Bringing The SSL Studio Experience Into The Modern Hybrid World
If you have spent any time around big rooms, you have seen an SSL centre section. It is almost impossible to watch a behind the scenes studio clip without that familiar grey paint and those beautiful long throw faders showing up somewhere in shot. For so many of us the sound and workflow of an SSL console defined what a “real” studio felt like.
These days though, a lot of great work is being made in smaller rooms, bedrooms and project studios. What’s fascinating is how SSL have taken that legacy and built a whole ecosystem that lets you bring the console philosophy into a modern hybrid workflow without needing forty eight channels of hardware bolted to the floor.
What follows is a walkthrough of that ecosystem based on our conversation with Jen. I have kept it in my voice and included some of her comments because she explains these products with real clarity and pride.
Starting With Interfaces: The ACP Audio Creation Products Range
The first step into this ecosystem is the SSL ACP Audio Creation Products range. These began with the SSL 2 and 2+. The MK2 versions refine them beautifully.
All of the ACP interfaces now use 32 bit conversion with very low noise and huge dynamic range. The mic preamps are SSL’s own design taken directly from the console lineage so they are ultra clean and ultra quiet.
Then there is the famous Legacy 4K button. If you have ever driven a 4000 series console you know that slightly forward mid presence and musical saturation it brings. “It just adds some nice warmth and saturation taken from the 4K console,” as Jen put it. It is subtle and musical. It helps things sit nicely in a mix without forcing character you don’t want.
The SSL 2 MK2 is a simple 2 in 2 out interface with one headphone output. The SSL 2+ MK2 is a 2 in 4 out version that gives you an extra pair of outputs for alternate monitors or external processing. These are perfect for anyone getting started or for writers working on the road.
When SSL describe the SSL 12 as a centrepiece for home and project studios they are telling the truth. This interface packs in a surprising amount of modern SSL workflow.
You get four SSL designed microphone preamps with high pass filters and huge gain range. Jen explained it nicely. “They are the same legacy as the consoles so ultra low noise and super clean.” Each channel includes the Legacy 4Kcircuit which adds that gentle analogue shine inspired by the 4000 series.
Two Hi Z inputs give guitars, basses and synths a direct high quality path into the converters. Two independent premium headphone outputs offer selectable modes to best suit different headphone types which is a very thoughtful addition.
Inside the SSL 12 sits a next generation 32 bit 192 kHz converter stage providing over 120 dB of dynamic range on the line outputs. Combine that with the rugged portable build and the SSL 12 becomes a genuine professional front end you can carry in a backpack.
ADAT Expansion and Hybrid Conversion
Over ADAT, the SSL 12 adds eight digital channels. That turns the interface into a 12 input, 8 output system. This is the point where the SSL 12 stops feeling like an entry level interface and becomes the heart of a modern hybrid studio.
The SSL 360° Control Room
Through SSL 360°, the SSL 12 becomes a full control room. You get:
- Detailed I/O metering
- Custom functions assigned to the front panel buttons
- Access to the talkback mic
- Up to four independent near zero latency foldback mixes
- Save and Load profiles for fast recall
Jen summed it up perfectly. “It is our complete mix control. You can build your headphone mixes and recall your set up instantly.”
The headphone outs can even be repurposed as additional line outputs and the DC coupled outs allow for control voltagerouting to modular synths or vintage hardware. MIDI I/O is built in as well.
Loopback and Creator Tools
The loopback implementation is extremely flexible. You can capture a media player output or create a custom podcast style mix from one of the aux busses. Both headphone mixes and outputs 3 and 4 are available for absolute routing freedom.
SSL Production Pack
The SSL 12 includes the SSL Production Pack which features:
- Vocalstrip 2
- Drumstrip 2
- Three months of SSL Complete
- Additional licences from Antares and Output
It is a proper creative starter kit that matches the interface’s ambitions.
The SSL 18 builds on everything in the 12 and takes you into a fully featured hybrid workflow. You still get the excellent converters and the SSL console style preamps however the I/O expands and the routing becomes more flexible. It sits comfortably in the same modular family as the Big SiX and the DAW controllers so it scales gracefully as your room evolves.
SSL 360° – The Brain Of The Ecosystem
SSL 360° ties the interfaces and controllers into one environment. For the interfaces it functions as your control room. For the controllers it becomes the communication layer between your DAW, plug ins and hardware.
You can save session profiles, assign macros, manage routing, create sub mixes and build monitoring layouts with ease. It makes the whole system feel like one coherent studio rather than a collection of separate boxes.
The Big SiX is the product I get asked about constantly. It is the modern small room dream. I call it a “mini SSL console” because it is exactly that.
You get four SuperAnalogue mono channels. These are the same ultra clean console grade circuits used on the large format desks. Each mono channel includes:
- Gain and line or mic input
- Stereo cue sends that can hit external effects or return to the DAW
- Classic three band SSL EQ based on the E series
- Switchable bell or shelf on the high and low bands
- Fixed mid at 700 Hz
- A broad musical tone shaping that works beautifully for tracking or summing
- A simple but excellent dynamics compressor
Then you have four stereo channels with EQ and cue sends. These are ideal for feeding stems back from the DAW.
As an interface the Big SiX is a 16 in 16 out USB C device. That means full multichannel communication with your DAW.
Then there is the right hand side. Routing options. Monitoring control. Talkback. Inserts on the main bus. Alternate bus sends.
And of course the legendary G series bus compressor. This is the glue. The final polish. The sound that makes you smile when you push the mix through it.
As Jen said, “It really is a solution for tracking and summing and just giving you that analog flavour.”
It is one of the best centrepieces a modern studio can have.
UF8, UF1 and UC1 – Hands On DAW Control
The UF8 is an eight fader DAW controller that gives you motorised faders, pan, sends, transport and a row of soft keys you can program as macros.
One of my favourite touches is that you can expand up to four UF8s to create a full 32 fader control surface.
Navigating a session becomes musical again. “You can get rid of the mouse and just listen to the mix,” as Jen said. That is exactly what these controllers are for.
The UF1 is a single fader controller with a stunning display that can show your metering, spectrum analysis, phase and more through the included Meter plug in.
You can also control four additional tracks through the encoders so you effectively command eight channels at once. It is the perfect “centre section” controller.
The UC1 is laid out like an SSL channel strip so you can control SSL plug ins in a way that feels like the desk. It ships with Channel Strip 2, 4K B and the Bus Compressor 2 plug in.
The Link software allows mapping to third party VST3 plug ins as well so you can use the UC1 across your whole mix.
This is where modern SSL consoles and modern SSL software blur beautifully.
Working Together As A Modular Ecosystem
The most powerful aspect of the ACP range, the Big SiX and the controllers is how modular they are.
You can start with an SSL 2 MK2. Add an SSL 12 when you need more inputs and cue mixes. Add a UF1 to improve your workflow. Add a UF8 so mixing feels musical again. Then one day bring home a Big SiX to tie it all together.
Everything talks through SSL 360°. Everything feels like one studio. Everything carries the character and etiquette of an SSL workflow.
And in smaller rooms or mobile spaces you can create a real console style experience that helps you focus on what matters most: the music.
