SSL Buss Compressors: Hardware vs SAND4, SSL Native, The Glue, SatsonCS - Livestream Ep 9 

You are welcome, Simon. Thank you for finding the time to leave me a comment.

Thank you, glad you liked it!

Right, Ryan... ULTRA features - so far, to me - seem to be playing it safe when approaching hot levels of a preamp. Where the normal version would introduce severe artifacts, ULTRA is a lot smoother. On the other hand, I always want to push them higher than I would on normal versions, it could end up feeling like a calibration thing, to me.

They are all good compressors, they are not broken, they do behave like VCAs. The SSL Native feels to me like the 'zero' of the needle. Kind of the standard I would use look at, if I had to use software. It doesn't mean it's the best, there is no best in what I have tried, it's all contextual. SatsonCS feels a bit more 'original SSL-style' compression in how it lands its foot and leaves a mark, which is really nice, but can be a tad dark in some situations, and deep, as to where the SSL Native is more open and permissive, in a sense. The Glue shares some dark, gluey vibe of SatsonCS but it's great when kissing the meter, as to where SatsonCS likes to stay a bit to the 4 dB line to get that 'oomph'. The Glue has a bit of an Alan Smart C2 vibe to me, which I really like, but it's not just 100% SSL, it's Smart's take on it. SAND4 sounds like a boutique VCA mastering compressor, inspired by SSL but not SSL-footprint driven. It can be tweaked with the advanced controls to get closer to that vibe, but it takes more time than the usual. But it does offer a wider, more shaded palette of possibilities, hence a bit more boutique to me. My hardware is the Duality compressor, ripped out of the whole console and put in a 1U rack chassis.

@@arizzoschettino thank you for this- very interesting. I would tend to agree. Not sure if you have Nebula, but TimP’s Bus Comp (L-Bus) is the most euphonic plugin of this type I have heard. Havent tried the Satson yet, may have to give it a go. I probably wont be using the Sand4 compressor, as it tends to react a bit too fast in the transients - for me, and releases a bit too slow. It does have a nice color to it, but I’ll stick with either my SSL hardware or Tim-P (when I want the absolute “best” sound) or the SSL Native when I want to get the job done. I was actually surprised how much the Native seems to choke out the low end compared to some other offerings

@@Rhuggins I do have Nebula and use it but I don't have that library. I heard by a lot of my Patrons that it's a great compressor, yes. I meant to give it a go and never did. The choking on the low end is actually - to me - very authentic to the SSL signature sound and, especially on the desk, a feat. It's also why a lot of respectable engineers I know still don't like the SSL sound for bus compression and avoid using it. It's all good, obviously taste is and must be a strong factor in all this. Otherwise we're just following orders from some RU-vidr (certainly not me :))

Yes, sometimes there are slight offset from how the plug-in was created but in this case I think they are pretty fair, when passing audio through at no compression, they all float around a 0 dB delta so that's good. Regardless, my 1 kHz sine wave calibration (as explained later) turned out to be not viable for the comparison (just for the comparison, the method is still valid).

I am not sure if the older Germanium was somehow different or if they always had the same, I think the Duality version does use Schottkey Diodes indeed, but don't quote me on that ; )

I narrowed the comparisons and left out many things, including the SC Filter (which I happen to use a lot, even between 10-30 Hz). There is a true soul that the SSL takes out when the SC is not engaged, which is also the old way of the console buss comp. The SC filter on the SSL comp has been a fantastic addition, I just left it out along with other parameters, to narrow the tests to core elements.

Very interesting comment, I do agree with a lot of you've said (as I did mention in the live). I am glad you found this video interesting, thanks for letting me know what you think!

@@arizzoschettino it was a really cool live..... I wrote that before the last part, where you Said very similar stuff... The idea to try to use both is more of a curiosity... If it would be possible to get a little of the character from Sand and make the compression seems slightly less sterile... I don't know if any amount of tweaking could get similar results n the release to the hardware. Discovery recently. Enjoy your channel so far! Edit: I didn't realize you could Sometimes tweak the acustica plugins to make the compression work a lot better. Or at least some theory... 🙃

@@ramspencer5492 Thanks, I am glad you liked the video! Yes, in theory a combo of something like Sand for the tone and the SSL Native for the envelope behaviors could give you a bit more in that sense of realism... but there is always that 'interaction' of the elements that is not just a mere sum of things. It could work, though! In my case it becomes mostly a matter of workflow: even if I had a great-sounding emulation, I would not use it if it added latency to make my session unplayable, when I am composing, because I tend to compose into something as close as possible to the real mix. I am sure things will improve, but I am still attached some pieces of hardware for these reasons ;)

In my case it was mostly a problem with the DAW calibration for the comparison, it doesn't make sense to calibrate for a 1 kHz sine wave when then energy level will be handled as a whole, on the busses. Mostly, the auto release timings threw the comparisons off, as some were releasing faster and therefore resulting in a higher RMS.

@arizzoschettino yah, I completely agree! I was more referring to amplification happening at each of the line inputs & outputs happening at each XLR/TRS terminal before it even reaches the hardware compressor. Which is why I think you were seeing higher gain at the input of the compressor. I could be wrong, I was just questioning why it would happen?! It was an excellent comparison though, you did great!

@@Mars_Monkey No you were totally right putting the spotlight on those stages because it's possible they act up. I do have a great example with the Liaison: some chains, when inverted, give me a gain bump, it has to do with the impedance matching 'thing' :) I think what made the most difference is the Auto release behavior, which is insanely different in all of them... thanks again, and thanks for bringing up more useful info in the comments, always super super appreciated.

@@arizzoschettino Exactly! I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the cables themselves contribute some of the impedance as well. Although the impedance may be minute per length, the additional inductance created within the cable shielding can sometimes be exponential.

@@Mars_Monkey Theoretically yes, in practical terms no, unless something is broken or badly soldered :) But I have seen mastering studios with a few, expensive pieces of hardware whose impedance values for in/out were all matched and yes, it does make a massive difference in the mastering workflow. On the other hand, modifying a 12k EQ for such a task might be a bit too much, these days. Just watch your client's face while they are spacing out on the smartphones, and be your own judge :)

Old school vibes, indeed!

@@arizzoschettino lol

That's a great idea, I never find the time to do it! No promises but that would definitely not be put to waste! Thanks for watching even without chapters and for staying with me!

Indeed, after the calibration I went ahead testing why this wasn't working and there's more tests down the road in the video itself. Thank you for watching, hope to see you in the next live stream!

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@@davidk3872 best SSL bus comp period.

Thanks for the tip, I was not aware that Dave had developed an SSL bus compressor plug-in! Super interesting, what's the name of the plug-in? Thanks for watching and chiming in,

@@arizzoschettino DMG Track Comp2, has G Bus and E Channel comps

@@django3108 Gotcha, thank you! I'll keep an eye out to find time to demo it.