SSL The Bus+

Full Description

Pin down your mixes

Tame dynamics in your instruments, effects and entire mix. The crux of all good professional sounding mixes, a solid bus compressor can make or break your track. Adding too much will introduce unwanted distortion and pumping (unless used as a creative choice) to your tracks and too little could result in an imbalanced mix that isn't consistent enough to compete with major label releases. Solid State Logic introduces The Bus+, the most authentic SSL-style bus compressor to date to help alleviate any of these problems you might have in your mix. Glue instruments and sounds together for a harmonious sound just like you hear on all of your favourite records.

Premium VCA design

A staple in the professional music production world, The Bus+ opts for a VCA design. Chosen for its specific character and response, the VCAs used within The Bus+ are top-of-the-line, high-performance 2181 THAT VCAs. Operating by attenuating signals based on incoming control voltage, the result is a highly flexible range of compression sounds that span anywhere from subtle and gentle to the wild and extreme. Ideal for just about any application, the VCA design of The Bus+ doesn't favour any instrument in particular, but is instead used to 'glue' together lots of different elements within a mix, handling anything that is thrown at it to create cohesion and balance in your mix.

An extremely clean design, the Solid State Logic The Bus+ is still capable of high levels of gain reduction, however, if it's pushed too hard, it will be sent into overdrive, adding clipping and saturation onto your tone for extra character and grit.

Add flavour and character with three onboard modes

Compression inherently adds a distinctive flavour to your tone. The signal attenuation creates complex interactions between the instruments, creating a unique flavour through the VCA-style compression within The Bus+. Sparing no expense, The Bus+ features three additional colouration options to add tonal variety to your signal. Each of the three modes can be used independently or simultaneously for a unique and tailored experience for your mix or productions.

4K mode has been used in previous Solid State Logic products and is employed in The Bus+ to add grit to your tone through variable harmonic distortion. Ideal when working with hard-hitting electronic or rock music, the 4K mode complements the aggressive nature of the sounds and instruments to emphasise the mode of the genres.

Ideal when working with cleaner genres, the Low THD mode offers a controlled low-end by reducing low-frequency distortion. Slower and more relaxed genres will benefit from the Low THD mode, allowing for a cleaner-low end even under high compression ratios. Bass drums and bass guitar in blues, jazz or acoustic music will remain 'glued' with your mix, whilst not being overly suffocated to 'bloom' more, creating a natural and warm low-end response that fills out your mix.

Subtle tonal shaping for non-band orientated music such as vocal ensemble recordings or voice-over work will pair perfectly with the F/B mode. This reduces the intensity of your compression for a more relaxed sound, letting you create cohesion in your mix without adding any unwanted artefacts or timbral changes in your sound.

All the bells and whistles

The Bus+ ascends as the flagship compressor within the SSL range of products. With good reason, The Bus+ features everything you need to create the perfect compression for your project or mix. Far more than a simple 2-bus compressor, The Bus+ is an all-encompassing signal processor that can work on a myriad of different sources and applications. For mastering applications, the stepped controls remove any possible subtle variations in settings between the left and right channels and help you to come to decisions quicker without dialling between two finite parameters. Coupled with this is a slew of different frequency controls, allowing The Bus+ to be used as much more than a compressor.

Per channel, a two-band dynamic EQ is employed to give you control over the low and high-frequency content, helping to suppress excessive 'boominess' or 'sharpness' when compressing a signal to extreme levels. Often, compressing a signal may subdue the transient response, leading to a dull attack that might set your sound back in the speakers. Instruments such as drum shells in a heavy mix context will lose impact and sustain when under heavy compression. To combat this, The Bus+ adds a high-frequency transient expander to re-introduce some lost articulation and attack to get your sound jumping through the speakers. Additionally, a simple stepped high-pass filter lets you leave any low-frequencies uncompressed up to 300Hz in steps of 10Hz, ideal for compressing the mid and high-frequency information in a spikey distorted electric guitar or vocal signal.

Comprehensive side-chain control is present with both side-chain inputs and sends inputs and outputs on the rear of the unit, allowing you to pair your Solid State Logic Bus+ with external outboard equipment seamlessly. Rounding out the stunning range of features is the ability to configure the processing order of your signal, shifting the compression pre or post dynamic EQ, altering the response of your signal as it hits The Bus+.

Features

• Flagship incarnation of an industry classic
• The ultimate studio bus compressor, perfect for any audio application from mixing to mastering
• Comprised of top-of-the-line components including high-performance 2181 THAT VCAs
• Four modes of operation make it suitable for any audio source, including classic stereo, Sidechain Stereo, Dual Mono or Mid-side
• Fine-tuned Attack and Release control times, including all-new 'Auto 2' setting
• Three colouration options add slight variety and flavour to your tone and can be used individually or simultaneously
• 4K mode operates with single VCA, adding grit to your sound through variable harmonic distortion
• Low THD mode cleans the bottom-end for a more controlled compression setting by effectively reducing low-frequency distortion
• Reduce the intensity of your compression with F/B mode for a more relaxed sound
• Unrivalled sonic fidelity, with crystal clear signal integrity and tonal balance
• Stepped controls pair perfectly with mastering applications
• Two-band dynamic EQ offers low and high-frequency suppression under extreme compression settings
• High-frequency transient expander allows you to add attack back to heavily compressed audio signals
• Configurable processing order to move compression pre or post EQ
• External side-chain inputs and sends for integration with other outboard units
• Leave your low-end un-compressed with a variable high-pass filter up to 300Hz in steps of 10Hz
• Run your signal in parallel using mix control for powerful parallel compression techniques

Specifications

Audio Performance

• Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/-0.05dB
• THD+N:
  • -88 dB / 0.004% typical - LF In, 40 Hz at 0 dBu
  • -81 dB / 0.008% typical - HF In, 10 kHz at 0 dBu, 40 kHz BW
• Headroom: Less than 27 dB
• Noise:
  • -90 dBu typical LF-in
  • -87 dBu typical HF-in
• LF Gain Accuracy: +/-0.05 dB typical - LF In, 40 Hz at 0 dBu: -10 dB to +10 dB
• HF Gain Accuracy: +/-0.05 dB typical - HF In, 10 kHz at 0 dBu: -10 dB to +10 dB
• Stereo Matching:
  • Less than 0.05 dB - LF/HF In, 20 Hz to 20 kHz at 0 dBu
  • Less than 0.1dB - LF In, 40 Hz, any gain change
  • Less than 0.1dB - HF In, 10 kHz, any gain change

Power

• Power Supply: Auto-Ranging 100-240 VAC
• Operating Power: 38 Watts
• Sleep Power: Less than 1 Watt
• Auto-Sleep Power: 10 Watts

Physical

• Dimensions (H x W x D): 88 x 480 x 328 mm
• Weight: 5.92Kg

Connections

• Inputs: Female XLR x2
• External Inputs: Female XLR x2
• Outputs: Male XLR x2
• External Sends: Male XLR x2

General

• Product code: SSL0117