Got some new hardware! SSL content…

[JerEvil]

So SSL went buck wild on pricing for the holidays.

Bus comp just got here. UltravViolet EQ is on the way. Also got the thing to the left of the Yellow DI unit a while back. It’s an adjustable tilt eq. Fucking amazing for guitars.





People love to tell me shit like “hardware won’t make your mixes sound better…” but I sure like it. Vastly prefer turning knobs and touching stuff to dragging with a mouse all the time.

Ordering another chassis early next year to build out a dedicated 2-bus setup. Mostly WesAudio stuff. Really want the Bettermaker Pultec style EQ as well.

 

[Bruce]

No quicker way to ruin a mix with new hardware but it sure is fun innit?

I picked up the SSL bus plus and it’s really the bees knees. Love it on drums or on the whole mix. Easy to overdo and man it’s not forgiving if you do overdo it. Squashed soup. But the right amount is magic. Enjoy your new comp!

 

[JerEvil]

No quicker way to ruin a mix with new hardware but it sure is fun innit?

I picked up the SSL bus plus and it’s really the bees knees. Love it on drums or on the whole mix. Easy to overdo and man it’s not forgiving if you do overdo it. Squashed soup. But the right amount is magic. Enjoy your new comp!

Oh man it’s great fun. Let’s be honest though, software or hardware, if you’re terrible, you’re terrible! Lol!

 

[Bruce]

Oh man it’s great fun. Let’s be honest though, software or hardware, if you’re terrible, you’re terrible! Lol!

Hey now……on a good day I’m at least mediocre

 

[JerEvil]

Hey now……on a good day I’m at least mediocre

One day I’ll be able to say the same!

 

[DrewJD82]

Sweet!!!!

Maybe 2023 will be the year I start introducing hardware to the studio. I definitely need to get a good vocal chain going and would love to pack up a lunchbox full of some good stuff.

 

[Digital Igloo]

So SSL went buck wild on pricing for the holidays.

Bus comp just got here. UltravViolet EQ is on the way. Also got the thing to the left of the Yellow DI unit a while back. It’s an adjustable tilt eq. f*****g amazing for guitars.

Aaaarrrrggghhh... You just had to remind me of buying the G Bus Comp two months before the massive discount... where it sat in a box until after the discount... because Chase's Apple fulfillment service couldn't ship the Mac Studio Ultra ordered back in May.

It does sound killer tho'—can definitely tell an improvement from the SSL plugin (and Waves, which I happily kicked to the curb—Waves and UA-free, baby!). I keep it inserted on the main bus all the time, but never any more than 2-3dB of gain reduction.

People love to tell me s**t like “hardware won’t make your mixes sound better…” but I sure like it. Vastly prefer turning knobs and touching stuff to dragging with a mouse all the time.

I would love to kick hardware to the curb, but summing and select outboard really does make all the difference in the world. Incessant gain-staging is unnecessary, mixes take half the time, and other than the G Comp (which is pretty much fixed) and specific switches and settings on the Dangerous 2-BUS+, everything's fully recallable with the DAW project. Love it.

 

[Bruce]

Aaaarrrrggghhh... You just had to remind me of buying the G Bus Comp two months before the massive discount... where it sat in a box until after the discount... because Chase's Apple fulfillment service couldn't ship the Mac Studio Ultra ordered back in May.

It does sound killer tho'—can definitely tell an improvement from the SSL plugin (and Waves, which I happily kicked to the curb—Waves and UA-free, baby!). I keep it inserted on the main bus all the time, but never any more than 2-3dB of gain reduction.

I would love to kick hardware to the curb, but summing and select outboard really does make all the difference in the world. Incessant gain-staging is unnecessary, mixes take half the time, and other than the G Comp (which is pretty much fixed) and specific switches and settings on the Dangerous 2-BUS+, everything's fully recallable with the DAW project. Love it.

Having a hardware SSL comp now, I can definitely get my UAD SSL bus comp SSLish. The sound and feel is definitely there.

 

[Digital Igloo]

Having a hardware SSL comp now, I can definitely get my UAD SSL bus comp SSLish. The sound and feel is definitely there.

Yeah, UA's emulation is really close, but SSL's own plugin is a tiny bit closer IMO. I used both before doubling down on analog summing, where you pretty much need hardware to monitor any main bus processing in real time. But you have to disable it too, which meant springing for the 2-BUS+, which has a main bus insert bypass. Aaaaand I didn't want any processing on the Mac's main outputs, at all, ever (monitoring demos, reference tracks, Apple music, Spotify, etc.)—even accidentally—which meant upgrading to a D-BOX+, which has its own USB interface and high-quality D/A available. Can instantly access the following with a single button press:

• Analog—Logic Pro through 24 channels of summing (2-BUS+ and D-BOX+ routed back through 2-BUS+)
• Summing—Don't use, as it's just the last 8 channels of what appears at the Analog input
• Bluetooth—Streaming music from my phone while at my work desk across the studio, along with the Dangerous D-BOX+ iOS app for level control, dimming, etc. You can even use your phone's mic for talkback (!)
• USB—Everything from the Mac except Logic (Apple Music, Spotify, Quicktime, etc.). So it's super easy to toggle between the DAW and reference tracks
• AES/SPDIF—Helix Rack for casual jamming without having to boot the entire rig. Plus, the D-BOX+ has an AES thru port for running back into the DAW in case I feel like tracking Helix

Unfortunately, my obsession with workflow tends to get expensive.