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Roadie
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I'm late to the party on the Harrison/SSL plugin lines (SSL bought Harrison a while back and now makes both brands of console in the UK, where they also developed their eponymously named plugins). Turns out I love them.
I had a Logic file with an orchestral instrumental piece I wrote and recorded with wide dynamic range. I used the UA SSL 9000 J channel strip, a Plugin Alliance Bettermaker EQ, a Bettermaker Bus compressor, and a Bettermaker Mastering Compressor to master the track. This was a stereo track, no limiting. The Bettermaker Bus compressor was set up with its version of the SSL Bus Compressor.
I decided to open the file, and simply replace the UA and PA plugins with an SSL-brand 9000 channel strip, a Harrison mastering EQ, a Harrison bus compressor, and an SSL-brand mix bus compressor, and compare them. I tried to set them up the same way, but it can't really be done by eyeball. It can only be done by ear.
Even though I reduced the output level on the stereo outputs on the Harrison/SSL track, it's still a little louder than the original track; it seems to have preserved more dynamic range, but there are other differences that you'll probably hear.
This isn't a test, I'll simply identify them, and you can decide for yourself which works for you. There are no wrong answers - this is, after all, a matter of taste, not a science experiment. This will not be on the final exam. They're actually both good sounding (to me).
Listen with either good headphones or good speakers for obvious reasons. You may want to lower the volume of one to match the other, but I think the differences in sound will be audible whether or not you do. Again, not an A/B science test. Just a taste thing. As in, which soup do you prefer?
Original Master:
Harrison/SSL Master:
I had a Logic file with an orchestral instrumental piece I wrote and recorded with wide dynamic range. I used the UA SSL 9000 J channel strip, a Plugin Alliance Bettermaker EQ, a Bettermaker Bus compressor, and a Bettermaker Mastering Compressor to master the track. This was a stereo track, no limiting. The Bettermaker Bus compressor was set up with its version of the SSL Bus Compressor.
I decided to open the file, and simply replace the UA and PA plugins with an SSL-brand 9000 channel strip, a Harrison mastering EQ, a Harrison bus compressor, and an SSL-brand mix bus compressor, and compare them. I tried to set them up the same way, but it can't really be done by eyeball. It can only be done by ear.
Even though I reduced the output level on the stereo outputs on the Harrison/SSL track, it's still a little louder than the original track; it seems to have preserved more dynamic range, but there are other differences that you'll probably hear.
This isn't a test, I'll simply identify them, and you can decide for yourself which works for you. There are no wrong answers - this is, after all, a matter of taste, not a science experiment. This will not be on the final exam. They're actually both good sounding (to me).
Listen with either good headphones or good speakers for obvious reasons. You may want to lower the volume of one to match the other, but I think the differences in sound will be audible whether or not you do. Again, not an A/B science test. Just a taste thing. As in, which soup do you prefer?
Original Master:
Harrison/SSL Master:
Last edited:
