STOAKES’ GEAR TALK – PRESONUS FAT CHANNEL COLLECTION VOL. 1

Presonus are a company who have been around for a while and are in fact one of the most highly respected companies in the audio field. Based in Louisiana, they do everything ‘pro audio’, from studio monitors to mixers, audio interfaces and also have a huge range of software. Their DAW, Studio One is fast becoming one of the industry standards and now, they have developed some of the features inside Studio One and opened them up for other DAW users.

One of these features is Studio One’s Fat Channel XT, which along with its expansion pack is now available to other DAW users. A channel strip plugin that integrates really well with your DAW of choice. I have been using it on Cubase, but it works equally as well on other DAWs. The plug-in formats are AAX, VST3, and Audio Units. Fat Channel XT also comes with both Studio One Artist and Studio One Professional.

So what exactly is the Fat Channel XT? Simply put, the Fat Channel XT is a collection of compressors and EQ’s all modelled on different vintage hardware. Also included is a high-pass filter, noise gate/expander, and limiter.  The basic package comes with three compressors and 3 EQ’s and then if you get the expansion you get a further 6 compressors and 5 EQ’s. Presonus sent me the Fat Channel XT, plus the add ons to try out and I have been well and truly putting them through their paces over the last few weeks.

Firstly, there is the stock compressor and EQ, which is fine. It’s really intuitive, simple to use, but every DAW has one. It’s a shame that the EQ doesn’t have a visualizer, but odds on, if you’ve bought this pack, you probably aren’t buying it for the stock digital comp and EQ, you want some vintage goodness. Well, the Fat Channel XT, plus the expansion pack has everything covered.

The basic pack as I said earlier, comes with two vintage compressor models and two EQ’s. Compressors included are the Tube and the FET, which are modelled after the LA-2A and 1176 respectively. Both these work as you would expect and given that these are the ‘standard’, I was very impressed. The FET compressor sounds absolutely gorgeous on guitars, its really warm and smooth and I would say out of all the compressors available, this is the one I have had the most use out of. With an input and output gain control and then an attack and release, it is extremely easy to manipulate. Also, it’s worth noting that with just a few turns of the dial, you’ll get a really nice smooth sound. As with the real 1176, you can choose what level of compression you get too, from 4:1, right up to 20:1. You can also select ‘All’, which gives you a completely unique sound, synonymous with the 1176.

The standard EQ’s included are a Passive and a Vintage EQ. If I’m honest, I wasn’t overly taken by the passive EQ, It just didn’t give me that definition that I was after, however the Vintage EQ was great. Based on a Neve, this is a four band EQ which again, gives a really warm tone. The level of detail you can achieve with the vintage EQ is great and the slightest move of one of the dials can make the world of difference.

If you thought that was good, wait until we delve into the expansion pack. Offering a further 6 compressors and 5 EQ’s we have pretty much all bases covered. Another favourite compressor of mine is the Brit Comp, based on an SSL compressor. I really think Presonus have nailed the sonic character with this compressor. It sounds really smooth on vocals, but can really pack a punch on the drums and sound equally impressive on instruments, making things like acoustic guitars pop out of the mix.

The great thing about the Fat Channel compressors, is that unlike working in a studio with hardware, where you might be limited to perhaps one or two outboard compressors, you can use a mixture of different compressors on different tracks. For instance, the Comp 160 is absolutely amazing on drums, dial it up and you will find your drums just really pop! Absolutely stunning. Another really nice sounding compressor is the Tube CB, modelled on the Tubetech cbl 1. With a gain control as well as a Threshold and ratio control, this is more what you might expect of a compressor, certainly coming from a digital world.

Moving onto the EQ’s, the Alpine EQ offers some really nice EQ sweeps. A three band EQ and although you can’t be really precise as the dial goes up and down in huge denominations, you will get a lovely smooth overall sound. With the ability to toggle between a high and low peak or shelf, this is a great all round EQ. I have used it as my main EQ, but I have also used it as a first EQ, instead of the built in HPF, just to tackle some low end, before compressing. You can get a lot detail on the low end with the Alpine.

The Solar 69 EQ is stunning. Combining it with the Alpine, it is a dream. Once I have done the primary EQ, then done some compression, I will open the Solar EQ. This EQ is super detailed. Offering again a three band, unlike the Alpine, you can be really precise with this one. Emulating the Helios 69 EQ, I have pretty much used this in all of my projects recently. Its such a detailed and precise EQ, I love it.

The wonderful thing about the Fat Channel XT is the number of options you have. There is a huge collection of very different sounding EQ’s and Compressors that all have their own unique sound and character. I wish there was an option to increase the number of inserts I had in each channel Strip, for instance, do an initial High Pass filter with one of the vintage EQ’s, rather than just with the stock HPF. The EQ and compressor are interchangeable, but you might want a few extra options. Aside from that, this is a fantastic bundle that you will get a lot of use out of. The GUI is simple to use and its just a really nice set of vintage sounding compressors and EQ’s.

Would I buy the Fat Channel XT? Yes, I have found it adds a lot of character to your mixes. You can use it on individual tracks or on your master bus too. The Fat channel also works really well with stock DAW plugins and other third party plugins too. If you’re after that vintage sound, then the Fat Channel XT is for you!

R.R.P

Fat Channel XT: $59.95 U.S.

Fat Channel Collection Vol. 1: $149.95 U.S.

*** The above review was written using both the Fat Channel and Fat Channel Collection Vol. 1 ***