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within a DAW. A concept that, a scant two decades ago, would be utterly mind-blowing.

While there’s no denying that DAWs, plugins and sample libraries have unlocked the doors of prolevel music production for millions, the physical hardware world continues to thrive, particularly when it comes to instruments. Hardware and modular synths still sell extremely well, despite the ubiquity of software synths.

The mid-2010s saw the first wave of an analogue synth resurgence after the previous decade’s general shift toward computer and digital-focused advancement. “What we are seeing now is a phenomenon I went through personally after inventing the first professional softsynth (Reality) back in the mid-’90s,” synth guru Dave Smith told Musical Merchandise Review in 2014. “At some point, most musicians realise that software does not feel like a musical instrument. And making music on a computer is just not the same as playing a real instrument. So, the kids who started on the apps are migrating to hardware.”

The psychology behind this return to traditional hardware was being mirrored in the music listening world, too. The vinyl revival gained traction at a very similar point in time, reflecting a broader response to our increasingly computer and web-dominated cultural landscape. Perhaps a reaction to the ease in which people could listen to an artist’s back catalogue on tap, or compose a release-ready piece of music in under ten minutes, the perceived authenticity of both vinyl and hardware music technology made music listening and music-making substantial again.

Happy Accidents

Using real instruments and classic production techniques isn’t just about making a stand against software. Assassins’ Creed composer Jesper Kyd regularly quests for the unexpected, and harnesses a range of vintage analogue synths on his latest soundtrack for Warhammer: Darktide. As Kyd told us, it’s in the imperfect nature of clanky old hardware that the right quality for the soundtrack presented itself. “When you do things the *wrong* way, on a vintage synth, magic happens.” Jesper enthused.

Prolific engineer and producer Marta Salogni explained to us how she finds great joy stepping away from the computer, and exploring the possibilities of tape. “I do connect more with it. It takes my mind off a screen and it brings it down to the tactile, auditory element of a record.” Said Marta, “This is what it was all about before screens, people would just use their ears. Screens are great because you can see what’s happening, but sometimes it’s better to not look and just use your senses. It’s not a medium that everyone is familiar with. There’s also a big layer of serendipity to it, a collaboration with the medium which I find hard to achieve otherwise.”

A shared goal for these creatives, is in the pursuit of the ‘happy accident’ - unplanned sonic diversions that it can take longer to land upon with perfection-aligned software. There’s also the giddy exhilaration of putting your hands on physical keys and incrementally finding sweet spots with real rotaries, switches and buttons. Not to mention of course, the ability to zone into a particular groove and express more freely, beyond the grid-snapped, mix-conscious needs of DAWoriented writing. The Horrors’ Tom Furse told us that this is discernible to him, even when working with big-name sample libraries. “I’ve been recording some live strings recently and there really is such a huge difference. They sound very convincing, but when you get the real articulation and expression from a real player, that hasn’t been beaten yet.”

The Human Factor

A particular fault line between those who work exclusively in-the-box, and those that opt for a hybrid or computer-free set-up, has been based on the perception that computer music-making lacks humanity. In an interview with Pitchfork in 2010, one of music’s most famed pioneers dismissed the notion that computers were simply a tool for aiding musicians.

“[Making music on a computer] isn’t how traditional players work at all; musicians know that their muscles have a lot of stuff going on as well. They’re using their whole body to make music, in fact. Whereas it’s quite clear that if the interface between you and a computer is a mouse, then everything of interest that happens must be happening in your head.”

Thirteen years on from Eno’s statement and the distance between these formerly distinct worlds have been further bridged. MPE technology allows a far more wide-ranging (and real-instrument-aping) way into controlling MIDI. The MPE world, shaped by innovators such as Roger Linn, ROLI and Expressive E, allows for the nuanced, directional expressivity of a MIDI note, as if it were being played with a real instrument. Added to that, is the ability to quickly apply subtler modulations such as pitch bend and glissando on instruments that it would be impossible to affect that way in the real world. The type of primitive ‘mouse-controlled’ music-making that Eno refers to has been overshadowed by this slicker interface. Meaning that you can feel those vibrations in your muscles once more. Even when manipulating computer-generated synths.

But, though that perception is now arguably outdated, there remains an undeniable psychological aspect to writing solely behind a screen that plays a part here too. In our recent interview with Algiers, the band told us that many of the ideas on their latest record had been generated because they’d shaken up how they approached the creative process. “We like hands-on things. We work in software a lot too, but as with most practices it’s good to change things up and use physical materials. Even in graphic design, which is my background, sometimes it’s great to get off the computer and work with physical media. It’s exactly the same with music. We’ve been accruing different gear and building set-ups.” The band’s Lee Tesche told us.

Ultimately music-making is an art, not a machinelike process. While DAWs, software and samples provide us the means with which to build releasequality music without having to fork out thousands, it always helps to change our regular habits from time-to-time. DAWs and computer production have been liberating, there’s no doubt about that. But, while computer-based processes often work hard to nudge us into a paradigm of ‘perfection’, taking your hands, eyes and ears out of the box can lead to both a refreshed creative mindset. It’s easy to start thinking of our tracks as hard-drive clogging files, and tightlymapped, colour-coded projects. By stepping away from the screen, those same tracks are free to evolve in all manner of unexpected, organic directions.

A 12-in/8-out audio interface with SSL 4K ‘sound’, plenty of flexible routing options and fantastic software. G

SSL’s 360º routing software shows off the wide amount of well thought out features. The sound is also top class.

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People can – and indeed do – argue about what the ‘SSL 4000 sound’ actually means and, of course, you’ll never get everything great about that console in one box.

SSL 12 takes the incredible value and high quality sound of the original 2 and 2+ interfaces, ups the number of ins and outs and adds enough flexibility for a huge range of recording and mixing applications.

The SSL 12 is the better spec’d new relation of the 2 and 2+ interfaces, which were announced nearly three years ago. These two devices were undoubtedly the cheapest way to inject some SSL quality into your recordings, this being none other than the sound of the company’s legendary 4000-series console. The desk was made famous across countless recordings in the 1980s and 90s, and favoured by producers including Bob Clearmountain and Tom Lord-Alge. It has a character that has been described as everything from professional to aggressive, although not many engineers and producers seem to agree on a definitive definition. Indeed many argue that there isn’t a 4000-series sound and it’s more about the precise EQs, characterful compression, incredible flexibility and relative ease of use of the original desk … and the producers that have employed it, not to mention the artists that benefitted from it.

Features

Of course, SSL isn’t really trying to reproduce the entire desk in its latest 12 interface, so has one button per input channel to introduce the 4k effect, one the company says adds “vibe and colour”. The 12, as its name suggests, also brings a lot more to the party than its smaller 2 and 2+ siblings. It is bigger, but still quite compact. It feels very solid, but not too heavy, and is distinctly ‘SSL’ – with all the retro feel and looks that anyone who has been close to the company’s gear will recognise.

12 is a 12-in/8 out interface by way of four Neutrik XLR combo mic/line inputs at the back, with high gain mic preamps. Two of these inputs can be used as Hi-Z DI inputs around the front for connecting bass and guitars. The additional eight inputs are digital and by way of an ADAT connector.

There are two sets of TRS outputs for your speakers, standard MIDI in and out connections, and two set of headphone outs (at the front). There’s a built-in talkback mic which you can route to headphone mixes; this and a loopback feature (for routing audio back into the interface) effectively add four more channels to the quoted 12 inputs to make 16 – but we’re not complaining!

Much of this routing is done using the 360º software that ships with 12. This dedicated control software comes on top of the SSL Production Pack (a set of free plugins and services) that also comes with 12, and allows you to set up just about everything on the interface from your desktop.

In Use

On top of input and output routing, you can use 360º to, for example, create up to four independent mixes, set up the audio loopback, assign different parameters to the Cut, Alt and Talkback buttons on the right hand side of the unit, and even change the headphone type (high or low sensitivity) for those outputs. It’s very easy to use too, especially considering all the options available within it.

SSL 12 is available now for $499 / £399 www.solidstatelogic.com

As to the sound of the interface, with low-noise stats (-130dBu) and a high gain range (62dB), 12 delivers the crystal clear picture you would expect, with incredible precision and detail apparent both on recording and playback. The 4K button promises a lot (or not, depending on which pro audio forums you frequent!) but, in practice, does lift upper frequencies, perhaps in a Focusrite Air kind of way, so is especially useful on vocals and acoustic guitar. It adds a sense of space and saturation –albeit very subtly – to most sounds, but don’t expect it to instantly turn you into Peter Gabriel or Def Leppard.

Conclusion

The 4k button will at least give you another option to consider alongside 12’s already pristine sound, which really is a highlight of the interface. But perhaps because we were already taking that sound quality as gospel – something you do when you see the SSL logo, after all – it’s perhaps the 360º software that we’re most impressed with. While not huge fans of this type of software with most audio interfaces – we just want to plug our DAWs in and get on with things – this app really does open up the vast range of possibilities that 12 offers, and you should spend some decent time getting to know it. And you’ll be surprised at what you can do with this interface. For a mobile, USB-bus powered and fairly compact device, 12 does a lot more than deliver the SSL goods, and all for an incredibly good price.

GEAR