I’ve owned one for a few years and I use it constantly. It’s a fantastic Multi-Distortion which fits in extremely well to a Hybrid setup. The fact you can use it in OB as a VST via usb makes it incredibly easy to dial up sounds with. Having multi-filter, envelope follower, and MIDI CC control also makes it very versatile in a live setup.
I constantly see people asking if Heat is “Worth It” to put over thier Dawless master mix and make it better.
No. It’s not worth it. Yes it can serve that function nicely, but the QUALITY OF YOUR SOUND DESIGN in the first place is what makes your mix good. A hardware live setup is always going to sound weaker than a precise DAW arrangement with unlimited VSTs and editing.
If your sound design sucks, your mix is going to suck. Make a good mix and you improve your sound 98%. Make a crap mix and throw $1000 at a heat and it’s 2% better.
The Heat does other things. Waste of money otherwise
I use it almost solely on Clean Boost, with a bit of additional drive and filter cutoff, and it provides a nice warmth and heft to the outputs of my Machinedrum that is worth the price of admission (I only paid $550 for mine).
You can make a similar post about just about any type of gear. People buying OB-6s and using a couple of presets. People buying semi-modulars and using zero or one patch cable(s). This is human nature.
Something like “You bought a Heat for Clean Boost? Here are five things you can easily do with it that will blow your mind!” might be more constructive. But I understand your frustration.
I use Clean Boost, but with no audio cables plugged into or out of the unit. I find that just by having it turned on, it sort of boosts my spirit and lifts the aura and energy of the room around me.
What a weird thread. If you’re getting angry over what other people are doing with their gear then you definitely have your priorities out of whack. I’m pretty sure no one here thinks owning an AH>being good at sound design.
This has always loomed large for me and is probably at 90% right now, generally. But, state of the world aside, I think the issue is seeing people talk up underuse or misuse of something complex. There isn’t much to do about it except to try to broaden their horizons. Which rarely works, but at least you can be said to have tried.
Not that I own a heat yet, but I want a compressor and EQ for live sets.
I use the OT at the moment, but that kind of sucks if you use more than 1 part, because you can’t make setting adjustments for different venues without changing everything!
So if it’s not a Heat, then what the hell is it? There literally doesn’t seem to be another box that does what it does.
I’ve never been that big into the clean boost circuit.
High gain is for winners.
Having said that, I can kind of see where the OP is coming from.
I sold my first Heat because I kinda fell into a trap of using it to avoid mixing properly, or at least I felt myself working less hard on the mix because I knew I could lean on the Heat to paper over the cracks. Basically, it made me lazy.
Couldn’t give two shits what others are doing with theirs though.
…while u could also argue, it’s even worth a grant to spent ur sound the overall vibe of a classic mixing desk, ur absolutely right about the fact, that it can’t turn shit into gold…
