Vox Samples, a renowned name in the music industry, has recently unveiled its latest offering – Fat Cat. This is a free vocal saturation plugin designed specifically for Windows users. The plugin is geared towards enhancing the quality of vocals by adding color and warmth. Fat Cat is not just a saturation plugin but can also be used as a distortion effect, making it a versatile tool for music producers and sound engineers.
Fat Cat is modeled and fine-tuned based on the modern analog tube preamp. This design allows it to add harmonic distortion that is both musical and pleasing to the ears. Users can easily make their vocals sound fuller and richer by simply turning up the Drive knob. However, users are advised to use this feature judiciously as Fat Cat can quickly produce a very thick sound.
The plugin begins with a gentle preamp saturation. As users turn up the Drive knob, they will start to experience warm saturation/distortion, which is ideal for bringing vocals to the forefront of the mix. If the Drive knob is turned up to its maximum, Fat Cat transforms into a soft clipper, producing a warm and crunchy distortion.
One of the unique features of Fat Cat is the Mix knob. This allows users to blend in the original unsaturated signal, resulting in a more natural sound. This technique, known as parallel saturation, is a popular method used by sound engineers to maintain the integrity of the original sound while still adding warmth and color. If the volume becomes too loud during this process, users can simply turn down the Vol (Volume) knob to adjust it.