WAVES

reviews
stamped all over modern music.
The SSL sound may not be to
everyone’s taste – some might
consider it to be too overtly aggressive
– but there’s no denying the sonic
imprint it’s left on over two decades
worth of music. The question, then, is
whether Waves have managed to
squeeze all this character into the SSL
4000 plug-ins…
On the money
From the moment you complete the
simple software installation (an iLok
protection key is required), you get the
feeling that Waves have nailed it. Each
of the three plug-ins looks the
business and adheres to the same
colour scheme and layout of its
hardware counterpart. And the sound?
Well, so convincing are the EQ and
compressor emulations that it wasn’t
long before we were doing double
takes and wondering if we were
listening to a plug-in or real hardware.
But we’re getting ahead of
ourselves – let’s take a look at exactly
what the SSL 4000 Collection offers.
Starting with the most complex of
the three, the E-Channel is an EQ and
dynamics plug-in that’s modelled on
the SSL ‘black knob’ series EQ and the
SSL LS611E dynamics module. The left-
hand side of the GUI is populated by a
4-band EQ and low-/high-cut filters,
while the right-hand side contains the
Dynamics section. This is made up of
a compressor and gate as well as I/O
metering. Several buttons give you
additional flexibility – you can change
the position of the EQ in the signal
chain and send the EQ to the
Dynamics sidechain (this lets you carry
out frequency-dependant dynamics
“IF YOU WANT THE BEST IN NATIVE
DYNAMICS AND EQ PROCESSING, YOU
NEED LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THIS”
processing, such as de-essing).
On paper, the E-Channel appears to
be a simple channel strip, but in reality,
it’s one of the most powerful EQ/
dynamics plug-ins we’ve used. It’s as
much at home transforming a sound
as it is fulfilling subtle mixing duties.
Hitting the G-spot
The E-channel is complemented by
the SSL G-Series equaliser (modelled
on the G-Series 292 EQ). This offers a
similar EQ section to the E-Series but
without the high cut and with a
shallower 12db/octave low-pass filter,
wider Q and more available cut and
boost. The G-Series EQ also has a
noticeably less ‘pointy’ sound than the
E-Series model.
Whereas the E is best-suited to
aggressive mix adjustments, the G is
ideal for creative sound sculpting and
adding final polish to a mix.
The G-Series Master Buss
Compressor rounds up the trio;
unsurprisingly, this is modelled on the
SSL G-Master Buss Compressor. Strap
this across your master outs and you’ll
soon realise why the hardware original
became the compressor for final mix
polishing. This emulation can sound
strained if pushed hard, but when
used typically, 99% of people will be
unable to tell the difference.
Side by side
So how do these plug-ins compare to
their hardware counterparts? In the
cases of the EQs and the E-Series
gate, Waves have got remarkably close,
and for most apps, the G-Master Buss
Compressor is as good as you could
hope for. The E-Channel compressor
doesn’t quite have the punch of a real
SSL, but it still boasts bags of
character, and both compressors
sound amazingly analogue.
These plug-ins aren’t cheap, but
when you consider that they’re at least
on a par with the equivalent DSP card
effects, their high price becomes a lot
more palatable. If you want the best in
native dynamics and EQ processing,
you need look no further than this.
cm
3 ALTERNATIVELY
URS Classic Console EQ and
Compressor Bundle
cmN/A >> N/A >> $800
Great sounding, these
bundles feature a wide range of
analogue models and should not
be overlooked
Sonalksis SV-517 EQ and
SV-315 compressor
cm75 >> 9/10 >> £150 each
These plug-ins don’t emulate
specific bits of hardware, but
they’re highly tweakable and
enable you to create a range of
analogue flavours
VERDICT
FOR
+ Amazingly accurate
models of SSL hardware
+ Easy to use, yet
highly flexible
+ Efficient CPU consumption
+ Great looking and
responsive GUIs
AGAINST
– Quite expensive
– iLok required, even
for demo!
Emulating SSL’s classic hardware
was always going to be difficult, but
Waves have captured ‘that’
sound superbly in these highly
impressive plug-ins
RATING
REVIEW MAY 2006 COMPUTER MUSIC
|
091
1 The G-Equalizer offers a distinctly
different sound to the E-Channel
10
Back to the future
Whenever a plug-in developer emulates
a piece of classic hardware and bases
its interface on the layout of the
original unit, one question is always
asked: why? Why bother recreating an
old hardware interface when you could
create an exciting new plug-in with a
Technicolor GUI and infinitely
adjustable parameters?
In the case of the SSL 4000
Collection, we found it refreshing to
have our choices limited and to have
to rely more on our ears than on visual
feedback. This is especially true where
the EQ and compression are
concerned: watching graphical
representations of the parameters
you’re tweaking can often be
misleading. An EQ boost may look too
big, but that doesn’t necessarily mean
that it is.
In designing the SSL G-Master Buss
Compressor plug-in, Waves clearly
adopted an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’
philosophy. With just a couple of clicks
you can access a wide range of
different compression flavours, and the
steps between each parameter value
make a relatively large difference to the
overall sound. This makes it easier to
hear when you’ve dialled-in the ‘right’
setting. It feels liberating to be able to
concentrate on making music as
opposed to spending time continually
re-adjusting plug-in settings.
1 Waves haven’t wasted time developing a
flashy new interface for the G-Master Buss
CMU99.rev_ssl4000 091CMU99.rev_ssl4000 091 15/3/06 1:26:53 pm15/3/06 1:26:53 pm