I've been using Waves SSL4000 channel strip for some of the channels in the mix, they are very useful for the wooden drum components. It's a shame I cannot try to real thing, so cannot emulate (and don't understand) how the real SSL would sound, but I like the character of this plugin.




Have you used some similar plugins in mixing, and what are your opinions about them?

yes, I used this ones in the past but as they need a lot of ram to work I sometimes prefer to only use processors that I need to avoid killing my computer.
However this ones are really good and useful!

Different position here Ivan, I've used both the 4000 and 9000 series in the past and can remember what they were like reasonably well. SSL has a very definite sound - think sort of 80s and 90s electronic and chart stuff and a lot were done on SSL. SSL make there own emulations BTW of their channel strips. They keep wanting me to closed beta test them for them but I don't have the time sadly. I don't have the Waves emulation though to do any comparison on though. Personally IMO Waves stuff is ok for mixing if you don't push them to hard. Wouldn't use them for mastering though.

Hmm.. how does this work, Ivan?

(Note - I'm not Ivan. I am just emulating him .)

It emulates/models a single channel from an old SSL 4000 series console/mixing desk. So you theoretically get a single channel that has the SSL's channel strips internal gain structure, EQ and dynamics which you can then place as a vst in your DAW to get the SSL 'sound'. How well it enulates/models the SSL is another matter though...

There are some very famous consoles/mixing desks and they each have their own sound. Some people want to get that sound but can't afford to buy the desk and maintain it or can't afford the hourly rates of a pro studio that has one to record in. So they get the emulator to achieve what they want. Sadly most of these people can't compare against what the original was like so are in no position to judge if the emulation is any good or not.

Also one of the major things about a pro console is work flow and ultimately these vsts just can't deliver the same hands on workflow as the real console. Against that though an SSL 4000 series would have set you back a few 100 thousand dollars new and could easily have cost you a grand a month to maintain and run.

A bit OT - One of my friends came into some money a few years ago. He spent a fortune building a studio from scratch just so he could then buy an SSL to put in it.

So it's a compressor of sorts?

Great info Tony & Ivan,thanks !I heard about this but never had the opportunity to take an interest in

FIREBALL: Long story short, this is a "Channel Strip" plugin. Bottom line, if you took a single channel/track out of a HUGE mixing console

(on a traditional mixing console/desk, the big row of buttons and sliders you see are all individual channels/tracks typically so each one is for a given thing like the microphone recording the guitar cabinet for example)

and turned it in to software, it would be this thing in the picture from Ivan.

This particular one does contain a compressor (dynamics section) and noise gate, expander, and EQ. So it's several things in one strip. Make sense?

This plugin emulates on channel strip of a real console. Let's say you have a console looking like this:



And you take out one vertical channel strip from it, it will look like this (in a rack form):



And then (since even these channel strips are expensive), you get a plugin that emulates the same devices behaviour. It's EQ, Compressor, Gate and Limiter in one plugin, same as you would have it on the real console.

I find it very good for the wooden drums in some mixes, where I have the need for dry thumpy kick for example. It's good match with EZD vintage rock expansion.

Oh! Thanks Todd and Ivan for clearing that up.

Cheers mate