WAVES

reviews
W
aves and SSL are both
names that need no
introduction. They’re major
players in the worlds of digital and
analogue pro audio respectively, and
the SSL 4000 Collection is their first
collaborative project.
Before we start to consider the
plug-ins that the Collection contains,
we want you to close your eyes, then
imagine that you’ve won the lottery
and spent around £100,000 on a Solid
State Logic mixing console. Assuming
the thing will actually fit in your house
(unlikely), you’ll have access to an EQ
that offers unparalleled amounts of
musical cut and boost (especially if
you’ve gone for a G-Series model). The
low end remains focused and present,
while any top-end sculpting is miles
ahead of what you can achieve using
digital EQ. To put this in perspective, if
you’ve ever felt that boosting or cutting
the high end on your digital EQ makes
things sound brittle or dull, the
equivalent tonal colours on the SSL are
silky or muted.
Moving on, the legendary SSL gates
are powerful enough to transform
drum performances; the E-Series
compressor is a versatile all-rounder;
and the aggressive signature of the
G-Series Master Buss Compressor is
PRICE: £582
What is it? Ultra-posh channel strip, EQ and compressor plug-ins
CONTACT: Sonic Distribution, 01582 470260
WWW.waves.com
3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Mac: G4 1.25GHz, 512MB RAM, OS X 10.4.3,
TDM/RTAS/VST/MAS/AU host application, iLok key
PC: P4 1.7GHz/AMD Athlon XP 1800, 512MB
RAM, TDM/RTAS/VST/DX host application, iLok key
3 TEST MACHINE
PC: Athlon 2600+, 1GB RAM, Windows XP SP2
On the DVD
AUDIO DEMOS
Hear the magical sound of the
SSL 4000 Collection by checking
out the Audio Demos folder
Packing the character and sound of SSL’s legendary hardware into three
plug-ins is an ambitious goal. But if anyone can do it, Waves can…
SSL 4000 Collection
WAVES
090
|
COMPUTER MUSIC MAY 2006 REVIEW
INFO: TDM price, £1169
FILTERS
18dB/octave high-pass and
12dB/octave low-pass filters.
These enable you to filter out
high and low level signals
such as rumble and hiss
SPLIT BUTTON
This places the filters before
the Dynamics section in the
signal chain
MAIN EQ
This features variable
shelves and two fully
parametric mids for fine and
precise signal adjustment and
track sweetening
EQ ROUTING
These switches enable you to
bypass the EQ section or
send it to the Dynamics
section sidechain
ANALOGUE SWITCH
Available on all the plug-ins in
the Collection, when disabled
this reduces harmonic
distortion at the expense of
modelling accuracy
WAVES SYSTEM BAR
This is common to all Waves
plug-ins. It offers useful undo
and redo features, as well as
propriety storing and A/B-ing
of presets
COMPRESSOR
A soft-knee compressor with
Threshold, Release and either
fast or program-dependant
Attack time. Gain make-up
is automatic
EXPANDER/GATE
This offers Threshold, Range
(gain reduction) and Release
controls, and either program-
dependant or fast attack
DYNAMICS ROUTING
These switches enable you to
bypass the dynamics section
or place it post-EQ
MASTER SECTION
I/O metering, Phase and
Gain controls, and a Digital
Clip Indicator
CMU99.rev_ssl4000 090CMU99.rev_ssl4000 090 15/3/06 1:26:51 pm15/3/06 1:26:51 pm