Apollo
Native
sale
Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator
Thick tape saturation. Punchy compression. Warmth for your whole mix.
- The Only Authentic FATSO. Get the same tape and saturation processing used to mix records by AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and more.
- Two Plug-Ins. Access iconic tones with the classic FATSO Jr or get deeper compression control with added features on the FATSO Sr.
- Four Compression Modes. Glue your buses and mixes together with Buss, G.P., Tracking, and Spank settings.
- Warmth for Everything. Slam drums, make bass pop on small speakers, or warm up a vocal instantly.
- Beyond the Hardware. Get exclusive plug-in features like sidechain filtering, variable transformer saturation, and deeper compression parameters.
Get the Full Analog Tape Simulator and Optimizer
What They Say
Andrew Scheps
(Daft Punk, Adele, Red Hot Chilli Peppers)
Young Guru
(Jay-Z, Kanye West, The Carters)
Billy Bush
(Garbage, Dolly Parton, Paul McCartney)
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator is worth it if you want compression, tape saturation, and high-frequency smoothing working together in a single plug-in. It's the official FATSO emulation, developed with and endorsed by Empirical Labs founder Dave Derr, and it now runs natively on Mac and Windows with no UA hardware required. One insert can glue a mix bus, thicken a drum bus, or warm up a vocal, so you spend less time building chains and more time mixing.
The Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator is an authentic emulation of one specific, widely used piece of analog studio hardware, with its multi-mode compression, tape saturation, and transformer coloration modeled together as one unit. Many all-in-one saturation and bus plug-ins combine generic circuits that are inspired by analog gear rather than modeled from it. With FATSO, you're working with the same interactive character engineers have reached for on drum buses, mix buses, and vocals for years.
FATSO stands for Full Analog Tape Simulator and Optimizer, and the Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator plug-in models the hardware unit Empirical Labs founder Dave Derr designed. Derr built the FATSO to capture the musical behavior of multiple compressors, Class A electronics, and magnetic tape in one box. It became a fixture in professional studios, used by engineers with credits ranging from Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt to AC/DC, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden.
The Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator includes two plug-ins: FATSO Jr, which captures the classic hardware's controls and tone, and FATSO Sr, which adds custom features designed by Dave Derr that go beyond the original hardware. FATSO Sr gives you variable transformer saturation, sidechain filtering, and deeper compression parameters including Threshold, Attack, and Release. Reach for Jr when you want those iconic tones fast, and Sr when you want to fine-tune exactly how the compression grabs and how much transformer color comes through.
The Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator offers four compression modes: Buss, G.P., Tracking, and Spank. Buss is a gentle 2:1 ratio with a soft knee for mix glue, G.P. is a transparent workhorse that holds a steady level, and Tracking is an 1176-style compressor for vocals and instruments. Spank is a radical limiter modeled on the squeeze of '70s console talkback compressors, and you can stack it on top of another mode when a track needs extra grab.
The Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator tames harsh highs with its Warmth circuit, which softens the top end the way analog tape naturally does. Because it works alongside the compression and saturation in the same insert, you can control dynamics, add harmonic thickness, and smooth out brightness all at once. It's especially useful for calming sibilant vocals, bright cymbals, and edgy electric guitars.
Yes, the Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator was developed in collaboration with Empirical Labs founder Dave Derr, who scrutinized it for accuracy against the original hardware. It captures both the hardware's subtle harmonic coloration and its extreme squeeze, including how the input drive, transformer, Warmth, and compression stages interact. The native version delivers the same sound as the UAD DSP version that Apollo owners have used for years.
No, the Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator is available as a UAD native plug-in that runs on your computer's processor, with no UA hardware required. If you own an Apollo interface or UAD-2 accelerator, a DSP version is also available that runs on the hardware's onboard processing. Existing owners of the DSP version can upgrade to the native version.
Yes, the Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator runs natively on both macOS and Windows, including Apple Silicon Macs. You get the same FATSO sound on a laptop at home or a studio workstation, whichever platform you use.
The Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator works in all major DAWs on Mac and Windows through the VST3, AU, and AAX plug-in formats. It also runs in LUNA, UA's recording system, which is available for both Mac and Windows. Wherever you mix, you can drop FATSO on any track, bus, or master.
The Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator works on nearly any source, with drums, bass, vocals, electric guitars, and mix and drum buses as its sweet spots. You can slam drums into thick saturation, add weight and harmonics that help bass translate on small speakers, or warm up a vocal instantly. On electric guitars, the saturation and Warmth circuit add body while smoothing out a harsh top end.
Yes, the Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator is a natural mix bus tool, and its Buss compression mode is designed for exactly that job. Buss mode uses a gentle 2:1 ratio with a soft knee to glue your mix together, while a little input drive and the Warmth circuit add tape-style thickness and a smoother top end. A light touch adds cohesion without squashing your dynamics.
Yes, for many tracks and buses the Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator can replace a chain of separate processors, because it combines compression, tape-style saturation, transformer color, and high-frequency smoothing in a single insert. Instead of stacking a compressor, saturator, and limiter, you dial in all three behaviors from one set of knobs, and they interact the way they do on the hardware. That keeps sessions lighter and makes it easier to hear what each move is doing.
Use the UAD native version of the Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator when you're mixing on any Mac or Windows computer, and the UAD DSP version when you want to track through it on an Apollo. Plenty of Apollo owners use both: DSP for printing FATSO color while recording, native for mixing on a laptop or a system without UA hardware. Presets recall between the two versions, so your existing UAD-2 sessions and settings carry over to native without starting from scratch.
The Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator combines compression with tape saturation, transformer color, and high-frequency smoothing in one insert, while the Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor is a dedicated compressor built around deep dynamics control. Both were designed by Empirical Labs founder Dave Derr, and both are available as UAD plug-ins. Reach for the Distressor when you need precise compression on a single source, and the FATSO when you want warmth, glue, and saturation together, especially on buses.
The Empirical Labs FATSO Tape Simulator adds warmth to digital recordings by modeling the harmonic saturation, soft peak clipping, and high-frequency softening of analog tape and Class A electronics. Those qualities round off harsh transients, thicken thin tracks, and help separate elements sit together, which is a big part of what people hear as a vintage, analog sound. Running FATSO on individual tracks or a whole bus is a quick way to make cold recordings feel finished.