Akai Head Rush Tape Echo Simulator/Loop Recorder

The Headrush takes a little tap dancing to get used to, but it's not just a Delay pedal. Really, it's pretty straightforward for a Looper. The Manual is pretty lean, but everything you need to know is in there. A little easier to use than the Line 6 Delay Modeler pedal.

I play mostly mahogany planks (a Santana SE and a Les Paul Special SL) with a pile of effects, including a JamMan, a Line 6 Delay Modeler, and a Boss Loop Station. Yeah, I'm really into layered Loops and Delay lines. I usually use a Boss GT-3 instead of an amp, but when I use an amp, I use a Roland JC-90. I listen to all kinds of weird guitar music, but I'm particularly into players like Robert Fripp, Bill Frisell, the late Sonny Sharrock and Vernon Reid.

The Headrush doesn't seem to add any noise to my rig, but I was kind of disappointed with the Output level; I'd like the Delay level to match the Dry level. Otherwise, this a very useful toy. Neither the Line 6 nor the Loop Station will let you choose between Looping and long Frippertronic Delays. The Headrush will let you get really long Delays, and still give you control over Feedback. A fully loaded JamMan will give you almost ten more seconds of Delay, but you'll pay a lot more for a used JamMan than a new Headrush. Also, there's a dirty little secret about the JamMan; it's not exactly a true stereo unit.

It seems sturdy enough. I've been told that the box is metal, not plastic, but it felt pretty light to me. I almost always have at least two Loop/Delay effects in my rig at any given time, so I don't know about needing a backup for the Headrush. Really, considering the cost of replacing it, I'd rather take the Headrush out than my JamMan, so in a way, the Headrush is my backup unit.

Not a clue; bought it used, and it works fine.

I play some pretty weird music; think King Crimson meets Nine Inch Nails, filtered through a bit of The Residents. If all that means anything to you, you've probably locked yourself in a room full of noise, the same as I have. May "BOB" help you. The Headrush is certainly a worthy addition to my pile of gear, even with all the other Delay/Loopers.

I've been playing for too damned long, and I have an oddball collection of effects boxes and synth modules. I'm particularly fond of Delays, Ring Modulators and Pitch Shifters. If something happened to my Headrush, I would probably get another one because it's a versatile box for a low price. My least favorite feature is the low output; my favorite feature is the long Delay. I haven't gotten to try the multiple Outs yet, but it looks like a fun feature for multi-track recording. I do wish that it had stereo In/Out jacks, like the Line 6, and a Reverse switch would be nice, but I don't know how much those additions would raise the price.

Considering the price and the simplicity of the Headrush, there isn't really anything to compare it to; the Line 6 Delay Modeler and the Boss Loop Station are very different from the Headrush. The closest thing in operation is actually the JamMan, but for the price of a used JamMan, you could buy the Headrush and the Line 6, and still have $100 or so left over.

easy to use - manual included. Knobs a little small for adult fingers.

setup - strat or es 295 clone with P90s or LP junior - compressor - TS 10 - Gibson GA 15 RV or vibrolux. It's quiet. Tone is truly awful - very tin can sounding - no true bypass - all harmonics destroyed.

It seemed solid. only kept it 2 days.

don't know

Play most styles for 40 years. I owned an anolog delay at the time I purchased the Akai. The Akai was terrible in comparison. I returned it to mail order co. for refund. Since then I picked up a Guyatone tape echo. Once you use the real thing these little digital tin boxes sound extremely lame.

it was very easy once you figure out the controls. didn't need a manual, real men don't need no damn manuals. simple effect for simple people

does it matter what i have this thing is quiet. i don't like the delay very. i got it for the looper. it's a breeze. you can put anything through it sounds good.

when i got this in the mail the switches need to be tightened and it seems flimsey but i'll give it time.

n/a

i play blues/rock/jazz/funk/reggie/country/chillout music to get me to the next level, anything i can get my hands on really. it's a cool pedal to add to my set up. i think the delays are good but the looper is great. very easy to use. i use to own a korg ax1000g and the delays on that were better cus you could tweek the delays and still hears the sound, very cool things on that. but the looper on it was too short 8sec i need one that was longer and the akai had it plus some other cool things like over dub thats great for bedroom jammin and live stuff who needs a second guitarist i'm a one man band. i think its good for people who need to practice soloing. good tool for a lazy guitarist.

This review is based solely on the looping recorder of the Head Rush, because that's all I use. Only reason I'm giving this a 9, is that it takes a few trys to get used to accurately hitting the record and play button - otherwise, it's dead easy.

Sound quality is pretty good - not perfect, but good. I don't use this in a conventional manner, which is why I decided to post a review - I beatbox into the Head Rush, and layer more vocals or keyboards in a sort of live songwriting gig. I send to the Head Rush from my mixer, and return it to a channel - works great. The cool thing about doing it this way, is you can sample anything coming into your mixer - in a duo setting, I often sample the bass player comping, and then he can do whatever he wants. The Head Rush has an output which is "Effect out" or "Head 1". This is the one I have to use, as I don't want signal passing through the Head Rush unless I'm recording, because you would get a feedback loop. None of the other pedals I tried could do this (Boss and Line 6), which is why the Head Rush is perfect for me.

Very dependable. Occasionally, it will do something weird, like not record anything, but I'm never sure if that's because I didn't press the switch properly, or if it was actually an error.

Don't know - never needed to...

I'm not sure if I'm the only person around doing this, but it's a really great option if you do solo or duo stuff and shudder at the thought of using sequences. Of course, if you want to layer, you have only 11sec of loop time, which usually amounts to about 4 bars (if you want an even phrase), but a four-bar drumloop is cool, and about what you get in modern tracks anyway. You have to be discerning about what songs you play, and a little bit clever with your arrangements, in order to use it. It's great fun, though - try it sometime!

There are always other things you wish your pedals had, but for the money, this is just about the best thing I've ever bought. It has revived my interest in smaller band gigs, and has useful applications for bigger bands as well. The looping recorder really shines in a duo setting.

The delay modes are very easy to figure out, especially with the tap tempo buttons; just tap out a time with your foot and you're all set. The delay mode is a little tricky to figure out, but this is mostly due to the timing required to get the loop to sound seamless. With a little practice, however, this becomes second nature. Came with a good manual and has big, easy-to-use nobs.

My musical tastes range from Metallica and Pantera to Yngwie Malmsteen and the Satch to Tommy Castro and SRV. I play in a garage band and write lots of originals. Currently I am using a Fender american Strat w/ Lace Sensor pickups. My lineup is Crybaby 535 => Boss Metal Zone => Boss Overdrive => Ernie Ball 6165 Volume/ Pan => Boss Noise Supressor => Fender Stage 160; the Headrush I keep in my effects loop with the Noise Supressor. I like keeping the Headrush in the effects loop as it allows me to loop a track at a set volume (with the volume pedal) and then crank the volume up a little to solo over it. I have read reviews that said this pedal was overly noisy in an effects loop, but with the noise suppressor in there it seems to keep things sounding pretty clear. The sound quality of the looping mode when i used it direct into my amp was a lot more muddied, in the effects loop the two parts are a lot more distiguishable. As for the delay, I liked the digital a lot more than the analog. the digital sounds great, even when you change delay times on the fly. The tap feature is awesome, especially since you can tap a tempo out when the delay mode is off. The analog seems a little too chintzy and fuzzy for my taste (altough it is passable when used with a little overdrive) and is the only reason why this thing gets a 9. This is a very fun pedal to tinker with and is inispensible if you are a one-guitar band and like to solo without losing your ryhthm backup.

Seems fairly solidly built. I've slammed it around a fair deal and it still functions fine. I've never had to worry about it crapping out during a show, so, yes i probably would use it during a gig without a backup.

I've never had to deal with AKAI, and hopefully never will if this thing keeps holding up the way it has.

I have compared this pedal to Digitech delay pedals and this pedal defineately wins over them. This pedal has become an indispensible part of my rig. I love being able to loop and then solo over it easily during a show. I would definately buy a new one if it was stolen. The only thing i wish it had was a button you could hit with your foot to switch between the delay and loop modes easily. However, it still gets a 10 from me and is probably my favorite and most fun effect to use.

2 delays and a looper. In one sense, it's a no-brainer to get the delays to perform acceptably... but as with any other piece of equipment that has as many possible combinations of settings as the E-1 does, the more you play with it, the better control and more satisfactory results you will get. There are no "presets" or ways to save settings on this thing, so it is difficult to exactly recreate a specific sound. That said, the control dials are large and easy to see, and the delay time can be set by tapping, or by using the dials, with both coarse and fine adjustments. The looper is a matter of some practice, but if you don't have enough rhythmn to tap into and out of the loop, you have more problems as a musician than just with this effect! It takes some practice to hit the right switch for overdubs without thinking, or to be able to erase an overdub on the fly, but learning how to do this is all part of the fun. The manual doesn't tell you a lot, but within a half hour of tinkering, you will know what you need to know. Because of the practice needed before the looping becomes automatic, the need to remember the general settings for a favorite sound, and because there is just so much that can be coaxed from this critter, I'll give it an 8 overall for ease of use.

I've used this with a 1972 Gibson E325 semi-hollowbody into a Peavy Delta Blues 210, running the guitar into a Tech 21 Killer Wail wah, into Tech 21 GT2, into MXR Phase 90, into the Headrush then the amp. Acoustic I go from the guitar into a Tech 21 Acoustic DI, into the MXR Phase 90, a Danelectro tuna Melt trem, intothe Headrush. Guitars are a 1968 Grammer, a 1990 Guild D25-12 string, or a 1997 National Polychrome, into a Crate CA60. The Grammer and Guild have passive piezo pickups, the National has the Highlander resonator pickup with its own preamp. The Headrush adds no appreciable noise to either setup. It also sounds good going through either the GT@ or the DI into a Fostex digital recorder. Having the Headrush at the end of the chain gives a lot of flexibility when using the looper, since you can loop either with or without the prior effects, and then solo over it with a different tone or effect. With the tap tempo and the tape delay setting it is easy to lose hours messing with the regeneration (feedback) and damping to get a finger-picked rhythmn to burble into infinity with a guitar in an open tuning... and that is a good thing. I have to say that to me, the four outputs for the tape delay seem to be pretty useless, but it may be that I'm just too lazy to bother running four outs into a mixing board... anyway, that's not why I got this thing. The looper sounds great. As others have noted, an awareness of the volume setting, and a little bit of compensation when recording the loop will optimize the blend. The reproduction is very good, and I have gone back and listened to some layered loops I've recorded, and been "surprised" whenthe second (and third) guitar joined in. The high frequency damper works in the two delay modes, and really lets you dial in a warm analog-like delay tone. I like the way this overgrown pedal sounds!

Haven't had it more than a month, so I really can't speak to its reliability. It has every appearance of being well put together.

No experience with Akai.

Played for 35+ years for sanity, not money. On my own I tend towards acoustic, David Crosby, Paul Simon, Bruce Cockburn type stuff fingerpickin. Play in a classic rock-blues-country band with some other old farts every other week, where I torture the Gibson with what I think of as rhythmn guitar. For the acoustic sounds, the two delay settings are both useful in adding ambience,with long delay times really helping to fill out a solo sound and add interesting counterpoints to a groove; electric I use shorter delays and a bit of slapback... don't play too much lead in the group setting. I bought this for the tap tempo and long delay capability, and man, it delivers. The damping knob gets a lot of use when going from the small body Grammer acoustic, to the twelve string, to the tricone metal resonator... it is very useful in keeping out that sterile digital sound. The looper is more fun than I ever thought it would be. Like many others, I wish the loop length was longer,and it does take some tapdancing to bring it together in a live performance... but the bottomline is that it is just way cool. For what this pedal costs it is a total bargain... two types of delay that sound great and are infinitely tweakable, together with a looper that you can just keep pouring loop after loop upon until it melds into a bubbling brook, or until it descends into sonic overload like a stroll down the boardwalk on Fourth of July.....sorry, got carried away there...It isn't perfect, the looper really could use a fade out, as you really notice thatits gone when you stomp it off... it isa good idea to play along with the "bottom" of the loop before cutting it out, and then don't cut it at its end point, but rather, somewhere in the middle... I'm thinking of getting a cheaper delay pedal to put after the Headrush just so that the loop would echo out when its cut off... All in all though, its a cool toy.

This thing is awesome. Two foot-activated buttons. It's fun. It's easy. Sometimes I mess up but that's my fault, not the machine.

Incredible!! I can't believe a little box has such wonderful, clear sounds. It is much better fidelity than my Roland Dr. Sample SP202. Plus for guitar layering there's nothing better. Ever hear recent Don Caballero? That's the Headrush.

This is indestructible.

Don't know.

I play music and run a home studio. I don't use this very often but when I do it's always a pleasure.

just a tip: try the headrush in your effects loop AND in front of the amp. mine is dead quiet in front and noisy as hell in the effects loop. also, don't use a cheap power supply (signal flex ps-9) as it will cause the pedal to hum (along with anything else it's powering). as well, if the pedal is in front it of the amp, the signal seems a bit louder than in the effects loop. as with most effects, try them in different places since every rig is different.

Bought this unit for looping purposes. It is the EASIEST of all units out there, anyone of the other reviewer's having trouble with a "pause" when setting loop end point is NUT'S, and needs to work on their timing. This thing rocks and is a breeze to use in a live setting, just have to focus on the groove and not get distracted.

Using this with a trio and also for all solo acoustic shows, adding rythym grooves to solo over or thumping on the acoustic for a drum groove to play with. It offers excellent sound quality, more than adequate for live gig's, no hiss or tone loss. As others reviewer's have said, it does play back a bit softer than the original tone, but easily solved by playing extra hard for a few bars, or playing on top of the loop with a slightly lighter touch.

Built sold, no compliant's.

No need to call 'em yet.

This unit as a looper is the perfect - no bell's and whistle's - plug and play - more than adequate sample times. Again the unit is a breeze to punch in and out after a couple days, it is the musician's timing that is bad if they can't hit the groove. Bottom line, a dirt cheap, rock solid, killer little piece of gear.

A bit of a trick...you'd better get that loop set up _just_ right because if you are even a NANOSECOND off your drummer will hate you.

Sounds great! I have no problem with noise at all. People seem to have an issue with this but mine is pristine.

Seems tough...metal bottom...powerful switches...plastic case though.

For the price this looper just plain rocks. 24 seconds? How much do you need? I don't need 4 minutes (boomerang) that's for sure.
OK, big tip; The original signal IS louder than the sample, kinda too bad but this is what you do.... Send a line from the dry out to the "active" input (on your bass amp, sorry) and a line from the wet (effect) output to your "passive" input. Blend the two with the level control and volia! Sample is plenty loud. I suppose you could send the two outputs to a wee mixer if you had only a mono amp input.
I love this box. Turns my three-piece into a four piece. Bye, bye Mr. guitar player.....