’Phat and ’Space replaced
Once a shining ship in a not-so-deserted domain, Ben Gillett’s Camel Audio produced some of the finest instrument and effects plugins on the planet. Their additive Alchemy synth was a firm favourite for its evocative atmospherics, and their effects processors were equally beloved, with the crushing CamelPhat spitting out delectable distortion and dynamics – not to mention fuzzfused filtering. It was joined by CamelSpace, a galloping, gated multieffects processor that offered sequenced effects galore.
Alas, Camel Audio faded from view like some glorious mirage, leaving users pining for the much-loved devices. Much to the delight of Logic users, then, Apple snatched up the Camel’s collection of killer code in 2015 and began including the company’s previously premium synth, Alchemy, in Logic Pro X’s built-in bundle. We were thrilled, though we couldn’t help feeling a bit wistful about our beloved Camel Audio effects. Where were CamelPhat and CamelSpace?
We needn’t have worried. Apple has once again breathed some life into our familiar furry friends, giving them a new coat of paint and rebranding the former CamelPhat as Phat FX and CamelSpace as Step FX. Like the classic plugin that inspired it, Phat FX is a big, beefy drive machine with loads of filtering and flexible distortion options. It will make monsters of even the weakest signals. And like CamelSpace, Step FX provides all manner of modulated effects and allows them to be used with powerful gate sequencers.
We’re going to take a quick look at both of these reborn plugins in our following step-bystep tours, so break out your beats and let’s fire ’em up!