Fusion Vintage Drive
Giovanni Sealy
SSL Fusion Vintage Drive offers some fantastic new options without complication; use the MIX control to dial in the perfect amount of vintage drive, use the AUTO GAIN functionality to drive the signal without destructively affecting your mix levels, and use the brand new ECO mode to drop the plug-in into zero latency, reduced-CPU operation for use during tracking and recording.
Designed to produce the gentle harmonic saturation and soft compression reminiscent of driving vintage hardware into the analog sweet spot, the SSL Fusion Vintage Drive plugin is a must-have for adding organic analog feel to your tracks, groups, mixes and masters.
SSL Fusion Vintage Drive offers some fantastic new options without complication; use the MIX control to dial in the perfect amount of vintage drive, use the AUTO GAIN functionality to drive the signal without destructively affecting your mix levels, and use the brand new ECO mode to drop the plug-in into zero latency, reduced-CPU operation for use during tracking and recording.
Many thanks to regular contributors Shannon McDowell, Medway Studios, ThaLoops, Richard Hasiba, blortblort, Triple Spiral Audio , Wolfgang Gaube, Sounds2Inspire, Tonedeff, ModeAudio, Jonathan Litten, George Napier, Biswadeep Ray, Yonatan, Reynn, IzOhm, and HLplanet for supporting Rekkerd!
While mixing inside the box has gained in popularity (mostly due to the convenience factor), there are areas where a digital mix falls short. A number of analog modeling plug-ins have arrived on the scene to solve these issues, but at the end of the day, nothing adds weight, dimensionality, space, and sparkle like analog processing - and that's where the SSL Fusion comes in. It comprises five uniquely SSL tools for stereo stem and/or mix bus processing, including Vintage Drive for non-linear saturation; Violet EQ for low-end weight and high-end sheen; High-Frequency Compressor which, like analog tape can tame excessive transients; Stereo Image for mix widening and depth; and the Transformer Circuit, a custom design that introduces subtle low-frequency harmonics for added weight and some high-end sparkle. The SSL Fusion gives you all of these mix tools in a single 2U box for a fraction of what it would cost to have each function in individual hardware units.
In the true spirit of Barney Stinson, SSL responded: Challenge accepted! The first circuit to emerge was the Violet EQ, a unique SSL shelving EQ with a refined 9dB gain range. Next came the HF Compressor circuit as a tool to tame unwanted top-end brittleness and restore a natural analog roll-off (great for taming snare transients). Then came the Vintage Drive circuit, a non-linear saturation circuit tweaked over several months to hone its unique character. The Stereo Image circuit followed as a way of providing the often-missed analog mid-side processing. The final piece of the puzzle, a custom-designed transformer circuit, also involved many rounds of critical listening and reworking to settle on the perfect design. However, the response to audio professionals didn't end there. When the first prototypes were complete SSL sent them off to a selection of trusted engineers and made further adjustments to the circuits based on their feedback.
SSL has also always been known for clever connectivity and features that streamline and accelerate production workflow. As such, it's no surprise that Fusion offers a collection of workflow enhancing features including: +/-12dB Input and Output Trim controls, an Input overload LED, large peak-hold metering, a front-end 3rd-order high-pass filter with three selectable cutoff frequencies, and tricolor status indicators for the Vintage Drive and HF Comp sections. A set of XLR connectors can be used either as a Stereo Insert for stereo mix bus processing or switched to function as a Mid-Side (MS) circuit enabling separate compressors or EQ to be applied to the middle (center) and sides of a stereo signal. In Stereo Insert mode, the insert point can be switched to pre-Violet EQ, and when in MS mode, the insert can be switched to pre-Stereo Image controls. Input and Output connections are via XLR.
Vintage Drive is a unique, non-linear saturation circuit that gives your mix added strength and cohesion. This circuit is designed to introduce gradual analog overload - the sound that the best vintage analog outboard and consoles offer when you drive level into the sweet spot via the Drive control (which actually goes to 11). To keep the signal under control and ensure that your adjustments are actually doing good things, the Drive control automatically compensates for level increase to prevent louder volumes from fooling your ears (and overloading your converters).
The Density pot in the Vintage Drive section is used to fine-tune the type of effect the circuit produces. Lower settings (generally below 3) produce additional harmonics with an emphasis towards even-order harmonics. Settings between 2 and 3 can help add richness to a mix. Medium to higher settings result in a gradual lowering of the overall harmonic content but with the odd-order harmonics eventually becoming more prominent than the even-order harmonics. The third harmonic is related to the saturation/analog clipping effect that this circuit imparts. This can be thought of as a type of soft-compression, wherein peaks are rounded and the RMS (average) level is brought up. This helps you gain some additional loudness. Settings between 3 and 7 work well for thickening whole mixes.
One of the most-common practices in production is to mix into an EQ that adds a little bit of top and bottom-end (like New York parallel drum compression). With the Violet EQ, you now have an SSL EQ designed specifically for that purpose. The Violet EQ comprises two bands of carefully selected frequencies and response curves designed to let you quickly dial in low-end weight and high-end sheen. The design is based upon minimum-phase shift shelving filters. The low band offers choices of 30Hz, 50Hz, 70Hz or 90Hz. The high band offers choices of 8kHz, 12kHz, 16kHz, and 20kHz. The gain pots are continuously variable, with indents at the 12 o'clock position (0dB) and allow for 9dB of gain. Full mixes tend to benefit from a modest amount of 30Hz, 50Hz or 70Hz to add weight, while 8kHz and 12kHz are good starting points for adding tasteful amounts of high-end.
This is a compressor circuit that only compresses high-frequencies. It helps to introduce a tape-like top-end roll-off by taming unwanted brittleness or harshness that can sometimes build up in a mix or individual stem. The cause might be due to over-use of plug-ins with top-end hype. There is no automatic makeup gain as commonly found on digital single-band compressors. This means you will not be fooled by a flattering gain make-up. Another important thing to note is that if the mix is already well balanced and mixed, you may not need to engage this circuit at all! However, when used subtly, it can smooth harshness off in a very pleasing way. On individual stems, such as bass guitars, you can be more aggressive with it.
Fusion features a custom-designed SSL transformer circuit engaged via the front panel transformer switch. This circuit does a number of things: The 600-ohm, 1:1 winding transformer and surrounding circuitry adds low-end harmonic content and a favorable slight top-end phase-shift to the sound. Furthermore, the under-damping of the transformer adds a subtle weight to the sound. The drive of the transformer circuit is self-contained, which means that there's nothing to be gained by driving the input stage of Fusion to achieve more level through the transformer. Also, keep in mind that like transformer designs, extreme low-end frequencies begin to be rolled off the more level is put through. Typically, a level of +16dBu will see a 0.5dB roll off between 40Hz and 30Hz and this is quite often (but not always!) welcome in keeping the bottom-end in check. Experiment with engaging the transformer at any point during the mixing process to see if it makes the mix sound better (it often does).
Fusion features a stereo insert point, which provides the ability to introduce other outboard processors such as the SSL G-Series Bus Compressor. A Pre EQ switch allows the insert point to be moved ahead of the Violet EQ section in the signal path. Pressing and holding the Insert switch for two seconds will cause it to enter Mid-Side mode. This provides the option of using one piece of mono outboard equipment to process the mid signal only and another to process the side signal (a common mastering technique). Pressing the Pre EQ switch in M-S mode moves the insert ahead the Stereo Image circuit.
The Bypass switch allows you to bypass all of Fusion's processing blocks. If the switch is red, you are in standard bypass mode. Use this to compare the sound of the mix with/without Fusion in one easy action. It dimly lights white if you are not in bypass.
Pressing and holding the Bypass switch for two seconds will cause it to enter Post Input Trim bypass mode. In this mode, the Input Trim pot still affects the sound, even in bypass. This mode is a useful feature if you've had to make up or take off significance amounts of gain using the input trim.
The Output Trim control, which is center detented, provides 12dB gain at the output stage of Fusion. This control is important in order to compensate for any level increases caused by the receding sections.
The master meter allows you view the main output level of Fusion. With a three-second peak hold, the scale is referenced in dBu, with +24dBu at the top. The trick is not to max out this meter. Full mix material should be typically peaking between +9dBu and +15dBu, and occasionally as high as +18dBu. Ensure that the output level of Fusion does not exceed the operating input level of your A/D converter, otherwise it will clip.
With so many plugins out on the market today, how can we tell which are the best mastering plugins? When we think about mastering we first need to think about music. We enjoy music not just because of well-composed lyrics, well-structured rhythmic flows, or even electrifying musical instruments; every fantastic song is a product of the perfect mixing of all the components listed above and so much more.
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