pHATmatik Pro

To be honest I hardly use this VSTi in the intended method. It is nice for what it does and is great for mangling loops. But for me the real use is to pull those loops apart. My host has supported drag and drop since I first bought this VSTi, so my primary use has been to pull an Acid loop into PhatmaticPro, edit the slices, then pull those slices over into Battery. I have created some very nice kits using the combination of PhatmaticPro and Battery. Not drum kits, but scratch kits, vocal kits, effects kits, etc. Another alternative use for PhatmaticPro is to extract the “feel” of a loop to a MIDI file. PhatmaticPro not only breaks a loop into slices, it creates a MIDI information to play those slices in correct time. That MIDI information can be use in some host as a source for creating a groove template or feel. Start with a loop that has a nice funky feel, and end with applying that feel to sequenced drums or arps. I will defer to other reviewers as to how well it works for playing loops.

Pros:
More than just a loop player.
Drag and drop ability.
Ease of use.

Cons:
Occasional stability issues.
Customer support is sometimes a bit unfriendly.
Slow updates.
Future PC update is in question.

Note: There are no presets so my preset rating is an average of the other ratings.

RobertRead Review

I bought it in the very early days. But honestly I didn't use it much till recently, as my previous host didn't support drag'n drop.

I used to have some problems with it, but bitshift had provided good and responsive replies during our correspondence. My personal experience with tech support is pleasant.

Even today, with several competitiors available, it's still pretty good at what it does. Simply slice and go, and some crazy mangling is right at the fingertip. Drag and drop the MIDI or sliced audio into the sequencer(as long as your host supports dragn' drop) and you're all set.

Updates are rather slow but they do keep coming. Even though it's sad there's no plan for further development for the Windows version beyond v1.2, it still stands as a good loop slicer as it is.

Some implied features never got implemented, such as time-stretch function(bitshift mentioned it a long time ago). But I see it as a possible bonus, so I'm not that disappointed.

Pros: straightforward and ease of use. Can save slice points in the wave files. Great MIDI drag'n drop feature.

Cons: the file broswer is less than convenient(addressed with 'favorite folders' in 1.1, but still not perfect). No visible plan for further development on the Windows Platform beyond v1.2.Read Review

pHAT is PHAT!

absolutely love it, its my favorite plug. Its like having recycle inside your sequencer.

the only thing is that the interface is a little twiddly. Its sometimes hard to make precise edits to slices. Parameters are hard to adjust in certain cases.

But its a year of fun, easy. I sometimes get lost in the possibilities when using pHAT.

Its one of those rare pieces of software that beckon you to use it. It doesn't get in the way of your work, like some other plugs. And after a while it sort of becomes the loop, in a transparent kinda way. Like, I just say to myself 'Self, I have a sliced loop on audio instrument 4!"

And a huge thumbs up to the folks at bitshift. You have never seen customer support until you buy pHAT.

I have had a couple crashes with pHAT. But they were mostly because I forgot to assign more memory to Logic when a new subversion came out. Because pHAT uses the RAM dedicated to Logic.

mitzRead Review

This piece of software is fantastic - when it works. I'm running it on XP (with a P4) and as a previous reviewer noticed, it's extremely unstable. I have great problems assigning midi learn, I often have to shut down Cubase and restart to get it working, but when it works I can get on with mangling loops! I also find that the sound stutters, with gaps between each slice, so I increase the sensitivity and get a different kind of stutter, which is very annoying. My CPU spikes a lot when using this software. I wouldn't even attempt to use this on the fly whilst running other VSTi's as my system won't take it. I can only use this on it's own to create new loops which I then have to export and import back as a wav file into my sequencer. If the developers could sort out the reliability of this product, I would award it top scores all round!!

Support is seemingly non-existent, getting a response to an email takes.....well, I've not had a response to the mail I sent two months ago, I guess that says it allRead Review

This has got to be one of the coolest plugins out there especially if you're into beat chopping and manipulation. Before this, I was confined to using Recycle (which is still a sweet program) and having to dump the samples manually into Fruity Loops. With Phatmatik Pro I can audition, chop, and manipulate the loops and whatnot right within FL and it's priceless for catching something on the fly before the inspiration leaves ya.

Of course Phatmatik can be used on samples other than drum loops but that's primarily what I use it on so thats where my bias may lay. The only comparison to this VSTi is the self-contained Fruity Slicer (from Fruity Loops) and possibly Bomb That Beat. The main difference is that this program is so close to Recycle that if you've used it before, you'll have no problem migrating to Phatmatik Pro. And as far as stability, I have never once had an issue to date (knocks on wood).

All and all this is must have plugin especially for y'all drum choppers out there.Read Review

Well its been some time since this was released. Lets get the worst bit out of the way now. pHATmatik PRO has not been updated since release and since then new hosts have come out in which it has major problems....and I mean major - blue screen major! It also suffers serious Pentium 4 issues....big cpu spikes!

I raved on about the problems a couple of weeks ago and someone said that I should report it on the bitshift forum. I went there and see that I am not the only one with major issues and all of my problems have been reported already some time ago and it seems that people are crying out for these bugs to be fixed.

I don't find it very good that a product is released at version 1 and then no update to known bugs is ever seen. My advice...if you have a P4 or Cubase SX....then check the demo first to make sure it doesn't crash your pc...you might be lucky!Read Review

This is the greatest tool I have ever used in working with beats. pHATmatik is truly an amazing tool. I played with the demo a lot and finally purchased it yesterday and love playing with it. I don't know if I can add much that hasn't been said before, so i'll try to just mention a few points. First, this program does not make you inherently lazy when it comes to programming drums. It really inspires me to tear up the loop and rearrange everything.

I love that you can pan individual slices in order to make the drumming sound more open and realistic. The asdr, pitch, filter, etc for each slice are also great. The universal effects are just icing on the cake in my opinion. I would pay $99 if all it had was the individual panning, amp, and filter feature.

The gui is very easy to navigate and just about one of the nicest ones I've seen. The easy export of a midi sequence and individual slices makes life very easy.

The only thing i would like too see added would be having the individual amp feature go to +6 db, but that's my only "complaint."Read Review

It is difficult to give a real score to Phatmatik pro, since it doesn't really have presets or a "sound" per se. There is however one thing to be said for it. It made me start using loops. That alone says a lot about the power of this wonderful VSTi. Slicing is a breeze and very accurate. The ability to read acidized files provides access to an existing library of top notch sounds. Midi drag and drop is wonderful and in my case he most heavily used feature as it allows me to chop up loops and rearrange slices. The ability to export audio or drag and drop also provides a lot of flexibility. At its simplest Phat Pro can be used to create a drum kit. The slice editor is great as are the global modulation/filter settings etc. I found Phat Pro to be highly intuitive, but customer support has not been too forthcoming in recent months.

There are some minor flaws, such as the default ADSR settings, the stability when slice highlighting is turned on (although that is more of a problem with my machine), but all in all, PhatPro has made a significant impact on my music. Indeed it has changed the way I make music. I can't wait for future updates. I think everyone should have this VSTiRead Review

phatMatikPro is in many ways the ideal VSTi. It basically does one thing, but does it extremely well. Altho I always liked the idea of ReCycle I never used it because of the hassle of having to switch to an entirely separate app. Slicing up loops is a function that really should occur at the coal face. Enter phatty.

My primary use for phatty is the importation and time alignment of weird rhythmic sounds I've made with my modular. My old way of working was to cut up the samples & then spend ages lining them up in VST. Now it's dead easy: drop them into phatty, export the MIDI file and then tweak timing and sound. I love tweaking & phatty's not been out of the VSTi rack since I bought it.

I've never used drum loops before, but since I got phatty I use them all the time. The possibilities for changing them are endless so I don't feel bad about nicking someone else's musical ideas (strangely, I don't seem to mind stealing their production skills ;)). I particularly like the slice reverse and looping features @ the slice level. & the comb filter, distortion & delays @ the master level. Oh, drag 'n drop implementation is the dog's.

The manual's great-it includes a useful little tutorial. I think these are always a good idea. No presets, but I have no idea how you could have presets without including content and that's not what phatty's about.

Criticism? Ok-IMO the slopes on the filters are a bit harsh. I've had a few weird unreproducable crashes, but these might not be entirely due to phatty.

Prior to writing this review I had two issues with phatty so I emailed Art. He responsed in 5 hours. This is amazing & it highlights one of the nicest things about phatty: you are buying a product that someone cares deeply about. It's a pleasureable transaction all around. Anyway, his response was that the next release will show the path of the loop currently in phatty so my first problem will be solved shortly. The second? User error ;)Read Review

While this appears to be a rex player alternative, it offers far more greater appeal and experimentation for incorporation into a sequencer. It is great to rip from a loop, even to only extract a snare or bass hit. The auto tempo and signature detection usually works fine.

However great this program is, I feel that the $99 is a bit much for certain features that are missing, and I cannot compare it to the other loop rippers that are included already as standard in fruity and orion.

A number of loops produced clicks upon playback, but this was a rare event and it is only 1.0 software. Given this can be avoided by automatically applying attack and decay to the hitpoint transcients (like emagic rex import), it is not included. Neither are there quick options to regroove the loop from presets, and this is left to the sequencer.

All in all a great combo especially with the drag and drop features to other vsti's and certain compliant hosts. Though as I say a bit expensive considering the lack of base material. Maybe the price should be dropped and an even more enhanced version brought to the current pricing.Read Review

Others allready raved about it, so here's some additions only:

Roughly said, this is ReCycle as a VSTi, allowing you to slice up loops and creating MIDI files triggering those slices. In addition it plays its own files, so you don't need no further sampler or whatsoever.

And of course, having your slices triggered straight in your sequencer has quite some advances. If your not happy whith the results, you just change the slices in realtime, the worst thing that could happen is that you'd have to "re-drag" the MIDI file (dragging straight to Logic/Cubase works perfectly, btw). And of course you have instant control over the slices through your keyboard.

Personally, I liked the "instant transpose" functionality a lot. While PP uses MIDI notes from C2 and up to trigger the individual slices, all lower notes (C0 to B1) are used to instantly transpose everything globally. Imagine using a sliced up funky git loop, you can now use it tonally as well.

But now on to THE feature that made me love it: You can drag and drop from PP to other apps. If you have a sampler/drumsampler that supports d'n'd from explorer/finder (DR-008, Battery, HALion), it will also work with PP. You just drag onto them, drag the MIDI file on the appropriate track and there you go. Now, if you have a "preview in context" feature, such as in DR-008 you can easily reassign each slice to another sound! Wohoo! Good for lotsa sleepless nights!

As I want to be fair, there's some cons:
- File management. Not existing yet. As I allready lost stuff due to similar things, I am very anal about that.
- GUI. While it's dead easy to understand, adjusting some things is a bit fiddly.
- Installation. If you don't install to C:program files, exporting/dragging of slices won't work at all.

But, talking about cons, support couldn't be any better. Art is a really responsive person and so far it seems that all the drawbacks will be fixed in the next version.
Exceptionally great!

Regards,
SaschaRead Review

PPro is like having a little bit of Acid inside VST.

It's an essential loop tool to own.

Searching for loops at the correct tempo is always a distracting job. PPro eliminates this problem.

Browse and audition and load. It takes seconds to have your loop hard-synced to tempo.

The additional feature set is humungous ... pitch, sends, filter, fx, keyboard control etc.

The only thing it couldn't do for me was take a sublime guitar solo and change its tempo without losing the feel. But asking this much is being greedy.

Accurate pitch-tempo shifting VST is now easy with PPro.

If you work with loops you have to have this.Read Review

this has the most beautiful GUI ive ever seen. And logical to boot...although at first i didnt know how to access the different mini screens on the bottom (as in filter, loop length etc) but now i know, its very simple. Defintely the most fun vsti ever. Ive literally spent hours just messing with a loop and then wondered where the times gone.

Its the best spec`d loop cutter out there, with modulation, pitch shifting, delay, amp envelope, filter envelope etc. Personally id like more...not really sure what but the more ways to mangle loops the better.

Customer support it superb...its changed sooo much from the early beta version - mr phatmatik seems very open to customer suggestions and seems to work like a mofo.

. Value for money wise...well $99 isnt cheap, but i think this is in the same value camp as vaz2010, i.e. you get what you pay for. You certainly wont feel youve paid too much, but neither get that warm feeling that u get from some other download only developers who virtually give them away!

Overall, great stuff, and ive used it in every tune ive made since buying it (ok so thats only 2 but its still 100%)Read Review

This VSTi works supremely well. It is a musical tool which makes working with loops a joy. It is well-designed, well-supported and stable. On the surface, it is simply a loop player and slicer, but its editing capabilities make it a creative addition to any set-up. I use it with SONAR and the fxpansion wrapper, and it works really well, though I'm looking forward the DXi version.

The support is excellent, and the developer has really thought about how to make Phatmatik Pro as flexible as possible. The filters, etc. sound really good. If there was one area I would say could do with some improvement it is some of the effect/filter controls could be a bit smoother. That said, this is a radical, innovative and supremely versatile VSTi that will change the way you make music. The drag and drop facility makes working with loops very intuitive.

Phatmatik Pro is excellent value for two reasons. First, because the developer is capable, cares about his product and has really thought about what a musician needs. Secondly because this tool turns any loop collection you have into a new collection, that you control, that nobody else has, in a quick and creative way.Read Review

Ok, so here is the deal.... the product does enough to justify the cash outlay... It is a kick butt Program!! But what I want to talk about is passion and love... thats right, Art the brainchild behind this beast is totaly commited to making this work. Never have I bought such a program that comes with top notch customer support... and thats what it is all about!!! Because of that I will most likely buy all the future products that come from Bitshift... because they are outstanding programs and you get the love comming back to you!!!!

There is no way that you can go wrong with Phatmatic Pro!!! Most importantly there is no way that you can go wrong with Bitshift Audio!!!

ner0zRead Review

PHATmatik is a truly versatile, beautiful, and essential addition to any VSTi collection.

Due to Ben's crazy 2000 character limit, I've posted an in depth review on my web site (yup, I care that much).

http://www.sine909.com/text/phatmatik/

Regards,
Sine909Read Review

There's not much I could add to Scot Solidas' review with my limited vocabulary. To me, a dream came true!
the UI is stylish and it's really easy to use, very intuitive, no need for the (good) manual (it even has a chapter about slicing backgrounds for complete newbies...). However, I'm very demanding concerning UI's and I think, PPros' UI could be improved (as all UI's could). The sound mainly is dependant on the material you throw at PPro, as it is no Synthesizer, but more or less a specialized sampler. The FX offerings are quite good, I like the filter/reso sound very much. The amp/filter/pitch etc. envelopes are very short, which is good but they could be of higher resolution. pitch shifting sounds good, too. I personally don't like the distortion (too harsh). pPro is feature packed pHATly. drag n'drop of MIDI _and_ audio (slices) and so much more speed up workflow immensely. However, there's always something I could imagine in addition, but that's a problem of me, personally...good to know, that Mr.Bitshift himself is so open minded, and to me, deservers the title "Mr. Customer Support" for 2002...The manual is more than enough, you won't need it anymore, once you got to know the tricky things, key modifiers and such. Presets doesn't make sense, because, as Scot said, every sample is a preset. And as there are endless samples, it deservers a full 10... Value for money? That depends mainly on what you do, but if you are somehow involved in music creation, this is a real bargain!

TabSel

Read Review

Hot diggitee damn! I don't know why, but I was hoping to write the first review of pHATmatik Pro. I'll tell you, every so often a music product comes along that's destined to be revered. pPro is such a product. There have been plenty of loop rearranging tools, from the venerable ReCycle, to Cakewalk's somewhat less originally named Cyclone, and of course, Propellerhead's Dr. Rex from Reason, but pPro pretty well flattens them all. It's got every feature I wished for from the others, and it's a VSTi, to boot. It's interface is easy to understand (I made a song with a pre-beta version, LONG before there was a manual), and it's loaded with thoughtful extras, such as "drag-and-drop" support for both slices and the MIDI files it generates from the loop. it's transient detection is pretty much the best I've yet encountered, and the slicing is VERY accurrate. The editing section allows for minute editing/mangling of each slice, and the master section supports a lovely comb filter, as well as tempo locked delay and LFOs (2). There are plenty of ways to render a loop into a wholly new creation, too many to go into here. Suffice to say that even a handful of loops can provide a wealth of new material. By it's nature, there are unlikely to be presets, but then EVERY sound is a pPro preset, isn't it? The sound quality is top-notch, and it's frighteningly stable. Even beta versions out-performed some expensive name-brand plugs I own. The customer support is exemplary, and it's creator, Art, is attentive to the user's needs, and pretty dang cool, too. Is it a value? How much money do you spend on loop-library discs? pHATmatik Pro will give you an infinite variety of loops for about the same price as a CD full of those crumby ol' static loops. It's a rare oppurtunity to watch the birth of a product that's poised to change the way people approach making music, and I feel priveleged to have been there from the beginning. Thanks Bitshift.Read Review