Where would you put the Heat in this signal chain?

Elektron Gear Analog Heat
#1

Fellow nauts, friends near and far,

So I had a Heat for a long time, but eventually its character, even in Clean Boost mode, colored my tracks to the extent that I sold it to explore other directions. At the time, I used it frequently for two channel mixing and no nonsense mastering as much as I did for color (even more, actually). Subtly, but still very present.

Now, I’m working on something new, more club oriented, and I’m considering getting the Heat again, but this time not for any kind of mixing or mastering duties, but only for the character it brings, specifically the movements from the LFO:s, the envelopes, filter pans and stuff.

So here’s my chain right now -

  • Music (drums, samples, synths) into
  • all six SSL SiX channels - EQ, drum compressor and g-bus compressor active
  • SSL SiX stereo out into
  • Chase Bliss CXM 1978 for space and flavour

Where would you put the Heat in this chain?

Before the SiX? To make its flavour part of the raw and untweaked sound from the source, and thus let it flow through the SiX eq and compressor. I have my doubts on this, but it’s an option.

After the SiX but before the CXM? To add movement to the entire stereo image from the SiX, after it’s processed, and make sure it becomes part of the reverb and space the CXM adds. This is my most likely option.

After the CXM? As a final adder of movement and organics, adding the Heat flavour to the reverb as well.

Or something else? Many thanks for your advice.

#2

After six and before cxm.

I find that I often don’t want an entire mix going through the heat as I always want slightly different settings for different sections. Like I’ll want some colour etc on drums and bass but not so much on the highs. Or vice versa.

But tbh, if using it subtly it could be after the cxm just to glue things together even. I never do that cause I’m too tempted to mess with it or use it in some extreme manner

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#3

I’d probably try it in a stereo cue, returning on one of the EXT ins. Wet/dry mix all the way up. You can then play around with sending each instrument to the Heat and see if you like the results. I’d do the same with the reverb actually.

Also, how has using the channel compressors on drums worked for you? I remember hearing in a YT review that they had a slow attack and were best suited for vocals … that was just one person’s opinion though

Added: exactly what the above comment is mentioning. Send drums and bass to heat and then all your atmospheres to the reverb, etc to taste

It’s probably weird to put a overdrive in a cue, but it’s what I would do lol

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#4

It seems you want to do some of the more wild things the heat can do. Therefore I would suggest putting it in front of the six, to add it only on the stems that benefit from this LFO/filter pan and so on. If you’re doing wild modulation on the whole mix it could be too much, IMO.

It depends on your workflow of course, if you record one thing at a time it doesn’t really matter, but i think I would personally want to choose which tracks get the treatment when playing everything at once.

One a side note, this is what makes AH so fun, I use it as an external effect, so I put all tracks through it at some point, but i often make small changes depending on the material that goes through it. Most often it is for saturation though, not much else.

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#5

Thanks. I’m not gonna do that effect on multiple channels thing :slight_smile: I’m a stereo signal kind of guy unless it’s downright wrong - but you’re not the first to tell me this advice. Probably won’t be the last either.

The channel compressors work very well on drums, but if you push them too hard, they tend to cut through in an undesired way. Apply it subtly, though, and it enhances drums and bass in a very nice and discreet way, giving them just the right position before you push it all through the g-bus.

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#6

Yeah, I am looking for that overall shifting and moving the Heat does so well. All these independent modulations it can do to whatever goes into it, is what I recall most fondly about it and I think it would suit my new project very well. I’m doing club remixes of a few EP:s I’ve released for upcoming gigs, and there’s a lot of slooow builds and fall backs, where loop’s not changing much but the movement within it, does. Source is a Rytm and a 1010 Blackbox, Rytm into ch1 and ch2 on the SiX and Blackbox free form, unsynced loops and field recordings into SiX ch 3 - 6.

All this through the CXM, and no effects applied before. I don’t use the Rytm delays or reverb, nor the Blackbox delay or reverb, so it’s all dry before it hits the CXM. I use the Rytm delay to add some space, the high pass filter on the delay very active with reverb applied to it, unsynced to tempo, to sort of widen the room. But that’s it.

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#7

Maybe try the Heat first, as the main instrument.

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#8

I hear that. I have the Bluebox going into the SiX for a flexible configuration right now. Some of my work involves the master track coming in on 1&2 out a cue into a delay filter effect on stereo 3 and then reverb in 4. I like to sum that way and use the faders to blend :slight_smile:

Thanks for sharing your experience with the compressors

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#9

No worries, thanks for your advice :slight_smile:

I was twice surprised by the SSL compressors. The channel ones, because they tended to clip, push through and bring out unflattering stuff in ways I wouldn’t expect from a one dial compressor (until I understood its purpose, then it made sense). And the g-bus, for being ridicilously great despite being a one dial compressor.

Now, I wouldn’t do without any of them :slight_smile: but it took me some time to learn how to get the sound I wanted out of the SiX. It’s not a sweet spot mixer, at least if you know very little about these things and just have to learn by ear what’s actually going on. Which is the case, in my case.

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#10

I should also add, I’m not sure I’m gonna try this at all. There’s already a lot going on and the Heat might be one thing too many, maybe making the track sound over-produced.

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#11

I say give it a shot. If you are going for club-ready, then is it every really over-produced?.

In this setup I would try the Heat on the master insert of the SSL Six, to dial in that flavor, and maybe use the EQ for a little correction, just before hitting the buss comp. Conversely, you could also use it after the Six, for a little final sheen/eq on the mix.

For the Reverb, I would use that as one of the stereo cues as a send, so you could send each track/channel individually into the verb, or maybe none at all for some tracks, to give some variance in the verb. Or instead, use a touch of verb just before the buss comp to polish it off. But I would definitely experiment to see what works best for your material.

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#12

Thanks. I realise I never quite got my head around the routing and wiring of external fx using the SSL SiX, and figured, “Hell, I don’t need it anyway, I’m a two channel signal chain kind of guy.”

But maybe I’m not. Reading up on this stuff, I don’t quite get it. Engineer friends of mine say I should use the d subs, but the cables are just gargantuan. Others say I could sacrifice a stereo pair and tap fx into those, but I don’t want that. And somewhere here, I just decided to hell with it, I’ll just apply it on the master. And it’s been working out fine so far.

But honestly, I’m ready to try options if they make sense.

#13

You could try experimenting with the reverb the ST Cue 1 or 2. The outs are on the back for those. Then you could treat is as a fully wet send, and return it into one of the EXT INs, and mix to taste. That way you could vary your send amounts from channels 1-6 into the verb.

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#14

This is the way.

Added: Find your own way of course :slight_smile: but the ext ins can sum into master or can be sent to the monitors without going through the G-bus/master out. There’s a whole thread on here listing mixers with aux sends. You have two! Enjoy the exploration

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#15

I personally would never leave heat in a chain by default.

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#16

Aaah … see, that I understood. I’m gonna try that. Thank you.

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#17

This is one of the reasons I recommended having it on the master insert. If it’s not working, you can switch it out of the chain with the flick of a button.

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#18

I do like to consider FX more a part of the overall sound and output design, more than an addition, though. It’s part of the render, so to speak.

Having said that, just being able to channel the amount between the six channels still allow for that train of thought, but with slightly more control.

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#19

Right. I was just saying it in a more clear cut way.

Find a way to true bypass it. It’s not worth the raised floor by default.

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#20

What do you mean by that? What floor is being raised how, and why is it not worth it? As in the Heat or CXM adds so much, it’s not something you’d want on the overall master, ever? You’d want more control on the channels or else it’s not worth it?

I’m not a native speaker so I just want to understand, I’m not calling you out, mate :slight_smile: