I've had one for over a year now and I love it. I use it more for tracking than for mixing, and it is fairly flexible in its use.

The compressors are just fixed ratios, attacks and releases, so they are not fully adjustable - you have to buy the Distressor for that. I find the "Bus" compressor setting excellent on kick, snare, acoustic guitars and drum submixes. The "Tracking" comp is a bit like an 1176 and works terrifically on alot of sources - vocals, bass, electric guitar amps, etc. I use the other comps less.

The "Warmth" control is adjustable in 7 steps. It's basically a de-esser that will take out highs, so you have to be careful with it. I've used it successfully on overly bright overheads, screetchy guitars and as an actual de-esser.

The "Tranny" is a real, huge transformer that you can switch in and out of the audio path to add girth, weight, meat, body, thickness or whatever your favorite buzzword is. It's fantastic on bass, elec guitar amps, kick, snare, some vocals, keyboards - let's just say there are more things I use it on than there are that I don't use it on.

The Fatso has a "Tape Emulation" circuit that's always in the audio path, and varies in effect depending on how hard you hit it. The "0VU" is comparable to recording on a reel to reel at 0 vu, while "Pinned" is reminiscent of the sweet, saturated sound of a signal that is compressed and softened by hitting the tape too hot.

I'm told it is a fairly complicated design, and Dave Derr once told me he came close to not finishing it because it was rather costly to make. I'm glad he persevered, cause I use it on everything, George Massenberg evidently uses it extensively as well. Here's a post from his old forum on musicplayer.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
gm

MP Hall of Fame Member
Member # 229
posted 08-29-2003 08:51 PM                       

I use the Fatso on vocals all the time. I use alot of different setting. You'll probably want to listen to what it does rather than copying someone else's settings.
George

George Massenburg
http://www.massenburg.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great reply, thanks alot!!! Anyone else ?