Is it possible to be fast on the Analog Heat +FX?

[Speldosa]

I’ve just bought a second hand Analog Heat +FX. My biggest gripe with it (except that it smells like cheap men’s after shave), is that it seems like you really can’t move around and make adjustments fast.

On my Syntakt, I can jump around the different submenus, making quick adjustments and then go on to the next submenu extremely quickly, a skill that has only improved along with my muscle memory. However, on the Heat, if I for example want to adjust the reverb decay and then, at the very next instant, change the delay time, I have to use the navigation pot, scanning the pages that shows up like a maniac (worst thing, they may appear in different order depending on the flow that I’ve setup) and being sure not to overshoot the right page. I just don’t see myself ever getting nearly as fast with the Heat as I’m with the Syntakt.

How fast are you? Do you have any tips for getting faster? Or should I just chill the f down?

[waftlord]

felt exactly like this at first.

but soon it all changes, and you’re diving into the envelope follower and setting it how you want it.
The MOD routing page is where i end up alot tweaking destination amounts (i wish LFO speed was available here too and will mention again a macro page with assignable params to the encoders would be sweet).

the fact all the heat params are just “there” is amazing when you’re getting into deeper modulation and flow settings and want to subtly tweak things.
(although i wish filter DIRT has its own encoder )

[wormhole]

you could dedicate a track on syntakt as a midi track with whatever junk from the heat you want at your finger tips assigned as midi cc

[Tchu]

@Speldosa

Do you have any tips for getting faster?

MIDI Controller?

[Speldosa]

@waftlord Seems like you’re avoiding making direct adjustment all together then

@wormhole and @Tchu: Sure, I could use a separate device, but then I won’t have access to all the different parameters (unless I dedicate basically all tracks of the Syntakt for midi purposes). Also, I want to manipulate things directly on the Analog Heat. It seems more direct and fun.

[wormhole]

then maybe consider spending time practicing and being creative and not immediately coming up with reasons why very logical solutions (using a machine you are “fast” on to control a machine you are “slow” on) won’t work for you

[Tchu]

@Speldosa

Also, I want to manipulate things directly on the Analog Heat. It seems more direct and fun.

You have the same encoders on both ST and AH+FX, it should feel the same. And with 8 different parameters/MIDI Track, LFOs and an Env Follower you can go a long way.

[Speldosa]

@wormhole and @tchu: Yes, but I want to use the interface on the box itself. I want to read the label and see the page that I’m currently manipulating, being reminded what other controls there are (maybe being inspired to manipulate something I haven’t thought about for a while). I want to play it like an instrument, which is the feeling I get when playing around on the Syntakt. Controlling it from a midi track on the Syntakt would never be the same thing. And I don’t want to precomit to what changes I might want to do. That’s not the way I want to use these devices. So, I’m sure your tip works great for some people, it’s just not the solution I’m after.

[Tchu]

Then, the only way, like @wormhole said, is to practice or have a brain like @Dataline.

[Billy1992]

I find selection of FX page way more quick by using the flow function than scrolling between all fx pages. In flow page you can select your block, enter yes and you got it. It’s slower than Syntakt but I think it’s ok.
Still a performance page with assignable macros would be great.
And don’t forget, on flow page, you have access to the dry/wet mixes of 4 blocks at the same time. Could be a “start” to get a performance macro.

[Dr.K]

Hooking up a midi controller to every elektron device i had made my experience 10 times better. You can get fast without it but it’s more fun with a controller.

[Speldosa]

After having the device for a while, I’m quite fast with all the settings that have their own dedicated knobs (i.e., some heat and filter settings), and I was pleasantly surprised that it’s possible to reload presets so fast. However, I’m still really slow when it comes to manipulating the effects. On the Syntakt, if I want to increase the reverb decay, I’m doing it within the second. On the AH +FX, I usually just abandon the idea before I get to it because the moment when it fitted has passed.

I still have a hard time understanding some design decisions that Elektron made when it comes to this device. Unless they plan to really change things up in upcoming firmware versions, I’m quite confused regarding why they built it the way it is. However, I’ve changed my mind before (most notably switching from screaming about kits on the Syntakt to not wanting kits anywhere near the device), so we’ll see what happens.

[Ryan]

Dude! I TOTALLY agree with your complaints of the box!

I made this gripe when they were marketing it when it first came out: “we want to make it so the heat isn’t just a set-it and forget it kinda deal”

But, with all the extra effects tucked away without a means of immediately accessing them and not changing the interface for the machine- i called BS on that spiel- because if anything the box is even MORE. A set it and forget it box, because its less immediate than the AH!

I still think it would be fun to have one, but im absolutely baffled that they didn’t add a quick way to navigate the new fx.

[Tapepusher]

So do you’ve a midi host (e.g. Retrokits RK-005) to connect them? And if you wanted to organise macros, changing multiple params with one knob etc, you’d also need some kind of midi hub to reroute stuff?

[Dr.K]

I’m using a usb-to-midi converter (mode machines cerebel). Can’t do macros with my setup.

[Speldosa]

Update: I’ve practiced quite a lot with the Analog Heat +FX, but I’m still not nearly as fast on it as I am on my Syntakt. I am kinda fast when it comes to accessing the first and last effect of the chain, since I can just scroll away on the navigation knob like there was no tomorrow to access them (since you can’t overshoot the first or last effect). However, a button shortcut would still be infinitely (well, not literally) faster.

I don’t really see Elektron adding a bunch of complicated button combinations to this device. It doesn’t feel like their style. But the best thing I’ve been able to come up with is that hitting the FLOW key and then press and release (without turning) one of the encoders should bring you to the corresponding page in the lower rows. Holding down the FLOW key while pressing and releasing the encoder could take you to the effects in the upper row.

However, we then still have the problem of having several pages for most of the effects. While hitting FX quickly takes you between them, I would still much prefer to have as many (if not all) parameters gathered on a single page; every time you’re switching to a new page, your brain has to take some time figuring out what’s happening, what you can manipulate, and how you can manipulate it, which again slows you down.

The best suggestion I can come up with here is to simply sacrifice the current press and turn functionality of the encoders and make it so that doing that manipulates the upper row. But it’s a quite crappy idea. You could utilize the encoders in combination with the yes or no buttons, but that forces you to switch hand positions from what you used to get to the page quickly in the first place.

In the end, I feel that Elektron really should have redesigned the user interface for this box rather than trying to cram everything into the current design (even though I understand the logistical reason for reusing it). There is no way that this box would have been designed like this if it was a first generation product.

So, as of now, I’m slowly chugging along using it, but I’m struggling not to use it as a set and forget box for the FX part (I mostly just concentrate on a single effect, sometimes with its direct neighbor, that I manipulate). I feel it’s more suited toward creating interesting presets–with the envelope follower, mods and LFOs–that then are more or less static, except for the input from a pedal or two.

[Billy1992]

@Speldosa

In the end, I feel that Elektron really should have redesigned the user interface for this box rather than trying to cram everything into the current design (even though I understand the logistical reason for reusing it). There is no way that this box would have been designed like this if it was a first generation product.

So, as of now, I’m slowly chugging along using it, but I’m struggling not to use it as a set and forget box for the FX part (I mostly just concentrate on a single effect, sometimes with its direct neighbor, that I manipulate). I feel it’s more suited toward creating interesting presets–with the envelope follower, mods and LFOs–that then are more or less static, except for the input from a pedal or two.

I agree with you. The UI design seems a compromise to reuse the hardware of the AHMKII and it feels a bit awkward with a lot of menu diving (the mod page is not fun…).
But I still love this unit, for me it really shines with the mod options, as you said.
By clever programming of the enveloppe follower, use of LFO 1 & 2 as enveloppes too and use of LFO3 to modulate enveloppe parameters, it allows very complex, evolving & organic sound processing.
I don’t miss a sequencer at all, I think it’s not the purpose of this unit. And usually when I tweak a parameter, it’s only on the enveloppe page because it affects the behaviour of all the other stuff and acts like a kind of macro.

But still, just a macro page with 4 assignable destinations would be great !

[Speldosa]

I’m actually not that sold on macros myself. I tend to have the most fun with boxes where I don’t have to do a lot of programming or planning beforehand, but rather just go with the flow and manipulate the underlying parameters directly. It feels more like I’m actually playing an instrument.

This might be why I’m having trouble feeling fully comfortable and creative with the Octatrack. When switching between scenes, I’m basically just reusing old ideas. That is of course always true to some extent (do you ever do something truly novel?), but it’s even more true when working with preprogrammed macros. With that said, I’ll try to work more with/manipulating the LFO. Maybe I can find something interesting there.

[Speldosa]

And with the OS 1.01 just being released, it feels more and more like Elektron have a different use case for this box in mind than what I’m using it for It now takes four button presses (well, five if you count that you need to press both FLOW and HEAT first) to reload a preset. It was fine before, but this makes it much harder to reload fast (without having to cue up the last step in advance).