Curious: why not the AH through the RNLA. That seems more “logical”.
Haha - maybe :). It’s mainly due to that everything then comes through the master comp at the end so this way I sculpt the drums before colouring (AH), placing them in the stereo image and glueing a bit with the master comp.
I guess there’s no right or wrong and I might try it the other way around in the future :).
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Ah i see so you have a master comp that’s not the RNLA. Ok.
Yeah no right or wrong, just curious.
I was thinking a nice simpke 2ch chain would be the AH with my RNC but always thought about it with the RNC last.
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Yes but I found AD better for drums big distortion and AH better for guitar clean distortions. 
AH high gain is not that high, and not the best for heavy / dirty distortions with very high gain, such guitar pedals.
In all honesty, if I used a computer for music, I probably wouldn’t have bought it. I would probably just use plugins. Personally for me $700 is a lot for an effects box (I’m very happy I bought it tho).
I don’t master my tracks because I don’t really use a computer. I wanted something that could help improve the sound quality of my music, in the mixing & mastering stage, without software. Hardware mastering gear is expensive & I read all over the webs, don’t buy the AH for mastering, there are better choices, but I’m very happy with my decision & I use it for MUCH more than “mastering” …actually, not even sure I would call it mastering, I just run the master outs thru it to record the final version of my track, maybe on clean boost or enhancement, I use a bit of eq, just minor stuff… that is the extent I go to “master” my tracks (but I also use it a lot in the mixing stage or for sound design).
I like a dirtier sound, I use a lot of vinyl, I use cassettes, I prefer bass guitar for basslines, I just love the sound of acoustic instruments & when I use synths I like them to sound a little dirty… but I’m also picky when it comes to distortion. The AH just fits my sound & style great.
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Also I just want to add & this might be obvious seeing how it is an “analog” heat, but when I run a digital drum synth thru it like the Tr-8 or Electribe, it really gives the drums analog flavor… same with running other digital synths thru it, like the Blofeld or Microkorg.
It’s like it can transform digital sounds into analog. I know it’s not the exact same, but I was really impressed.
I gave my Electribe (drum synth) to my brother. After I got the AH I borrowed it & absolutely loved how it sounded thru the AH. It really gave the sounds an analog quality. Now I want the Electribe back.
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get it.
I had it for a while. my 2 ct : it can do SUBTLE … and after trying it out… this is more important than full in ya face…
if you dont like it sell it on … experience gaines… thats what i did… i probably get it again… once you had it you will miss it…
subtle is good
the sherman was too fucking wild for my taste
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Has anyone compared it to Ableton 10 Suite effects like Saturation, Overdrive, Drum Bus, Autofilter, and Pedal? I feel like a combination of these effects used judiciously might get me 80-90% of the way there, and spare me the pain of parting with $800.
Still tempted by the Heat regardless. But with most hardware effects I feel like the cost plus lacking the ability of using multiple instances makes it a “nice to have” and never gets into “must have” territory.
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@T0n - didn’t mean to hijack your original question! But this is something I always wonder about the Heat, if it’s worth the $800 for someone who uses plugins. I do hear experienced users saying that ITB effects / plugins don’t quite cut it in the area of overdrive, distortion, etc. But… diminishing returns, etc. On the one hand, built-in Ableton effects and affordable plugins, and on the other, expensive boxes like Analog Heat. I totally get it if one is dedicated to using hardware only. But I wonder if my plugin-using non-golden ears would ever hear the difference?
I differ from you also though because I really like noise, tape hiss, etc. so I don’t mind a bit of that (or a lot of that!) in my music. Actually, I use plugins, mixers, hardware fx, field-recordings, to put some noise and artifacts into my mainly ITB productions. So I’m approaching things from a slightly different angle.
Also, I’m constantly trying to gauge if things sound better because of fx (software or hardware) or simply louder, and therefore “better”.
Just trying to keep the conversation going in general. 
@T0n - do you use Ableton Live?
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I think if you’re on the fence, but have the money to spare it would be worth buying it with like a 30 day return period… that way you can experience it for yourself & can just return it if you don’t think it’s worth the money.
I know I said if I used a computer I probably wouldn’t buy it, but I don’t know… I think the AH is pretty special. Plus you can use it with OB.
Isn’t it possible to use multiple instances, like put the AH on multiple tracks with OB?
With respects to using it without OB, with hardware, personally I have it set up so EVERYTHING goes thru it (hooked up to the group outs of my mixer). That way I can use it on individual sounds & on the master (& I can deactivate it if for some reason I don’t want to use it with a press of a button).
I use a lot of drumbreaks from vinyl, so what I did was spend a few hours sampling my favorite drum breaks thru it. I would dial in the AH & sample the drums using the AH subtly & intensely so I would have multiple “styles” for each drum break.
With everything else I adjust as I go, so let’s say I start with a synth. I play the synth thru the AH & adjust it to my liking. Sample into my MPC or whatever sampler I’m using & record the melody into the sequence. Then while the melody is playing, I move onto the next sound. That way even tho I can’t have the AH on multiple tracks, each sound I use I can adjust the AH to my liking so the sounds fit in the mix the way I want. When I want to use drumbreaks I go thru what I already sampled thru the AH or I sample a new drumbreak & adjust it to my liking to fit what I’m currently working on.
It sounds like a lot of work but it really isn’t, especially since I have everything hooked up & ready to go. I was able to get a workflow going that I really liked & I’m all about going by feel over programming, yet I don’t feel this workflow slows me down making me lose the “feel”.
Plus, for the most part you have an idea of what you want to do to the sound so it fits in the mix (or you’ll get better & better at this as you use it), like if I’m working with a melody I might take a bit of low end out, if I’m working with bass, I might take a little high end out, ect, ect.
Sorry, I love talking about workflow, hopefully the above makes sense, it’s basically how I get a round not being able to use it on multiple tracks at once (even tho that would be ideal). I just use it on 1 sound at a time. I also have a lot of sampling sessions, run drum synths thru it, guitar, bass, whatever. I love having sampling sound design sessions, just making & recording sounds to use later.
This isn’t a great example, but when I put on a sp forum battle, I ran drumbreaks thru the AH soft, then hard, soft, then hard, I also ran a few songs thru it subtly, all sounds come from vinyl. I wish I had a before example…& I know my signal chain effects the quality abit, but it’s a simple example from someone just messin around, RAW sound, not a pro putting on a demo) -
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Me too! Thanks for sharing. I love hearing about other people’s workflow. Keep it coming.
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The heat won’t necessarily give you that cassette tape sound with the wow and flutter, but will supply heaps of saturation and warmth.
I’ve had my mkI for a few years and am continuously amazed by the tones it conjures. Each parameter really plays a part in the sonic outcome, comnecting modular C.V. or expression pedals greatly expands the pallet.
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I’m with you, friend - I get that it is hard to justify the cost of the Heat, and I was fortunate enough to get a bonus at work, which I dropped on an Analog Heat. However, ever since having it, I want to make sure I run everything g through it before recording. There’s just something about the Analog Heat that makes everything processed sound so good. To me, it’s not extra volume; the various distortion circuits offer so much enjoyable flavor to the mix. Obviously very hard to quantify, but there is definitely something going on. I’ll never let the heat go!
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I listen to everything thru my AH. NPR, DJ mixes, Movies… Your music. You sound better now. Thank you.
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Wonder how my Machinedrum would sound processed through an Analog Heat…
Time to start gassing again.
In a word… glorious.
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That’s how I use it, and what I bought it for. Works great for me. All of my digital synths would sound naked without it at this point.
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Sounds really good with MD !
It can sound totally different with envelope follower and clever parameter destinations.
Analog Drive is even better for very dirty drums, noisier but much cheaper. Surprisingly, I prefer AH for my guitar, high quality overdrive / distorsion, the best I tried.
Check OTO Boum too. I want it too.
I bought a MK2 and it sounds great but I would not recommend buying it until they get overbridge working if you are predominately planning to use it with a DAW on VSTs, it realy needs overbridge……
This guy is glorious for sure 