I just recently attended an SSL live console certification and training class here in Nashville. Over the course of the day we went over some very cool features, the history of SSL, the enormous capabilities of the consoles and we went on to setup a startup show file. The training was an excellent experience thanks to Fernando Guzman and pretty exhaustive over an 8-hour day. There is no way I will be able to give you a complete rundown of everything these consoles can do so I’m just going to do a quick pro, con and takeaway. If you have the chance, I HIGHLY encourage you to go to one of these training classes and see these things for yourselves.

For those of you who don’t know, SSL [Solid State Logic] made a name for themselves in the heyday of large studio consoles and mega studio budgets making the very best studio consoles for the biggest names in modern music history. I encourage you to go digging on their website and lookup some of the history behind this legendary brand and maybe that will explain a little better why I was so enthusiastic to get my hands on one.

So one of the first things you’ll need to get your head around is SSL’s nomenclature of its processing capabilities. They are notated in “paths.” A path can be input channel (there are a number of full processing channels plus “dry” channels which offer no processing besides fader), auxes, stems (read on…), master and matrix outputs. These can be in any number of combinations. For example, 1 stereo channel input and 36 matrix outputs (which is 100% doable) would be 38 paths. Or 286 inputs and 2 master outputs would equal the maximum 288 paths on the flagship L550.

Like many other manufacturers, there are a number of consoles in the lineup at different footprints, processing numbers and I’m sure cost. The little L100 was the only full console not at training offering 96 paths, the L200 has 144, and the L350 and L550 can do 216 and 288 respectively. I should also note that these are the number of paths available at the time of this writing. There have been several generational upgrades in the lifespan of a number of these consoles. And the upgrades can be done to earlier generations consoles with the appropriate hardware. Basically, an SSL tech will come and install and brand-new computer inside the console to work alongside new software. That really says SSL intends you to buy the console once and keep it for a long time and the upgrades will keep it a top-notch performer.

The other major departure in the way SSL does things are stems. Honestly think of stems as groups. You can put a bunch of channels together and then send them anywhere. That’s the most basic way to think of it. Where it gets a little crazy is in the details. Channels can be sent to a group at a dizzying number of pickoff points [pre-fader, post-fader, post-trim, post-insert A, post-insert B…you get it] and then you can send it anywhere. You can send a stem directly to a master just like an AUX, you can send it directly to a matrix input, and more worryingly you can send a stem to another stem. And then they can be processed just like another channel with its own insert points. They’re massively flexible and I can see them being super useful.

Here’s what I liked:

-Because I haven’t run a show with one myself, I can really only speculate about the sound. But the mixes I have heard have been stunning, if not the best live show sound experiences I’ve ever had. SSL live consoles are also using 64-bit floating point architecture which means you have an enormous amount of processing headroom. And let’s not kid ourselves here, they are SSL pre’s.*

-I think the software is one of- if not the best out there. Like any really great piece of software, there are many ways to do any single task. While this may seem like added complexity to some, it really means that you can adapt your own workflow to accomplish any task given with these consoles. By using some other brands of consoles out there, I have very much felt the workflow and design has been heavily influenced by one position and perspective and that the other just kinda had to squeeze themselves into the workflow and make it work. I’ve personally been to a training course of a competitor console and the instructor said out loud ‘we make it possible to do monitors on this console, FOH guys can figure it out.’ That may or may not be true (speaking as a FOH guy primarily who has done a little stab at monitors) I really did not get that feeling from SSL. I really got the feeling that this software and these surfaces were made to handle any job with ease, speed and grace. Well done SSL.

CONS-

-My biggest con was also echoed by the few real-world users I’ve met and talked to using these out in the field. MADI is the tried and true method for large digital channel counts, and as Fernando pointed out it is by far the easiest digital connection/protocol to troubleshoot. It it point to point, 32 channels @ 96kHz. If you are missing a block of channels, it’s simply not plugged in. I appreciate that mindset, and in the rush of a lot of things going wrong, I can see that being the level of troubleshooting I’d want to have to mess with. However, that is also its limitation. As a refresher, MADI carries 32-channels @ 96kHz, 1 direction. So for 1 console to connect with 1x 32 channel stagebox you need 4 MADI cables:

1: inputs 1-32

2: outputs 1-32

3 and 4: redundancy for cables 1&2 which SSL and all manufactures highly recommend.

SSL has solutions for high channel count shows in their proprietary fiber X-light connectors and combiners which up the channel count to 256 bidirectionally which is pretty slick and maintains the ease of connectivity. But using the MADI protocol, each stagebox can only receive data from 1 console. Meaning only 1 console can control the head amp for any 1 stage box and that console also has exclusive rights to that stagebox’s outputs. While possible, there is not a super slick way to get signals from the slave console to the master console (requiring another set of ‘send’ MADI cables direct from slave console to master). Tricky for things like routing talkbacks. Whereas networked consoles like AVID S6L or DiGiCo’s optical looped systems, data can be sent and received over the same lines.

HOWEVER! While I have not see them in the wild, all SSL consoles also speak Dante, the massively flexible digital protocol that is being adopted by tons of other audio companies out there. All SSL consoles speak Dante with no additional cards or other hardware and SSL has Dante enabled stageboxes and even have their own Dante high-channel-count fiber combiner available called Blacklight. With a large networked audio architecture would also bring with it some added complexity, for today’s complex productions, that might be a necessity.

-And yea, they’re going to be expensive. One talking point in the presentation was on how these consoles are a long-term investment. Over their 9-year lifespan there have been 3 major hardware/firmware updates effectively replacing one of the onboard computers. While no small upgrade, one such upgrade was estimated in the $14,000 range. If that happens every 3ish years, that’s in the neighborhood of $4,500/year, in upgrades for 1 console. Now SSL says that any console that is out in the real world now has at least another 15 years of solid lifespan available to it, which is good I suppose. And if your production demands the highest quality audio with no exceptions or excuses- then SSL is a very worthy investment of time and money.

So here’s my takeaway: Yes, they are going to be very expensive. So if you are not going to be using these desks in conjunction with a quality PA and a great artist in front of it; perhaps your time and money could be better spent elsewhere.

But let’s suppose you have a great artist, with a great band, and you’re driving a great PA in front of an intent audience. SSL is seriously worth a look. The price of admission is not only the undoubtedly fantastic front-end and stellar conversion and summing and all the other technical factors; you are also paying for perhaps the best thought out software and control surfaces on the market. Plus, it sounds like some really excellent support.

This training course has absolutely changed my mind of my most wanted console on tour, and I cannot wait to get one in front of a red-blooded rock band.

* Now I have heard a rumor that because SSL is now owned by the same people who own DiGiCo, Calrec and a number of other British console companies, that the SSL pres are DiGiCo pres are exactly the same in different packaging. I am now much more skeptical of that claim. Folks, think about the audio giant-Music Tribe. You are not going to tell me that a Behringer X32 preamp sounds as good as one from a Midas ProX or that a LAKE LM44 is using the same signal processing as some TC Helicon podcaster interface. No. They’re legit SSL preamps, they’re going to sound great, they’re going to sound clean. It’s going to sound like an SSL.