Solid State Logic Fusion Violet EQ and

As well as a conventional gain reduction
meter, HF Compressor also has a panel showing
the current waveform overlaid with a gain
reduction history graph. This very intuitive
readout makes it really easy to understand how
the compressor is responding, and is something
you don’t get on the Fusion hardware.
The compressor itself uses very fast attack
and release times so that it can catch and
control loud peaks in the upper part of the
spectrum without creating any noticeable
twitching of the overall volume level. Reducing
the threshold – and therefore increasing the
compression – does reduce the high
frequencies, as you would expect, but it does so
in a way very diferent to an EQ, smoothing out
the higher registers while retaining top-end
presence and airiness. A very slight haze of
analogue-like sparkle adds a distinctly musical
character to the efect too.
Fusion Violet EQ
Modern EQ plugins routinely ofer at least ive
multi-mode bands, and sometimes as many as
20 or more, so you may be surprised to learn
that Fusion Violet EQ boasts just two shelving
bands and a single high-pass ilter. While this
renders the plugin largely useless as a track-
level EQ, it makes it very useful as a full mix,
stem or mastering equaliser.
The low- and high-shelving EQ bands ofer
9dB of cut or boost, and each has a choice of
four corner frequencies: 8kHz, 12kHz, 16kHz or
20kHz for the high band, and 30Hz, 50Hz, 70Hz
or 90Hz for the low band. Using shelving EQ to
boost low frequencies can lead to a lot of very
deep rumble (and you may not even be aware of
it unless you have a sub in your monitoring rig),
which is where the high-pass ilter comes in
handy with its choice of 30Hz, 40Hz or 50Hz
cutof frequency. As an extra trick, when the
high-pass ilter is engaged, the plugin’s “FAT”
button enables a gentle resonance on the ilter,
adding an extra bit of weight down low.
If you’ve been paying attention you’ll realise
that Fusion Violet EQ has been designed to
create the perfect “smiley face” EQ curve, with a
fat, weighty bottom end and a bright,
scintillating top end. And my-oh-my does it do it
well! With the added subtlety of the Fusion
plugin range’s analogue-lavoured colouring
and character, Violet EQ bufs your audio to a
glittering, professional shine with astonishing
ease and speed.
Greater than the sum of
its parts
Individually, both of these plugins are very good
at what they do, and each can add a distinctly
expensive-sounding, analogue-like quality to
your audio. But, like Laurel and Hardy, gin and
tonic, or drums and bass, when teamed up as a
double-act, the combination of Fusion Violet EQ
and Fusion HF Compressor is far greater than
the sum of its parts.
The magic of the combination happens when
the plugins are applied across a full mix, with
Violet EQ feeding into HF Compressor. Boosting
the high frequencies with the EQ pushes them
harder into the compressor, which in turn
reduces those high frequencies. But, as we
mentioned a moment ago, while HF Compressor
does reduce high frequencies, it doesn’t behave
in the same way as an EQ. With a bit of careful
tweaking, what we end up with is huge amounts
of top-end detail and clarity, but with all of the
brittle intensity removed. And not only does this
bring out the top end detail of your mix, it also
enhances that hard-to-describe analogue-like
airiness and spaciousness that runs throughout
the Fusion range.
Although fairly priced considering the quality
of results, at £139 a pop, the cost of buying
standard perpetual licenses for both plugins
may seem steep. If so, the $14.99 per month of
SSL’s Complete Subscription Bundle may be
more attractive, especially when you consider
that it includes all of the Fusion plugins. Nothing
else that we’ve seen, other than the actual
Fusion hardware, makes it so easy to get your
mixes sounding so good.
Web solidstatelogic.com
Info $139per plugin; $14.99/month as part of
SSL Complete Subscription Bundle
Verdict
For Convincing pro analogue sound
Add sparkle and space to your mixes
Individually great; superb double-act
Intuitive gain reduction metering (the
HF Compressor)
Perfect “smiley-face” EQ (Violet EQ)
Against Large despite few controls
Quite expensive individually
These plugins are excellent individually, but
combined they create mixes that sound
like they come from a £1000/day studio
Fusion HF Compressor 8/10
Fusion Violet EQ 8/10
Used in combination 10/10
Alternatively
Solid State Logic Fusion
around £1,650
Despite the excellent analogue
modelling of the plugins, there’s
nothing quite like the real thing
FabFilter Pro MB
200 » 9/10 » £149
Ultra-lexible and can zero in on
any range of frequencies to control
their dynamics and prominence
With the release of Fusion Violet EQ,
SSL’s digitising of the Fusion hardware
is nearly complete – the only thing not
yet digitised is the hardware’s analogue
transformer stage. Yet even without
that inal link in the chain, the
combination of all four Fusion plugins
is almost as formidable as the original
hardware, especially when chained in
the same order.
First in the chain is Fusion Vintage
Drive, which adds analogue-like colour
and saturation to the signal. From here,
it’s of to Fusion Violet EQ and Fusion
HF Compressor. We’ve already seen
how good these are together, but when
you include that initial injection of
analogue character from Vintage Drive,
which is then enhanced by the EQ/
compressor combo, the results are
exceptional… or seem so until you
hook-up Fusion Stereo Image at the
end of the chain. The sheer airy space
this can add demands a whole new
deinition of the word “exceptional”.
When listening to a professional
recording produced in a top-light
studio, much of the perception of
quality comes from the detail, colour
and spaciousness of the higher
frequencies. It is these characteristics
that Fusion – both hardware and in
plugin form – recreates so well, and
with such little efort.
All together now
The full suite of current Fusion plugins
Nothing else, other
than the actual Fusion
hardware, makes it so
easy to get your mixes
sounding so good
April 2022 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 71
ssl fusion violet eq and hf compressor / reviews <
CMU306.rev_SSL_plugins2.indd 71CMU306.rev_SSL_plugins2.indd 71 08/02/2022 14:2008/02/2022 14:20