has anyone compared the mk1 and mk2 sound wise so that they can inform the rest about any potential differences? i’m trying to understand if the difference in price only accounts for mk2’s convenient screen or if there is more
Ah, the closing chapter of emptying my wallet at a Swedish firm. Heat +FX. Yes please.
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The consensus here seems to be that the sonic differences are really minor. Here is one thread summarizing it.
I upgraded, but only for the screen, and because I got very good deals on both purchases, so it cost me very little.
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I clicked on the video for opinion on the Heat, but stayed for the hilariously vertiginous stream of thought. If you had a podcast i’d subscribe.
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The heat is my favorite piece of audio tech all categories combined actually 
I got one a few years ago to fatten up a drum machine and explore distortion without going to VSTs or multiple pieces of gear. I also realised I could use it when playing vinyl at home - I often play sets with someone else - on a pair of studio monitors (as you do) and it makes me enjoy the tracks much more without using hifi stuff for example. And mixer → monitors routing is easier when you use XLR outs.
I actually bought a second one plugged into my pc monst of the time for headphones/audio interface/recording because I think it’s so nice. I also got a cheap DDJ thing for recording mixes of music I can’t/won’t get on vinyl, and to record sets I use the Heat instead of the shoddy DAC in that unit, obviously slightly enhancing the whole mix with subtle extra harmonics.
This of course on top of it sounding absolutely amazing for production stuff.
Worth it
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how did you get on with it?
So I just got it tonight and threw it on my master bus (into line in on my recorder)
I’ll be multi tracking stereo tracks into my tascam dp24 CD with midi out. Since getting the hologram chroma console I knew it had to be at my master bus. Now with analog heat, everything going in sounds Golden to me.
I got this for 399usd and it feels like a total steal.
I can see how some people might be disappointed, expecting something that it is not.
Personally I think it is exactly all about that “creamy warmth” I often longed for, and it can really be taken places with the filter and eq!
In my opinion it’s not really accurate to say it’s an over priced distortion pedal.
It is better seen as an analog audio strip that we can treat with different character “audio heaters”.
If I bought this expecting a fuzz pedal I would be disappointed. It’s actually instead, a way to “color” running a fuzz pedal through it.
I have seen some say software can do it, but I’d be surprised… This is the real deal. I’ve never heard software sound this good.
Ps if you don’t like harsh tones of some of the circuits, turn down the high end with cutoff or hi eq…
So many sonic possibilities I feel like my audio now sounds like it’s all running through a “professional” studio
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Can the Envelope Follower act like a Noise Gate in the Heat? Relatedly, does the Heat work with vocals or has anyone tried this?
Yes it works with vocals I’m too embarrassed to sing for people here , I haven’t played with the env follower but I don’t think I saw any way to use it as a noise gate…
It works on any source I’ve tried, acoustic guitar, electric gtr, drum machines, synths, huge ambient washes… if you’re looking to color your signal
The +FX has a gate. Not sure about the I/II
Yes, you can set enveloppe on AHR and set attack and release to a very small value (basically the fade in and out of the gate). Adjust the threshold on your voice level. Turn the amp to 0 and assign the enveloppe to amp level. I don’t have AH+FX anymore but it should work. Can someone who owns MKI or II confirme this ?
Other option in same price range would be an Oto Boum, all analog stereo processing with 4 different circuits, compressor, filter and a gate. But no modulation on the device itself and the filter sounds nice but is very limited (no resonance, only low pass). I think AH sounds better (especially the distorsion circuits)
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I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I ended up going with 500 series for saturation, which I am very happy with. For me, the elysia karacter is more the sound and shaping that I was looking for.
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