Solid State Logic
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Solid State Logic (SSL) is a British company based in
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, Oxfordshire, England that designs and markets audio mixing consoles, signal processors, and other audio technologies for the post-production,
video production Video production is the process of producing video content for video. It is the equivalent of filmmaking, but with video recorded either as analog signals on videotape, digitally in video tape or as computer files stored on optical discs, hard dri ...
, broadcast,
sound reinforcement A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers in enclosures all controlled by a mixing console that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sound ...
and
music recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording te ...
industries. SSL employs over 160 people worldwide and has regional offices in
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,
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, New York,
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, and
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, with additional support provided by an international network of distributors. Solid State Logic is part of the
Audiotonix Audiotonix is a British multinational holding company established in 2014 and headquartered in Greater London, United Kingdom. Audiotonix companies design and manufacture mixing consoles and professional audio equipment for live events and broad ...
Group.


History


Early history

Solid State Logic was founded by Colin Sanders in 1969 as the first manufacturer of
solid-state Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their use ...
control systems for
pipe organs The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
. Sanders coined the company's name to explain the then-modern technology of transistor and FET switching to organ builders. Sanders also owned and operated Acorn Studios, a recording studio in
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, Oxfordshire. When he sought a
mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for Audio mixing (recorded music), mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals fro ...
for recording, with routing flexibility and settings recall unavailable on consoles at that time, Sanders applied his experience to design and build his own, building two mixing consoles with computer control which featured one-button switching between recording, tracking and mixdown modes. The two prototype mixing consoles, given the model designation of SL 4000 A, became the start of a series of large-format mixers that would define and establish SSL as a mixing console manufacturer.


Large-format mixing consoles

In 1976, SSL combined the SL 4000's in-line mixing console design with a computer that provided fader automation and programmable tape transport auto-location functionality, A total of six B Series consoles were built for and sold to studios, beginning with Abbey Road Studios in London, followed by
Le Studio Le Studio (later renamed Studio Morin Heights) was a residential recording studio in the Laurentian Mountains near the town of Morin-Heights, Quebec, Canada built in 1972 by recording engineer and producer André Perry, Nick Blagona and Ya ...
in
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, Canada, Virgin Records'
Townhouse Studios The Town House (also known as Townhouse Studios) was a recording studio located at 150 Goldhawk Road, Shepherd's Bush in London, built in 1978 under the direction of Richard Branson for Virgin Records. The studios changed ownership and eventuall ...
in London, and Tocano Studio in Copenhagen. The SL 4000 E Series, introduced in 1979, offered various improvements on the B Series, including a new 4-band EQ section developed in collaboration with
George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...
. Most notably, the E Series introduced the ability to save and recall mixer settings, and was the first mixer to feature a compressor/gate on every channel as well as the master bus compressor. SSL introduced the SL 4000 G Series at the AES New York Convention in 1987, which again offered a redesigned EQ, among other improvements. The ability to save and recall mixer settings, along with the inclusion of a dedicated compressor and noise gate on every channel on SL 4000 E Series consoles and its successors and variants drove widespread adoption in professional recording studios, including The Power Station,
Sarm Studios Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Isla ...
,
Larrabee Sound Studios Larrabee Sound Studios is a recording studio complex in North Hollywood, California, originally established in 1969. Facilities Located at 4162 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, Larrabee has six studios, three tracking spaces, and a produ ...
,
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,
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,
Eden Studios Eden Studios was a commercial recording studio, recording facility in west London. It opened in 1967, originally at 11 Eden Street in Kingston upon Thames (now under the Eden Walk shopping centre), before moving to 20-24 Beaumont Road in Chiswic ...
, and RG Jones Studio, and used by notable recording engineers such as
Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto (band), Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he ...
,
Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Bi ...
,
Tom Lord-Alge Tom Lord-Alge (born January 17, 1963) is an American music engineer and mixer. He began his career at The Hit Factory in New York. Subsequently, he was the resident mixer at what used to be known as "South Beach Studios", located on the ground ...
,
Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music fro ...
, and
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. The SL 4000 E Series and G Series consoles were later also made available in 5000 Series, 6000 Series, and 8000 Series formats, which offered various routing and bussing configurations to address the needs of sound for the recording, film, video, and broadcast markets. The SL 9000 J and K introduced SSL introduced SuperAnalogue design in the SL 9000 J Series console, which utilized a capacitor-free signal path to achieve very high bandwidth with extremely low distortion.
In 1996 Billboard magazine's Studio Action Chart reported that 83% of number one singles that year had been produced using an SSL mixing console. The company claims that more platinum albums have been recorded on SSL mixing consoles than any other company's equipment combined. By 2004, there were more than 3,000 SSL-equipped facilities worldwide. In the 1990s, SSL also developed products for the post production and motion picture industry, and introduced the A Series digital mixing consoles. In the 2000s, the company introduced the C Series consoles designed to meet the needs of the broadcast production market.


Outboard processors and consoles with DAW control

In 2003, SSL introduced outboard signal processors that offered processing previously only available in SSL's large-format mixing consoles. The XLogic family of products included the Logic Channel, the company's first standalone
channel strip A ''channel strip'' is a device that allows the output of an audio device to be amplified to a line level and integrated into some other system. An audio channel strip may be a stand-alone unit or one of many units built into a mixing desk. It ...
. 2005 saw the release of additional processors, including the E Series channel strip and G Series Compressor, which utilized SSL's classic G Series center compressor design elements within a SuperAnalogue design topology. The X-Rack offered a modular solution for outboard signal processing. In late 2004, SSL launched AWS 900, an integrated analogue console and
DAW Daw or DAW may refer to: People and language * Daw (given name) * Daw (surname) * Daw, an honorific used in Burmese name#Honorifics, Burmese names * Dâw people, an indigenous people of Brazil * Dâw language, a language of Brazil * Davaoeño lang ...
controller, and introduced its successor, the AWS 900+, two years later. SSL eventually listed over 300 studios using the AWS900. SSL later introduced the AWS 916, 924, and 948 with support for SSL's delta control plug-in.
In late 2006, SSL launched Duality, a large-format console that combined mixing console functionality of the XL 9000K with the control surface features of the AWS 900. Duality featured updated signal routing controls, accessible from the console's center section rather than on each channel. The console's channel strips include both E Series & G Series equalization, which is selected via a single button per channel. The console also features 'Variable Harmonic Drive', or VHD microphone/line preamplifiers, which can either be utilised as standard low-distortion preamps, or in a mode which introduces 2nd (even) & 3rd (odd) order harmonic distortion. Also in 2006 SSL introduced the Duende
DSP DSP may refer to: Computing * Digital signal processing, the mathematical manipulation of an information signal * Digital signal processor, a microprocessor designed for digital signal processing * Yamaha DSP-1, a proprietary digital signal ...
platform designed to emulate SSL channel strip features for home recording enthusiasts, including filters, SSL E and G Series EQ and dynamics processing. Additionally, the system offers the SSL Stereo Bus Compressor. Based on the digital technology behind SSL's C-Series consoles, Duende was designed to integrate into
DAW Daw or DAW may refer to: People and language * Daw (given name) * Daw (surname) * Daw, an honorific used in Burmese name#Honorifics, Burmese names * Dâw people, an indigenous people of Brazil * Dâw language, a language of Brazil * Davaoeño lang ...
environments using either a FireWire cable connection or
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card, with the digital processing channels appearing as VST or Audio Units plug-ins. On 25 April 2007, SSL announced the release of another plug-in for the Duende, called Drumstrip, which contained a
noise gate A noise gate or gate is an electronic device or software that is used to control the volume of an audio signal. Comparable to a compressor, which attenuates signals ''above'' a threshold, such as loud attacks from the start of musical notes, no ...
, a transient shaper, high frequency and low frequency
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, and the Listening Mic Compressor. The same year, the company announced its expansion into broadcast video content management and delivery with their MediaWAN system.


Ownership changes

Solid State Logic sold its organ division in 2002; it is now known as Solid State Organ Systems. The
proprietary {{Short pages monitor