this is my first piece of analog gear. it’s got me thinking back to all i’ve read from vintage instrument owners, who often say things like: this synth sounds progressively different as it warms up, it’s like its circuits are alive, leave it on for a couple of hours and it will sound very different than when it was cold, etc.
i’m trying to be an objective listener as i tweak and explore, but is this behavior i should reasonably expect here as well? that the heat will get hotter as it heats?
I’ve only really heard that kind of thing in relation to gear with tubes. Amps, mic preamp etc. For instance I’ve never been advised to let any of my distortion/Fuzz pedals ‘warm up’ before use. Maybe I’ve just missed those discussions tho…
Tubes are obviously going to sound different depending on temperature, but other devices can exhibit temperature changes as well. Like moogs for example, which have tuning drift based on the ambient temperature etc.
While I haven’t personally experienced any change in the AH’s sound over time, and while elektron’s devices are usually super-stable to the point of almost digital precision, I guess it could happen. When in doubt, make test recording and A/B for peace of mind.
It shouldn’t sound much difference unless it is extremely cold vs. extremely hot. As long as the temperature is within what is expected, the calibration profile will keep the unit sounding the same from startup to expected warm up.
(This is common practice with most modern analog equipment with digital control)