Meet the older, hard‑hitting version of SSL’s 4K channel compressor!
SSL’s new B‑DYN 500‑series module is based on the peak‑sensing VCA compressor and expander/gate from the 4000B console, an early version of the famous ‘4K’ console released in 1976. While modern components and manufacturing methods are used here, the B‑DYN is faithful to the original design, except that there’s no output level control that would be a counterpart to the console’s channel faders (which operated on the same VCA as the dynamics processor did). There’s an automatic gain makeup facility, though.
The compressor has fixed attack (circa 30ms), which tends to let through transients and note onsets but little else before you notice the gain reduction. Consequently, it can sound pretty ‘snappy’ or ‘grabby’. There’s a good range of release options, including a programme‑dependent Auto setting. The expander (2:1 ratio) and gate (20:1) have a fixed attack, continuous range and threshold controls, and a choice of four release times.
Plan B
With a single B‑DYN sent for testing, everything I processed was mono, but two modules in adjacent slots (most 500‑series racks support this) can be linked for stereo use. I used it as an ‘external plug‑in’ on a mono bus in a few of my recent mix projects, so I could audition a range of ‘real’ sources through it: a singer‑songwriter track (vocals and a steel‑strung acoustic guitar); a more energetic pop‑rock track with singing, bass, lots of guitars and a drum kit; and, finally, a dance track made largely with synths and samples.
Used as a conventional compressor on the acoustic track, the B‑Dyn did a serviceable job of containing the vocal, but it wouldn’t be my first port of call for gentler parts such as this. There’s a handy de‑esser setting, though, with very fast (2ms) 10:1 compression reacting to a high‑pass filtered (12dB/oct at 7kHz) signal. I’d happily have put this to use here, and it also worked well on the pop‑rock track’s overheads (albeit made mono) for taming some over‑enthusiastic hi‑hats. Experimenting with the acoustic guitars, I found the compressor could be used to really emphasise the attack of finger‑picked notes or strums, and depending on the part, the gate could shorten notes nicely too — not what I wanted on this project, but you can do a lot to change the feel of a part.
With the two songs that didn’t need to sound so ‘natural’, the B‑DYN was a real joy. The more energetically delivered lead vocal of the pop‑rock song was controlled assertively, giving it an edge and attitude that brought it right up front. But the B‑DYN came into its own when used to reshape individual drums, percussive loops and the drum bus. Bring the gate (20:1 ratio) or expander (2:1) into play alongside the compressor, play with its threshold and release, and you can quickly dial in the hardest, tightest of drum sounds. It’s easy to get the pumping effects that can lend a groove some urgency, but the 6dB/octave 185Hz side‑chain high‑pass filter can counter this too.
It’s perhaps worth noting that I had to switch my Ferrofish A32 converter’s outputs from their default level setting to their highest, and feed them a pretty loud level signal from the DAW, in order to give me a useful range on the compressor’s threshold control. But having done that, it was easy enough to make those LED meters light up. Also note that although the auto gain makeup is broadly helpful, the level can jump a little as you tweak; I’d have liked the option to turn it off, plus a manual output level control. Finally, its sheer punchiness on drums means that this thing is crying out for a wet/dry blend control, so you don’t have to rely on a console or your DAW’s routing and delay compensation system for parallel processing.
It’s all about the attitude: snappy, edgy, punchy, grabby, aggressive. Brash and in‑your‑face.
DYN’ing Out
We have an abundance of compressor options today, so I usually look to outboard to do something different. That’s the opposite of what people might have looked for in a console’s channel compressor 40 years ago, so I can see why SSL changed the design in later versions of the console. While this compressor can be used in subtler ways, really it’s all about the attitude: snappy, edgy, punchy, grabby, aggressive. Brash and in‑your‑face. Push the input levels and you’re greeted with a harder‑edged crunch than the saturation I’d associate with the more relaxed 4000E. But while I do regard the B‑DYN as an ‘effect compressor’, it’s also versatile: the gate/expander can be very handy when recording drums, for example, and the compressor doubles as a fast and effective de‑esser. All of which makes it decent value for money.
Summary
This compressor, gate and expander is fast, grabby and full of attitude.
Information
£599.99 including VAT.
Sound Technology +44 (0)1462 480000.
$699.99
