Analog Heat

maybe some of you remember this one from Waldorf

http://www.waldorf-music.info/en/hardware-archive/afb-16

Wish I could say…

Guys, have you noticed that we can now directly comment the news ?
Like posting a sweet post on the demo while tweaking the knobs ?

I find the demo really awesome, btw :thup:

One slightly off topic but related concern is that if Elektron start doing dedicated fx boxes like this that they’ll be hesitant with what they include on future samplers/synths etc. Like are they going to include nice analog distortion options on anything in future now without worrying about making the AH redundant… Potentially it gets a little messy. Hopefully they’ll not consciously totally cripple future boxes in overlap areas.

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Why would they do anything sans Overbridge at this point? This is Elektron 2.0. Not even trying for Internet humor. Overbridge is the thing now. Elektron’s biggest thing has always been the sequencer, but how many products can they release with sequencers that don’t overlap with existing gear? And in 2016, how revolutionary is step automation? It’s still rad, but not the best thing to bank on when the Korg Volcas and Ableton Push are the new competition.

So, Overbridge is the product model now. I’m ok with that. It makes sense and fits with my needs, and I don’t see it not being a part of anything from Elektron for the foreseeable future.

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I think people will end up being surprised by this one. One needs either high-price tag items or a lot of gear to get from subtle saturation to destroying distortion (and EQ, and envelope follower, and filter and and and…). Plus the ability to control them (all?) by CV/MIDI?

But it does depend on the quality, after all. The demo is a lot of fun and fuels interest but only in the wild can we determine its true colors.

In addition, taking into account Elektron’s track record of under-promising-over-delivering (er, eventually), I think there’s a lot more going on under the hood than what’s been divulged so far.

Looking forward to its release!!!

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Hey Jacques,

Thanks for the detailed account of your experience with the H9 Max… very informative.

In that case they should have waited a bit longer. :smirk:

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I’d certainly recommend anyone considering a low-to-mid level soundcard to consider this as one of the more intriguing options, along with the UA Apollo Twin (for its software) and perhaps an Apogee (sound quality; some are compatible with both Macs and iPads).

At the end of the day, though, it needs to make sense for the much larger market who already have a good interface. In fact I suspect most of the people willing to spend $749 on a distortion box probably already have audio interfaces quite a bit above the Heat’s ambitions in that department.

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Oh you are almost certainly right that they won’t do one without Overbridge, my point was that for hardware only guys Overbridge adds cost to the hardware by way of a feature that they will never use, the USB port and associated components (assuming they are not all built in to the main processor) might be left out to reduce cost, but pure speculation on my part.

Which one was it again,… I’ll try to find it. There was one where I felt like the filter and distortion was closely following the intensity, to the point where it felt automated.

On this note, with an AR and A4 + an AH in the mix - you’d have 3 soundcards, when you can only use one at any one time anyway. But I guess a soundcard is more of a by-product of the Overbridge technology? Either way it seems weird to be owning a new sound card by default with every new Elektron purchase going forward.

For me that’s the Schippmann Ebbe & Flut, if you haven’t seen one its a pretty incredible bit of kit.

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Regarding the price, after a quick look around at similar things I don’t think it is too far off the mark, I guess the UK street price will be around £599 after a while.

I wonder if you can ping the filter to make drum sounds?

For sampling I think this could be handy too.

Damn it Elektron - I’m warming up to the :heat:

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Not true - either setting up an aggregate device or using overbridge you can use multiple sound cards, I currently have three on my system - I use the ins on my A4 as a channel for my Blofeld desktop.

To be honest another set of i/o would be very welcome in my setup - even considering the possibility of replacing my apollo twin with this, because I use the UAD plugs mainly for distortion and saturation anyway. Although I probably won’t, but it’s certainly an option.

My guess is that for every Hardware Only musician out there, there are three or four for whom an analogue character plugin to give a bit of heft to soft synths and samples is very appealing. And Elektron know this, hence the shift towards hybrid hardware - a very astute move imho.

Obviously not sold on it as yet, will need much more information on its feature set and reviews/demos, but the concept is definitely working for me - might be the case that once everything’s been revealed, the price won’t look so high - also as others have pointed out, when you look at the competition, the price point starts making a lot more sense.

Bear in mind too that people are paying silly money for SP-1200s and even MPC60s now to get that grit and “warmth”, if this ends up sounding good it could occupy similar territory in a lot of setups, but taking advantage of the power and versatility of soft-samplers without the hassle of floppies etc.

Obviously not suggesting that it’ll sound similar/the same as the vintage boxes, because it clearly won’t, but an analogue back end for Kontakt/Maschine/Ableton? Could be a winner for me.

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The filter is POST effect, so while it might be possible to get the filter to oscillate, you won’t be able to give it any distortion.

:thinking: :spy:

Well … kinda close :wink:

I too thought this new box was going to be a game changer though. Not sure how a distortion box is a game changer.

Wondering if this is a first of a series of FX boxes from Elektron.
And if it is, will they all contain a soundcard? So this means consumers are having to pay for multiple soundcards they don’t need?

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If it is a digital I/O via USB, in the same manner as Virus TI and Rytm/A4, it is not just another soundcard (unlike say Roland Aira devices). On a PC (which does not do aggregate) you can take advantage of the digital audio without having it replace your normal audio interface.

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…i just had a ‘revelation’ :scream: …been thinking about this after re-reading all the posts and well, i think this is just a part of a bigger project: Elektron Weather Report Machine! :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes::grin:
to follow at some point:

  • AM (Analog Moist)
  • AW (Analog Wind)
  • AS (Analog Snow/Sun)
  • AP (Analog Pressure)
    … :grin:
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The aesthetic of the Analog Heat looks a bit cheap and cold. The letters and style why this change and the logo of Elektron/Analog in red color combi looked awesome. Screen color orange looks so '80s Alesis style and why not the same big knob as the Analog Keys. The connectors that protrudes compaired to A4/AR.

Overal for the aesthetic part it’s pottering work and gives confusion in style and ergonomics. It’s also the result when a company attempts to do the design by itself. Please hire a good designer Elektron so the machines are looking in great style.

The name Analog Heat… i would call it ‘Analog Palette’ because of the sound color.

For me this is also a form of inspiration maybe indirect but when you work for a lot of time on equipment it really matters!

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