By combining stellar-sounding amp models and cabs with an impressive collection of pedals and effects, the Headrush MX5 Amp Modeling Guitar Effect Processor gives you the functionality of a fully stocked rig with grab-and-go convenience. The MX5 is loaded with an optimized quad-core processor, with a wide variety of vintage and modern gear options at your disposal to create custom rigs. Its 4-inch touchscreen is bright and easy to navigate, making it a breeze to swap out models and switch between presets. When you’re ready to hit the stage or use it in the studio, the MX5’s I/O options supply you with all the connections needed to showcase your sound, doubling as an audio interface when used with a computer. Throw in expert-level additions like a dedicated onboard looper, an assignable expression pedal, and a global EQ, and the Headrush MX5 Amp Modeling Guitar Effect Processor bottles convenience and quality at a steal of a price.
Headrush boards and processors are known for their accessibility, and for good reason — their user-friendly designs ensure that players of all skill levels can quickly find and design studio-grade sounds with only a few presses. To achieve just that, the MX5 is outfitted with a highly responsive 4-inch touchscreen. Taps, swipes, and drags are pulled off with zero latency, letting you adjust tones in real time. This is an exciting feature for many gigging guitarists at Music Experience, which is made even better with an ultra-bright HD display that shines clearly on even the darkest stages.
Much like its heftier, pricier siblings, the MX5 packs all of the amps and effects you crave into a fully stocked gigable board — this time more portable than ever! It’s perfectly sized for backpacks and bags of all kinds; it weighs a mere 3.5 pounds yet it packs the power and fury of tube heads and cabs that typically tip the scales. Whether you’re constantly hopping on planes or you’re in need of an all-in-one solution for Sunday services, the MX5’s extensive feature set and portable design solidify it as a first-choice modeler for the discerning player.
With 46 amplifiers, 15 cabs, 10 mic emulations, 300 IRs, and 63 professional-quality effects on board, the MX5 conjures seemingly endless sounds and textures pulled from beloved vintage and modern gear. By using the 4-inch touch display, crafting your own rigs is accomplished in seconds — just drag and drop amps and effects to your heart’s content to nail whatever sound you seek, then save your rig as part of a Setlist for instant recall whenever you need it. Best of all, Headrush’s consistent updates ensure new models will be added all of the time, with options for loading your own third-party IRs via USB to Mac or PC.
Aside from the MX5’s incredible array of gear and rig-crafting capabilities, Headrush loaded it with even more versatility. Its trio of footswitches is capable of much more than meets the eye, tackling everything from toggling models and Scenes to swapping rigs and accessing Setlists. Want to give the hands-free mode a spin? Simply hold down footswitch 1 to access this mode, allowing you to select models to tweak, choose the parameter, and then use the built-in expression pedal to fine-tune your sound. You can even toggle multiple effects on and off from a single switch when in Scenes mode — this kind of instant access is critical when needing to swap rigs on the fly when playing live. And since the MX5 features gapless preset switching, reverb and delay tails will continue to ring out after switching presets. Appointments like this give the MX5 a boutique feel that belies its budget price.
The MX5’s built-in advanced looper handles up to 20 minutes of layered audio, with a maximum length of five minutes per loop to ensure it’s perfectly suited to any playing situation. Singer/songwriters who frequent coffee shops and small venues will appreciate the looper’s compatibility with MP3 and WAV files, allowing you to load in backing tracks or save your own loops for future projects and performances.
In need of a simple solution for all of your performance and recording needs? The MX5 checks all the required boxes, serving as a high-quality 24-bit/96kHz audio interface when connected to a computer. It’s perfectly compatible with all of your favorite DAWs, with an incredibly convenient Reamp option to color any audio with the MX5’s amps and effects. When in Reamp mode, pre-recorded audio signals are sent through the MX5 and then recorded back into your DAW — this applies the tone of the MX5 to a previous take without needing to play parts over and over.
Headrush outfitted the MX5 with connectivity options that seamlessly integrate into any guitar setup. Labeled Guitar In and Right/Left output jacks let you connect your instrument and amps to the MX5 just like any other pedal or processor, with a built-in effects loop to throw external pedals into the signal chain at any point you choose. A 1/4-inch expression input lets you use your favorite expression pedals. You also get 1/8-inch headphone and aux jacks, as well as a pair of 1/8-inch-to-MIDI adapters for added functionality.
Super-compact yet loaded with all the power of HeadRush, MX5® is an incredibly easy to use and realistic-sounding guitar FX and amp modeler that’s ideal for the desktop, the studio and the stage. Featuring a finely-tuned multi-core processor and 4” high-resolution touch display, the HeadRush MX5 makes tone building easy, letting you touch, swipe and drag-and-drop to instantly create and edit your perfect tone in an unprecedentedly realistic and intuitive way.
Center stage on the HeadRush MX5 is an ultra-responsive 4-inch touch display (Exclusive Patent Pending Technology) and a guitarist-centric, intuitive user interface – literally touch, swipe and drag-and-drop to instantly create rigs with lightning speed and precision. For the gigging guitarist, MX5’s radiant high-resolution display has you covered, providing critical feedback exactly where, and when, you need it - especially when tweaking tones via the expression pedal in 'Hands-Free Mode’. Everything about the HeadRush MX5 is designed to make it simple, fast and intuitive to jump right in and create your perfect tone in seconds.
Equally suited to home recording or live performance situations, the HeadRush MX5 is incredibly portable at just 3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) and can fit in most backpacks or instrument cases. It’s never been this easy to bring the best classic vintage and modern gear to rehearsals, performances, or recording sessions near or far, without breaking the bank—or your back!
The HeadRush MX5 packs a big punch of tone with an immense library of 50 amplifier models, 15 cabinets with 10 microphone emulations, 300 impulse responses, and more than 65 premium FX! All HeadRush models are flawless simulations of the most sought-after vintage and modern gear with unrivalled accuracy and authentic dynamic response. There’s even an expertly curated selection of premium HeadRush FX that can’t be found anywhere else. This library will continue to be expanded with regular firmware updates that add new models and features based on user requests and feedback.
Out the box, the HeadRush MX5 includes over 300 precision-captured impulse responses, meticulously crafted in IoSR Studios with some of the world’s most revered guitar cabs. Loading your own third-party IRs is a snap; simply hook up the MX5 to your Mac or PC via USB and drag-and-drop your choice IRs. Plus, with virtually unlimited storage for IRs with 1024 and 2048 sample lengths, MX5’s tone sculpting possibilities are virtually limitless!
Gapless preset-switching is an exclusive HeadRush feature, ensuring any reverb or delay-tails will continue to ring out, even after changing your preset or rig. The result? No break in your sound, and your rig changes sound fluid and seamless.
Controlling your sound has never been easier courtesy of MX5’s 3 built-in footswitches that toggle 3 models or scenes, change rigs, or access your setlists. Quickly switch between the footswitch modes by holding footswitch 1 to select your desired mode. You can also select setlists, enter hands-free mode, and lock the touch display from this menu.
Need to add a little more gain at the last minute? No problem! Using the hands-free edit mode, you can adjust any parameter mid-song without having to stop playing and/or bend over. Simply select the model that you want to adjust, select the parameter, and then use the built-in expression pedal to fine-tune your settings!
The powerful Scenes feature enables you to turn multiple models on or off in each rig, as well as select different model presets using only one footswitch. When you press the footswitch assigned to that scene, all models included in that scene will turn on or off, or change to a different preset depending on how you assign them. This powerful feature is an incredibly efficient way to create quick access for different tones in the same rig.
The expression pedal has two powerful modes, Classic Mode and Advanced Mode, alongside a toe switch to switch between two banks — Expression Pedal A or B. In Classic mode, if you assign a wah pedal to Expression Pedal A and a volume pedal to Expression Pedal B, only one of them will be active at any time; when you are controlling the wah pedal, the volume pedal will be bypassed, and vice versa. With the Advanced setting you can assign up to four parameters to each expression pedal (A and B). Moving the pedal will adjust all of its assigned parameters simultaneously. Using the toe switch will select the other expression pedal and leave the current pedal’s parameters active and at their maximum values.
Best-In-Class Looper wiThe HeadRush MX5 has an advanced built-in looper that you can use to layer parts during performances, or use as a songwriting tool when inspiration strikes. You can load .WAV and .MP3 audio files into the Looper to play along with backing tracks; you can also save your new loops as .WAV files and export them to your Mac/PC via USB Transfer Mode for sharing with the world. Each loop has a maximum length of 5 minutes, and can hold up to a whopping 20 minutes of layered audio at a time.
The HeadRush MX5’s Global EQ feature is perfect for tailoring your sound to any space; whether it’s a venue or rehearsal space, fine tune your presets to ensure you sound great and complement the acoustic characteristics of any environment. Dial back the Low and Low mids in boomier venues or push up the high end in soundproofed rehearsal spaces - whatever your space demands, MX5 delivers, letting you quickly apply some corrective equalization to your main ¼” outputs and all of your presets without permanently altering them.
You can use the convenient Setlists feature to quickly organize and re-order your rigs for an upcoming performance. A setlist is a saved collection of rigs, which you can save and recall at a later time - perfect if you only need some of your rigs for a performance.
HeadRush MX5’s USB connection opens up a world of feature-rich, intuitive recording and reamping to a computer. When the HeadRush MX5 is connected to your computer, you can select and use the HeadRush MX5 as a 24-bit 96 kHz audio interface! When choosing the Reamp option you can add the tone coloration of an amp to a pre-recorded audio signal—in this case, sending audio from your DAW through the HeadRush MX5 and then recording it back into your DAW. This time saving feature is perfect for changing the sound of a pre-recorded killer guitar take without having to manually play the same part again.
The HeadRush MX5 integrates seamlessly into your current rig with all the connections you need to handle any performance situation. Combining a ¼-inch guitar input, (2) ¼-inch TRS outputs switchable between amp or line level, a 1/8-inch output for headphones, 5-Pin MIDI in/out via 2 1/8"-to-MIDI adapters, plus an onboard ¼-inch stereo FX loop to integrate external pedals at any point in the signal chain, effortless integration into your existing setup is a snap! The HeadRush MX5 even features a ¼-inch TRS input to connect an external expression pedal. The HeadRush MX5 unites your existing equipment while opening up a world of new sonic possibilities.
| Analog/Digital | Digital |
|---|---|
| Number of Effects | 63 |
| Effects Types |
Distortion, Dynamics, Modulation, Reverb, Delay, FX Loop, Expression |
| Amp Modeling | 46 x Amp Models, 15 x Cabinets, 10 x Microphone Emulations |
| Impulse Response | 300 x IRs, 3rd Party Support |
| Looper |
20 minutes total, Up to 5 minutes per loop |
| Inputs |
1 x 1/4" (instrument), 1 x 1/4" (FX return), 1 x 1/8" (aux) |
| Outputs |
2 x 1/4" TRS (L/mono, R), 1 x 1/4" (FX send) |
| MIDI I/O | 2 x 1/8" (In, Out/Thru) |
| USB |
1 x Type B |
| Headphones | 1 x 1/8" |
| Expression Control | Built-in Pedal, 1 x 1/4" TRS |
| Features | 4-inch Touch Display |
| Compatibility | Mac, Windows |
| Power Source | 12V DC 3A power supply (included) |
| Height | 2.75" |
| Width | 11.6" |
| Depth | 6" |
| Weight | 7.14 lbs. |
| Manufacturer Part Number | MX5XUS |
