Solid State Logic MX4 User Manual

User Guide V1.1

Table of Contents

1.! Introduction.............................................................................................................................................................................................! Page 3

2.! System Requirements ............................................................................................................................................................................! Page 4

! ........................................................................................................................................................Compatible SSL Hardware Systems! Page 4

........................................................................................................................................................................................! DSP Resources! Page 4

................................................................................................................................! Simultaneous Instances on selected SSL Platforms! Page 4

3.! Installation...............................................................................................................................................................................................! Page 5

! ..........................................................................................................................................................................Password Authentication! Page 5

4.! Operational Overview.............................................................................................................................................................................! Page 6

5.! SSL Console EQ and Filters ..................................................................................................................................................................! Page 10

6.! SSL Console Channel Dynamics ..........................................................................................................................................................! Page 13

7.! SSL Console Stereo Bus Compressor..................................................................................................................................................! Page 16

8.! Support ....................................................................................................................................................................................................! Page 18

9.! Copyright and legal Disclaimer .............................................................................................................................................................! Page 19

SSL Console Bundle for MX4 Page 2Table of Contents

!SSL Console Bundle for MX4

User Guide V1.1

!English Edition V1.1

! Plug-Ins included:

SSL Console EQ and Filters V1.5 / SSL Console Dynamics V1.01 / SSL Console Bus Compressor V1.0

Congratulations on your purchase of the SSL Console Bundle, the real SSL processing solution for your SSL Mixer V6 or SSL Soundscape V6 Software.

As youʼre sat here reading this, the chances are high that you have a pretty good understanding of who we are and our outstanding reputation in audio recording technology.

How did we get here?

Well, there were no great plans to make SSL into a major manufacturer of mixing consoles when it all started back in the seventies - the company began with nothing more than an enthusiasm for music and the concept of recording. Along the way that spirit, coupled with a passion for excellence in music recording tools, helped build a multi-million dollar international business. SSLʻs HQ may be a little bigger now than it was in the seventies, but passion and innovation still lies at its heart.

Building on the technology of the former Soundscape Audio Workstation, whose parent company Sydec we acquired in 2006, we decided to embark on a technology project to include the SSL Mixing and processing facilities on a PCIe Audio Card, useable right inside the SSL Soundscape V6 DAW and also inside a standalone virtual Mixing Console (SSL Mixer Software), enabling any PC DAW User to beneﬁt from the abilities of an SSL Console „in the box“.

So the SSL MX4 Card was born, enabling demanding DAW users, who donʼt have the budget (or the ﬂoor space!) required to install a large- format SSL console, to entirely mix „in the box“ with the workﬂow beneﬁts and Sonic DNA, that made SSL famous.

The Double Precision Algorithms of the SSL Console Bundle Plug-Ins give you the true SSL Sound, not available from any other manufacturer than SSL.

With 128 Ins and Outs per Card and a truly powerful realtime DSP Engine with the latest generation DSP and Processing Plug-Ins, based on the digital technology behind SSLʼs C-Series consoles, MX4 delivers the complete SSL mix experience – powerful channel EQʻs/Filters, Channel Dynamics and the legendary Bus Compressor, all useable with class leading low latency performance to form a complete system for Tracking/Monitoring, Mixing (including ﬁne Outboard Gear), all tightly integrated into the heart of a DAW based production.

The SSL Console Bundle Plug-Ins gives you the tools to get the sound heard on 90% of all Hit Records from the past 3 decades. We hope you will enjoy recording and mixing your music with the SSL Console Bundle and your MX4.

Please store your MX4 User Registration Card in a safe place, since it contains the Authorisation Codes for the Console Bundle.

Please also register your product on our website.

For product news and software updates please register at www.solidstatelogic.com

1. Introduction SSL Console Bundle for MX4 Page 3

To run the SSL Console Bundle Plug-Ins you need a host PC equipped with an SSL MX4 PCIe Card or SSL Mixpander/5 (or Soundscape Mixpander/9) and the latest Version of the SSL Mixer V6.x or SSL Soundscape V6.x Software.

In order to get the most out of the SSL Console Bundle plug-ins, your system needs the following minimum speciﬁcation:

• Working SSL Mixer V6 or SSL Soundscape V6 Installation

• Windows XP or Vista 32-bit (NT, 95/98, ME, 2K are NOT supported)

• 32-Bit Graphics Mode and Card with DirectX8 or higher

• Pentium, Core2, i7 or equivalent based System with at least 2.2GHz (or equivalent overall CPU power in Multicore Systems)

• 512MB or more of Ram (2GB min recommended)

DSP Resources:

Double Precision 48-Bit DSP Memory: Since the whole processing chain inside the EQ-Filters and major processing blocks of the Console Dynamics and Bus Compressor plugins are fully 48-bit double precision, only 48-bit DSP memory can be used to run each instance of the plug-in without additional latency inside the SSL V6 DSP architecture. Only a limited amount of the memory inside the mixpander 5/9 DSP platforms is available for direct 48-bit operations. The MX4 PCIe Cards however provides a huge amount of 48-bit memory needed to run multiple instances of the plug-ins.

Especially with Mixpander based Systems you therefore may encounter situations where you are not able to load more SSL Console Bundle plug-ins because there is no more 48-bit memory available (indicated by the [M] parameter in the Mixers caption bar).

However, you may well have enough DSP resources to be able to load other standard or optional plug-ins which utilise 24-bit memory only.

The tables below show the max. number of simultaneous mono and stereo instances of one Plug-In at 44.1 kHz, inserted on an individual Mono to Mono or Stereo to Stereo Channel Strip with Output Fader.

Note: For higher sample rates (48kHz, 88.2kHz and 96kHz) more Processing-Cycles are required for calculation, meaning less instances will be available.

MX4 PCIe

Plug-In

Mono

Stereo

SSL Console EQ-F

SSL Console Dyn

SSL Bus Comp

164

Mixpander 9

Plug-In

Mono

Stereo

SSL Console EQ-F

SSL Console Dyn

SSL Bus Comp

100

Mixpander 5

Plug-In

Mono

Stereo

SSL Console EQ-F

SSL Console Dyn

SSL Bus Comp

2. System Requirements SSL Console Bundle for MX4 Page 4

NOTE: The SSL Console Bundle Plug-ins are automatically installed with the SSL Mixer & Soundscape V6 (or later) software. The installation procedure below is only required for previous Software Versions.

Installation Procedure:

•

Please close all SSL Mixer or SSL Soundscape V6 software

•

Double-click on the SetupSSLbundleV1.0.exe

•

Please follow the instructions given by the installation wizard

•

Restart your SSL Mixer V6 or SSL Soundscape V6 software

Password authorisation code

In order to use the SSL Console Bundle Plug-Ins, an authorisation code must be ﬁlled into the Softwareʻs OPTION Menu for each individual Plug-In. You will ﬁnd these codes on your MX4 Owners Registration Card or on your SSL User Account, if you purchased the Plug-Ins for a mixpander Card in our online shop. You can look up the passwords in the electronic Invoice or also inside your SSL User account.

The unique 12-Digit passwordʻs only authorises the plug-in it has been generated for and also only workʻs with the unique Unit ID (DSP serial

number) of the MX4 or Mixpander card. But it will work on every PC with this device and Plug-In installed. To use the plug-in on multiple systems working under the same software instance, please use Password Sharing as described in the SSL Mixer or Soundscape V6 software manual.

In order to use the SSL Console Bundle plug-inʻs on different SSL or Soundscape platforms that do not run inside a single Software instance, it will be necessary to purchase additional licenses for each device or software instance.

Your SSL authorised dealer or national distributor will be happy to answer any question you might have regarding authorisation codes and licensing issues.

After installation the SSL Console Bundle plug-ins appear as new entries (SSL Console xx...) in the Mixer plug-in drop down list. Please activate the hierarchical plug-in view in your software.

TIP: As with all other SSL Mixer plug-ins you ﬁrst have to create an appropriate channel in the mixer and insert the plug-in into the main channel area.

3. Installation SSL Console Bundle for MX4 Page 5

Included Plug-ins:

SSL Console EQ and Filters V1.5

Two different Plug-In versions are included; mono to mono and stereo to stereo.

Once inserted into the Mixer Software, the SSL Console EQ and Filters plug-in will appear as a small graph preview window inside the mixer column.

Each different EQ plug-in on the SSL Mixer will exhibit a different colour set in this window, matching the graph in its main plug-in window. This makes it is easy to differentiate between the different models used in the channel.

The small EQ ﬁlter graph gives a preview of the equalisation curve. Once the curve turns red, the plug-in is indicating that clipping is occurring in either the input stage or somewhere inside the serial ﬁlter chain. Lowering the input gain or individual band gains may then be necessary to prevent the algorithm from producing audible distortion.

TIP: As with all other Soundscape level displays, the SSL Console EQ and Filters plug-in indicates 1 sample at 0dbFS as clipping. Under certain circumstances audible distortion may only be introduced when a multiple of consecutive samples at 0dBFS are present.

SSL Console Dynamics V1.0

Four different Plug-In Versions are included: mono to mono, mono to mono with side chain input, stereo to stereo and stereo to stereo with side chain input.

The Mono Version with side chain (SC) is in fact a 2Ch In, 1CH Out Plug-In, the Stereo Version with side chain (SC) is a 4CH IN, 2 CH Out Plug-In. The SC Input is derived from the last Input(s), meaning that the Mono Version uses In1 for the Audio Input and In2 for the SC Key Input.

In the Stereo SC Version CH3+4 are used to derive the SC Key from.

TIP: In order to use a SC Version, you need a Stereo to Mono Channel Column for the Mono SC Version and a 4CH to Stereo Column for the Stereo SC Version.

Once inserted, the SSL Console Dynamics plug-in will appear as a small preview window with 2 LED Areas displaying the Gain Reduction or Gate/Exp Reduction inside the mixer column.

Once the LED background turns red, the plug-in is indicating that clipping is occurring in either the input stage or somewhere inside the processing chain or at the Output. Lowering the input gain or output gain may then be necessary to prevent the algorithm or Output stage from producing audible distortion.

Like on real SSL Consoles the Channel Dynamics use Auto-Makeup to compensate for the reduced Gain in the Compressor stage.

SSL Console Bundle for MX4 Page 64. Operational Overview

+ 13 hidden pages