Headrush Prime vs Quad Cortex vs Kemper who profiles Better 

This was my first experience with your channel, and the comparisons were top-notch. Also, your honesty is a plus, too.

Another great comp, Jarrod. Looking forward to Sunday's show.

Thanks for taking time to do this video , hopefully the bug fixes for the prime will be sorted soon , Qc also had teething problems at the start I guess that’s the problem with this digital platform 🤘🏻🤘🏻

Jarrod you rock! Integrity, honesty and knowledge - what more could we want!

Your Honesty is Your BEST FEATURE. And appreciated by the average person, vs. a Company. And it is their reputation on the line at the time Product is Available. I think of all the Headaches you went thru to capture with Tonex in the Beginning. UNREAL.

Excellent, you're the greatest man! Thank you for keeping it real!!

Bravo! \m/ well done! I am really not regretting changing out my Gig Board for the Prime.

Thanks for the honest review. I appreciate you

Man im looking forward to this one. Cheers Jarrod.

Completely agree on the headrush. I had it and sent it back. A bug here and there is reasonable, but there were some major issues with that thing.

This was an excellent video. Thank you.

Great episode!

Thanks for excellent work!

Finally someone made this comparison. Thank you!

Amazing content mate. Cheers. Almost ordered one.

Thanks really enjoyed this video!!

Your doing the right thing keep up the good work.

Well done!

just found this channel, subscribed. Thanks, I'm in for an honest point of view. Ordering a QC now.

Thanks buddy. I really like your honest on Headrush Prime pedal. Now I'm starting to wonder, if I will buy it right now.

Good stuff! I love my HX Stomp and looking at good amp profiler. Hate the outdated Kemper interface.

Great Job

I bought the new IK axe io one and captured my 6505+ with just 2 cables, I think they did an update to make it easier to do. I used my 2notes capture direct and amp only no guitar playing...pretty cool!

Turned out about how I expected. Used the Kemper for about 7 years and was mostly happy with it but I always hated that mid hump and fizzy top end. Got the Quad Cortex a couple months ago and I've been loving it. It's an improvement over the Kemper algorithm PLUS has amp modeling. I just hope they follow through with the promise of integrating their amp sims. Wasn't impressed with the first Headrush so I'm not surprised with this new one

Appreciate your videos! For me, it's all about how well they record and sound in the mix. For me, hands down it's the Kemper. Strange thing, as some tones are really incredible when playing, listening and comparing, but they simply do not translate in the mix. FYI, I use purchase pro packs as a sound designer I am not.

Looking forward to this one. I will put my guesstimate in before this airs(I have a QC, owned a kemper for about 6 years until I parted ways with it after using QC for a while and I had a prime for about 3 weeks - returned as it just wasn’t as good as QC for most things - although presets for stomps, amps and IR management are much easier on the prime): the QC. Based on other videos with null tests it looks like NAM is most accurate followed very closely by ToneX. QC comes up next followed by kemper. No one has done a null test with the prime yet. But when I did some head to head captures vs clones in my own studio while I had the prime, the QC was much better plus there was a ridiculous amount of latency for the prime clones - as much as 14-16 msec.

I have the Kemper Stage, Quad Cortex and the ToneX ...... The answer is ...... They are all good as were the sounds in this video of the units you used! =) The Kemper very much depends on a good profile capture and really needs captures at different gain stages to get the sounds you want where QC once you get a good capture you are all set. Kemper has a little bit of fizz at times with captures but the clean tones really stand out. It will be interesting to see the new update that coming up with the Kemper with the new Liquid Profiling which will allow you to model the EQ and gain settings to profiles which should make a big difference and eliminate the need for multiple captures for different gain stages. Great comparison and all amp sounds (that you were able to capture on all devices) captured were extremely usable and excellent.

Thanks for your hard work. I´m live outside de US or the EU, so when I buy something I need to see as much good and honest reviews before venturing into buying units such as the ones you just tested. Thanks.

I’ve got a Boss GX 100 it does get enough love it sounds as good as the other ones in my opinion. I had an Eleven rack back in the day which is what the head rush is based on it was a nice unit

They all sound great to me. You made them sound excellent. We live in amazing times (at least guitar-equipment-wise) where you don't have to shell out crazy money to sound good.

😂😂😂 drinking tears. Made me hit the like button right away. Disappointing about the Headrush. I hope I won’t be asking for my money back once I get mine 😅 Great video. Loving the honesty and effort in putting this together 🙏

Amen to the Quad, thank you Mr. Castro and thank you Tone Wars with Clone Wars!!!

Totally agree with you

Professional job! Soul snatching profilers. Maybe the Revv had its soul sucked out by a previous profiler.

And there you have it. Thanks.

Thanks for your work! Is your voice AI-corrected?

Jarrod where do you buy those amp cages and stands from? I need some to clean up my studio.

Thanks for the comp. Prime still has no desktop controller?

Sweet!

The Quad cortex sounds the best to me and as a Neural Dsp user I have to say they are top end quality for me. Looks like they are close to getting a desktop editing system as well as using the plugins in the Quad cortex which will be awesome for owners. You rock brother 🤘💀🤘🎸💥✌

I couldn't stop laughing when you compared the revv when you got to the headrush. Lol. I know it's not funny when you spent so much time making this video. I just couldn't help it. I have both a Kemp and a Q.C. it took me almost a year to even open the Q.C. it sat in my room forever without touching it. But when you profiled the super 50 hiwatt. That was my first experience with it. I bought it and you did a great job on it. Now, I am trying to find a super hiwatt50 to buy. For me, profiles just make think, well, if it sounds this good on a profile, the real has to be even better. It's almost the new way to try out an amp before buying. That's kinda how I use it. I am looking forward to some of your other profiles.

At the outset, let me say that I have a Prime, and really like it, but I am content with downloading clones I like and not cloning my own. I would suspect that Headrush will eventually fix the algorithm, but for my lack of savvy, the UI on Headrush was the deciding factor for me; that, and the improved modeling from Pedalboard to Prime (to me ears). If I wanted to start a bad, industrial death metal band- that Revv setting is my go to. Thanks for the vid- great work and I appreciate the candor. As an aside, I vaguely recall when Fractal or Kemper units attempted to profile Hughes and Kettner, the results were wonky.

You have a good attitude. TRUST is the most important asset you have. TRUST takes a long time to build, but can be destroyed in seconds!

Dude you crack me tf UP lol... Since I'm a Line 6 fanboy I was able to enjoy this without a care 🤣🤣

I've been digging around trying to figure out how to pan in my Prime. Can't find any panning controls. Any ideas?

That’s how I felt about the quad cortex and sold it, they gave an editor as a distraction from the real selling point for me, the onboard amp sims, as I own many of their sims. Appreciate the honesty 🤘🏼

Kinda wish I'd been able to watch this video before ordering a Headrush Prime 2 days ago... I hope this bug with their profiling gets fixed quickly, or that it doesn't hit the few amps I own which I'll be cloning into it.

The Noise Gate is in the Input of the Headrush, not in the "rig" as an effect device. I would reach out to Eleven's engineers as far as the problems modeling the Revv. But, I love Liberal Tears in my whisky and I also use Liberal Tears to clean my guns.

I'm not going to lie...they all sound really good I believe anyone could dial in a killer tone.

I was able to get a perfect clone copy of a Dumble Amplifier on my HRP I do wonder if the Revv is giving the HRP an issue because it’s pedals do the same.

I agree!

I think you got a great ring modulator clone!

I would have loved to seen the tonex in this shoot out since some have said it has trouble doing higher gain stuff..thanks for doing what you do!!!

how in the world did you get clones that bad? i've not once had one that bad, i've had one lacking the definition. updated the firmware?

Does the Revv have a noise gate included? Could that be the reason for problems the Headrush had with the Revv? Or a serious impedance Problem? I'm an amp guy still. Enjoy your honesty, refreshing!

My personal favorite, the Quad Cortex, it sounds full

Do the Gain and EQ controls on a QC capture function like they would on the amp being captured?

This is why I tell everyone that your reviews are legit.

Change from Helix to Quad cortex and I'm not going back, I love the features in the Helix but sound wise the QC is superior.

Finally !

Be cool to see results with recorded tracks, eq match the clone from the real amp track

i wonder if on some amps when trying to clone with the headrush if its clipping not making it not sound right.

Does the Revv has an internal noise gate? this could be a problem while cloning.

Good God that Revv sounds good shure would be sweet if it had the form factor of those pedals

awesome R2D2 sounds

Man did I have a great laugh at that Headrush insect-hive tone

I have the quad cortex and I love it. Just got the prime as well but strangely I have not had an issue yet. I've cloned my revv and it worked no issues. Must buggy software which is a shame. They need an update to that device.

Quad is really good, but a lot more expensive than the Headrush, so it should be better overall.

3:15 dude, I also buy bulleit. I can’t believe it’s so cheap now compared to years ago, and that makes me not feel guilty about mixing it.

Love the frozen tears for whiskey!!!!

Hello! Do you know whether Headrush going to make a smaller version of Prime such they did Gigboard (smaller version of Pedalboard)?

To my ears the kemper was best over all - the cortex low end was a bit more pronounced compared to the amps - the headrush clones that actually worked sounded very good better than the the cortex IMO

This dude is funnnyyyyy

Not a headrush fanboy by ANY stretch of the imagination but I have been able to clone 10+ amps and they all work. Multiple profiles w/ and without cab. Cloned many overdrives as well. Sorry your unit doesn’t work, hoping it’s not indicative of all Prime units but I’ve enjoyed mine for what it is.

What do you think about boss katana artist head. And amp

I wonder if you have a defective unit. I have a HRP and haven't come across any of these issues you have had with your friend's HRP. My experience is the same that other paid youtubers have shown. The only issue I have found is that the clone presets don't save. If you adjust the volume on a clone then save that as a preset it reverts back to the original clone at the lower volume. There is a work around for that if using just an amp/cab clone (just adjust the main rig volume) but it should not be something you have to do. I have never had an error come up while cloning. I also do not clone super high gain stuff because that is not my cup of tea. I did however have an error on my Tonex. It was a dumb mistake on my part where I didn't have the mixer on my interface bypassed- this caused a feedback loop. Iam thinking either A) you have a defective unit or B) the HRP does not like super high gain tones. I might have to try a super high gain tone just to see.

How is the prime 10 months later?

Ice cubes made from "fanboy" tears to keep the whiskey cold 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

Which had the best Feel...

Midori uses Kemper. Kiko uses QC. The Trooch uses AxeFX-III. I use Boss Katana! ☺

NAM - Neural Amp Modeler is free open source software, and in the comparisons that I've seen, captures/profiles more accurately. The usefulness, weight, size, expense, and lack of flexibility of hardware Amps, compared to their digital counterparts, are all negatives for the hardware. I'm glad there are so many affordable Modelers and Tone Matching software solutions.

I like your honesty, I played a fender tonemaster next to a fender valve amp, there was no comparison, the valve amp filed the room with that presence,[you know what I mean] the tone master had no feel and just sounded thin like a cheap tranny amps i used a peavey bandit for years it was ok,i saw a review of the tone master by a famous blues player,who did not tell the truth, I told him he should be ashamed, he took it down, so I will keep a eye on you're reviews nice to to see truthful reviews,

This would drive me insane... I despise digital boards of amp & fx emulators/ capturers. There are issues with all of them.

LMFAO low and behold it turned into a Headrush Prime hate video after all 😂😂

Man I love the Kemper as a profiler UNTIL the Quad Cortex. They're both still quality profilers, but from an electronics and algorithmic perspective, they're not even comparable. Information Theory is ultimately the primary explanation the reasoning w.r.t. reconstructing signals, but also the quality and choice of electronics makes a huge difference relative to the algorithms used as well. There is a 9 year difference in the development of the two technologies (Kemper in 2012 and QC in 2021). The choice of electronics (hardware) specific to DL algorithms (software) used by QC for profiling amps is just superior. This isn't so much of a debate as it is just the evolution of technology. I imagine there is some bias in individual opinions (which varies significantly), but the QC is the undisputed king at present. As an aside, the fact that the Kemper can still hang speaks volumes about the superiority of the technology used to develop the Kemper UP UNTIL the release of the QC. Lastly, another great video bro 🤘

why should somebody prfile an amp `? I will never understand will just use whats in it point

there are some bad problems with the Prime.

I actually think the head rush unit was closest to the red head

What about axefx? I bet axefx 2xl and beyond is pretty much top tier

Dude, your tangents are exhausting.

Correct me if I’m wrong… But wasn’t that bulleit bourbon? Whisky? lol

Just got the Prime, and alone by itself, sounds decent. It was a bit of a toss up for me to either go with the neural dsp and prime, but had i watched your vids earlier, i would've went with the neural dsp 😢 Would still buy a neural of course, just for the portability, and thanks to your honest review, its a done decision to get a n.dsp QC. Thanks alot, brother. Keep rockin! Amazin' amp collection you've got there. Amazing effort with the editing, fell out of my sofa laughin at the funnies 😂. Never a dull moment with your vids, and thanks for sharing your 2 cents! 🤟✌️👍✊️

Lot of guys have cloned REVV and more other Amps. The clones are uploaded in Headrush Cloud. The sound is awesome. It’s very strange why and what happened with your cloning process, the Result ist terrible … I’m very happy with my Headrush Prime and haven’t any problems. Maybe your unit is just defect ?

I had to return the headrush prime due to poweroffs for no reason and shit like that. What this guys just did rushing to release the board will be a commercial suicide. I read about lots of guys with problems

Well, the state of play is this when it comes to profiles: NAM, ToneX, Quad Cortex, Kemper, HeadRush Prime. One of those solutions is a plug-in only, another has no effects, Quad Cortex has crap FX, Kemper has some excellent FX, but, is getting very long in the tooth. You personally destroyed the HeadRush Prime with your brutal review making the amps you used sound exactly the same and saying how bad the capture process was. So nothing is standing out at the moment all I know there is something about for the Kemper, and Line 6 it seems are about to announce something, the QC has the editor on the way who knows maybe some new FX, latency fixes, and DSP plug-ins on the way. So, its a waiting game at the moment before I need to pick a side. Checked responses below apparently there are profiles of the Revv 120 available for Primetime.

Mmmm Salty frozen tears yum lol 😂

Whats wrong with that headrush? 😂 ... I have an old one and it sounds much better than that. Thinking of getting a Kemper tho.

Hahahaha that's hilarious about the tears keeping your liquor cold 🥃

That Rev is a horrible sounding amp. sorry not sorry. I can't stand that amp. its almost as bad as a blackstar. didn't matter if it was the amp or the capture, sounded fizzy as shit and buzzy. you have much better amps than that to try this with. I think the headrush probably detected incoming of a hot turd and wouldn't profile or it needed tears of your enemies or something. All seriousness though, that capture fail you experienced is exactly what happened on every quad cotex capture I tried to make. So very strange. All the crappy captures I downloaded I was telling you about in that other post, sounded bad like your rev capture. Just tons of fizz and buzzy. not sure whats up cause I've heard your other stuff and sounds fine. Although I do think you may be a little deaf in the high frequencies. You always got just a tad too much top end sizzle going for my taste. Maybe its your in ears cutting it and you don't hear it like we do in the finished product. Those headrush boards are all shit for metal though all the way back to the 11rack or whatever that thing was called. They just keep regurgitating the same hot mess tones.

All this yap, yap about which one is better.. smdh. In a mix with a band no one in the crowd is going to tell the difference. The only thing they will care for is if the music is any good. This is like splitting hairs. Also you should dail in the sound that works for you. It's your sound..