[review] TL Audio Fat Track

[optX]

hey again!

another review I´ve written on gearslutz. It`s about TL Audio`s Fat Track.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/reviews/ ... track.html

t.

[hydrogen]

cool review optX! i wish there were audio examples on these reviews tho!

I heard holger zilske has a TL Audio M4 and his tracks sound super dope. but then again... zilske is pretty much a bad ass...

I'd really love to play with this thing Especially for the summing... i'd also love to compare this to the dangerous D box. Both have caught my interest at some time or another.

[optX]

I am going to post some a/b`s in some days =)

[NoAffiliation]

i kinda wish i had this instead of my d-box. although i can't complain, the d-box is fantastic. not just for summing but the monitoring D/A conversion is very high quality, better than my RME FF800

[steevio]

i'm not trying to put a downer on this but i would definitely be careful with TLAudio gear.

Ive got a lot of experience with TLA kit, i still own a C2 compressor and an EQ2, and ive owned and sold a few ivory series boxes, and they can be a bit hit and miss to be honest. the Ivory series stuff i would not recommend to anyone, the C2 and EQ2 are OK but not really pro kit, they are in the price range between project studio and Pro studio, and its a bit of a no-mans land really.
if you're going to spend a lot of money on outboard, i think its worth saving up a bit longer and going for Pro gear.

I dont have experience of this particular box, so i'm not dissmissing it, but i just wanted to share my thoughts.

[optX]

Steevio : Yes, I heard about the same issues with most of their outboard gear like comps and eqs.
Actually TL Audio is something like a no-go company for many "pro" guys.

In the review I mentioned that Pro`s won`t use it but it`s better situated in project/home studios.

I don`t have any experience with other stuff from TL Audio but I do have experience with some nicer outboard gear like preamps and compressors (pacifica and black face 1176ln) and the Fat Track`s audio quality complements these units very well.

I can`t say anything about the tech support because the machine worked flawless since day one.
But didn`t the company get broke and is likely to be sold in the future?

[NoAffiliation]

they are in the price range between project studio and Pro studio, and its a bit of a no-mans land really.

i hear what you're saying but doesn't technology get better and cheaper over time? i'd like to think companies can offer better products that are more affordable as time goes on. PC laptops/tablets are a good example (mac could do this also but it would hurt their marketing image to lower the prices)... And 2 grand isn't exactly cheap, think about all the project studios running on software, i cant imagine a hobbyist dropping two g's on a tube summing mixer

[optX]

they are in the price range between project studio and Pro studio, and its a bit of a no-mans land really.

i hear what you're saying but doesn't technology get better and cheaper over time? i'd like to think companies can offer better products that are more affordable as time goes on. PC laptops/tablets are a good example (mac could do this also but it would hurt their marketing image to lower the prices)... And 2 grand isn't exactly cheap, think about all the project studios running on software, i cant imagine a hobbyist dropping two g's on a tube summing mixer

Nowadays we can buy very good stuff for reasonable prices. A good example is Overstayer from I think LA /US. Very very nice sounding compressors for about 400-500euros. Or Moog synths for 600e

If you wanna make a huge step upwards you have to buy summing boxes from Phoenix or Shadow Hills. But then we are talking about at least 3000 - 5000 euros.

A nice alternativ (at least if you wanna drop so much money) is the Audient/Focursite Control 2802. It`s basically an analogue console with 32input summing simultaneously, 8 motor faders, 8 mic pres, monitor controller and DAW control for about 3400e. No EQs, no interface indeed. Something like a little Audient Zen/8024.