Author Topic: SSL 611E 611Ge and 611G  (Read 4453 times)

MarconeMusic

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Re: SSL 611E 611Ge and 611G
« Reply #15 on: October 02, 2017, 04:50:47 AM »
Great to get all this info on these boards! Love it.

So here's a question, as im 'new' to this, i was under the impression that the EQ's are based on colour knobs, unless someone changed knob caps to 'look' like it had others.

So, the Ge channel, is a G channel with an E eq... Brown knob.
The console also has G channels with brown knobs... but the channel doesnt denote the E eq...

^^^These two are different?

On top of it i have E channels with brown knobs, assuming that these are the same EQ as the Ge channel, then what does the G channel have if not denoted as a Ge channel but has the same brown EQ knob.... ?

Clear as mud?

amillar

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Re: SSL 611E 611Ge and 611G
« Reply #16 on: October 02, 2017, 12:16:42 PM »
Yes. The knob colour denotes the EQ type, except we used the same colour for the G series EQ as we'd used already for one of the earlier but rarer EQ versions (I think it was the 132 "Pultec" EQ).

The reason for using the same colour twice was because we'd run out of colours, except yellow. Since the G series was originally going to be the "Gold" series input amps and EQ that seemed fine, but when Colin S came in and saw the desk with a row of yellow knobs he explained to me rather forcefully how awful it looked...

I cannot remember at all which eq goes with which knob colour, I'm sure someone else here will!

G series EQs are very easy to spot inside the module, they have the extra wiring looms plugged into the card to the EQ controls you can see in your photo.

So:
Black channel strips have all the other cards E series, Grey channel strips have all the other cards G series. But to know what EQs are fitted you have to look at the knob colours. And, as you say, someone may have swapped EQ cards without changing the knob caps.
co-designer and project manager G series analogue 1987
channel strip designer J series 1992-93
design "caretaker" 4000/6000 1985-93
analogue team leader ARC/Bertha 1988-92

amillar

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Re: SSL 611E 611Ge and 611G
« Reply #17 on: October 02, 2017, 01:00:14 PM »
In case it helps, here's a full list of 4000/6000/8000 EQs:

  • 02 - Colin Sanders' original and main E series EQ, what you got if you didn't ask for anything else.
  • 132 - John East's "Pultec" EQ, designed to work like, surprisingly enough, a Pultec: "constant Q" as you turn the gain up and down, very few desks were made with these.
  • 242 - Trevor Stride's "tweak" to the 02 EQ, very subtly different, introduced in about 1984 so only just before the G. Although only supplied as a special it was very popular, so a lot of late E series and G series got fitted with this.
  • 292 - the G series EQ, as I say we designed to sound similar to a Focusright, very powerful, too much so in some cases - very hard to get fractions of a dB boost! Interesting shape to LF and HF: where all the others had 'bell' and 'shelf' shapes the 292 is sort of inbetween, basically a shelf but (if you're boosting for example) with a bit of extra boost before it starts rolling off and an extra bit of cut after the roll off. Nice on bass guitar, IMHO! (Paul Frindle designed the mid bands on this one and I designed the HF and LF.)

I think my 'ideal' SSL EQ would be G series (292) HF and LF and E series (02) midrange - but switchable to G series when you need it. You can sort of tell this in the way I designed the 9000J series EQ section, although for some reason (I can't remember why) I didn't make the E/G switching quite as flexible as I would have liked - I expect it was explained to me that not everyone is as much of an EQ nerd as I am!

Cheers, Andy

« Last Edit: October 02, 2017, 01:02:21 PM by amillar »
co-designer and project manager G series analogue 1987
channel strip designer J series 1992-93
design "caretaker" 4000/6000 1985-93
analogue team leader ARC/Bertha 1988-92

Druhms

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Re: SSL 611E 611Ge and 611G
« Reply #18 on: October 10, 2017, 12:48:02 PM »
My understanding has been:
"Brown knob" eq that was the standard /original version.  It's only complaint by the masses was the High and Low filters never completely switched out of the circuit. There were some L.A. Cats that caught on to the low end issue even when the low filter was turned completely down.

The true "Black knob" ,  also recently most often called the E eq, had a small click on the filters that allowed the low end to rock to the bottom of the earth.....if possible.  Basically completely let all low end pass without trouble. This E (242) eq has become most coveted for that reason as well as the shelf/bell option and it's mid range Q effectiveness.

The "G eq" also called "pink knob" ( most correctly the 292 ) has a constant Q quality that was in demand at the time due to the success or R. Neve's Focusrites eq's.  The Q function was very broad and had no shelf/bell feature.  These EQ's can easily slide by with the same knob color scheme of the 242's.  These were also referred to as the "wide band eq".  The tell tell feature is the mid range multiply and divide button instead of Bell/Shelf.  I've seen countless channels with same color scheme as the true black eq.  Remember the Hi/Low freq buttons!

There was a brief Pultec emulating eq referred to as the "orange knob". I know very little except they were built to compete with the Pultec style eq's.  Rarely scene in the wild.

I certainly am not meaning to contradict the legends on this forum that actually built these beautiful consoles.  But this is my humble understanding.

I cannot recall a channel strip that has its EQ type designated by the channel model.  Re: 611e, 611g, 611ge,.....cuz I've seen every combination imagined arrive from England with all sorts of EQ's and nothing to do with the channel model designation.   I kinda feel the e/g/ge designations apply to amplifier configuration.   
But I am certainly humble in my understanding.   
Thanks everyone!
JJ Crews
www.BoogieTracks.com

neumann25

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Re: SSL 611E 611Ge and 611G
« Reply #19 on: October 11, 2017, 06:59:51 AM »
Transformers are usually my favorites in anything.  I rarely use the pre's in the desk,  but I agree.  They get less love than they should.  Very good preamps!
JJ
www.BoogieTracks.com

You are so right.. I recently bought 48 channels of the SSL 615E mic pre's .. They sound incredible.. The even sound better than 1073's on certain instruments.. The jensen transformers on those preamps are really the best jensen's they ever made.. truly a remarkable preamp ESPECIALLY for what they cost today.. A lot of people don't realize on the external 615E dual mic pre they have the same final output circuit  as the SSL E series desk has!  My favorite sounding final output card EVER made!!