I found with a little drive on the clean gain or saturation setting, not only do I get more punch and more of that excited tape sound, I also gain about 2db of headroom. So the perceived volume stays the same with more punch in the lows and sizzle in the highs, but is actually peaking at 2db less. Past that… it turns into a flavor unit, mainly just adding texture and bite to sounds. Mastering is a subtle art so it takes subtle moves.
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yes, but a compressor and a limiter have different duties in the mastering chain. the compressor glues the mix together, the limiter makes it loud.
Cheers,
Goat
That’s why you have to set the ENV attack and decay times on the AH to the fastest values, that way it will act as a limiter adding more rms, and not as a compressor.
Btw, the glueing effect is not something inherent to a compressor, it depends on many factors.
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Anyway at the END if it sounds good : it sounds good
Ratio 1:1 perfectly clear no middle terms… results talking by themselves 
Hello @gbravetti , can you please share what you do use for metering duties and RMS measurements ?
Thanks a lot
Mostly Fab Filter Pro L meters.
Oh yes, the white line…sorry all for the OffTopic
Thanks!
no problem!
Hey Fellas,
what are your favorite settings to make digital drummachine (like NI Machine) to sound
analog like in the 90s House and Techno styles? only the drum buss… not on the master
thanks
I’d use one of the lighter settings like Enhancement or even Clean Boost, use the EQ and filter to get it where you need it. Run your drum bus through the Heat and bounce it.
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do you use the envelope follower?
I think is not necessary
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IME the env modulations are very necessary. I didn’t use much of the distortion circuits before I started tinkering with the modulations, before that I only used the heat’s filters and eq… Or I used the clean boost and enhancement a bit, but only very miniscule amounts - Adding a significant amount of drive irritated me no matter the circuit, sounded too stiff somehow…
env modulation targets such as drive, wet/dry can be very useful! Even if you intend to only use the heat as a “clipper”, with careful env modulation you can coax a dB or two of more RMS without obvious side-effects.
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It is a very subjective matter.
MidDrive sounds good with a little eq-boost on the low and a peak filter with a little resonance in the kick region! Sounds very direct!
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sorry for reviving an old tread, but it is relevant, so better than starting a new one I guess?
What are your experiences after all this time as for using the analog heat on the master buss (for live PA purposes! not as a mastering tool…)
I want to get something for this purpose at this price point, and I like the Analog Heat for it, as it can also do so much more…
is it a good mix-glue-machine in the end? or am I better of with something else? if so, any recommendations? please only recommendations that are at the same price point as the analog heat. I am sure that there is much better gear out there for this purpose that is more expensive as well…
thanks 
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I have a AH but i don t use it on the master bus. What I ve found a wonderful “glue” is the Eventide Space reverb. Does a great job at joining it all together. Not quite transparent of course. I often send all my channels into it.
Peter: do yourself a favor and stop wondering and just buy one 
I don’t have my setup connected atm (moving…) but the Heat is always on the master.
Using either clean boost, saturation or enhancement circuits, drive around 50% with around 50% wet, a little bit boost on the EQ’s (10-20%) and usually a highpass filter with a little bit resonance set around the fundamental frequency of the kick (sometimes over driving the filter is nice too)
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I can’t take it out from my master. Is like turning Off a magic button.
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For the master folks: i like to use the AH for heavy distortion and filtering on individual tracks or sub groups. Doesn t usually work on the master. Are you folks then just not using it that way, only for more subtle pumping of your mix?