Fatman Tube Signal Processors

Micks engineering career has seen him located at some of the UKs premier facilities, including Wessex Studios and Virgins The Town House and The Manor, where he was instrumental in the studios redesign. After leaving Town House in 1980, Micks freelance career led to his involvement on Frank Zappas Joes Garage Parts 1 & 2, and a long term working relationship with Van Morrison.

Micks well appointed studio is based around a Pro Tools 24 system, with a large and eclectic selection of analogue and digital outboard processors, into which the Fatman compressor has slotted nicely:

"I like a processor to have a character - something that can stamp its signature on a sound and improve it in some way. The Fatman compressor certainly does that, and in keeping with its name it definitely adds fatness and warmth. The unit also appealed to me because of its simplicity - I actually like gear that has fewer knobs! The units great for tracking, the front panel DI facility is very nice, and its also a pleasure to mix through."

FAT-1s for Fatman Studios

Fatman Studios near Sutton Coldfield has established itself as the premier recording facility in the Midlands area, and recently couldnt resist the temptation of adding a pair of TL Audio Fatman valve compressors to its outboard rack.

The studio, situated in a spectacular converted farm location in Canwell, was designed by Recording Architecture and offers 32 track digital recording via two Yamaha 02Rs, Tascam DA88s and Soundscape editing. Over the last 2 years it has established an enviable client base encompassing projects as diverse as Jane McDonald, Apache Indian, top Russian violinist Reema Sushanskaya and TV work including Red Dwarf.

Commenting on the Fatman units, Studio owner Jon Woodroffe and resident engineer Greg Chandler had this to say:

"The FAT-1 makes a great front end, particularly for DId instruments such as bass and guitar. Its got the same sound quality that weve come to expect of other TL Audio units, and allows both subtle and brutal processing of sound sources. At this price we dont know of any other units that can beat it on quality, and the presets would make it absolutely ideal for first time compressor users as well. On top of that, it looks great and with a name like Fatman we knew we couldnt go wrong!"

ANDY JACKSON CHOOSES FATMAN

Long standing Pink Floyd engineer Andy Jackson has become the very first user to get his hands on the new Fatman FAT 1 stereo valve compressor by TL Audio.

Andy's association with Pink Floyd started back in 1981 with The Wall movie, and has since included engineering The Final Cut, A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell albums, as well as solo albums for both Roger Waters and David Gilmour. The latter two Floyd albums both yielded Grammy nominations for Andy's engineering work.

Describing his first encounter with the FAT 1, Andy commented:
"I was initially sceptical about whether a compressor with preset programs would actually work in practice, but I have to say the unit simply blew my socks off! It sounds astonishingly good in manual mode, and the presets work incredibly well. I found the mix programs particularly impressive, and overall the FAT 1 made everything I put through it sound huge. How it can be done at this price I'll never know."