Also, I don’t see why it’s not ok to impart flavor to a track during the mastering process if that’s what is needed; say for making a track feel cohesive with the rest of an album as an example.
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I’ve always looked at mastering as a dark art that requires great attention to details most others wouldn’t even notice. Taming the ghosts to bring out clarity, and making it louder than I ever could.
I think I would use this much like my tape & cassette recorders, to impart some extra life and movement. Then send it to a real pro to get levels up to industry standard.
Very excited about the CV control to use with A4
I’m surprised too. I think your confused on what your confused about tho and what it is exactly that needs clarification… 
Mastering a final mix (generally left to a dedicated engineer) and master bus processing of a mix (what your talking about) are not the same thing and require different approaches…
You said you where “buying this for mastering” bringing it to the table here (oddly after it was already discussed in a different thread already)
then you talk of master buss processing a mix (again and again) but call it mastering (again)… this is where the confusion lies, in the misleading language.
I Hope that helps and we can move on. Do you have your AH yet?!
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So somebody asks if it’s ok to process the master bus with the AH, and I tell them yeah. I also mention that I plan on using the AH to help master my own tracks.
Everyone tells me I’m wrong, and that saturation shouldn’t be used on a final mix because it isn’t transparent enough. This is despite how saturation is commonly used as an alternative to EQing and compression. This is also despite how a piece like the Elysia Karacter is described as a “Mastering Grade” saturation/distortion unit.
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I guess that’s why people is confused actually… (or not!!! because they don’t care hahaha) because there’s not rules at all
There’s Harmony in Music writting but a real musician will tell you that Harmony rules is not closed to that, you have to embrace it, to transgressed it ! That’s the same in Mastering … there’s few things BUT i can say that Mastering is an Art and what’s made a Master a really good one is the Mastering Engineer behind !
In fact that’s an artist ADVISE every ARTIST learn in High Grade Design School ! You need to know typography, grids, colors harmony and THEN you need to inject something, to transgressed those rules and deliver innovative, intelligent and emotional works or art pieces… with Something to say (i mean an artist commitment, a Positioning compared to our world)
(and I will stop to speak because I am going to be taken for someone sectarian and haughty)
For me, I’ll need to rely on a professional after I’ve made all my mixing descisions, and all of my “master bus processing” choices. I’ll need the professional at “mastering” to put my levels/frequencies in check for cd/tape/radio/etc. I do not expect them to solely rely on an Elektron Analog Heat for this task, but I wouldn’t be opposed to them using one if they find something unique about it to implement during the process to achieve their goal. I wouldn’t be opposed to them using an Elysia Karacter or Culture Vulture either if that’s what they want. I ultimately choose if I want/like it in the end.
My main point is that there is a mastering process, and that the AH shouldn’t be considered not up to this task just because it isn’t an Elysia Karacter or Culture Vulture. I’m actually participating in the conversation posed by the OP.
Is the point trying to made by a couple people that the AH should not be used during the mastering process, but a unit like the Elysia Karacter can? Or is the point that no saturation should be used?
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and basically you right on what you Say… IF at the END it sound Nice… no Matter how you use it… people take advise as a judge verdict… but it’s not in anyway… we all learn and we learn at 20years old and Also at 60 years old we learn we never ending to learn something.
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because there’s not rules at all
This is the only rule when you get down to it. If it makes your music sound better, you’d better do it. I guess that’s another rule too 
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I don’t see why people feel the need to argue against Prints suggestion of using the AH for mastering purposes. He seems to know what he’s talking about in a lot of instances. I’d, at least, want to hear him use it for his purposes before I argued against it.
Methodology, in my opinion, can’t be argued; only the output
I’d love to hear what he makes with his Heat
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Yeah, sounds like a lot of silly semantics
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No not at all. This becomes more obtuse and unclear each time you defend unnecessarily.
It’s simply that you are (or where, I see the language shifting slightly) referring to a mixing technique (master bus processing) as Mastering… Then told everyone that brought it up they needed clarity… that’s it really.
nobody that I remember said AH can not be used In any particular fashion as nobody has tried… tho you still defended your opinion that it can.
the point’s been made, multiple times, “use what you like when you like”… but mixing and mastering are still different processes all the same, whether you want to ignore that or not, 
… And AH will almost certainly still suit one better than the other.
That’s all.
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Nobody was. He was arguing with himself.
We ALL want this to be a magic box of dreams!!! Why wouldn’t we… 
but we won’t know until PRINTS gets his.
I’m going to stop arguing because I think it is pointless. I will not rescind anything I’ve stated though because I think I’ve been pretty clear. I feel saturation is a legitimate tool when mastering. That is all.
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Not sure I seen anyone explicitly say you where wrong in that theory… But jus wondered wether it’s likely AH will be suited to it. Thoughts where already expressed over in the other thread too. Peace
Again kinda semantics, I am pretty sure most figured out what prints was talking about but some decided to split hairs.
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Maybe so… but its hardly one way, could have easily been acknowledged and brushed off. I’m sure you noticed this when you read through.
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I have a question, say if i were to put this as the final stage before being recorded, example octatrack into analog heat overbridged into ableton (using ableton just as a recorder), how much of difference is there from using a vst? I am currently using fabfilter saturn and like it for saturation and distortion probably because i havent heard or tried anything better. (Was recommended to get it then just got it and never looked anywhere else)
Most of the time, I would be going for subtle rather than destruction, is there something that you guys have seen or heard that really make the heat stand out in comparison to a plug in?
Sorry i just need some other opinions from more educated peeps, as to my untrained ears it kinda sounds similar to what saturn does. But then again i use saturn on everything, so obviously being an elektron fan i would want to use elektron if it had some big differences
No one really knows yet. All will be revealed when these things appear in the wild and used for various tasks.
I use Saturn also for mild saturation. It’s really good.
Will be good to see how heat stacks up to these seasoned and proven plugins.
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Well, I just wanted to give me first impressions after the first few days with my AH.
Firt off, I am not a mastering engineer, and what constitutes as “mastering”, well I do not want to get into that discussion.
What I will say is this: I have experimented with heating hardware as well as ITB signals now, and it is obvious to me that the AH can be used for increasing the loudness (RMS) of just about any signal without increasing the peak levels in the same relation. Therefore, the AH could well be used in mastering, especially stem mastering, in order to coax a bit more RMS out without increasing the peak levels. This can be done subtly enough for it to work for many scenarios IMO.
But even more impressive is the way one can treat the low end of program material with the AH filters. I am very impressed so far!
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