Two years after its launch, Solid State Logic has unveiled a sixth ‘colour’ for its Fusion analogue outboard processor – a full-band LMC processor with wet/dry control.
Aimed at the modern hybrid studio, Fusion offers features for tracking, mixing and mastering packaged in five distinct ‘colours’ to help users find the optimum combination of tonal character, weight and space for stereo stems.
‘During the development of Fusion, we experimented and trailed many variants of the five analogue circuits,’ says SSL Studio Product Manager, Andy Jackson. ‘One variant of particular interest was an alternative mode for the HF Compressor section, making it operate across the full audio spectrum. As the design of the HF Compressor section was based on the legendary SSL Listen Mic Compressor circuit, it came as no surprise that this alternative mode sounded damn cool. Two years on, it’s finally time to reveal this special audio treat to our Fusion family, giving everyone a sixth “secret’” colour to get creative with.’
By pushing and holding the HF Compressor button on Fusion’s front panel for five seconds, users can unlock Full-band LMC mode. When in LMC mode, the X-Over knob turns into a ‘Wet/Dry’ control, providing LMC processing with parallel control. This feature already exists in all Fusion units, with no update required.
The SSL Listen Mic Compressor – derived from the SSL 4000 series consoles – was a ‘secret weapon’ among producers and arguably the catalyst for the drum sound that characterised certain tracks of the 1980s, including the classic ‘In The Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins. Originally designed to prevent overloading the return feed from a studio communications mic, the LMC’s fixed attack and release curves were discovered to be eminently suited to drums, and equally interesting on guitars, vocals and other instruments.
