All user reviews of 5/5 for the Waves SSL E-Channel

In the audio world, SSL is as famous as Fender or Gibson. They're some of the leaders when it comes to consoles. Because of that, it's only natural that somebody would make a virtual console based on the SSL hardware. This is modeled after the very famous SSL E-Channel. It comes from the Solid State Logic 4000 series consoles that have Class A and VCA chips. Basically, that's technobabble that means it sounds good. The EQ section on this is real nice on this. It has that famous SSL sound with the high pass, low pass and four band parametric EQ. There's also a compressor feature in this plugin. You can place it either before or after the EQ to truly get the sound you're looking for in your head.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

Waves plugins are some of the best out there, bar none. For one, they're cross platform. For a Mac user, that means the world. I'm always trying to support companies that support Mac, and Waves has been pretty good about that since the whole Intel switch. I've used these in Logic without any problems. Although they're 32 bit plugins, Logic will add a bridge to allow you to use them in a 64 bit environment as to not limit you to the amount of ram you can utilize. On top of that, these things are rock solid. I've never had a crash with Waves plugins at all.

OVERALL OPINION

This is a truly awesome plugin that I tend to use a lot. It's simple to use, but it is loaded with all kinds of different features. The EQ section on this thing is magical, and the compression section is the icing on the cake. There is also the G series, and they sound equally great. It's real hard for me to choose between the two, so I rate them equally for the most part. Be sure to listen to both and decide which one you like for yourself. I know these plugins can be pricey, but please don't pirate them. The guys over at Waves work hard to make these for you guys, and every time someone downloads them, it cuts into their profit margin.

This is a plug-in made by Waves Ltd. The idea is that it is supposed to be a recreation of an actual channel on an SSL console. Obviously, the mic-pre from that channel is not included, as this is a digitial plug-in, but the EQ and compression from the channel is, and is actually recreated pretty faithfully. The plug-in was easily installed on my Pro Tools LE setup on my Macbook Pro, just as all the Waves plug-ins were. I was able to use it right from the get-go. The plug-in features an EQ, which contains the parametric parameters for controlling low, low mid, high mid, and high frequencies (a knob to control boost/cut as well as a knob to choose the specific frequencies). There is also a high and low pass filter. On the compression end of things, there are several different knobs and parameters to control, giving you a pretty versatile and complete control of the sound, while only having to use one plug-in.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

The software has never given me that many problems in general, mainly because I mainly use my home setup for smaller projects. I haven't had to use the plug-in on more than a few tracks in the same session. At the studio I work for, I can generally use it more often in the same session, but even then I'll bus tracks to an auxiliary track in order to save the amount of plug-ins I use. This is a good technique in general to save your computer some work. Either way, I've never had a problem with it being too slow. I've been using it now for just under a year.

OVERALL OPINION

I really like the way that you can EQ and compress in the same channel, which is a really nice way to lessen the workload of the computer. Not too mention that it sounds great, and the interface makes using it feel a lot more intuitive as it resembles the actual SSL channel strip. I highly recommend this plug-in as it gives the recordings I make a great sound and is a cinch to use.

The Waves Ltd. SSL E-Channel is a software emulation of an Solid State Logic console channel strip.  The plug-in is really a few in one as it has sections for both compression and EQ.  I didn't have any trouble at all installing the plug-in and the whole process only took a few minutes.  There weren't any compatibility issues between the plug-in and my software configuration and in general I would say I've had no problems with the plug-in.  The interface of the software is user friendly, even if you don't have any experience with a real SSL console.  There are definitely a good amount of parameters to play with, most of which are pretty universal.  The EQ has a parametric section and both a high and low pass filter.  I've never had a need to look a manual for the Waves Ltd. SSL E-Channel, but I can say that I don't think it is necessary to learn how to use the plug-in.


SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I am currently running the native version of the Waves Ltd. SSL E-Channel on a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM.  I run the plug-in in Pro Tools LE 7.4 that runs with a Digi 002R audio interface and I find that within this configuration the plug-in runs great.  I've only needed to run a few of them within a single session and I've been able to do this quite successfully.  However, if you are planning to use this on every track of a Pro Tools session, I would definitely recommend having a Pro Tools HD system for this type of use.  Beyond this, as long as you have a pretty good system to run this on I don't foresee you having too many issues.  


OVERALL OPINION

The sound quality of the Waves Ltd. SSL E-Channel is overall pretty great.  While it doesn't have as warm of a sound as you would get with the actual hardware console version, it has a clean and realistic sound quality nonetheless.  It is useful for pretty much any application in terms of what to use it with as the vast array of parameters makes it versatile.  Both the EQ and compression sections make this a well rounded plug-in that can adapt to most situations.  If you are looking for a channel strip plug-in that won't break the bank, I would definitely recommend trying out Waves SSL E-Channel.