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Author Topic: Avid HEAT  (Read 8821 times)

Nick Sevilla

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Avid HEAT
« on: September 29, 2010, 07:00:24 PM »

Hi,

I hope I don't take a lot of HEAT from doing a small review here.

I installed this option three days ago, to check it out this week with some recording sessions I have going on.

What can I say, I do like it.

It is NOT very noticeable and effect, and I think this is part of why I like it. You don't turn it on and suddenly the whole mix changes, no, it is more of a subtle saturation, which does actually do different things according to what is on the channel being played back.

I think Dave Hill really is onto something with this one.

I was expecting something like his Phoenix plug in, or something like the other console of tape saturation emulators, but he did do a great job of making this useful, and different, than the other things out there.

As I work on the tracks I am on now, I will be using it, and then turning it on and off to compare with the"dry" tracks.

To me, Subtle = Good.

Cheers
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It is quite possible, captain, that they find us grotesque and ugly and many people fear beings different from themselves.

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wwittman

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Re: Avid HEAT
« Reply #1 on: October 01, 2010, 01:38:41 AM »

thanks for that

can you tell us more about it and how it works?
do you need to instantiate it on every track individually? is it CPU intensive?
are there any parameters, or just on-off?



do you also put it on the stereo master buss?

are you familiar with Real Tape Saturation? is it much different?



thanks
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William Wittman
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(Cyndi Lauper, Joan Osborne, The Fixx, The Outfield, Hooters...)

Nick Sevilla

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Re: Avid HEAT
« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2010, 06:13:08 PM »

wwittman wrote on Thu, 30 September 2010 22:38

thanks for that

can you tell us more about it and how it works?
do you need to instantiate it on every track individually? is it CPU intensive?
are there any parameters, or just on-off?

do you also put it on the stereo master buss?

are you familiar with Real Tape Saturation? is it much different?

thanks


Hi wwittman,

1.- It is activated just like  the ADC feature, in the Options Menu.

2.- No, once you activate HEAT it goes on every single AUDIO track. It does not go on any AUX, MASTER, MIDI, or INSTRUMENT tracks. I get around that by printing the Instrument tracks once the MIDI is edited, so that HEAT can affect the final audio of a synth.

3.- You can bypass the effect on a per channel basis, or make it pre-fader or post fader as well. There is an overallbypass button on the controls, which are only in the Mix window on the right side.

4.- I made around 25 albums on 2" tape before using Pro Tools, and have only used Pro Tools exclusively for the last 6 years. So I do know about the tape compression, especially how to do it properly... (ie it does NOT involve "slamming" the tape, or any part of the signal path).

5.- It is a TDM only plug in, and uses up CPUs as you use more audio tracks, just like any other TDM plug in. As fars as how CPU intensive it is, I have a session here with 10 audio tracks, and it uses only 94% of one CPU slot, and one voice per mono track. So in really huge sessions, I will probably print the effect and then turn it off. Unless I win the Lotto and can buy a whole lot more Accel Cards

6.- No, it is NOT identical to real tape. It is a plug in that very subtly adds harmonic distortion to your audio tracks. If you want to "hear it" then it may be the wrong plug in for what you want to accomplish. This is more along the lines of a fine light schmear, not a heavy distortion at all. It does react to different frequencies slightly differently, which I find very cool.

7.- It only has two knobs. "Drive" and "Tone". I recommend you watch the video on their website where Dave Hill, the designer of HEAT, explains how it works in much more detail.

To me this is useful, because I already have the URS saturation plugin, and that one is more noticeable on some material, and therefore not as useful to me. And I also have the Reel Tape Suite from Avid, which also can be subtle, but does a different thing altogether.

Cheers
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wwittman

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Re: Avid HEAT
« Reply #3 on: October 01, 2010, 06:29:02 PM »

just to be clear, it was the Digidesign Reel Tape Saturation I was referring to, not 'real' analogue tape

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William Wittman
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jimlongo

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Re: Avid HEAT
« Reply #4 on: October 25, 2010, 12:08:55 PM »

Besides a demo which you can try for 30 days, there is a listening shootout of a Protools mix, Protools mix with HEAT, Neve 8048 summed mix.  
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Nick Sevilla

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Re: Avid HEAT
« Reply #5 on: October 25, 2010, 12:11:29 PM »

wwittman wrote on Fri, 01 October 2010 15:29

just to be clear, it was the Digidesign Reel Tape Saturation I was referring to, not 'real' analogue tape




Hi W,

I also have the Reel Tape Suite, all 3.

I have not yet had the time to compare them together.

I will, and post here soon.

Cheers
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It is quite possible, captain, that they find us grotesque and ugly and many people fear beings different from themselves.

www.nicksevilla.com
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