New Software Review: SSL Native V6 Bundle

Though there are many SSL emulations available, the Native V6 Bundle is the only collection that is built to the exact design specs as intended by SSL.

In the history of recorded music, there’s a relatively small amount of vintage equipment that is still coveted and used around the world today. The SSL 4000 Channel Strip falls into this elite group, having been used on some of the best-selling rock, hip-hop, and pop records of all time.

The gating and compression on these channel strips are a huge part of the signature SSL sound. The flexibility of re-routing the signal (placing the EQ before or after the compressor, choosing the insert point, etc.) reduced the amount of console cable spaghetti buildup when trying to accomplish traditionally complex routing. Bob Clearmountain, Frank Fillipetti, Chris and Tom Lord-Alge, and many others all took advantage of the signature punchy sound of SSL consoles, helping to craft some of the timeless records that have become a part of the soundtrack to our lives.

Today, many major plugin manufacturers (including Slate, IK Multimedia, Native Instruments, and Cytomic) have attempted to emulate the SSL sound. I’ve tried and used many of these emulations, but I’m excited today to review the SSL Native V6 Bundle, made available by none other than SSL themselves.

Features and Use

To start, this V6 bundle is a continuation of the SSL Duende V5 suite of software. Duende also included a hardware DSP processor—an external unit that handles processing duties without taxing your computer’s resources. Owners of Duende V5 have access to a free upgrade to the SSL Native V6 Bundle (which conversely is host-based, so you’ll need to account for the CPU usage), and both Duende and the Native V6 Bundle plugins can be used together in the same DAW. The entire collection includes a Channel Strip, Bus Compressor, X-Comp, X-EQ, Vocalstrip, Drumstrip, X-ValveComp, X-Saturator, and X-Phase.

Though I was not a Duende V5 user, I still appreciate the newly redesigned GUI’s for each plugin. Let’s dive in and see what each of these new modules have to offer, and how they fare in use.

Channel Strip: SSL was the first mixing console manufacturer to feature dynamics and EQ on every channel with the SL 4000 B Series in 1977. The V6 Channel Strip is based on the XL 9000 K Series console, and includes separate high and low pass filters, an independent compressor/limiter and gate/expander, a 4-band parametric EQ that is assignable to the dynamics sidechain, variable processing order, as well as input and output gain adjustment and phase inversion. While it’s a great general-use plugin, I found some of the more task-specific strips to be more useful, as they were designed with unique applications in mind.

Drumstrip: This plugin is a personal favorite of mine, as I love parallel compressing my drum VCA’s to add punch and presence to my mixes. There are five audio processing tools included in this one strip: a transient shaper, gate, high and low frequency enhancer, and an SSL Mic Compressor.

The transient shaper has the option of enabling a “transient invert” effect that really helps make drums punch. The drum gate has knobs to adjust range, as well as independent open and close threshold options, which sound great for gated snares. I’ve also found these controls to be very effective at muting toms and kicks in a natural way, almost as though you actually had mutes on the drums when they were recorded. Having a classic SSL compressor with a dry/wet knob is incredibly handy when trying to make your drums just feel more “finished.”

Vocalstrip: The Vocalstrip is similar to the Drumstrip in that it combines multiple processing tools, but in this case the four tools are a de-esser, a de-ploser, a 3-band EQ, and a “Compander” (more on that shortly).

The de-esser is quite transparent and doesn’t unnecessarily strip away too much extra high end, which is a somewhat common side effect of many de-essers on the market. The Compander gives you access to traditional compression, downwards expansion, and output drive, which can take a bit of treble away from a vocal. That’s where the 3-band EQ with its “Air” band can come in handy, restoring shine and adding clarity to a vocal track. The Compander is also visually stimulating, and it’s great to be able to have this kind of feedback showing EQ curves and real time FFT overlay—though be careful not to rely on your eyes more than your ears.

Bus Compressor: The classic sound of SSL is the bus compressor flavor for me, and I’ve heard that the V6 version has been redesigned to run much more efficiently than its predecessors. This software version captures the warmth and signature punch of the original hardware quite well. The drive inherent in its design really helps glue a mix together and make every track feel just a little more cooperative with one another—all while keeping the overall sound big and in your face.

Though there are many other plugins that emulate the original SSL Bus Compressor, I find myself reaching for this one quite frequently. There’s a magic with this particular emulation if you start a mix by throwing it on the master bus. You may find it faster to mix this way, as there’s already a certain level of urgency and attention brought to each track when they’re all collectively run through this processor. I do wish there was a dry/wet control on this unit, but that’s a small detail, and I actually prefer to use dedicated buses for parallel processing anyway.

X-Comp: X-Comp can deliver the transparent finesse of a mastering-grade stereo compressor, or be driven to inject character and raw power that rivals the SSL Listen Mic Compressor just the same. For this plugin, SSL haven’t just modeled a particular compressor, but rather have provided a set of features and controls that allow the emulation of many vintage and modern compressor designs, based on a well-loved SSL feed forward compressor algorithm.

A closer look at the X-EQ module, built specifically for the Native collection.

X-EQ: This is a unique, all-in-one EQ built from the ground up for SSL Native. It has an unprecedented clarity, smoothness, and excellent high frequency response. There are 10 filter bands, all with switchable EQ types and tones, split into dedicated high pass and low pass filters, low frequency and high frequency shelves, and 6 bell bands. A parallel EQ mode is also provided, which recreates the distinctive sound of an old parallel passive EQ circuit built with inductors and capacitors.

X-ValveComp: This fully-featured channel compressor with valve emulation offers a sidechain, filters, a wet/dry control, and will bring added focus to any audio you run through it. The only way I can describe the sound of this plugin is that it adds a “chewy” punch, yet still retains softness on the release, which could be because of the saturation in this compressor. It’s phenomenal on acoustic guitars, staccato strings, and horns.

X-Saturator: This plugin is a really nice addition to the bundle, capable of introducing either 2nd order valve-style or 3rd order transistor-style distortion to your signal—or a blend of both! It can quickly get very aggressive, but it’s really nice for mild drive as well—and surprisingly, I found it helps a lot with orchestral brass and strings, making them stand out in pop mixes. Additionally, putting saturation on vocals can really make them come forward in a mix, and the X-Saturator excels with this, especially because it has a dry/wet mix control for parallel processing.

X-Phase: I found this to be the most unique plugin in the collection, as it is an all-pass filter and phase alignment tool that allows for manual control and high-quality response. It allows you to apply a phase shift at a specified frequency within a signal, and because it is an all-pass filter, the gain remains unchanged. This plugin helps with fixing phase problems with multi-mic’d audio sources, such as drum overheads that might be out of phase with the close mics. Most of the time with phase issues, I like to drag the audio in my DAW manually, but this plugin offers the unique ability to do this with specifically-targeted frequencies.

To Be Critical

While I am convinced that mixing with these official SSL plugins is the most sonically similar experience to working on an actual SSL console, that doesn’t mean they’re for everyone. The Waves SSL 4000 collection ($749) is now over 10 years old, but is still a personal favorite for me and mixers such as DJ Swivel and Chris Lord-Alge.

Additionally, there are officially-endorsed SSL plugins from Brainworx (bx_console SSL 4000 E and bx_console SSL 4000 G—each $349), as well as the UAD SSL 4000 E Channel Strip Collection, priced at $299. Plus, UAD’s proprietary Unison Technology gives you the hardware’s mic/line preamp impedance, gain stage “sweet spots,” and exact circuit behavior when recording through an Apollo interface.

In turn, it’s a little confusing to navigate the world of SSL plugins when there are now three official products licensed to use the SSL name—but the price tags may help to narrow your search. To be honest, all of these options sound great and will work for most needs, so it is just a matter of taste and comfort.

One other thing to note is that you will need an iLok in order to run these plugins. Hopefully SSL will make it so that you can authorize this bundle to an iLok account and run them without needing a physical dongle. This won’t be an issue for Pro Tools users, but it can be a bit of a hassle for Logic, Studio One, and Ableton users—especially “portable producers” working from laptops who might not want to deal with the burden of a physical dongle.

Summing it Up

Though most DAWs include all of the types of tools you get with the SSL Native V6 Bundle, whether it be a saturator, EQ, compressor, noise gate, etc.—no other bundle does it all with the signature SSL sound and aesthetic that is still loved around the world. One of the major differences between the SSL plugins and the other emulations on the market is that SSL designs theirs to meet the original specs and performance as intended for the products, whereas many others tend to model select vintage pieces of kit.

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