I would love to grab the Brainworx SSL, but $350 for a plugin isn't in the cards for my budget. I'll wait for it to go on sale and hopefully I'll hear about it on this forum in the near future!

 

Thanks SSMoney

 

Can someone answer my question from my last post?
Is a ilok still needed or does it also work with the ilok cloud for activation?

 

I'm using the ilok license manager BUT it seems u can only have it on 1 machine which i'm not happy with as i have 2 mac's

 

I'm in EU, use Opera free VPN and set location to Americas, use random US address as yours (like google headquarters) and pay with your Paypal. No VAT, same method works for Plugin Alliance. With loyalty voucher once a month you get weekend sale plugins for $14.99 and some for $4.99.

 

I paid that amount also as I have a legit VAT number. However, did you also receive the following PayPal confirmation by mail? Saying:
Order ##### at SSL Web Store > € 37,12
VAT > € 9,87
Total > € 46.99

Don't worry, besides the so called weekend warriors and vouchers, PA has several sales through the year. I have a lot of their tools - also the expensive ones - and hardly paid anything for it, from free to maybe €20/30 max. To be honest, I don't think that a lot of people pay their retail prices. Or it must be for the UAD versions. Anyway, Easter sale is already coming in 2 months. Otherwise second-hand on KVR, VI-Control or Knobcloud.

 

I have legit SSL bundle (4 full, the rest 6 months) that comes with the SSL2+ purchase, caused me a lot of problems, not loading in S1, sometimes in Live also crashing after I installed the Pro Tools that apparently "white-washed" (not sure about the term, but that is what it is called in forums) the SSL plugins, so it will work in legit pro tools.

Tired of all that shit. Uninstall the legit, ignore the pro tools existence, then I install the "lighter version" without the protection ones. It works smoothly in Reaper, Live & S1 plus loading a lil bit faster.

Love the Bus Comp, but not using them in Live. Off topic, but the stock Drum Buss in Live although it is a different thing, way more useful, characterful than the G Bus IMHO.

Anyway, have fun watching this video.

 

So much differences between Solid State Logic, Waves and PA versions?

 

Last edited: Feb 14, 2021

SSL is located in United Kingdom, right? But this Tax is only relevant for sales and buys WITHIN the European Union. But since January 1st? UK is no longer part of the European Union. So therefore that tax should not be applicable…

I already have the Waves SSL bundle, the Brainworx SSL E and G Channel as well as Townhouse Comp so I don't I need another SSL Channel. Bough the X Comp a couple of weeks ago, which I like for it's controls.

 

Nope, it's just a time limited sale. They've been doing this for the past few years, just dropping a sale on one plugin/bundle for a limited time, a different plugin each time. Nothing to do with the recent events on the sister site. Last year they've done sales like this on X-Comp and X-Saturator ($20 each), X-ValveComp ($35), and probably others too...

 

yepp true .. bought the pack, and yess i like the bus comp, it is smooth on the top end

 

You don't need an ilok pen, with an ilok account you can always have your license.

For me the best fet compressors are brings Logic and the ssl channel strip.

They are the only compressors that keep the peak level and get great loudness to gain rms and easily reach the desired volume, for glue I use the sonimus Satson CS bus compressor.

 

Various differences.
I made a short comparison between SSL 5 and Waves for the E channel

• according to the input LEDs Waves is more sensitive (~ 1,1dB),
• with the same EQ settings Waves sound way more modern (low end has more punch, high end is more silky),
  Additionally in a nil test I could only (almost) match the Low Cut and none of the other bands,
• the compressors sound differently,
• Waves produces a much higher RMS.

The bottom line was, I prefer the SSL comp and the Waves EQ, but I also prefer The Glue over the SSL comp.

 

just want to add, but maybe most of you already know this. The Waves SSL Channel Strips has some kind of pad built-in at the output stage, take care of the input, adjust the gain accordingly, the make your adjustment (EQ, Gate, Comp), and then drive the output to red for "console saturation/clipping emulation". It wont clip the audio. Not sure about the limit of how much you can drive (or the pad limit) but been doing this long ago, and never clipped the audio even once. I think most of you know this already, but for those who didn't might as well try it.

 

Not here. -1dB in = -1dB out. If I raise an EQ band, the output raises aswell.

Neither here. I pushed the fader to +5dB output, reduced the DAW channel by 5dB and got a flat line in a nil test with the untreated file.

We should keep in mind that this is already off-topic because it's Waves specific.

 

yeah off topic, don't know how you do it, but it works fine here. hard to time the print screen button though. i don't know how to video capture.

 

Definitely. Between SSL, Waves an Plugin Alliance the EQ's all have a different "grab" to the selected frequency. Even between the Waves E channel and CLA Mixhub it is very different.

For me, I often still reach for the Waves SSL G EQ because the blue knob is especially nice for fixing that low mid range, removing boxiness or boosting low-end with the :3 button in. I am trying to move away from waves plugins but this one of the few I just need. Maybe it's because I used it for many years now. The PA Channelstrips seem to be smoother as far as the top end is concerned. The low end is not as tight as with the waves. The SSL I only had for a couple of days now, so I am a bit unfamiliar with it. Not feeling overly impressed by it. Got caught up in the hype of the hight retail price, I guess?

What I absolutely don't like about the SSL Channel is the 3d perspective of the GUI. The controls feel really distant, small and hard to reach. The readouts are way to small as well.

As far as the comp is concerned, it sucks a lot of bass out of the mix. I've noticed that prior with the X-Comp already. I don't know if it does that in the real world but in my world, I shouldn't do that. It confuses the heck out of me.

 

This is why there is a HP SC filter so you can adjust it to your needs.

 

I've been producing music since '95… do you think I wouldn't know about Highpass Sidechain Filters by now?

 

Last edited: Mar 2, 2021