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Click here to buy Empirical Labs EL7 Fatso Analog Tape Simulator and Optimizer by Empirical Labs.
Empirical Labs


Availability: In-Stock and Ready To Ship!
List Price: $2500.00
Discount: 12%
Our Price: $2199.00
At Musiciansfriend.com on December 01, 2010.

Offers analog warmth to your sound with the power of digital control.

The EL7 FATSO from Empirical Labs is a modern digitally controlled analog device that offers many of the "musical non-linearities" exhibited by the older tube, class A discrete, and magnetic tape mediums. This two channel audio processor will musically integrate frequencies and transients and increase the apparent volume without actual increase in peak levels. In addition, two channels of famous Empirical Labs compression are provided. There are several compressor "types" with fixed attacks and releases (if you want a fully controllable compressor, you will need the Empirical Labs Distressor).

Users of the EL7 Fatso can enhance & soften the sound of mediums such as modular digital multitracks (MDM's), HD recorders, DAT recorders, Ram Recorders etc. Mixdown engineers will have an option not to use bulky, expensive, (and often flaky) analog tape recorders to get the warmth and sweet high end they've come to rely on for so many decades. 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. Finally, audiophiles can bring back the warmth and cuddly sound of LP's and tapes to their CD players, and other digital reproduction mediums.

Fatso's Four Types of Processing (Available on both channels)
•Harmonic Generation and Soft Clipper (Distortion generation)
•High Frequency Saturation - WARMTH
•Transformer & Tape Head Emulation
•Classic Knee Compression - Empirical Labs Style


About Empirical Labs:
Empirical Labs was started in 1988 and functioned mainly as a recording studio and electronics consulting firm. The founder, Dave Derr, was also employed at the time by Eventide as an audio engineer and was one of the core designers of their legendary H3000. EL's first product, the EL8 Distressor (#501578) immediately took the recording industry by storm and hardly a record has been made without it since. With a mission "to make products that work a little easier, a little better, a lot longer, and are fun to use," Empirical Labs continues to create unique and innovate products that quickly find homes among the top professionals of the audio industry (and anyone else who wants in on the Empirical Labs sound).

Empirical Labs Users:
Aerosmith - Joe Perry (8 Distressors) Al Schmidt Alanis Morrisette Angela Piva - Mary J Blige, Naughty by Nature, Janet Jackson Ashes dIvide Billy Howerdel Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Niacin, David Lee Roth) Bob Clearmountain - Journey, Bryan Adams, Stones, Springstein, etc, etc, etc! Bob Dylan Bob Powers Bon Jovi Brendan O'Brien -Producer Mixdown Engineer Bruce Calder - (Electric Lady Studios, Degeneration) Butch Vig Cher Chimera Chris Lord Alge Chuck Ainlay Clair Brothers Cold Play Craig Melvin (Gloria Estefan) Creed - Eight Distressors on their 2003 tour D & D Studios NYC Daniel Lanois (U2) Dave Hewitt - Remote Recording Services Dave Matthews — David Kahne Death Cab for Cutie Disturbed Dolly Parton Don Was Dust Brothers (John King) Ed Cherney - Ed Kowalcyzk - Live Eddie Kramer (JimiHendrix) Effanel Remote recording - Randy Ezratty, 2003 Grammys Elton John Eminem Eric Schilling - Gloria Estefan, John Secada Finn Halle - Germany Fiona Apple Five Towns College (6 Distressors) Fleetwood Mac Fletcher Full Sail School for the Recording Arts George Massenburg Goo Goo Dolls Greg Calbi - Sterling Sound Gungi Patterson Hole Jason Slater - Snake River Conspiracy Jay Baumgartner - NRG Studios Jay Gordon - Producer, Lead Vocalist of Orgy Jerry Harrison - Live, Verve Pipe, (12 Distressors) Jerry Only - The Misfits Joe Berisi Joe Chicarelli - Hole, Beck, U2, etc! Joe Satriani John Agnello - Producer, Engineer, Mixer John Kurzweg - Creed John McBride at Blackbird Studios - 8 Distressors, 4 Fatsos, 2 Lil FrEQs John Paterno John Patterson — John Sicket Josh Abraham (Orgy, Staind, Korn, Limp Bizkit) Judy Saiya Julien - K Kevin Killen Kip Winger Kooster McAllister - Record Plant Remote Linkin Park Marc Costanzo, Len Mark Anthony Mark Plati - David Bowie Maroon 5 Matt Wallace Megadeth Metallica Michael Bienhorn Michael Wilton (Queensrych) Micheal Brauer - Sony Studios NYC Mick Gazauski — (Mariah Carey, Boyz 2 Men, Toni Braxton, etc.) Mick Hughes - Metallica FOH Engineer Mike Keating (Sting, Bush, Springstein live) Mike Shipley Millbrook Sound Mitch Goldfarb Mutt Lange N SYNC Natalie Merchant Nate Kunkel Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) Nine Inch Nails Outsmarting Simon Paul Tennebekk (Norway's Midwest Audio) Peter Denenberg Phil (the Buther) Nicolo (The Stones, Amy Grant, Sting, Aerosmith, Judy Saiya) Phil Ramone/John Patterson Rammstein Real World Studios - (Peter Gabriel's facility in England) Ricky Martin Roey Shamir - Information Society, Al B Sure Ross Hogarth - (Jewel, Coal Chamber, Grade 8) Ryan Hewitt - Engineer Extraordinare Scott Anthony - Dessau recording, Beastie Boys Seal - on tour Sean Beresford (3rd Eye Blind) Shania Twain Sheryl Crow Sound Kitchen Staind Sting Stone Temple Pilots Sue Shoemaker - Blues Traveler Tchad Blake - Sheryl Crow, Richard Thompson, Crowded House, Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt The Academy Is The Police The Voyager Remote Truck in Paris The Who Tom Lord Alge Tony Levin Wheatus Whitney Houston Woodland Studios - Robert Solomon

Empirical Labs EL7 Fatso Analog Tape Simulator and Optimizer Features:

  • Soft clip features - modeled after broadband tape saturation. WITHOUT THE NOISE! Smooth clipping up to 20% THD.
  • User programmable high frequency saturation, simulating the "softening" for which analog tape and phonographs are known. This is the "Warmth" control on FATSO.
  • 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.
  • Four compression modes One for tracking, one general purpose, one "bus" compressor, and SPANK (see below). All LINKABLE! Classic knee compressor sound that really grabs.
  • SPANK! - 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.
  • Huge "DISTRESSOR" knobs with high resolution numbering - For easy readability and repeatable settings. They also go to 10 1/2 .
  • 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.
  • Locked, calibrated, output level - Allows speed in setting tape and live mix levels.
  • Foolproof operation - it's almost impossible to get a bad sound.
  • Single height and light weight - Two channels of classic sound in a small, extremely reliable package.
  • Discrete and integrated combination - the best of speed/linearity with repeatability. Hand tested & selected components. All metal film and Roederstein resistors in the audio path - top quality components, most being high temperature military spec parts.
  • 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" phone 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.
  • Three year unlimited warranty.
  • Interface and features found nowhere else.
  • Allows processing not readily available in our current digital domain. New life for analog processing!
  • Hand wired, calibrated in USA. Shipping weight 13.25Lbs.

Warm up you recording today!

Empirical Labs EL7 Fatso Analog Tape Simulator and Optimizer Specifications:

  • Freq. Response
  • is 2 Hz to 60 kHz in clean audio mode (+0, -3 dB).
  • Dynamic Range
  • 110 dB from maximum output (20%THDsoft clipping) to minimum output. Greater than 100 dB signal to noise.
  • Distortion Ranges between .06% and 20% depending on mode and settings.
  • DC coupled Input and Outputs
  • High quality audio caps used internally. Compressor Time Constants - Attack range 1mS - 200mS. Release range .05 sec to 3.5 seconds. Attack and Releases are fixed by the compression type selected

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