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. [1] [2] 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." [3]
SSL founder Colin Sanders owned and operated Acorn Studios, a recording studio in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire. When he sought a recording console with routing flexibility and settings recall unavailable on recording consoles at that time, Sanders applied his experience to design and build a mixing console himself, resulting in the SL 4000 A Series large-format analogue mixing console, which featured one-button switching between recording, tracking and mixdown modes. A total of two SL 4000 A Series consoles were built, the beginning of a series of products that would define and establish SSL as a company over the next two decades.
The SL 4000 B Series, introduced in 1976, revolutionized the recording industry by combining the in-line mixing console with a computer which provided fader automation and programmable tape transport auto-location functionality., [4] The B Series was in production for four years, during which a total of six B Series consoles were built and sold, [5] the first B Series console purchased by Abbey Road Studios in London, England. The second B Series console was purchased by Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Canada, [6] where it was used in the recording of such notable albums as Moving Pictures and several subsequent Rush albums, as well as Bryan Adams Cuts Like a Knife . Kendun Recorders in Burbank, California also purchased an SL 4000 B. [7]
Another early SL 4000 B was purchased by Virgin Records' Townhouse Studios in London, [8] and it was with that console that engineer Hugh Padgham accidentally discovered gated reverb while recording Phil Collins' drum parts for Peter Gabriel's 1980 song "Intruder". [9] The console featured a "Listen Mic", or reverse talkback function intended to allow a musician in the studio to communicate with control room personnel via an overhead microphone. To compensate for sound level differences of musicians that may or may not be near the microphone, SSL's "Listen Mic" circuit employed gating and extreme compression, so when Padgham activated the "Listen Mic" while Collins was talking and playing, it resulted in the gated reverb drum sound. Padgham and producer Steve Lilywhite liked the sound so much that they had the console modified overnight to enable recording of the console's talkback circuit. [10] [11] Collins, Lilywhite, and Padgham again used the effect on Collins' signature 1981 single "In the Air Tonight", and the gated reverb drum sound technique became widely used and imitated throughout the 1980s, with SSL revising the design of future consoles so that the "Listen Mic" could be recorded without any modification. [12] Other notable albums recorded by Lillywhite on Townhouse's SL 4000 B included XTC's Drums and Wires and Simple Minds' Once Upon a Time .
The SL 4000 E Series, introduced in 1979, combined the functionality of a mixing console with centralized signal processing control, machine control, fader automation, and Total Recall, which enabled the user to save the settings of all of the mixers' rotary controls on a 5¼ inch floppy disk, then reset them to those previous settings using a color-coded display. The E Series offered sonic improvements, increased routing flexibility, a new 4-band EQ section developed in collaboration with George Martin (now commonly referred to as the "Black Knob" EQ), and was the first console to offer a compressor/gate on every channel as well as a master bus compressor. [13]
The combination of the ability to save and recall mixer settings, a dedicated dynamics section, and a dedicated compressor/gate/expander and parametric EQ on every channel, and SSL's flexible routing drove widespread adoption of the SL 4000 E Series consoles and its successors and variants in professional recording studios, [1] [2] and in 1996 Billboard's Studio Action Chart reported that 83% of number one singles that year had been produced using an SSL board. The company claims that more platinum albums have been recorded on SSL mixing consoles than any other company's equipment combined. [14] [15]
The first two 4000 E consoles were purchased by Battery Studios and RG Jones Recording Studios, closely followed by Eden Studios and Sarm Studios. Hansa Tonstudio purchased three custom SL 4000 E consoles in "Hansa blue"; two of these consoles are still in use. [16] [17]
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 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.
Notable mixing engineers using SL 4000 Series consoles include Bob Clearmountain, Steve Lillywhite, Chris Lord-Alge, Tom Lord-Alge, Andy Wallace, Mark "Spike" Stent, Will Schillinge, Alan Moulder, and Trevor Horn. [18]
Even though Solid State Logic ceased manufacturing SL 4000 Series consoles in 2002, there is still demand for these large-format analog recording consoles which supports a large second-hand market and a number of third-party companies offering spare parts.
The SL 4000 B serial number 11, originally purchased by Le Studio in Montreal where it was used from 1980-1985, recording such albums as Rush's Moving Pictures, is now in use at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta.
The SL 4000 E serial number #001 is currently in service at Sonic Ranch Recording Studios in Tornillo, Texas. The SL 4000 E (with upgraded G+ computer) from Genesis' The Farm Studio now in use at Essex Recording Studios. The SL 4000 E originally built in 1984 for Battery Studios in London was purchased and refurbished in 2018 for use at 2noisy studio in Azpetia, Spain.
The SL 4000 G+ Special Edition console previously used at Roundhouse Recording Studios in London was purchased by Massive Attack in 2005 for use in their new studio facility. [19] The SL 4000 G+ from Eden Studios is now in use at Blue Bell Hill in Kent, England. [20] SL 4000 G+ previously used at Real World Studios and at AIR Studios is now in use at Abbey Recording Company. [21]
The signature sounds of the SSL 4000 E Series EQ, as well as the G Series EQ and Bus Compressor are still in demand, and as such they have been re-created by SSL and included as a feature marketed in new SSL products. [2] [14]
Additionally, SSL and Universal Audio have developed and introduced SSL-branded software plug-in recreations of those E Series and G Series console features. [2]
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.
A DI unit is an electronic device typically used in recording studios and in sound reinforcement systems to connect a high output impedance unbalanced output signal to a low-impedance, microphone level, balanced input, usually via an XLR connector and XLR cable. DIs are frequently used to connect an electric guitar or electric bass to a mixing console's microphone input jack. Its signal comes "direct" from the source instrument without passing through the air as sound waves, and thus is isolated from other sounds and avoids effects of microphone or room acoustics. The DI performs level matching, balancing, and either active buffering or passive impedance matching or impedance bridging. DI units are typically metal boxes with input and output jacks and, for more expensive units, “ground lift” and attenuator switches.
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.
Hugh Charles Padgham is an English record producer and audio engineer. He has won four Grammy Awards, for Producer of the Year and Album of the Year for 1985, Record of the Year for 1990, and Engineer of the Year for 1993. Padgham's co-productions include hits by Phil Collins, XTC, Genesis, the Human League, Sting, and the Police. He pioneered the "gated reverb" drum sound used most famously in Collins' song "In the Air Tonight".
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.
The Warehouse Studio is a multi-media recording facility and photography studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, owned by Bryan Adams.
Gated reverb or gated ambience is an audio processing technique that combines strong reverb and a noise gate that cuts the tail of the reverb. The effect is typically applied to recordings of drums to make the hits sound powerful and "punchy" while keeping the overall mix sound clean and transparent.
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.
Re-amping is a process often used in multitrack recording in which a recorded signal is routed back out of the editing environment and run through external processing using effects units and then into a guitar amplifier and a guitar speaker cabinet or a reverb chamber. Originally, the technique was used mostly for electric guitars: it facilitates a separation of guitar playing from guitar amplifier processing—a previously recorded audio program is played back and re-recorded at a later time for the purpose of adding effects, ambiance such as reverb or echo, and the tone shaping imbued by certain amps and cabinets. The technique has since evolved over the 2000s to include many other applications. Re-amping can also be applied to other instruments and program, such as recorded drums, synthesizers, and virtual instruments.
Onkio Haus Inc., also called Onkyo House, is a company that operates sound recording, mixing and mastering studios in Ginza, Tokyo, owned by Magazine House, Ltd. and others. It also provides video editing and post-production services for TV programs and commercial film projects.
The term microphone preamplifier can either refer to the electronic circuitry within a microphone, or to a separate device or circuit that the microphone is connected to. In either instance, the purpose of the microphone preamplifier is the same.
Hansa Tonstudio is a recording studio located in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, Germany. The studio, famous for its Meistersaal recording hall, is situated approximately 150 metres from the former Berlin Wall, giving rise to its former nicknames of "Hansa Studio by the Wall" or "Hansa by the Wall". Today, Hansa Studios' fully-restored Meistersaal is used for recording, as well as for concerts and other events.
The Town House was a recording studio located at 140 Goldhawk Road, Shepherd's Bush in London, built in 1978 under the direction of Richard Branson for Virgin Records. The studios changed ownership and eventually ceased operation in 2008, with luxury apartments now in its place.
"Intruder" is a song written and performed by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. The song was the first to use the "gated reverb" drum sound created by Hugh Padgham and Phil Collins, with Collins performing the song's drum part. The gated drum effect was later used in Collins' own "In the Air Tonight", and appeared frequently through the 1980s, on records such as David Bowie's "Let's Dance" and the Power Station's "Some Like It Hot".
AMS were a manufacturer of professional studio equipment. The company later merged with Neve Electronics to form AMS Neve.
Musical outboard equipment or outboard gear is used to process or alter a sound signal separately from functionality provided within a mixing console or a digital audio workstation. Outboard effects units can be used either during a live performance or in the recording studio.
Record is a music software program developed by Swedish software developers Propellerhead Software. Designed for recording, arrangement and mixing, it emulates a recording studio, with a mixing desk, a rack of virtual instruments and effects and an audio and MIDI sequencer. Record can be used either as a complete virtual recording studio in itself, or together with Propellerhead Software's Reason.
A professional audio store is a retail business that sells, and in many cases rents, sound reinforcement system equipment and PA system components used in music concerts, live shows, dance parties and speaking events. This equipment typically includes microphones, power amplifiers, electronic effects units, speaker enclosures, monitor speakers, subwoofers and audio consoles (mixers). Some professional audio stores also sell sound recording equipment, DJ equipment, lighting equipment used in nightclubs and concerts and video equipment used in events, such as video projectors and screens. Some professional audio stores rent "backline" equipment used in rock and pop shows, such as stage pianos and bass amplifiers. While professional audio stores typically focus on selling new merchandise, some stores also sell used equipment, which is often the equipment that the company has previously rented out for shows and events.
Helios was a brand of mixing consoles custom-designed and built for use in recording studios. Produced from 1969 to 1979, Helios consoles were utilized by many key recording studios to produce numerous notable recordings and played a vital part in the history of British rock.
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