Is an Analog Heat necessary or work w/ what I have?

Elektron Gear Analog Heat
#1

Lately, I’ve been listening to records that have distortion on certain parts (bass/kick drum/etc) and it sounds so good to me. Never been too much of a fan of distortion until now. At the moment I’m using the OT’s distortion and I think it’s sounding pretty good but was wondering if something like an Analog Heat could take it to another level? It’s tough to tell without trying it out myself. And unfortunately, I don’t have one near to try out. So, do you think an Analog Heat could add something or do you think what I have is just as good and it really isn’t necessary?

Also, what type of distortion am I talking about because there are different types. Here are a couple of tracks for reference:
https://ekman.bandcamp.com/track/e-to-the-pi-i (kick)
https://liesrecords.bandcamp.com/track/drip (bass)
https://ekman.bandcamp.com/album/tangent-bdn018
https://liesrecords.bandcamp.com/track/psychosis-1 (kick)

Figured I’d ask as I’m sure some of you went through the same thing before getting one. Also, is there a cheaper solution that can get me there. I want to be able to “push” the distortion without it destroying everything so I’m thinking something like the Heat might be a good choice.

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#2

have you tried using distorted samples ?.
i’m not sure its a clean cut as using a heat , its also the mixing/compression and stereo positioning.

nice tunes too , havent heard of them before but they sounded nice.
hopefully other people can respond too , i’m no expert at mixing .

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#3

No, I haven’t used distorted samples yet but that’s actually a good idea, at least for the time being.

I’m clueless on mixing as well. :slight_smile: Compression is something I know very little about but probably need to start. And that it’s probably not as clean cut as using the Heat makes me pause in getting one just yet. Thanks for the reply! :+1:

#4

listened to the first track and yes although i haven’t played the Heat, from what i’ve watched on promo videos, it could emulate that kind of subtle drive on the bassdrum on the first track link.

also, have you tried the OT filter Dist parameter, it’s a lot more subtle that the LoFi Drive parameter - and different in its character.

found by double clicking the FX button when the Filter is active as the effect for that Effects slot.

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#5

have you tried the OT filter Dist parameter

No I haven’t! And I’ve been to that page many times. :stuck_out_tongue: Will check that out tomorrow morning…thanks…I think both of your replies proves I need to explore the OT a bit more first as I haven’t had it for too long and there’s still lot to learn. The Analog Heat does seems nice though and I have been warming up to using distortion on certain things…I use to hate it! Thanks all!

#6

I’ve looked at the heat many times, but I keep coming back to the idea that my gear I bought because it sounds good, so why flavour it so much with something else? I guess there are subtle mastering applications which glue the various sounds together, the issue is the price means it needs to be considered against what you could get with the same money. Recently I got a manther and a lyra8; these are around same price as heat.

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#7

I think it is made for that. Distortion doesn’t destroy enough for me !

Check Analog Drive, Analog 4 too.
Oto Boum does stereo compression, filter, distortion.

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#8

Yeah, you could really try a Drive instead! They’ve gone down like a third in price here in Sweden. Actually a great deal nowadays. Might pick one up for my Rhodes some day :slight_smile:

You have maaany options in the box though. The most widely appreciated distortion would be Soundtoys Decapitator. It does sound really good!

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#9

I bought my AD less than a quarter of AH’s price. Will buy a 2nd one for sure. Dirtier, noisier. Good on drums.

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#11

What’s about a vst plugin… you should check out Decapitator from Soundtoys… great tool… many professionals use it!

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#12

Oh nice! I haven’t even looked at the AD. He’s getting some nice distorted drum sounds. I’m sold…and I can afford this a lot easier. Good demo :+1:

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#13

I just bought my 2nd AH. One for subtle compresdion and enhancement on 2bus and one for massive destruction, filtershit and sounddesign porpose.
Try it for two wreks, there are only few equal or better devices out there.

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#14

I prefer Analog Drive or both for destruction !
I’ll buy a second AD for stereo for sure.
I’d rather choose OTO Boum rather than a 2nd AH. Compressor !

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#15

Lots of peeps mistake distortion with saturation- perhaps AH has more sat quality and harmonics if they are getting put on the master buss without turning into a crispy square wave, which I have not found entirely useful beyond a nudge in the OT.
If you can find things that compress, filter and eq, those seem to be the biggies on sculpture and amp. But a lot of good words on the AH anyway, I’ve been hardware for a long time, using all kinds of things to do do these things…and many things can get you there, it’s just a matter of immediacy I suppose.

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#16

I you want to try the flexibility of elektron modulation in a plugin that won’t cost you both arms, I encourage you to give a try to unfiltered audio dent 2, you could be surprised in a very positive way !

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#17

Try and find an Aira Torcido cheap, it’s a stereo distortion with some good variety in its settings (drive, tone, tube warmth, wet/dry, etc., plus it can be infinitely reconfigured internally). Digital but a nice sound IMO. I use mine alllll the time on drums and it’s great value. The prices go up and down but under £150 new is the norm.

Since you’re using an Octatrack you can easily resample whole kits through a distortion. Or loops/breaks - as something a bit different tends to happen when everything is distorting through one buss - the kick pushes things around in a pleasing way.

Here it is on quite a heavy setting on my Machinedrum (non UW):

I got really into this album recently:

Which uses distortion very effectively, really digging that sound at the moment.

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#18

Hi Earth2J, good topic. The Analog Heat is a well thought out device that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in exploring electronic sound. With consideration to other competing units that might offer similar processing features but less overall control, the AH is fairly priced for what it can offer one’s studio over the long term. So much can be discovered based on audio imagination and knowledge of the circuit / control points. See this thread Just found a killer feature on the Analog Heat

Distortion and harmonic effects are interesting to explore. Here’s a few I intend to try soon

Culture Vulture UAD


Empirical Labs - Fatso and Distressor UAD

Izotope Trash VST
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/create-and-design/trash.html

Thanks all for the above links - some distortion fx and new tunes I never heard of.

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#19

Nice! This was totally off my radar until now.

#20

One thing that can’t be stated enougn when it comes to the Heat, which I think anyone considering one should be aware, is how much it adds in organics and movement to whatever source you apply to it. The trigger thresholds and LFO can be mapped to so many things, as well as tweaked to such a sensitive level that it literally adds another dimension to the entire mix.

I made a preset recently that worked with the Rough Crunch setting on a very subtle level, really just adding a touch of distortion and thump to the lower ends, and used the filter and EQ to bring out the frequencies in the mix. However, as the track shifts up, I’d tweaked the threshold to shift into gear as the mix got louder, which then triggered filtered pan effects as well as the frequency of the filter itself, timed with the tempo of the track.

That alone added so much to the movement and funk of the track, that applying any more processing would’ve been overkill.

It’s when you dig into the Heat’s abilities to make the track change and evolve as it rises and sinks, that it really comes into its own. All those wonderful effects, and with movement, too! Pretty awesome box.

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#21

Yeah, I want a Heat for the master, no doubt. Might be overkill if I was only using it on my drums though.