I've worked in one of the best Mastering Houses in the world and this is what it looks like when a man has knowledge, talent and an ability to teach. Thanks for the demonstration. I was up in the air about this unit and now I'm sold.
Haha maybe yeah. His videos on the Distressor comforted me into buying it (is that a proper sentence ?? I'm french lol) and this time it's the same for the BUS + I have no money left tho @@ArielNora
That is the battle we all need. Well, I'd like to see it as I'm comparing the two. Recall is easier on the NG with the plugin but price points are slightly different too. Would like to hear them side by side.
Dave, I am so glad you made this video, and covered all the functionality of the Bus+. I have been using my SSL Bus+ and for a week now and great as it sounds, I have only scratched the surface. Can’t wait to get the dynamic Eq under my belt. Thanks! 👊🏽💜🤙🏽
As always the most comprehensive reviews ever ! The Bus + is awesome and I’ve never seen anyone explain and demonstrate it nearly as well as David. Thank you, you’re simply the best !
Now they need to get their native plugins to control all the aspects of all these sub menus. That way recall would not be an issue!! Wild how much this one unit offers, added to the bucket list for sure.
This was by far the best explanation, demonstration and analysis of the capabilities of the SSL Bus+ on RU-vid. Truly an outstanding presentation. I don't think most of the people knew about the capabilities of this compressor. Thank you. Now I am truly going to get this box and explore its capabilities. I can't praise you enough truly outstanding.
Ok that female vocal (Whenever im alone with you )was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE !!!! All other examples were nice , but that female vocal was mind blowing with the difference between bypass and back to on with the settings you made. NOBODY can touch your ABSOLUTE AWESOME videos with the paces you put the gear through . Your the BEST !!!
Ok ... was on the fence with this particular piece of gear. Watched allot of demos, but you "showcased" the darn thing and gave us some great live modes of operations. My new baby arrived yesterday and I'm assembling her play-pen now! Thanks
I noticed that the example sessions used in these videos are a lot closer to the pink noise spectrum than a lot of music being released now. There is a bit of extra top end, but none of the usual everything above 250Hz pegged at -20dB on the meter. It's very refreshing.
Dude, the best tutorial, I have one and I know how is learn to use this, is not too simple, this have many options and you described like you are, a master.
Just wandering if recalls are not too much a nightmare- specially with all the functions in the same knobs - how do you do? You take pictures of the meters position for each “hidden” settings? Thanks!
@@AlexandreMaubert I leave most Settings on default. Just a little compression during the production phase. When I’m happy with the over all Mix, I tend to use Compression as needed or experiment with the settings. The Dynamic EQ is great but I don‘t like mixing into it before. I use more Comps than one on the Main Bus mostly. A Recall with photos is too much for me, but can be done. I like gear like Wes Audio or Tegeler Audio that can be saved in the Project.
Great video as always the one thing I don't think you showed was that in CLASSIC STEREO or S/C STEREO, the right-hand side LF/HF GAIN control functions as the High Frequency Gain control I love my unit. So happy they released this
I have more plugins than brain cells and so many SSL bus compressor emulations. …. But I still ended up buying one of these - it’s an ABSOLUTE BEAST. & I hardly own any outboard any more having become almost entirely MITB.
Man, this is a great review! Also - The G sounds sooo good on the rock track. I am really itching to invest into a HW compressor and this one just seems to be my favorite even after a year of dreaming about it 😮
You said it, a high boost will give an illusion of a wider stereo image because it brings out the hidden elements and so the opposite is true also, if it's darker it will hide it. Dual mono will expand the stereo image regardless of frequencies but does the mix require it is the question so these functions have their ups and downs.
i was waiting for this, thanks a ton for sharing! i have a bus plus and was super curious.. maybe you can give a general conclusion on your toughts on this one? Saluti
Also, can you do a review on the IK Multimedia ARC Studio Hardware Unit? Id like to know how the Bus+ would sound if you ran through the bus+ to the ARC Studio out to monitors? I know this video is not on the ARC Studio, but hope you can do a video..., so i hear it coming from a Master Mixing person!
You mean this? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MxhKqM5ofTo.htmlsi=R9byP2uV6y1zotAP I do most of the world premiere of audio gear, search on the channel and most likely, mine was the 1st video out. As for listening the Bus coming out of the ARC, sorry but that makes no sense at all. You'd never run a piece of hardware thru a monitoring correction software.
Freakish kit. Magical paired with the Terry CEQ. Just magical. Recall hasn't been too much of an issue because the dynEQ is probably the most complex section to recall but my choices are pretty consistent and don't change a lot. The strength is the versatility, but it also sounds amazing without having much of a sound of its own. If that makes sense. Oh well. Love mine and highly recommend it.
David maintaining legendary status for the depth of this review. But as cool as this is… as a freelance producer/mixer who frequently has to touch two, sometimes three, songs in a day this unit is completely impractical in my opinion. Blows my mind that in this day and age digital recall isn’t a base feature on hardware.
David, thank you for the comprehensive overview of this piece of equipment. I am a singer songwriter currently using the SSL Big Six and the Fusion. Is the Bus+ the next most logical piece of analog equipment to go to the next level in mixing and mastering?
The Bus+ is an amazing unit, but it's hard to tell if that's gonna be the "most logical". It's definitely an incredibly versatile compressor and I'm sure you'll be happy with it, yet it depends on your style and taste. The next level is rarely a piece of gear but more you become better at mixing and mastering.
I have it and imho, recall isn't that much of a pain in the rear as you suggest (or people might at least get the idea that its a PITA) - Because many of those hidden settings that would be a bit of a pain to recall, is kind of imho more personal preference kind of things that you will most likely will keep the same. The variations in 4k distortion is quite subtle anyway, and the frequency range and point for the dynamic bands I also mostly keep the same, where I like them. Its just good that the flexibility to change IS there when needed :) The only downside to the box for me is the inability to level the highband (HF GAIN) when its in M/S mode. I think the knob would have better kept the "HF gain" function for the mid channel. Its essentially a shelving EQ when in stereo mode. All in all = 10/10 from me
Well if you don't use the options then no It's not but I wouldn't say most people leave it alone. That's why they have settings. Also 4K differences are subtle to you? They're massive to me
@@mixbustv they may well be obvious on less noisy music than what I normally work on haha. I have yet to try the box on a bass bus for example, now intrigued 🙏
Sounds really great, in combination with the Fusion you’ve got a great combo. For me it’s a little bit too expensive so I tend to go with the Drawmer 1974 and 1978 😊 Bella has an amazing voice 👌🏼
I wanted to really like this. My first unit had some loose screws in it when I was racking it that fell out. Sweetwater replaced it and gave me a brand new one. The new one is now 7 months old and the CH2 light is bright instead of dim so the CH1 and CH2 lights do not match in color intensity and when I bypass the CH2 channel in mono the light does not go out. I contacted Sweetwater again and they told me it could take two to four weeks and I would have to send it in or they told me I could contact SSL directly. I really was annoyed and contacted SSL directly and I'm awaiting their response. I love all the features that this offers however I have grave concerns about the quality control of how it is made.
Decent gainmatching on this demo btw, thanks for that. I agree, its insane they dont implement plugin recall per USB, especially if they already use digital pots... its like they did the marathon and 2m from the finishline just thought "FK IT." Wes Audio is showing us the way on that front. With this many hidden parameters, you are almost guaranteed to have an inaccurate recall.
Can't really answer that. The different features and sounds make these two a 50-50% I'll say that both are amazing and you can't go wrong. I'll do a video comparison between the two and people can pick whatever they think it fits best for them
@@mixbustv Dave, That would be excellent I have been looking all over the net and cannot find one comparison video for these 2 compressors. I hope you make it soon. I am ready to make a purchase and I cannot decide.
Just asked the same question! They both look insane. The Wes Audio seems to have a bit more saturation flexibility with the THD and iron transformers.. but the Bus+ has the EQ controls and a wealth of additional options.. digital recall on the ng is pretty huge.
Wow, what a deep review my friend! Excellent job! The unit sounds really big, indeed! Now I kinda wanna sell my stereo pair of Dave Hill Design Titans and get this one! Would you consider this as a stupid move?...taking the fact that the SSL is half less the price 🤦♂️
Ah, I'm not sure I'd go for that swap. The Titans are amazing compressors, definitely cleaner and less "exciting", but extremely versatile. This tho is an impressively engineered unit for sure and the DEQ is killer
@@mixbustv Exactly! The Titans are really powerful units and I kinda use them on almost everything! As this is my only high end compressor I wanted to try another one stereo unit for the "exciting" part 🙂...hearing the SSL, would be a nice compliment for that! Thanks for clicking back, brother! Peace 🤘
The new line of SSL rack gear is amazing. Just make sure it’s up to spec. SSL seems to be having some QC issues since moving manufacturing to China. I had an issue with my Big Six and now Bus+. Had to get warranty fixes. Not fun but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
@@G-O-N-x When in classic or sigma mode where the left side controls both channels, when 4k is enabled it throws off the balance of the channels so that the left channel is at least half a db or in some cases as much as like 1.6db louder than the right.
Hey David LOVE❤❤❤ YOUR CHANNEL BEEN SUBBED FOR A COUPLE YEARS MAN’ ✅ my question is (i bought this BEAST about 3-4 months ago from SWEETWATER and been waiting for YOU TO REVIEW and now its here this is what I’ve been waiting for man ~ i am recuperating from recent back spine fusion surgery so haven’t been able to use it thought it sits in my effects rack but do you think there is a possibility of SSL ever releasing a FIRMWARE UPDATE or PLUG-IN that would allow digital recall? Would love to know your take on this brother ~ NYC hip hop/ pop producer here (RealSamSwing) HAPPY NEW YEAR SIR 🎉🎉🎉
First off get well soon! Second, I think - seeing guts from other digitally controlled units - that the implementation of a software to control it (plugin) would need at least an additional board inside the unit not just a firmware update. So I might be wrong but I don't think we'll ever get it at least in this unit.
It sounds great, but how much difference is it when compared to plug in emulations, especially in mastering stage, when it is "all in" situaiton anyway. Can you hear the difference?
@@mixbustv I am not sure. I had cheating (how the manual describes) and there is only on the right hands side a red light. Nothing green. Maybe the cheating is not enough.
@@mistermusicenterprise3148 make sure you followed the directions exactly...i didnt bother with the game and just enabled it from the setup but it's pretty specific on how to do that
@@Audesi Wes is less grabby and aggressive compared to SSL in FF mode, but more when the SSL is in FB mode. The 4K is gritty and growly the THD on the Wes is midrange excitement and the iron is more often than not too boomy and it ads too much low end. Obviously the SSL has the Deq so if you want that that's a straight choice but I can run both with the Flock and use the deq with the Wes if I want. I know, I'm spoiled
They is a massive price difference between the SSL and the other two, I mean more than double, how would that be a fair comparison? Dione is SSL style, of course the BUS+ wins, it's almost 3 times the price with a truck load of features missing on the Dione. Rhea is a MU, couldn't be more different style than the VCA, so that's apples to oranges. If you like MU the BUS+ won't do that and vice versa
@@mixbustv these look beautiful! I haven't seen this company yet. I'm hoping to add an 88 keyboard within a tray so I'm not sure that they will do the trick, but it's definitely the slickest looking desk I've seen in this space
No it wouldn't. This is a specialized, top of the line mix and mastering compressor with as much control and options you can possibly have on a compressor, PLUS color options. The MTB is at the core a color box with a basic compressor stage.
Can't it be replaced by a quality ssl bus compression plug in? Does that harware unit provide a real improvement compared to the best ssl compressor plug ins??
@@mixbustv i think I am buying this compressor from sweetwater it is on sale. What is the name of that song with the cool backing vocals that sound so awesome. It is in the section "Pop Mix Dual Mono" . They give me the chills every time I hear them. I just love them. I wish I had samples of those.
I'm using my BUS+ for almost every mix. I've been thinking Fusion is overrated, and BUS+ is underrated. if recall can equiped to it with staying same price, BUS+ will be killing most of compressors in the market.
them drums are fucking smacking wit this buss plus, its clear that's why im seeing studios off there consoles and say just let me get the center section of the console
They didnt actually add a FB mode, just letting FF mode that already on the circuit available and FB on button. People then went crazy when they pressed the FB button, forgot that it's just the usual GBus mode since the 80s.
@@mixbustv I was expecting you to review it what feels like years ago, i kept checking back for months hoping you’d review, but it never came. Until now! 😄
Some peeps don’t review things if they have nothing nice to say about them. I wasn’t accusing you of this, it was just how I rationalised your lack of review. Hope this makes sense now
All that is great, but I can't remember my own mane half the time. You will have to memorize all that shit. It's too much. The controls are not intuitive so for people with shit memories, that will be a problem.
It’s cool but it has too much shit going on. They put everything they could think of into this damn compressor. You need 1 year to really learn/memorize/perfect this thing.
@@tommyfarmer6119 yall are over the top I swear 🤦🏾♂️ you know exactly what I’m saying. You need time to learn this and see how it works with your other gear, does it sound the best with other ssl units? Does it sound horrible if you add neve in the chain or api?? Whatever else you can introduce into the chain. YES YOU NEED TIME TO LEARN THIS THOROUGHLY. Obviously anyone that can use a basic compressor can simply do that to start.
@blvkqmusicgroup I hear you but many compressors are multifunctional especially since manufacturers are trying to consolidate everything into one unit to make work flow more efficient and to free up rack space.
It always bugs me how you pronounce "series". You're saying "serious" which is a different word. Just a heads up. You should say "sear (like what you do to a steak) -ease" (like "put your mind at ease") Nice review.
David puts out some of the best mixing and mastering information available today, and still has to deal with this nonsense in the comments section. What a shame. You are grasping at straws tryna fault anything David is doing. Seriesously.
@Andrew-wq6ge I'm a big fan and watch David all the time. He's been my go-to for years. I'm just simply correcting his mispronounciation of an English word since it is not his first language. He is always trying to be as precise and detailed as humanly possible. So why wouldn't he want to know the proper way to say a word? Relax dude - it's the truth, and if you can't handle facts, then you're weak.