REVIEW: Universal Audio UAD EL7 Fatso

As you probably have noticed I got my hands on a UAD Quad Satellite recently and am trying out all kinds of plugins for it. The time has come for the EL7 Fatso to get its verdict.

So what’s the fuzz about?

The Fatso plugin is an emulation of a hardware unit by Empirical Labs which is probably even more known for their Distressor compressor. There’s also a Kush Audio Fatso, called the UBK Fatso which is a different beast that we won’t talk more about here.

When it comes to the plugin, there are actually two – Fatso Jr and Fatso Sr. The Jr plugin is a direct emulation of the hardware while the Sr features additional controls. As far as I understand these are not just some controls Universal Audio tossed in there but actually things that Dave Derr, the designer of the hardware unit, had in mind. Cool.

The Fatso is a very colored unit which, besides being a compressor with different characteristics, has a “Tranny”-setting that by no means de-masculinize your macho audio but rather inserts a transformer into the mix, and a warmth control for some added color.

The Fatso Sr adds the following controls:

• Threshold Lvl knob adjusts compressor threshold
• Tranny Lvl knob adjusts transformer saturation
• HP Side Filter enables high pass filter in compression sidechain, selectable between 60, 120, 240, and 480Hz
• Attack cycling button manually adjusts compressor attack time between 0.9, 10, 30, and 60ms
• Release cycling button manually adjusts compressor release time between 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5s

Fattening things up

When I started demoing the Fatso I was mostly concerned with using it as a master bus compressor. I wouldn’t say that I’m extremely picky when it comes to track compression but master bus compression is another story entirely. I’ve gone through a lot of plugins to find something that’s good enough for the master. It pains me to say this, but high quality hardware is simply better in this regard.

I was pleasantly surprised by Fatso in this application. Set to Bus mode (a 2:1 ratio intended for this purpose) you can compress away without having to worry too much about the amount of gain reduction. Usually I find that software compressors simply doesn’t do well with more than 2-3 dB compression, Fatso handles it much better than most plugins I’ve tried. I’m very happy to see this and it’s the main reason why it’s still in my plugin folder.

I’ve also used it on individual tracks, specially vocals, at times when I haven’t used a tracking compressor. I simply use it to catch some peaks after which I’ve hit the vocal with a second compressor (UBK-1 in case you wonder). Maybe I should get a hardware Fatso for tracking? Still, I have to emphasize that the master bus is where I typically use it.

The plugin is not without its faults though. I’m not sure if it’s just for the applications I’ve used it on or not, but I have left the Warmth function of every single time. It just doesn’t do it for me.

I wish Universal Audio would have gone the extra mile with the GUI too because it’s clearly not intended for software. To get to the setting you want you often have to click multiple times on the same button. It’s a solution that might work in the hardware world but plain suck in a plugin.

Conclusion

While the Fatso has its faults, for one it’s ergonomically pretty bad, it is a nice sounding plugin and one of my three go-to software master bus compressors. It’s very easy to tweak to sound good and it has plenty of tone shaping options. The Warmth function doesn’t do it for me but I can always use a little tranny.

The good:

+ A straight-forward basically good sounding plugin!

The bad:

- Can’t say I’m a fan of the Warmth functionality.
- Requires a UAD-2 DSP Accelerator Card.

The ugly:

* The GUI and controls are clearly not made with software in mind.

Price: $299