SSL EQ - anyone using it *not* in 'E' mode?

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mbfrancis
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16 Aug 2017

The SSL EQ is my go to EQ. (Edit: Love the low and high pass filters!) I wish it had more bands. I wish the low mid band went below 200k. But it works great...on 'E' mode. For my purposes the non 'E' standard mode never seems to work, it seems like to blunt a tool, too many frequencies affected. I will allow that I may well be influenced by the curves on display, I haven't extensively tested it without the visuals. But I'll switch back and forth and always end up on 'E' mode.

What am I missing?
Last edited by mbfrancis on 16 Aug 2017, edited 3 times in total.
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

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raymondh
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16 Aug 2017

mbfrancis wrote:
16 Aug 2017
The SSL EQ is my go to EQ. I wish it had more bands. I with the low mid band went below 200k. But it works great...on 'E' mode. For my purposes the non 'E' standard mode never seems to work, it seems like to blunt a tool, too many frequencies affected. I will allow that I may well be influenced by the curves on display, I haven't extensively tested it without the visuals. But I'll switch back and forth and always end up on 'E' mode.

What am I missing?
I mostly use it on E mode too. The exception is when I am just wanting to roll off low frequencies or top end.

It is really easy to use thr SSL with E mode to carve out space in the instrument tracks to let the Vocals tracks pop through.

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aeox
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16 Aug 2017

raymondh wrote:
16 Aug 2017
mbfrancis wrote:
16 Aug 2017
The SSL EQ is my go to EQ. I wish it had more bands. I with the low mid band went below 200k. But it works great...on 'E' mode. For my purposes the non 'E' standard mode never seems to work, it seems like to blunt a tool, too many frequencies affected. I will allow that I may well be influenced by the curves on display, I haven't extensively tested it without the visuals. But I'll switch back and forth and always end up on 'E' mode.

What am I missing?
I mostly use it on E mode too. The exception is when I am just wanting to roll off low frequencies or top end.

It is really easy to use thr SSL with E mode to carve out space in the instrument tracks to let the Vocals tracks pop through.
Pretty much this.

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esselfortium
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16 Aug 2017

Agreed, I almost exclusively use it in 'E' mode. I'd prefer for that to be the default, really.
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selig
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17 Aug 2017

G Mode works more like a Pultec, if only in the sense it is useful for broad strokes. I find the broad approach useful for balancing a mix, and the surgical approach better for repairing problems with your tracks/mix. :)


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esefelipe
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17 Aug 2017

I used to use E Mode on almost every channel. I'd usually click it on before even starting to EQ. Recently, I've been leaving it off (known as "G" Mode) and I've NOT been using the RTA visualizer - just my ears (what a concept lol). Very smooth and musical. I think I understand why it's the default now.

Hauser+Quaid
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17 Aug 2017

Thanks for reminding me that E mode even exists. I always forget. For some reason I always assumed G on the tightest Q setting would be tighter than E but it's not even close. Will have to use E more.

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Ahornberg
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17 Aug 2017

I start with G-mode and only switch to E-mode if I need it.

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mbfrancis
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17 Aug 2017

Cool, thanks everyone, OK seems I'm not totally alone.
esefelipe wrote:
17 Aug 2017
I used to use E Mode on almost every channel. I'd usually click it on before even starting to EQ. Recently, I've been leaving it off (known as "G" Mode) and I've NOT been using the RTA visualizer - just my ears (what a concept lol). Very smooth and musical. I think I understand why it's the default now.
Yeah I need to start using my ears more. But when I reach for EQ it's usually to take something out.

One thing I messed with once was routing *everything* in my mix to one SSL bus channel so I could use the SSL EQ on the whole mix, where I could see using the G-mode more. But it's a pain to set up, and messy/confusing in Reason w/ high track counts.
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nooomy
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17 Aug 2017

I'm using the Eq less and less instead I'm trying to effect the source of the sound. When I use the Eq it is 90% G mode. I don't like how Eqs effects the sound anymore

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tobypearce
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18 Aug 2017

esefelipe wrote:
17 Aug 2017
I used to use E Mode on almost every channel. I'd usually click it on before even starting to EQ. Recently, I've been leaving it off (known as "G" Mode) and I've NOT been using the RTA visualizer - just my ears (what a concept lol). Very smooth and musical. I think I understand why it's the default now.
Excellent. I've been trying this for mixing this morning. There's something nice about staying within the console, so to speak. I have two monitors actually, so I have the visualiser over on the 2nd monitor. Like esefelipe says though, it's great using just the rotaries and my ears. The visualiser is there so I can look over after and see what it looks like.

The crazy thing is that by just using rotaries and the smooth G eq you can get a sound sitting really well in the mix with the other instruments. Then when you look over to the visualiser at what you've actually done, you think: there's no way I would have drawn that if I was looking at the visualiser in the first place. It doesn't "look right".

Then you realise how perfectly daft this is that you let yourself be influenced by the look!
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esefelipe
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18 Aug 2017

tobypearce wrote:Then when you look over to the visualiser at what you've actually done, you think: there's no way I would have drawn that if I was looking at the visualiser in the first place. It doesn't "look right".
Exactly this.

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Ahornberg
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18 Aug 2017

The real fun with Reason's SSL mixer comes when you control it via Softube's Console 1.

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miscend
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18 Aug 2017

We need a rack version of the SSL channel strip.

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Ahornberg
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18 Aug 2017

miscend wrote:
18 Aug 2017
We need a rack version of the SSL channel strip.
... and also a rack version of the Bus Compressor.

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mbfrancis
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18 Aug 2017

miscend wrote:
18 Aug 2017
We need a rack version of the SSL channel strip.
Yes...I often *don't* use the SSL EQ because I want the EQ settings saved with the patch.
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

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riemac
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18 Aug 2017

The SSL EQ is my goto EQ because you can open it with F3 very easy. But it needs adjustable slopes for the low and high cut filters.

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selig
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18 Aug 2017

esefelipe wrote:
tobypearce wrote:Then when you look over to the visualiser at what you've actually done, you think: there's no way I would have drawn that if I was looking at the visualiser in the first place. It doesn't "look right".
Exactly this.
Same here x1000. It's so easy to get caught up in how it looks rather than how it sounds.

I find it best to use both approaches, each with their own advantages/disadvantages. As long as you are aware how much the visuals can affect your perception (one of what I call the "gotchas" of audio), you can make all your tools work for you, and not get caught having your tools work against you!
;)


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Blast
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18 Aug 2017

mbfrancis wrote:
16 Aug 2017
The SSL EQ is my go to EQ. (Edit: Love the low and high pass filters!) I wish it had more bands. I wish the low mid band went below 200k. But it works great...on 'E' mode. For my purposes the non 'E' standard mode never seems to work, it seems like to blunt a tool, too many frequencies affected. I will allow that I may well be influenced by the curves on display, I haven't extensively tested it without the visuals. But I'll switch back and forth and always end up on 'E' mode.

What am I missing?
The SSL E was never meant for surgical work but more for shaping a sound.

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Oquasec
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18 Aug 2017

I love that analogue workflow so much it's unbelievable.
That software covers almost everything I need it to yep that ssl was a godsend
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amcjen
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21 Aug 2017

Ahornberg wrote:
18 Aug 2017
The real fun with Reason's SSL mixer comes when you control it via Softube's Console 1.
This concept (and thread) is reinforcing a concept in my mind that so much of mixing pleasure (for me at least) is to use your ears and hands only, to make constant changes to a mix and get something dialed in quickly. For me, I find that this can get me in a flow so fast, and becomes one of the most enjoyable things during music production.

And I love love love Reason (been using it since before the Record days), and the biggest drawback to me is the whole mix using a mouse on a screen. So, two things:

One, I don't want to hijack this thread, so will keep it to this statement, and then peel off into another post if needed:

Two, I'm a hardware product designer/engineer by day, and have seriously been considering building an SSL control surface for the Reason SSL mixer for my own use. I want flying faders, knobs, OLED displays showing the current plugin names/track names, the whole shebang. Basically, I want *every* function of the Reason SSL mixer available to me in touch control surface, and have it be as bidirectional as possible. I want that ears/hands feedback loop to happen in Reason. Been using the software long enough, it's time to have some hardware alongside it.

If others are interested in knowing more, I'll start a new thread. Apologies if I took this one too far sideways from the EQ "E" mode!

-Allison

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Ahornberg
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21 Aug 2017

amcjen wrote:
21 Aug 2017
Ahornberg wrote:
18 Aug 2017
The real fun with Reason's SSL mixer comes when you control it via Softube's Console 1.
This concept (and thread) is reinforcing a concept in my mind that so much of mixing pleasure (for me at least) is to use your ears and hands only, to make constant changes to a mix and get something dialed in quickly. For me, I find that this can get me in a flow so fast, and becomes one of the most enjoyable things during music production.

And I love love love Reason (been using it since before the Record days), and the biggest drawback to me is the whole mix using a mouse on a screen. So, two things:

One, I don't want to hijack this thread, so will keep it to this statement, and then peel off into another post if needed:

Two, I'm a hardware product designer/engineer by day, and have seriously been considering building an SSL control surface for the Reason SSL mixer for my own use. I want flying faders, knobs, OLED displays showing the current plugin names/track names, the whole shebang. Basically, I want *every* function of the Reason SSL mixer available to me in touch control surface, and have it be as bidirectional as possible. I want that ears/hands feedback loop to happen in Reason. Been using the software long enough, it's time to have some hardware alongside it.

If others are interested in knowing more, I'll start a new thread. Apologies if I took this one too far sideways from the EQ "E" mode!

-Allison
Yes, tell us more about your project!

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kuhliloach
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21 Aug 2017

yep - E mode more and more. And then holding down the ALT key to dial-in Q while dragging around the points in the Spectrum EQ window.

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demt
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21 Aug 2017

selig wrote:
18 Aug 2017
esefelipe wrote:
Exactly this.
Same here x1000. It's so easy to get caught up in how it looks rather than how it sounds.

I find it best to use both approaches, each with their own advantages/disadvantages. As long as you are aware how much the visuals can affect your perception (one of what I call the "gotchas" of audio), you can make all your tools work for you, and not get caught having your tools work against you!
;)


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shouldn't gotcha be in the witchcraft and warlocks thread under curses, yet i agree
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