Stratus vs HeadRush Core: Two Sizes of Open Tone

Last updated: August 31, 2026. HeadRush specs below come from HeadRush's own product and cloud pages plus their retail listings; all sources are listed at the end.

The open-tone side of the modeling world just got a lot bigger. With the free HeadRush 5.1 firmware update, the $699 HeadRush Core now runs Neural Amp Modeler captures natively, with direct TONE3000 browsing right on its 7" touchscreen — the same open format and the same library the Stratus is built on. That makes this the rare comparison where both boxes speak the same language. What separates them is scale and philosophy: the Core is an eight-pound console that wants to be your entire stage setup, vocals included. The Stratus is an 11.6-ounce pedal that wants to fit inside the rig you already have — and it carries something the Core doesn't: an AI that writes new effects from scratch. Here's the honest breakdown.

The short version

• Core is the most complete open-tone console you can buy at $699. Ninety-seven amp models, 120+ effects, Antares Auto-Tune vocal processing with an XLR input, a drum machine, amp cloning, stereo everything, and now native NAM with TONE3000 on the touchscreen. It's a full band's front-end in one 8.4 lb slab.
• Stratus is the open-tone pedal. Same NAM format, same TONE3000 library, in a box 1/12th the weight at $400 less — built to sit on a pedalboard next to your other gear rather than replace the whole floor.
• The AI FX Builder is the thing no touchscreen can match. Core's effects list is enormous and finite. Stratus's grows on demand — describe an effect and the AI writes it as new DSP code.

Side by side

The open side grows

Credit where due: HeadRush went all-in on open tone. The 5.1 update brought native NAM to their whole lineup — and "native" is the operative word. As Sweetwater's listing points out, most competing hardware converts NAM files into a proprietary format; HeadRush (like Stratus) runs them as-is, no quality loss, and their HeadRush Cloud supports the full NAM family — A2 Full and Lite plus every A1 variant. Browse TONE3000 on the touchscreen, tap, play. That's exactly the future we've been betting on since we built the Stratus around NAM Architecture 2 — the format whose published testing (39 tones measured, 1,000+ blind-test participants, open-source data) is the reason serious makers keep adopting it. Welcome to the library, HeadRush. It's getting crowded in the best way.

What $400 more buys

A lot, honestly — if you need it. The Core is a production console: 97 amp models spanning HeadRush's own line and the ReValver collection, an on-device Amp Cloner for capturing your own gear, 120+ effects, and a genuinely rare trick — full vocal processing with Antares Auto-Tune behind a phantom-powered XLR input. Add the drum machine, a looper with 20 minutes of overdub headroom, dual XLR outs to the PA, a stereo FX loop with four-cable-method support, and a 7" touchscreen to run it all, and you have the strongest argument in this series for "one box, whole show." Singer-guitarists especially: nothing else here does what Core does for you.

What the pedal keeps

Three things. Size and fit: at 11.6 ounces and half a foot long, the Stratus joins a pedalboard; the 8.4 lb, 16-inch Core is the pedalboard — different commitment entirely, and Stratus runs on the 9V supply you already own. Money: $299 versus $699, with 500,000+ captures free either way. The AI: Core's effects list is one of the biggest in hardware, but it's a list. The Stratus AI FX Builder writes effects that don't exist yet — describe the sound, and it generates new FAUST DSP code, runs it through compilation checks, automated code review, and audio testing (~95% of builds deliver), then ships it to the pedal wirelessly. Advanced Mode shows you the code; free VST/AU versions follow your effects to the DAW; and the Tone Shop pays third-party developers 75% of every sale. Both platforms are open about amps. Only one is open about effects.

On stage

Core's stage story is the touchscreen console playbook: five footswitches, gapless everything, stereo and XLR straight to front-of-house, MIDI in and out, and vocals in the same rig. The Stratus story is smaller and nimbler: 14 presets hands-free from its color-coded footswitch pairs, 128 stored, full USB-MIDI control including per-effect bypass and looper transport — and the whole rig fits in a gig-bag pocket. We've built custom Stratus algorithms for players like ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons; the pedal's job is to disappear into any setup. The Core's job is to be the setup. Both are legitimate — pick the commitment level that matches your gigs.

Cost of ownership

Core: $699 flat, with an enormous everything-included spec and free firmware that keeps adding value (5.1 being the proof). Stratus: $299 in, 19 effects free, premium effects from $14.90 (22-effect bundle $99), the same half-million free captures, and 30 free AI builds monthly with paid tiers for heavy users. The $400 difference is real money — it buys vocals, stereo, a touchscreen, and a drum machine. Keeping it buys a generative AI and leaves enough for a very nice overdrive.

Which should you buy?

Buy the HeadRush Core if: you want one console to run your whole show — especially if you sing. The vocal chain, the touchscreen workflow, and the I/O depth are worth the $699 for players replacing an amp, a board, and a vocal processor at once. And now that it's native NAM with TONE3000 built in, its tone ceiling is the open library's ceiling.

Buy the Stratus if: you want the same open amp library in a pedal that joins your rig instead of replacing it — for $400 less, with a looper, deep MIDI, and the only AI in hardware that invents new effects on request. That's the pedal we built.

Sources

• HeadRush — Core product page (model counts, cloner, vocal FX, I/O, dimensions, NAM/TONE3000 integration)
• HeadRush — HeadRush Cloud (supported NAM formats: A2 Full/Lite, A1 variants)
• TONE3000 — HeadRush brings TONE3000 to their lineup (5.1 firmware, lineup pricing)
• Sweetwater — HeadRush Core listing (price, looper/overdub spec, native-NAM note)
• TONE3000 — NAM Architecture 2 (A2) (test methodology and results; code and data are open source)
• Chaos Audio — Stratus product page (Stratus specs and pricing)

Want the open library on your board instead of under your whole floor? The Stratus is $299 with free US shipping — and your first 30 AI builds are on us every month.