Solid State Logic

Last updated

Solid State Logic Ltd.
Company type Private [1]
Industry Mixing consoles
Studio hardware
Founded1969;55 years ago (1969) [2]
FounderColin Sanders
Headquarters Begbroke, Oxfordshire, England
Products AWS900+ console
4000 series console
9000 series console
Xlogic rackmount series
Duende rackmount DSP
Number of employees
160 [2]
Parent Audiotonix
Website www.solidstatelogic.com

Solid State Logic Ltd. (SSL) is a British company based in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, England that designs and markets audio mixing consoles, signal processors, and other audio technologies for the post-production, video production, broadcast, sound reinforcement and music recording industries. SSL employs over 160 people worldwide and has regional offices in Los Angeles, Milan, New York City, Paris, and Tokyo, with additional support provided by an international network of distributors. Solid State Logic is part of the Audiotonix Group.

Contents

History

Early history

Solid State Logic was founded by Colin Sanders in 1969 as the first manufacturer of solid-state control systems for pipe organs. 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 Stonesfield, Oxfordshire. When he sought a mixing console 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, [3] 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 in Morin-Heights, Canada, [4] Virgin Records' Townhouse Studios in London, and Tocano Studio in Copenhagen. [5]

Townhouse Studios SL4000G+ Serial #1000 (image reversed) SSL SL4000G+.jpg
Townhouse Studios SL4000G+ Serial #1000 (image reversed)

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. 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. [6] 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, [7] [8] including The Power Station, Sarm Studios, Larrabee Sound Studios, Battery Studios, Record One, Eden Studios, and RG Jones Recording Studios, and used by recording engineers such as Bob Clearmountain, Steve Lillywhite, Tom Lord-Alge, Alan Moulder, and Trevor Horn. [9]

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. 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.

SSL9000.jpg
SL9000
Solid State Logic SL9064J.jpg
SL9064J
Solid State Logic SL9064J module close up at ONKIO 1.jpg
SL9064J

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. [10] By 2004, there were more than 3,000 SSL-equipped facilities worldwide. [11]

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. 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 controller, [12] 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.

SSL XLogic X-Rack, Alpha-Link - IBC 2009.jpg
SSL XLogic X-Rack and Alpha-Link
SSL AWS 900+ at Performance Studio.jpg
SSL AWS 900+ at Performance Studio

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 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 environments using either a FireWire cable connection or PCI-e 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 transient shaper, high frequency and low frequency enhancers, 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. [13] The proprietary aptX-codec was sold in a management buyout, [14] [15] with APT Licensing Ltd. incorporated on 1 March 2005 in Belfast. [16]

In 2005, musician Peter Gabriel and broadcast entrepreneur David Engelke became majority shareholders of the company.

In 2017, Solid State Logic was acquired by the Audiotonix Group, [17] while Gabriel became a major investor in the group following this transaction. [18]

Awards

The company received The Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade (Export) in 1981, and The Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation (Technology) in 1993 and 2020. [19] [20]

The company received a Special Merit/Technical Grammy Award at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2004 for "contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field." [21] [22]

Two of SSL's products were inducted into the TEC Awards TECnology Hall of Fame, which "honors and recognizes audio products and innovations that have made a significant contribution to the advancement of audio technology": the SL 4000 series of mixing consoles was inducted in 2004, [23] and the AWS studio console was inducted in 2018. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mixing console</span> Device used for audio mixing

A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic instruments, or recorded sounds. Mixers may control analog or digital signals. The modified signals are summed to produce the combined output signals, which can then be broadcast, amplified through a sound reinforcement system or recorded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackie (company)</span> Brand of professional audio equipment

Mackie is an American professional audio products brand. Founded in Seattle in 1988 by Greg Mackie, a manufacturer of affordable and versatile compact pro audio mixers, Mackie is the primary product line of LOUD Technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hit Factory</span> Recording studio in New York City, U.S.

The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. Since 1969, The Hit Factory recording studios have existed in six different locations in New York City as well as facilities in London and Miami. Today the studios are located at 676 Broadway in the Noho neighborhood of New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMS Neve</span> British audio equipment manufacturer

AMS Neve Ltd is a privately owned audio engineering company who specialise in digital and analogue music consoles, outboard equipment and post production consoles. AMS Neve was the result of the amalgamation in 1992 of AMS with Neve Electronics.

Neve Electronics was a manufacturer of music recording and broadcast mixing consoles and hardware. It was founded in 1961 by Rupert Neve, the man credited with creating the modern mixing console.

TASCAM is the professional audio division of TEAC Corporation, headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, California. TASCAM established the Home Recording phenomenon by creating the "Project Studio" and is credited as the inventor of the Portastudio, the first cassette-based multi-track home studio recorders. TASCAM also introduced the first low-cost mass-produced multitrack recorders with Simul-Sync designed for recording musicians, and manufactured reel-to-reel tape machines and audio mixers for home recordists from the early 1970s through the mid-1990s. Since the early 00's, TASCAM has been an early innovator in the field-recording and audio accompaniment to video with their DR-series recording platforms. TASCAM celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021.

The Warehouse Studio is a multi-media recording facility and photography studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, owned by Bryan Adams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automated Processes, Inc.</span> American audio equipment manufacturer

Automated Processes Inc. is an American company that designs, manufactures, and markets mixing consoles and signal processors, including modular signal processor units in the 500-series format standard that evolved from early API mixing consoles.

Harrison Audio Consoles is an international company based in Nashville, Tennessee that manufactures high-end mixing consoles, Digital Audio Workstations (DAW), audio plugins, and other audio technologies for the post-production, video production, broadcast, sound reinforcement and music recording industries. The company is renowned as an industry innovation for its "in-line" mixing console design that has subsequently become the standard for nearly every large-format music console. Over 1,500 Harrison consoles have been installed worldwide, presenting a significant percentage of the overall world market share for high-end audio consoles. The company founder, Dave Harrison, was inducted as a Fellow in the Audio Engineering Society for this technical contribution of the recording industry and in particular the first 32-bus "in-line" console.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital mixing console</span> Electronic device used to manipulate audio input signals using digital signal processing

In professional audio, a digital mixing console (DMC) is a type of mixing console used to combine, route, and change the dynamics, equalization and other properties of multiple audio input signals, using digital signal processing rather than analog circuitry. The digital audio samples, which is the internal representation of the analog inputs, are summed to what is known as a master channel to produce a combined output. A professional digital mixing console is a dedicated desk or control surface produced exclusively for the task and is typically more robust in terms of user control, processing power and quality of audio effects. However, a computer can also perform the same function since it can mimic its interface, input and output.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rupert Neve</span> Audio engineer and entrepreneur (1926–2021)

Arthur Rupert Neve was a British-American electronics engineer and entrepreneur, who was a pioneering designer of professional audio recording equipment. He designed analog recording and audio mixing equipment that was sought after by professional musicians and recording technicians. Some of his customers were music groups The Beatles, Aerosmith and Nirvana, and recording studios Sound City Studios and Abbey Road Studios. Companies that he was associated with included Neve Electronics, Focusrite, AMS Neve, and Rupert Neve Designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westlake Recording Studios</span> Recording studio in California, US

Westlake Recording Studios is a music recording studio in West Hollywood, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yamaha Pro Audio</span> Professional audio system manufacturer

Yamaha Pro Audio, Inc. is the Pro Audio Division division of Yamaha Corporation that offers a complete line of beginner professional audio products for the live sound and sound reinforcement markets. Their lineup includes a number of world-standard mixing consoles, signal processors incorporating industry-leading DSP technology, power amplifiers based on energy-efficient drive technology, and an extensive range of speakers used for live sound or commercial installations. It has a long history of introducing significant products for the professional audio market such as the PM-1000 modular mixing console, the REV1 and SPX90 digital signal processors, the NS-10 studio monitors, and the 01v, 02R, 03D, PM1D, PM5D, QL5, M7CL, CL5, and PM10/7 Rivage digital mixing consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audio mixing (recorded music)</span> Audio mixing to yield recorded sound

In sound recording and reproduction, audio mixing is the process of optimizing and combining multitrack recordings into a final mono, stereo or surround sound product. In the process of combining the separate tracks, their relative levels are adjusted and balanced and various processes such as equalization and compression are commonly applied to individual tracks, groups of tracks, and the overall mix. In stereo and surround sound mixing, the placement of the tracks within the stereo field are adjusted and balanced. Audio mixing techniques and approaches vary widely and have a significant influence on the final product.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced Music Systems</span> Former manufacturer of professional studio equipment

AMS were a manufacturer of professional studio equipment. The company later merged with Neve Electronics to form AMS Neve.

The Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences is a private for-profit technical school specializing in audio recording, audio engineering and production education with its main location in Tempe and a satellite campus in Gilbert, Arizona. It is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges and approved by the Arizona State Board of Private Postsecondary Education.

Larrabee Sound Studios is a recording studio complex in North Hollywood, California, originally established in 1969.

Audiotonix Group, Ltd. 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 broadcast sound.

The 500-series format is a standardized format for a modular signal processor system consisting of a combination of 500-series modules installed within a 500-series chassis, with the chassis providing power and audio connections for the individual modules. Originally invented by Automated Processes, Inc. co-founder Saul Walker, today numerous companies manufacture 500-series format products.

The Solid State Logic SL 4000 is a series of large-format analogue mixing consoles designed and manufactured by Solid State Logic (SSL) from 1976 to 2002. 4000 Series consoles were widely adopted by major commercial recording studios in the 1980s. In 2004, the SL 4000 was inducted into the TECnology Hall of Fame, an honor given to "products and innovations that have had an enduring impact on the development of audio technology."

References

  1. "Companies house webcheck" . Retrieved 11 July 2006.
  2. 1 2 "About SSL". Archived from the original on 17 May 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2006.
  3. "Douglas Sax and Solid State Logic, Ltd. to Receive 2004 Technical Grammy Awards". aes-media.org. The Recording Academy. 27 January 2004. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  4. Verna, Paul (25 February 1995). "Studio Morin Heights Reaches Far: Quebec Facility Embraces Int'l, Local Acts". Billboard . p. 91. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  5. "Production Credits". Billboard. 20 April 1996. p. 61.
  6. "SSL E-Channel or G-Channel?". 20 April 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  7. Willox, Mike (28 May 2014). "Reviews - Vintage: SSL 4000 Series". MusicTech.net. NME Networks. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  8. "The History of SSL". Sweetwater.com. Sweetwater Sound, Inc. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  9. Milner, Greg (2009). Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music. New York, New York, US: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
  10. "The Enduring Legacy of SSL | Universal Audio" . Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  11. Walsh, Christopher (24 January 2004). "Grammys Recognize SSL's Technical Contributions". Billboard. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  12. Robjohns, Hugh (November 2005). "SSL AWS900 Mixer & Control Surface". soundonsound.com. SOS Publications Group. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  13. "Solid State Organ Systems". Ssosystems.com. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  14. "Adventure ends for local management team who took on big boys". irishtimes.com. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  15. "Solid State Logic Sells APT (Audio Processing Technology)". mixonline.com. 12 May 2005.
  16. APT Licensing Limited on Companies House
  17. Weiss, David (5 March 2018). "Who Bought SSL? Inside the Acquisition That Surprised the Console World". sonicscoop.com. SonicScoop. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  18. "Solid State Logic Joins Audiotonix Group - Solid State Logic". Solidstatelogic.com. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  19. "SSL Wins Third Queen's Award" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. November 1993. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  20. David, Antony (20 May 2020). "Oxford-based audio console maker wins Queen's Award for broadcast system". Oxford.techtribe.co. TechTribe Oxford. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  21. "Douglas Sax and Solid State Logic, Ltd to Receive 2004 Technical Grammy Awards". aes-media.org. Audio Engineering Society. 27 January 2004. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  22. Walsh, Christopher (24 January 2004). "Grammys Recognize SSL's Technical Contributions". Billboard. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  23. "TECnology Hall of Fame 2004". legacy.tecawards.org. NAMM Foundation. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  24. "TECnology Hall of Fame 2018". tecawards.org. NAMM Foundation. Retrieved 29 July 2022.