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Headrush Gigboard - First Impressions and Why I bought it
Why did I buy it:
Before I get into my first impressions of the Headrush Gigboard, let us go over why o bought it. The answer is simple, Simplicity! When going to gigs, I like to be organised, efficient and set up as quick as possible. To me carrying a big amp, whole pedalboard, cables, mics etc sounds like a nightmare! So I thought I would take the plunge and give an amp simulator and effects processor ago. There are loads of big brands to chose from. The biggest one, Kemper, with there newly released stage floorboard unit this seem like the perfect option. My issue with the Kemper is the learning curve. The setup and operation have a steep learning curve, well, that the price. So I decided to give the Headrush Gigboard ago. Simple set up (I hope), easy to learn and a good price.
Packaging
Upon first opening the box I noticed there isn’t a lot in there. The Gigboard, Power Brick and some Discs and instructions. That is about it. It was well packaged and safe. No marks or dents. Great Start!
I will also say that the actual box it came is nice. Always nice to see a company putting a bit of effort into there packaging! It tells me a lot about that company.
Build quality
Getting the actual unit out of the box and having a closer feel I could see that the build quality was excellent! Solid Metal case, High-quality touch screen and nice switches (More on that shortly). Overall the unit seems very well built and secure. Which you would expect for a piece of equipment designed for gigging and touring.
From what I have seen the Gigboard looks like it could take a bit of pounding, and would hold up under touring or gigging. After using the headrest Gigboard for a few weeks, doing a few gigs with it, I will do a full review and see how the build quality holds up.
Set up
How was set up? Plugging it in for the first time? Very simple! All inputs and outputs are named and labelled, easy to read and see. Plugin the guitar, Outputs and power. Hit the power button and it will load up to the last rig that was used (Or default gif if loading for the first time). Couldn’t be more simple to set up. Which is good news for me! As I have said the whole reason for buying this was to make set up and packing away faster and easier! Which it is already looking like it will be!
Looks
Rather than talk about the looks of the actual unit, It’s a black box with some switches and a screen. I am going to talk more about how it looks when using it. On first impression the look of the unit when using it is amazing! Coloured footswitches make it very clear which switch does what, Bright LED screen means you can see the menus and screen easily! Very comforting to use! With 90% of the colours and screen customisable you will be able to set it up however you want.
Switch Feel
I like the switches on the Gigboard. They can be set to either Latching or Non-Latching, which can be useful for some effects. Due to this, there isn’t a “Click” when stepping on the switch. Which, After using TC Electronics pedals, I love!
The switches feel stable, hardwearing and high quality. Again, I will update you all in the full review. How they have lasted!
First Time
So, My first few hours with the Headrush Gigboard. How did it go? One word? Easy! After the initial setup and having a little scan of the instruction manual and watching a few YouTube videos you soon learn how to use it. Thanks to the drag and drop feature you will be building presets (or “Rigs” and they like to call them) fairly quickly. There are loads of other features I am still learning, like how to use different functions live.
As said in many reviews, it is so simple to set up Rigs, and with a huge array of amps, cabs and effects, plus various signal paths the possibilities are endless. Overall, getting a good sound out of this unit is very simple! You can then go on and assign effects or scenes to footswitches.
Very happy with it so far, Using it more live will let me know how easy it is to use “under Pressure”. Which I am looking forwards to. Setting up Setlists and Rigs to use live will be interesting. More on that in the full review.
What is Next?
So now we have unboxed it, given our first impressions and thoughts what is the plan? Well, we do plan for a full review, a more in-depth look into the Board and also our thoughts.
The plan is to master the Gigboard and remake all the patches. Make patches that I will use and need. After using it, I will write a full review with sound demo and how I am finding it. We will announce when we release the full review. Follow us on our Instagram to keep up to date.
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