Empirical Labs EL7 Fatso Valve / Tape Emulation Processor

EL7 Fatso Valve / Tape Emulation Processor description:

The Empirical Labs EL-7 FATSO Valve/tape Emulation Processor. Beef up your tracks with limitless combinations of color, perfect for saturating digital audio with analog warmth.

The Empirical Labs EL-7 FATSO is a two channel Full Analog Tape Simulator/Optimizer with Knee Compressor that simulates classic recording elements like older tube gear, magnetic tape, and more, giving your sound a warmth, depth and immediacy that's hard to get with pure digital. Both channels offer four types of processing. You get Harmonic Generation and Soft Clipper (Distortion generation), High Frequency Saturation, Transformer & Tape Head Emulation, and Classic Knee Compression. Best of all, the FATSO is a fully modern, digitally-controlled processor, so you get that analog tape sound without having to mess around with a real analog recorder. FATSO's operation is subtle; you won't hear this machine at work. All you'll hear is great sound.

The main features of the Empirical Labs EL-7 FATSO include:

• Owners of Adats, MDM's, RAM and modern hard disk recorders can finally put a stop to complaints about the "coldness" and "brittle edge" of their mixes and instruments with the "rounded" and "musically non linear elements" of vintage analog
• Audiophiles can bring back the warmth and cuddly sound of LP's and tapes to their CD players, and other digital reproduction mediums
• Four compression modes - One for tracking, one general purpose, one "bus" compressor, and SPANK. All Linkable! Classic knee compressor sound that really grabs
• Spank is an additional limiter that musically smashes the dynamic range, and can be used to stop clipping before digital recorders. There is a subtle knee followed by hard limiting
• Soft clip features modeled after broadband tape saturation. WITHOUT THE NOISE! Smooth clipping up to 20% THD
• Switchable transformer circuits, which can add the musical artifacts generated by classic devices like NEVE, API, etc. These artifacts include frequency "rounding", low order clipping & intermodular distortion, transient clipping... and some other very musical non-linearities
• Distortion indicator lights - A 0 VU LED and a "Pinned" (5%) LED. No hard clipping until a few dB past "Pinned"
• Sidechain output and input for eq-ing control signals
• Foolproof operation - it's almost impossible to get a bad sound
• Switchable 110/220 volt operation - Extra fuse provided inside unit
• True bypass - Know what it's really doing. All contacts doubled up for maximum reliability. No internal audio connectors
• XLR and 1/4 inch ins and outs - XLR fully balanced, transformerless design, pin 2 hot. Changeable by user to pin 3 hot
• No internal connectors, high reliability parts and military grade switches and relays