New SSL Fusion hardware processor: SSL’s first new EQ circuit for over 25 years
5,0 / 5,0 | 
Renowned Studio sound company Solid State Logic (SSL) has announced Fusion – an all-analogue 2U outboard processor. Designed with the modern hybrid analogue/digital studio in mind, Fusion contains five “completely new” analogue colouration tools to dial in, as SSL says, the “perfect combination of (…) tonal character, weight and space” to your tracks.
All of the five color processors below can be used standalone or combined:
Vintage Drive – a proprietary non-linear harmonic enhancement circuit made for bringing “cohesion and strength” to your mix. It has Drive and Density controls which interact to produce harmonic saturation and soft compression derived from overloading an analogue circuit. It can be used for subtle thickening saturation or driven hard for extreme distortion.
SSL Violet EQ – an all-new phase-shift, two-band shelving EQ which marks the first new SSL analogue EQ circuit for over 25 years. The company describes it as a “musical and intuitive EQ” meant to enhance the critical low and high frequency regions. The High and Low frequency circuits each have four switched frequency points and up to +/-9dB of attenuation.
A new High Frequency Compressor that only affects high frequencies. It’s optimised for smooth and transparent harshness reduction and a tape-like high-frequency roll off. According to SSL, it sounds great for taming brittle high frequency fizz.
A new Stereo Image enhancer provides a true analogue Mid-Side circuit that manipulates the Side signal for widening and spatial processing.
A switched, custom-designed SSL Transformer circuit that introduces subtle low-frequency saturation alongside a high-frequency phase-shift. The result is a simultaneous thickening of the low-end and an added sparkle to the high-end, explains SSL.
Overall, Fusion looks like studio gold and we love how SSL has applied plug-in like thinking, especially in terms of versatility, to actual studio hardware. We are waiting for a complete spec sheet to round out the article with more information about connectivity and how this unit integrates with various studio setups.
Update: here’s the complete spec sheet coming from the SSL Fusion user manual:
-
- SSL Fusion spec sheet – 1 · Source: SSL
-
- SSL Fusion spec sheet – 2 · Source: SSL
Price and availability
Fusion will be available worldwide from November 2018. For pricing, you will have to speak to your local SSL reseller.
Video
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
This might also interest you
