User Guide

SSL EV2/ User Guide
3
Brown Knob vs. Black Knob
The Brown Knob EQ was the original SSL 4000 E channel strip EQ/filter. This established the “SSL Sound” for rock and
pop music and was soon heard on the radio everywhere. Because of its wide EQ, the Brown sound can be pronounced,
even gritty, yet it is very musical; and it excels on drums and bass. The Black Knob EQ was introduced in the mid-
1980s. It is cleaner and a tad more open than the Brown Knob and is well suited for vocals and acoustic instruments.
Brown is a wider EQ and is considered better suited for reshaping. Black is narrower, which is usually what you want for
scooping. Each has a distinct sound.
WAVES SSL EV2 PLUGIN
The original Waves SSL 4000 Collection was released in 2006, in partnership with SSL. It was a groundbreaker in
analog device modeling. Every aspect of the SSL hardware was measured, analyzed, and duplicated as a plugin. Every
routing option was faithfully recreated. It proved to be a very successful tool, and it remains one of the most frequently
used plugins in the business. The Waves SSL EV2 Channel plugin is a new modeling of the SSL 4000 E. It delivers the
same functionality as the classic Waves SSL Channel plugin, with a few new features and a slightly rearranged interface.
Most notably, you can now switch between the Brown Knob and Black Knob EQs, within the plugin, so you get the best
of both worlds. It also provides switchable input analogue harmonic noise distortion and an output imager to control the
width of the stereo field.
Waves has been developing modeled devices for a long time. SSL EV2 Channel is an offspring of this work and
experience. It reflects the latest advances in hardware modeling, so its sound and behavior are closer to that of the SSL
4000 E channel hardware than was possible when the SSL 4000 Collection was created. If, however, you’re using the
original Waves SSL 4000 plugin, you probably like its particular sound and know how to work with it. Each modeling—the
old and the new—has its own personality and color, so insert them both in your session and find out which works best for
you at that moment.