All user reviews of 5/5 for the URS Phat C

The URS Phat C is a unique saturation and compression plug-in that models all sorts of different types of analog saturation, including tube, tape, VCA, opto, FET, and transformer. I installed the plug-in along with a number of other URS plug-ins, which was easy enough and not unlike installing many of the other plug-ins that I've got. The interface of the plug-in is straight forward and is the exact opposite of convoluted, consisting of a knob to choose between the six modes, as well as parameters for threshold, compression ratio, release, gain make up, and a high pass filter. It also has mix sliders for both compression and saturation and a switch to set either a fast or normal attack. Lastly, it has a 'spank' switch which is an alternate mode for really hitting your signal as hard as possible.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I'm currently running the URS Phat C on a Mac Book Pro and in Pro Tools LE 8. The computer has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM to play with, and I'm running Pro Tools LE with a Digi 002R or a Digidesign Micro Box if I'm not working from home or in a studio. This plug-in really doesn't seem to take up much processing power since I've never had an issue running it within this system. It's always hard to say how well a plug-in will run on a given system, but this one seems as safe a bet as any.

OVERALL OPINION

The URS Phat C is one of my favorite plug-ins from URS, which is saying a lot as I'm really a big fan of their software. This one is just really cool because it's unlike any I've used before. While it's a compressor, it's also a saturator, and the different modes are cool because they are emulations of real analog gear. I also like that it's super easy to use in a nice compact interface. The sound of it is definitely impressive and it's a great tool for warming up your sound, however, it's not a replacement for real analog gear as in my opinion no plug-in will ever be. That having been said, this sounds pretty awesome and is about as close as you'll get to a digital version of analog saturation. URS has been dropping their prices, so the Phat C is pretty much a steal at this point. Definitely do yourself a favor and at least give the demo a whirl to see if it might be useful to you.