SSlmixed.com Forum
Tech discussion => 4K,6K,8K Series => Topic started by: MarconeMusic on August 30, 2017, 08:43:20 PM
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Hi all.
First post here. Cool site!
I've read a bunch through the threads and wanted to know if anyone knows the answer to this:
The console I am getting is loaded with 611E, 611Ge and 611G
I know pretty well the difference between the E and G but what is the Ge?
I've just purchased an SSL 4064E from Atlanta and haven't picked up yet, Looking to get info before.
On this "differences" topic, In the photos, there is a card that one channel has that the others dont have, I've circled its area on two of the photos... what might this card be?
I cant see close enough and dont know the complete layout of these modules by heart yet. (will do when i get her up here tho.. )
See if you can spot anything i should be aware of on the photos. I've noticed a few differences, but not sure what they mean. (EQ pic order of channels is G-E-Ge)
They also say it has been modded to a G Centre section. What does that really do? Functionality or tone?
Thanks guys!
Marcone
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Ran out of attachment size...
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Ge is a G module that came standard with E (black) EQ.
Gotta say i've never seen that little extra pcb, definitely not standard on E channels.
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Says something about Meter on the card. A close up pic of it will reveal all.
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Unfortunately don't have a closeup.
Can't bother him to take them back out and photo them again. So I am at y'all mercy. :)
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That was an optional "line input to meter" switching card for the E-series channels. We have those on a 6K.
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That was my thoughts as to what it is.
We also had that at Whitfield Street (CBS Studios) on our 6k.
But that was 25 years ago, and I can't remember any little boards now! :-[
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I wonder if that was the console that came from Doppler Studios E room? If so that was the first SSL I ever saw. Im sure it was very well maintained if so. Congrats !
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Yep. That's the one. Dopplers E room Ssl
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I was thinking Doppler too. Great studio. Legendary. Wonderful desk. A hit maker!
I'd start hoarding some meters. I remember it had the Plasma Meters....but I could be wrong.
As far as the "Ge" strip.....I thought, without looking at your pics, that it's a G Channel with the E amplifier circuit. The EQ types were flying all over the place. You could load it up any way you wanted. But I don't think the EQ type was ever designated on the Channel Model. But there were people that had serious convictions regarding transformers in the Mic Amps. People were jumping on the "transformerless train" as cleaner signal paths were gaining popularity (another example-Moving Fader Auto: No VCA's). I seem to remember the Ge strip having a stepped gain knob.
Let me know if this rings a bell with anyone else.
Have fun! And welcome to the club! SSL's will change your life!
JJ Crews
www.BoogieTracks.com
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The SSL transformer coupled preamp is one of my favorites . We have a 8k loaded with these pre's and I like them better than focusrite ISA, API etc with the exception of the all mighty Neve 1272. I laugh when people think I'm crazy for tracking with them. The shots of the doppler desk don't show the little metal transformers on the channel amp cards so I don't think this desk is equipped with them.
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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
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I Just saw that there were more posts.
Somehow im not getting notifications.
That aside, Yes its the doppler one, has the plasma meters, hopefully theyre still good as i was told.
These strips dont have transformers that i know of, i know where i can get some transformer pres tho.. Might get a few for 'flavor' : )
Just got the paperwork together to get it across the border, Its coming up to Canada, Hamilton Ontario.
Super stoked to get it and enjoy it!
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Have fun Marcone!!
The classic SSL is a game changer....as you already know! Your tedious hours invested getting that legend up to spec will reward you in spades! There's plenty of reasons why we are here discussing these giants!
Kudos to you for grabbing such a legendary desk!
JJ
www.BoogieTracks.com
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Yes, what's called a Ge channel here (new one on me!) is a fully G series channel strip but with an "E" equaliser, I think it's a 242? Nice combination. (Personally I prefer the '02 equaliser, but then I'm a much better electronics engineer than I am sound engineer :) )
I expect I've said somewhere else here that when Paul and I designed the G series (292) eq we never expected a whole desk to be fitted with them, they're great for certain things but too powerful much of the time. (We were trying to emulate the Focusright EQ, but the gain controls on that are rather bigger, and so rather more sensitive, than you can get on 4k desk!) But Chris Jenkins and Colin Sanders decided (probably quite sensibly) that this would be far too complicated to market, so decided on the simpler approach of saying a G series desk would have G series EQs, but you could have other EQs as an option.
I also like the old "01" transformer mic amps, in fact I've still got a batch of the transformers from them which I occasionally build into mic amps, but they are definitely not "clean", the transformer just isn't big enough not to distort with high level bass. So because our aim was always to keep the signal path as clean as possible they sadly had to go when we did the G series upgrade.
I'd completely forgotten about the line-in-to-meters mod, thanks for reminding me! Nasty bodge, but we did fit it to a few desks in the mid 1980s.
Enjoy the desk! it's fantastic that these are still living on.
Cheers,
Andy Millar
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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?
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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.
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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
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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
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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!!