Does anyone have any experience with the analog heat mk2 or oto boum? I have decided I want one of these. Both are analog saturation boxes basically, with compression and low/high cut filters as well.

The oto boum has midi capability which means, I believe, that I can send midi data to it from reaper so it can recall its settings. The analog heat mk2 (don't want the newer one heat+fx that has reverb and delay built in) has apparently a better menu system and can use overbridge and have it act as a plugin.

My main use scenario will be to use reaper/rme ucxii to send audio out into the box, then back into reaper to record the track post processing. Someday I might do live shows again but for now it'll just be studio use. Been having a lot of fun using distortion on tracks and in parallel, I figure a hands on box will sound better and be more fun. Am I correct in thinking that the analog realm of distortion is going to be superior to any plugin?

Anyone ever mess with any of these? Both cost about the same, used heat mk2 550 or so and a new oto boum the same off their site with shipping. Thoughts?

Thoughts? I have impulse control problems, I bought an oto boum. Getting shipped from France. Hahahahahaha

 

Last edited: Nov 22, 2024

Never heard it in my life, the weird name got my attraction. Looks very...hmmm... techno ? hehehe.
Being a little more careful, the page lists:
MIDI input: BOUM responds to CCs, Pgm Change, Note
Looking further in the manual the boum can filter any midi message out which is handy in a crowded external setup and it has some interesting midi features for an analog unit. Note velocity can control the compression in the compressor sidechain from 0 to 127. There is much going on with different knob simultaneous presses and labeling is scarce so there will be a learning curve to it, but listening to the sound examples and vid this is a versatile little box of tricks. Pity that the examples don't contain much melodic material so it can be straightly compared to something i 've used in the past. I guess it's geared more towards techno producers so most of it is drum examples.
The only thing i used lately that comes close, is a tabletop Sherman Filterbank 2. Although technically not a saturation unit, it can get as nasty as possible and can very well kill any monitor or even ears lol. It can be subtle if you want it and is probably the most versatile of its kind. But at ~850 euros it's almost double the money the Boum costs. The latter sounds very nice and with 36 user presets there is a wide range of things it can do. I didn't take time for the Heat thingy, but the Boum is quite good to my ears only a little expensive but justified since it's fully analog with some midi control here and there.
Cheers

 

I was going to recommend the heat but I guess we're too late for that

 

I'm not the smartest guy! But looks like the resale value on the boum is ok, I can always try to pivot and sell if I end up hating it. Talked to a buddy who had issues with overbridge crashing I guess, not sure if it's better nowadays or not but that was my largest attraction to the heat as I'll be using it in studio mostly to process synths and drums.

I'm having a bad time today so a "little" impulsive purchase on something I'm pretty confident I'll get good use out of seemed like an ok thing to do. Been looking them up for a few weeks now, dunno the boutique feel of the oto calls to me more lol. We will see! When I get it maybe I'll post some examples. It'll definitely end up on my tracks.

 

I haven't actually used the boum, but have owned a heat for years (and never had issues with overbridge even from the initial version), from the previews I've heard of the boum, the heat does seem to have a wider range of uses.

we're talking about gear though, so the proper answer when choosing between two things is almost always both

 

Oh it's an Elektron machine. Excuse my ignorance, i've only used their analog drum machine once, i think it was Rytm MkII and i really liked it. Expensive but it could do almost anything, that little thing packed enough punch to cut through any mix.
I see the Heat MkII is discontinued and there is a new Heat now that adds digital fx. But even so, on second hand the MkII is still sold for about 700-800 or more. I looked the MkII up, now that is a premium device and certainly even more versatile than the Boum. Boum has no filters other than low/high cut. The Heat mkII has a range of them plus a very handy OLED screen.
From the examples i found and heard in the web and yt etc., this could also sit very nicely on a mix buss and why not as part of a mastering chain. So it should be thought of as a step up to the Boum, since it is a premium, more versatile machine with more functionality and great sound but also with a different, higher price tag as well.
Tell us mate, how you like to use it...
Cheers
PS: There is a reason why i am avoiding testing this kind of "luxury" boxes. I fu.king want them all

 

Last edited: Nov 22, 2024

Ok so got the oto about a week ago. Some thoughts, first off I like it but that could be a combo of buyers bias and the fact I've never owned other analog gear to compare it too. The menu system is super easy did not cause me any issues at all. The distortion sounds great to me. Here is a song I made that I ran every track through the oto, then the buses then the master. *tried* to keep the busses and master clean but I hit the individual tracks hard (on purpose) so I'm sure it sounds like a noisy mess. But I had a lot of fun making it soooo. All these sounds were initially plain jane drums and synth sounds from the ostirus. Not the best song or anything but yeah.



IF I had more money and could do it over I might go with the analog heat mk2 and a nice bus compressor, ive been eyeing the tk bc-1 for a while. A low cut that went higher than 300hz would be cool. I'm not the biggest fan of the one knob compressor style, I want more control. I could see myself off loading the oto boum, getting the heat and tk and maybe a filter as well. Still it sounds great to my ears, I mean as far as mangling sounds goes. Very easy to use with my rme interface and reaper. In some ways it just makes me want more of course. Overall happy with it though.