User Guide (English) Version 1.0.
Table of Contents Introduction ..................................... 3 Managing Loops ......................... 20 Loop Settings .................................. 21 Box Contents................................ 3 Exporting and Importing Loops ... 23 Support ......................................... 3 Audio Routing ............................. 25 Input Setup ..................................... 25 Monitor Setup................................. 26 Features ..........................................
Introduction Box Contents Looperboard USB Cable Power Adapter Software Download Card Quickstart Guide Safety & Warranty Manual Support For the latest information about this product (documentation, technical specifications, system requirements, compatibility information, etc.) and product registration, visit headrushfx.com. For additional product support, visit headrushfx.com/support.
Features Top Panel 6 8 7 1 3 2 3 3 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 3 1. Touchscreen: This full-color multi-touch display shows information relevant to the HeadRush Looperboard’s current operation. Touch the display (and use the hardware controls) to control the interface. See Operation > Overview to learn how it works. 2. Encoder: Turn this encoder to scroll through the available menu options or adjust the parameter values of the selected field in the display.
Rear Panel 15 5 5 5 5 6 9 7 8 4 14 13 10 11 12 2 1 3 1. Power Input (19 VDC, 3.42 A, center-positive): Connect this input to a power outlet using the included power adapter. 2. Power Adapter Restraint: Secure the power adapter cable to this restraint to prevent it from accidentally unplugging. 3. Power Switch: Press this button to turn the HeadRush Looperboard’s power on. Press and hold this button to turn the HeadRush Looperboard’s power off. 4.
14. USB Type-A Ports: Connect USB flash drives to these USB ports to import or export loops to or from HeadRush Looperboard. See Exporting and Importing Loops for more information. You can also connect class-compliant USB devices to these USB ports for external MIDI control. See External MIDI Control for more information. 15. SD Card Slot: Insert a standard SD/SDHC card into this slot to import or export loops to or from HeadRush Looperboard. See Exporting and Importing Loops for more information.
Setup Items not listed under Introduction > Box Contents are sold separately.
Operation This chapter describes some of HeadRush Looperboard’s basic functions. Overview Timeline Page This is the name of the loop. A loop consists of the four tracks plus the mixer, effect and loop settings. Doubletap here to change the loop name. This is the current tempo, which you can change by pressing the Tempo footswitch at the desired speed, or by tapping here and turning the encoder. These four lanes show your recorded loops as well as how many layers each loop has.
Mixer Page These are the names of each track, as well as the Click and Backing track, whose volume and pan settings you can adjust on this page. Touch and drag volume faders to adjust the volume of each track. Touch and drag pan sliders to adjust the stereo balance of each track. Double-tap to enlarge the slider for fine adjustments.
Recording & Playing Tracks The looper lets you record onto four tracks and store each set of four tracks as a loop. Each track can have up to 99 layers. Each track can be a minimum of 1 second long, and a maximum of 5 minutes long. You can record, play, and stop tracks independently of each other.
To record a track, press its •Rec/Play/Dub footswitch. Important: Before recording anything, set the input volume level by turning the Input (1–4) knob for each input you want to use. To finish recording and start playback of a track, press its •Rec/Play/Dub footswitch again. To overdub on a track that is currently playing, press the •Rec/Play/Dub footswitch again. Tip: Use the Global Settings page to set HeadRush Looperboard to overdub immediately after recording a track (instead of just playing it).
You can use the Timeline page to view the waveforms of the tracks in your loop. To show the Timeline page, tap the waveform icon at the top of the touchscreen. The time counter in the lower-left corner indicates the current playback position of the loop. The time counter in the lower-right corner indicates the length of the longest track in the loop. Both are displayed as minutes:seconds.centiseconds.
Track Modes Located at the bottom of the touchscreen in Timeline View, the Track Mode selection provides 5 different modes for HeadRush Looperboard to record, overdub and play your looper tracks. Generally, each mode supports a different style of looping workflow. The best way to find out which Track Mode works best with your workflow is to experiment and have fun! To set how the looper records, overdubs, or plays your tracks, tap a Track Mode button at the bottom of the Timeline page.
4. Serial-Sync Mode: This mode is similar to Serial Mode, but it enables you to keep 1 master looper track (e.g., a drum or percussion track) playing at all times while switching between different song sections on looper tracks 2, 3 and 4 (e.g., verse, chorus and bridge). In this mode: • The master track and only one other looper track can be playing, recording or overdubbing at the same time. • You must record a master track first.
Importing Audio to a Looper Track In addition to creating loops using input sources, you can also import an audio file (such as a recorded drum beat) directly into an empty looper track. Tip: For best results, set the tempo of your loop to match the tempo of the audio file before importing it. You should also import the audio file before recording any additional audio to the loop using the HeadRush Looperboard. To import an audio file: 1.
FX Racks Applying FX On the FX Page, you can assign multiple effects (called FX Racks) at once to an audio input or looper track. Each FX Rack is made up of multiple effects that can be individually edited and toggled on the FX Rack Edit page. Enable/Bypass FX Rack Select Target Audio Edit FX Rack Parameters Save FX Rack Preset Remove FX Rack Add FX Rack Select FX Rack Type To enter the FX Page, press the footswitch labeled FX, or tap the FX icon at the top of the touchscreen.
Editing FX Enable/Bypass FX Rack Load FX Rack Preset Enable/Bypass Individual FX Save FX Rack Preset FX Rack Parameters To enable or bypass the full FX Rack, tap the on/off button in the top left corner of the touchscreen, underneath the FX Rack name. To enable or bypass individual effects within the FX rack, tap the buttons on the left side of the touchscreen, underneath the FX Rack bypass button. To adjust an FX Rack parameter, tap and drag its parameter slider.
Footswitch Assignment On the Footswitch Assign page, you can modify the functions of HeadRush Looperboard's footswitches in an FX Rack. Enable/Bypass FX Rack Enable/Bypass Individual FX Trigger Behavior Edit Footswitch LED Color Select FX Rack To change the footswitch's LED color, tap the footswitch number on the left-side of this page to view the selectable colors. Tap to select the color, and then tap the footswitch number again to hide the colors.
Expression Pedal Assignment In the Expression menu, you can assign up to 4 parameters, volume or panning controls to your connected expression pedal. Assign Expression Parameter Edit Parameter Range To assign a parameter to the expression pedal, tap the + sign in an empty slot, and then select an FX Rack, looper track volume or looper track panning parameter to assign. To change the range of the assigned parameter, tap the Range button.
Managing Loops Tap and drag this bar downward to view list of loops. Tap to save loop Tap for more options. To save the current loop, tap the disk icon. Tap Save (if you have already saved it) or Save New Loop (if this is a new loop) to save it, or tap Cancel to return to the previous screen. To create a new loop, tap the ••• icon, and then tap New Loop, or tap anywhere else to close the menu. To load a previously saved loop, tap and drag down on the top bar of the touchscreen, and then tap the loop name.
Loop Settings Use the Loop Settings page to configure the settings for an individual loop. To show the loop settings, tap the ••• icon in the top-right corner of the touchscreen, and then tap Loop Settings. General Settings: Tempo: This setting determines the tempo of the loop. Tap the BPM on the touchscreen, and then use the encoder to set the current loop's tempo, from 30–280 BPM. Time Signature: This setting determines the time signature of the loop.
Time-Stretch Setting: Sync Audio to Tempo: This setting determines whether changes in tempo affect your loop's audio. Set to On to enable changes to your loop's audio according to changes in tempo. Set to Off to leave your loop's audio unaffected by changes to the tempo. Time Stretch: This setting determines whether changes in tempo affect your loop's audio and pitch.
Exporting and Importing Loops As you create and save loops, your HeadRush Looperboard's internal storage may become full. To prevent this, you can export and import loops to and from connected USB or SD storage as needed. This gives you virtually unlimited storage of loops! Important: To avoid file loss or damage to your media, only disconnect USB and SD storage devices from HeadRush Looperboard while it is powered off.
To import a loop from an external storage device: 1. Tap the ••• icon, and then tap Import/ Export. 2. On the page that appears, tap Import Loop. 3. Tap to select the external storage device where you would like to import from. 4. Use the touchscreen to navigate through the folders of the storage device. Note: You can search for an audio file by tapping in the field in the top right of the touchscreen, next to the magnifying glass. Tap the X icon to clear your search. 5.
Audio Routing You can use the Audio Routing page to control where your input, looper track and output audio signals are sent. These settings are global settings (not per loop) so that you can quickly configure HeadRush Looperboard to work best for your gear and performance settings. To show the Audio Routing page, tap the ••• icon, and then tap Audio Routing. To show the page for the inputs, tracks, or outputs, tap Input Setup, Track Setup or Output Setup, respectively.
Monitor Setup You can use the Monitor Setup page for listening to your inputs while recording, overdubbing, and playing back loops. You can control the level of each input, as well as which output that you would like to monitor to them on. To adjust the monitor level of an input, tap and drag the orange line at the top of its meter. To select an output for monitoring, tap the desired Output 1–4 button or headphone icon below an input meter.
Track Setup To route an input to a looper track, tap the desired Input 1–4 button. When Stereo Link is enabled, Inputs 1+2 and/or Inputs 3+4 will be selected together. To select a track output mode, tap the Mono (monoaural) or Stereo (binaural) buttons. To route a track to an output, tap the desired Output 1–4 button. If the output mode is Stereo, Outputs 1+2 and/or Outputs 3+4 will be selected together. To route a track to the phones output, tap the headphone icon at the bottom of each track.
Output Setup To adjust the output level of an individual output, tap and drag the orange line at the top of its meter.
Functions Press the Function footswitch to show the Functions page in the touchscreen. The footswitch indicator will be lit orange. To select a function, press the corresponding footswitch (labeled on the top panel in orange) or tap it on the touchscreen. To exit the Functions page, press the Function/Exit footswitch.
Reverse: Use footswitches 3–6 to adjust the playback direction of each looper track. If no looper track is recorded, the track option will be grayed out. You can also use footswitch 9 to adjust the playback direction of all looper tracks at the same time. Fade: Use footswitches 3–6 to apply a fade out to each looper track. If no looper track is recorded, the track option will be grayed out. Use footswitches 10–11 to adjust the rate of the fade out, or tap the corresponding buttons on the touchscreen.
Bounce: On the first Bounce page, use footswitches 3–6 to select which tracks you would like to bounce. Then, press footswitch 9 to navigate to the next page. If the looper track is empty, the option will be grayed out. On the next Bounce page, use footswitches 3–6 to select the destination looper track for the bounce. When As Loop is enabled, reverb and delay FX on each bounced track will not be cut off at the loop point.
You can access these functions by using the corresponding footswitches 1–2 and 7–8 only: Loop Select: Use footswitches 3–5 and 9–11 to load a different loop. Use footswitches 6 and 12 to move up or down in your banks of loops. Backing Track: Select this option to control the Backing Track feature. Exit: Use footswitch 7 to return to the previous page from the Functions page. Tuner: When using the built-in tuner, all input signal will be muted from the outputs.
Backing Track Player The Backing Track features enables you to play audio files when you are not looping. This feature operates completely independently from the 4 looper tracks, and can be especially useful for performance situations when you need a simple backing track accompaniment. IMPORTANT: Backing Tracks must be loaded into the HeadRush Looperboard using the USB Connection. See the following chapter to learn more.
USB Connection You can use the HeadRush Looperboard's USB Type-B Port to connect to a computer for Transferring Files and Settings (such as loops, backing tracks, etc.), or for Recording (to a digital audio workstation [DAW]). Transferring Files and Settings You can transfer loops, backing tracks, audio for importing and FX Rack preset files over a USB connection between your computer and HeadRush Looperboard. To transfer files between HeadRush Looperboard and your computer: 1.
Recording When connected to your computer using the USB Type-B Port, you can select and use the HeadRush Looperboard as a 24-bit audio interface, enabling you to play audio through it or send its audio signal to your computer. The HeadRush Looperboard can operate at sample rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2 or 96 kHz. Important Note for Windows Users: Before connecting HeadRush Looperboard to your computer, download and install the necessary drivers from headrushfx.com/support.
External MIDI Control The HeadRush Looperboard can be controlled by incoming MIDI CC (control change) messages from external MIDI gear. These MIDI messages can be received from hardware connected to the USB Type-A Ports or the 5-pin MIDI Input. Tip: You can enable or disable this feature and change the MIDI Channel used for HeadRush Looperboard to receive messages in the Global Settings menu.
MIDI Control: Footswitch Actions (CC#3) All actions on this page are triggered by sending the listed Data Messages using MIDI CC#3 messages.
MIDI Clock Sync The HeadRush Looperboard can be synced to the tempo of an external MIDI device (e.g., a drum machine) while recording and playing your loops in Fixed, Sync and Serial-Sync modes. The HeadRush Looperboard can receive MIDI clock from a device connected to the traditional 5-pin MIDI Input, or from a class compliant device connected to the USB Type-A Ports on the rear panel. You can enable or disable the MIDI Clock Sync feature, as well as set the MIDI Clock Source, in the Global Settings menu.
Global Settings Use the global settings to configure the HeadRush Looperboard’s overall operation and all of your loops. To show the global settings, tap the button in the upper-right corner of the screen, and tap Global Settings. To select each page of the global settings, tap the number at the bottom edge of the screen. Storage Limit: This meter shows the amount of remaining internal recording time is available on HeadRush Looperboard.
Start Up: Default Setup On Start: This setting determines the default audio routing setup that is loaded each time HeadRush Looperboard is powered on. When set to On, the factory default audio routing setting will be loaded. When set to Off, the previous audio routing setting from your last session with HeadRush Looperboard will be loaded. Hold Function: These settings determine the function of the •Rec/Play/Dub and •Stop/–Undo footswitches when held for more than 1.5 seconds.
MIDI Settings: MIDI Clock Receive: This setting determines whether HeadRush Looperboard will sync to an external MIDI clock source. Set to On to sync tempo to an external source, or set Off to disable. MIDI Clock Source: This setting determines how HeadRush Looperboard will receive MIDI clock messages. Tap the field and then use the encoder to select the desired source. Select Looperboard to receive MIDI clock messages from the 5-pin MIDI Input on the rear panel.
USB Audio: Enable: This setting determines whether or not HeadRush Looperboard is sending a USB audio signal over a USB connection. Set to On to enable sending of the USB audio signal with the selected Sample Rate. Set to Off to disable the USB audio signal. (To change the Sample Rate, set USB Audio to Off first, select the correct sample rate, set USB Audio to On again, and restart your DAW.) Sample Rate: This setting determines the sample rate of the USB audio signal: 44.1 kHz, 48.0 kHz, 88.2 kHz or 96.
Audio Settings: Phantom Power (+48V): This setting determines whether phantom power (+48V) is enabled (On) or disabled (Off) for all four Inputs. Important: Only enable phantom power if your microphone requires it. Most dynamic microphones and ribbon microphones do not require phantom power, while most condenser microphones do. Consult your microphone's documentation to find out whether it needs phantom power.
Appendix Technical Specifications All specifications are measured at 20 kHz bandwidth. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Frequency Response 20 Hz – 20 kHz (+0.2 dB) Dynamic Range 111 dB (A-weighted) Signal-to-Noise Ratio 110 dB (1 kHz, +4 dBu, A-weighted) THD+N 0.
Headphone Output Frequency Response 20 Hz – 20 kHz (+0.2 dB) Dynamic Range 112 dB (A-weighted) THD+N 0.008% (1 kHz, 10mW per channel into 32) Maximum Output Level +20 dBu (unloaded) Power Output 100 mW RMS (per channel into 32 Ω) Output Impedance 32 Ω Input Level 2.0 Vrms (+8.22 dBu) File Systems FAT32 (read & write) (recommended) (1/4” / 6.35 mm TRS) Aux Input (stereo 1/8” / 3.5 mm TRS) USB/SD Storage Support EXT4 (read & write) File Types Format: .WAV Sampling Rates: 44.
Connectors (4) XLR/TRS 1/4” (6.35 mm) inputs (1) 1/8” (3.5 mm) stereo input (auxiliary device) (1) 1/4” (6.35 mm) TRS input (expression pedal) (2) XLR outputs (2) 1/4” (6.35 mm) TRS outputs (1) 1/4” (6.35 mm) TRS output (headphones) (1) 5-pin MIDI input (1) 5-pin MIDI output (2) USB Type-A ports (1) USB Type-B port (1) SD card slot (1) power adapter input Power Connection DC power adapter input Input Voltage 19 VDC, 3.42 A, center-positive Dimensions 20.16” x 12.24” x 3.
Version 1.0.
