Described as ‘the ultimate phattening processor’ – CamelPhat – is a solid ‘colouring’ multi-effect plugin with attitude.  Developed by Camel Audio and used by seasoned professionals globally the plugin targets a specific use for processing  guitars, bass and drums. It is great for loops, can be put to great effect texturising vocal parts and is capable of delivering  a fierce snarl and bite on many a lead sound.  CamelPhat’s flexible and distinguished sound possesses a wide variety of colour tone with an untiring ability to add warmth, punch and presence wherever required in the mix.

Signal flow: CamelPhat’s user interface is a slick design which comfortably displays the 6 different effect modules of the plugin.  The audio signal into CamelPhat begins at the Band Pass (BP) Filter stage to the left of the plugin and then passes through the – Distortion module – Multi Mode (MM) Filter – Flanger – Magic EQ and Compressor before reaching the Master output stage.   All of the effect modules have an On/Off  button which will introduce an effect into the signal flow when activated.

Colouring Effects – Band Pass Filter:  The key elements in CamelPhat’s colouring and sound shaping capability begin with a multi- featured Band Pass filter.  The BP filter is a flexible filter providing 2 faders (low – high) which define the bandwidth of the frequency range the filter is controlling.  Using the ‘Link’ button allows both faders to be bound to one another and move in equal increments up  or down when defining a frequency band.  As a Band Pass filter CamelPhat is tight.  The cutoff definition for both frequency faders is very precise and pure sounding to the point of clarity.  Also, there are 2 resonance knobs – one per fader – which provide highly distinctive sound colouration when using resonance to boost certain frequencies.  Of further interest, and a great design feature in the BP filter is the -  ‘Mix’ knob – which adjusts the signal level of the frequency bands rejected by the filter.  When the mix knob is turned all the way to the left – you hear only the filtered sound 100%.  Adjusting the Mix knob clockwise introduces the ‘Band Reject’ level which bypasses the effect processing chain and flows direct to the master out.

Distortion:  CamelPhat has an impressive array of four different types of distortion that can be mixed at different levels to create endless amounts of distortions driven by the module’s – Tube – Mech – Bit Crusher and Xcita effects.  Used individually or mixed in varying degrees the four distortion types can effortlessly issue tones ranging from rounded warmth to the extremity of an – in your face bit crushed smoking metallic hell!

Multi-Mode Filters:  The MM Filter is a sound transforming multi-mode effect module containing CamelPhat’s nine distinctive filter types — lowpass, bandpass, highpass, *lowpass fat, bandpass fat, highpass fat* (described as being ‘edgier’ with more pronounced resonance), notch, peak, comb — and a ring modulator.  The MM Filter effect envelope can be adjusted using the Attack and Release knobs while the Envelope knob is used to adjust the intensity of the effect’s envelope follower on the filter’s cutoff points and ring mod frequencies.

X-Y Pad & LFOs:  At the centre of he CamelPhat GUI is an X-Y pad which animates the sound of any 2 effects. There are 2 LFOs which can be freely assigned to modulate any of CamelPhat’s parameters using any of the several waveforms available.  Dragging the node around in the X-Y pad window while experimenting with the many different LFO configurations produces powerful and colourful animations of variable rhythms and sound gesture.  This is a fun and highly interactive way of exploring CamePhat as an exciting sound shaping plugin.

Flanger:   The flanger effect module in CamelPhat provides 2 simple controls:  An Amount knob that governs the wet/dry mix of the effect and a Rate knob which controls the LFO speed used to create the additional movement of the Flanger effect on the processed signal.

Magic EQ:   This is a specially-designed equalizer, with analogue-modelled ‘soft saturation’
and a custom high-end ‘shelf’.  It is great for boosting the low end of kicks, low toms, and bass sounds. The wet and dry level of the effect is controlled by the Amount knob while the Tune knob allows the EQ to focus upon and enhance a specific frequency range.  The Phat (P) button thickens the processed signal somewhat, but should be used cautiously, if  at all, when a signal is prominent with low frequency.  Despite its simplicity – the Magic EQ is a cool effect which delivers many a subtle nuance of tone colour when called upon.

Compressor:   Modeled after classic analog studio compressors this effect provides a simple but reasonably flexible control over the compression amount and release time when used to process a signal.  The compressor is capable of producing the in-demand ‘pumping’ sound popular in (EDM) Dance music by using shorter release times across a rhythmic period.  Conversely, the sustain characteristics of a signal can be enhanced when longer release times are dialled into the compressor.  Similar to the Magic EQ – the compressor has a Phat button as an option for fattening a signal, however, it recommended to turn off the Phat button when working with clean signals.

Randomize & Presets:  Both the CamelPhat and CamelSpace plugins have a well received feature at the top of their respective interfaces -  the ‘Randomize’ button.  Pressing this button will present each effect module with a different set of values and processing state.  The Randomize feature generates a host of variations that provide an inherent musical use.  They can easily act as a unique starting point when experimenting or seeking a direction for the processing shape of a sound when mixing.

Camel Audio have produced over 190 purposefully designed presets for CamelPhat for use with;  drums – rhythm based loops- bass – guitar – pads – synths – vocals and more.  Each preset clearly demonstrates the flexibility of CamelPhat as a unique and powerful sound design plugin with a huge dynamic range that sounds great in the mix.

Turn up the Phat – get it hot & smoking!

For more information about CamelPhat & demo download go here…

www.camelaudio.com

Brought to you courtesy of Soundwrx Digital