hope you saved Ambiet for download. At 71 I'm a little slow. Been away from electric guitar for 20 yrs. and God has called me back to work....lol. My acoustic sounds really good thru this pedal also.
Thanks! I found this video extremely useful, I just got the MX5 yesterday. Looking forward to some deep dive tweaking, and hopefully more useful videos like this one!
Great chill review showcasing the many features. Thinking of using this with the Bluguitar Amp1 and some other pedals for my MAJIK BAND projects. Thanks
Yup, us guitar players - in general - are just one step up the evolutionary path from neanderthals, I have to agree. After 30 years performing, recording and all that jazz, the one area of my life as a player that has resisted technology has been my guitar rig. I like knobs and things I can kick/hit/abuse/etc. So... after many failed attempts at replacing trad pedals with a box of magic, I finally took one more leap of faith and got the Headrush MX5. The one thing that I didn't like was the compression so nice one Dave for pointing me in the direction of the Cali76. I thought I was tweaking the inbuilt compressors wrong but when I placed one of my old compressors at the start of the chain before the MX5, suddenly it all made sense 😀 Another good thing about the Headrush MX5 is that I can still hit it with my thigh bone from a mammoth and it's so well built it won't break lol - great video and thanks 👍👍👍
Headrush has to put a gain reduction meter in the compressors otherwise it is impossible to tell what they are doing. Especially because the Dyn III Comp's threshold level doesn't match the input level at all.
@@DaveBode Hopefully with updates they'll add a few tweaks down the line but until then I'll be fine with my old compressor. Thanks for pointing that out 👍
nice video. im trying to decide between this and a pod go so im watching every video i can find on them. not an easy decision because both have major pros and cons
As someone who comes from almost 15 years of playing all manner of Line 6 products, and who also owned a Digidesign Eleven Rack (which is what the Headrush is based on), I can only provide my opinion on the two. For me, the Headrush amps feel like they are mic'd up amps in the next room. The Matchless DC30 model of theirs is my favourite digital amp model I've ever played. The way it reacts is beautiful. The Line 6 also sounds good but the feel is not there. Almost sounds as if the Line 6 is "fully produced" compared to the more "raw" tone of the Headrush. The Line 6 effects are really good but the Headrush has caught up with it over the past few years. If possible, I would say try to play them both through a good speaker/headphone system and decide which of the 2 you prefer the feel and workflow of. The reviews on RU-vid do not do the Headrush justice as (even though it sounds great in many reviews) its main drawcard for me is the way it feels. Good luck :)
I think that these kinds of devices work well for people who are looking for amps, cabs and IR’s to sound different, because I think Headrush lacks of effects, I mean comparing it to Helix. I have some pedals, not the best, but they sound great into an IR from Headrush. I can’t afford expensive real amps, so devices like these are great for me. Great video! Cheers!
Fantastic playing! Thank you for a really great video showing some amazing and innovative ways of using the MX5. You’ve inspired me to experiment more with ambient sounds. Would it be possible to give us a rundown on how you set up the MX5 rig and footswitches to create those sounds?
Now that I Ve seen the entire video... I can really congratulate you. That was a brilliant no bs hands on demo. I Ve seen a tone of review of the mx5. This is by far the best in my opinion. U answered lots of questions I had (on ambient rigs possibility). More over you covered Clain, crunch a grain.. A bit for everyone... Tks
great video man... great playing.. I love my mx-5 too... I never had a pedalboard since Boss ME-5... I will not sell any of my true bypass pedals but I do use the mx-5 live..
I often find myself using 2 of the internal compressors in some (not all) of my my MX5 presets. I imagine one quality external compressor would actually open 2 more effects slots for me. I do have a Keeley 4 knob compressor on a pedal board. I may strip it off the board and try it out with the MX5. Having the blend knob on a compressor is where I believe the magic is.
The onboard comps on the MX5 are not great. Since I got the Cali76 Stacked, I've not used any comp on the MX5. I'm going to be doing a deep dive soon on the compressors and guitar compression in general. The release for the gray comp is somewhere around 1.4 - 3 seconds.
Thanks very much for taking the time and sharing your experience with the MX5. I found your suggestions really helpful. Great sounds!! Could I kindly ask you for some of your favorite IR and acoustic guitar brands that I can incorporate with the pedal? Thanks again and a happy new year to you and family.
Thanks for watching! I have experimented with several IRs both free and paid. These days I use a collection I got from Celestion called Heritage G12M IR Collection. It has five cabinet options - 1×12 closed back, 1×12 open back, 2×12 closed back, 2×12 open back, and 4×12 closed back - in one pack with multiple mic and EQ options for each cabinet. Between those and a parametric EQ, I can create the sounds I want. I haven't used an acoustic guitar with this pedal. I mostly play electric and bass. Although, you can get an Acoustic IR that will make an electric sound a lot like an acoustic with a piezo pickup and an IR sounds better than the Acoustic Sim pedal in the MX5. I use one with my band using a single coil bridge pickup on my Solar. Sounds shockingly good. You can also get IRs that will make a plugged-in acoustic sound about 90% as good as a mic'd up acoustic! Search for Acoustic IR and find some excellent free and paid IRs specifically for acoustics!
this stacked cali hands down made me get rid of all my pedals its even better into a tube amp the touch resp when you have dialled it is another level, cool
Hey Dave, great playing and great tone, Where are you placing the Cali, direct in before the MX5 or through the FX loop of the MX5? I am very disappointed with the tones from my MX5, I think they made it way over complicated when most guitarists want 3 sounds, plus modulations, the sounds I get when programming it don't sound half as good as yours
I'm pretty sure a walkie talkie would sound great through the Cali 76 🤣 That being said I love the MX5 and I like to use the effects loops to connect to analog pedals. It really pushes it to another level.
The compressors are solid, but not spectacular. The Gray Comp has a very long release between 1.4 and 3 seconds. The transient of the first note played once the Gray Comp is turned on poked through because the attack is also a bit slow. I'm going to be doing a deep dive video on this soon. Subscribe so you don't miss it!
Thank you for the this great video. But I have some questions. 1. If we are on a setlist mode, can we still use a scene mode on different rig inside the setlist? 2. On setlist mode, can we skip rig to switch to another rig without? Example on when I'm on Rig 1 and want to go to Rig 4, can we skip 2 and 3 without affecting the sound that are set on 2 and 3? Again thank you for the video.
Great video on multiple levels. I have an MX5 and it really is amazing. My question is. How is Ola doin with the QC on the Solar guitars? They truly seem to be very well made. I know he's making them in Indonesia in a pretty budget friendly factory but, are they as good as they appear to be? Also just found your page. Instant subscribe.
I am pleased with my Solar A1.6W. There is a tiny amount of fret sprout that popped up a month after I had it. I'm not all concerned. My volume pot got a piece of debris in it and Solar sent me a new pot. Overall, it's a solid guitar and I really like playing it.
May I ask how you connected the Cali? I’m looking to utilize to stereo send return for a stereo H9 max…so will it be practical to connect it to the gt input?
So how do you feel this until stands up to the line 6 helix? I have heard people say the amp modeling doesn't compare and than people do but am not a electric guy either.
@@stephenwhitney5576 Studio Rats is a good channel too. Helix VS MX5 is an apples to oranges comparison. Much different price point. That said, I think the MX5 can easily match the Helix for amps. I came from a Line 6 X3 Live and believe it or not, that still sounds really good too. One thing that makes the MX5 and all the Headrush boards so powerful is the UX. I can create and rigs, dial in effects, program hardware assignments, and level match very fast on the MX5. I am used to programing my board with a PC app, but I put my MX5 on a stand when I am programing and that makes it very convenient. I'm not sure I could actually program it faster with an app at this point. The MX5 isn't the end all product, but it is a hell of a value. The compressors and overdrive/distortions could use a bit of work, but they take user feedback seriously and are very active in developing the firmware.
Guitarists aren't just being regressive and 'resisting change'. People have come up with so many dead end techie guitar products over the decades, and you know what? Guitarists were right to reject them because they all sucked in one way or another. The good ones survived, improved and now we have cheap and great stuff like this. As for preferring strats and les pauls, music is aesthetic and so is making music. What's the point of adopting debatably useful new technologies if you lose the thing that draws you to the art in the first place? And where there's a reason for it, guitarists have taken it up e.g superstrats. Sorry for the rant.
The most popular guitars were designed in the 50s-60s. That isn't the height of technology. And most guitar players I have interacted with are not familiar with more advanced audio processing concepts like attack, release, and knee on a compressor.
"Unless you are going to play a song that those are based on, what good are they really? So what I'm going to show you is how to play a tone from scratch." From scratch? Nah. I don't think so.
