Solid State Logic

Solid State Logic was founded by Colin Sanders in 1969 as the first manufacturer of solid-state control systems for pipe organs. Sanders coined the company's name to explain the then-modern technology of transistor and FET switching to organ builders.

Sanders also owned and operated Acorn Studios, a recording studio in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire. When he sought a mixing console for recording, with routing flexibility and settings recall unavailable on consoles at that time, Sanders applied his experience to design and built his own, building two mixing consoles with computer control which featured one-button switching between recording, tracking and mixdown modes. The two prototype mixing consoles, given the model designation of SL 4000 A, became the start of a series of large-format mixers that would define and establish SSL as a mixing console manufacturer.

{{main|Solid State Logic SL 4000}}

In 1976, SSL combined the SL 4000's in-line mixing console design with a computer that provided fader automation and programmable tape transport auto-location functionality,{{cite web|title=Douglas Sax and Solid State Logic, Ltd. to Receive 2004 Technical Grammy Awards|url=http://www.aes-media.org/historical/html/recording.technology.history/grammys2004.html|website=aes-media.org|publisher=The Recording Academy|date=27 January 2004|access-date=14 February 2022}} A total of six B Series consoles were built for and sold to studios, beginning with Abbey Road Studios in London, followed by Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Canada,{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4gsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA91 |title= Studio Morin Heights Reaches Far: Quebec Facility Embraces Int'l, Local Acts |last= Verna |first=Paul |date= 25 February 1995 |magazine=Billboard |pages= 91 |accessdate= 4 November 2014}} Virgin Records' Townhouse Studios in London, and Tocano Studio in Copenhagen.{{Cite magazine|date=20 April 1996|title=Production Credits|magazine=Billboard|pages=61}}

File:SSL SL4000G+.jpg

The SL 4000 E Series, introduced in 1979, offered various improvements on the B Series, including a new 4-band EQ section developed in collaboration with George Martin. Most notably, the E Series introduced the ability to save and recall mixer settings, and was the first mixer to feature a compressor/gate on every channel as well as the master bus compressor.{{cite web|url=https://www.waves.com/ssl-e-channel-or-g-channel|title=SSL E-Channel or G-Channel?|date=20 April 2021|access-date=10 December 2021}} SSL introduced the SL 4000 G Series at the AES New York Convention in 1987, which again offered a redesigned EQ, among other improvements. The ability to save and recall mixer settings, along with the inclusion of a dedicated compressor and noise gate on every channel on SL 4000 E Series consoles and its successors and variants drove widespread adoption in professional recording studios,{{cite web|last=Willox|first=Mike|title=Reviews - Vintage: SSL 4000 Series|url=https://musictech.com/reviews/studio-icons-ssl-4000/|website=MusicTech.net|publisher=NME Networks|date=28 May 2014|access-date=10 December 2021}}{{cite web|title=The History of SSL|url=https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/the-history-of-ssl/|website=Sweetwater.com|publisher=Sweetwater Sound, Inc.|date=18 February 2020|access-date=10 December 2021}} including The Power Station, Sarm Studios, Larrabee Sound Studios, Battery Studios, Record One, Eden Studios, and RG Jones Recording Studios, and used by recording engineers such as Bob Clearmountain, Steve Lillywhite, Tom Lord-Alge, Alan Moulder, and Trevor Horn.{{cite book |last1=Milner |first1=Greg |title=Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music |date=2009 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |location=New York, New York, US |isbn= |pages= }}

The SL 4000 E Series and G Series consoles were later also made available in 5000 Series, 6000 Series, and 8000 Series formats, which offered various routing and bussing configurations to address the needs of sound for the recording, film, video, and broadcast markets. SSL introduced SuperAnalogue design in the SL 9000 J Series console, which utilized a capacitor-free signal path to achieve very high bandwidth with extremely low distortion.

In 1996 Billboard magazine's Studio Action Chart reported that 83% of number one singles that year had been produced using an SSL mixing console. The company claims that more platinum albums have been recorded on SSL mixing consoles than any other company's equipment combined.{{Cite news|url=https://www.uaudio.com/blog/the-enduring-legacy-of-ssl/|title=The Enduring Legacy of SSL {{!}} Universal Audio|access-date=2018-09-03|language=en}} By 2004, there were more than 3,000 SSL-equipped facilities worldwide.{{cite news|last=Walsh|first=Christopher|title=Grammys Recognize SSL's Technical Contributions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gQ8EAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22larrabee+west%22+studio+sold+2004&pg=PA50|magazine=Billboard|date=24 January 2004|access-date=1 March 2022}}

In the 1990s, SSL also developed products for the post production and motion picture industry, and introduced the A Series digital mixing consoles. In the 2000s, the company introduced the C Series consoles designed to meet the needs of the broadcast production market.

In 2003, SSL introduced outboard signal processors that offered processing previously only available in SSL's large-format mixing consoles. The XLogic family of products included the Logic Channel, the company's first standalone channel strip. 2005 saw the release of additional processors, including the E Series channel strip and G Series Compressor, which utilized SSL's classic G Series center compressor design elements within a SuperAnalogue design topology. The X-Rack offered a modular solution for outboard signal processing.

In late 2004, SSL launched AWS 900, an integrated analogue console and DAW controller,{{cite web|last=Robjohns|first=Hugh|title=SSL AWS900 Mixer & Control Surface|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov05/articles/sslaws900.htm|website=soundonsound.com|publisher=SOS Publications Group|date=November 2005|access-date=28 July 2022}} and introduced its successor, the AWS 900+, two years later. SSL eventually listed over 300 studios using the AWS900. SSL later introduced the AWS 916, 924, and 948 with support for SSL's delta control plug-in.

In late 2006, SSL launched Duality, a large-format console that combined mixing console functionality of the XL 9000K with the control surface features of the AWS 900. Duality featured updated signal routing controls, accessible from the console's center section rather than on each channel. The console's channel strips include both E Series & G Series equalization, which is selected via a single button per channel. The console also features 'Variable Harmonic Drive', or VHD microphone/line preamplifiers, which can either be utilised as standard low-distortion preamps, or in a mode which introduces 2nd (even) & 3rd (odd) order harmonic distortion.

Also in 2006 SSL introduced the Duende DSP platform designed to emulate SSL channel strip features for home recording enthusiasts, including filters, SSL E and G Series EQ and dynamics processing. Additionally, the system offers the SSL Stereo Bus Compressor. Based on the digital technology behind SSL's C-Series consoles, Duende was designed to integrate into DAW environments using either a FireWire cable connection or PCI-e card, with the digital processing channels appearing as VST or Audio Units plug-ins. On 25 April 2007, SSL announced the release of another plug-in for the Duende, called Drumstrip, which contained a noise gate, a transient shaper, high frequency and low frequency enhancers, and the Listening Mic Compressor.

The same year, the company announced its expansion into broadcast video content management and delivery with their MediaWAN system.

Solid State Logic sold its organ division in 2002; it is now known as Solid State Organ Systems.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ssosystems.com/|title=Solid State Organ Systems|website=Ssosystems.com|access-date=5 January 2021}} The proprietary aptX-codec was sold in a management buyout,{{cite web |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/adventure-ends-for-local-management-team-who-took-on-big-boys-1.632069 |title=Adventure ends for local management team who took on big boys |date=3 August 2010 |website=The Irish Times |access-date=30 September 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.mixonline.com/technology/solid-state-logic-sells-apt-381257 |title=Solid State Logic Sells APT (Audio Processing Technology) |date=12 May 2005 |website=mixonline.com }} with APT Licensing Ltd. incorporated on 1 March 2005 in Belfast.[https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/NI054094 APT Licensing Limited] on Companies House

In 2005, musician Peter Gabriel and broadcast entrepreneur David Engelke became majority shareholders of the company.

In 2017, Solid State Logic was acquired by the Audiotonix Group,{{cite web|last=Weiss|first=David|title=Who Bought SSL? Inside the Acquisition That Surprised the Console World|url=https://sonicscoop.com/2018/03/05/who-bought-ssl-inside-the-acquisition-that-surprised-the-console-world|website=sonicscoop.com|publisher=SonicScoop|date=5 March 2018|access-date=22 October 2021}} while Gabriel became a major investor in the group following this transaction.{{Cite web|url=https://www.solidstatelogic.com/media/solid-state-logic-joins-audiotonix-group|title=Solid State Logic Joins Audiotonix Group – Solid State Logic|website=Solidstatelogic.com|access-date=5 January 2021}}

The company received The Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade (Export) in 1981, and The Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation (Technology) in 1993 and 2020.{{cite web|title=SSL Wins Third Queen's Award|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Audio/Archive-Studio-Sound-IDX/IDX/00s/Studio-Sound-1993-11-IDX-56.pdf|website=worldradiohistory.com|date=November 1993|access-date=28 July 2022}}{{cite web|last=David|first=Antony|title=Oxford-based audio console maker wins Queen's Award for broadcast system|url=https://oxford.techtribe.co/news/oxford-based-audio-console-maker-wins-queens-award-for-broadcast-system/|website=Oxford.techtribe.co|publisher=TechTribe Oxford|date=20 May 2020|access-date=28 July 2022}}

The company received a Special Merit/Technical Grammy Award at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2004 for "contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field."{{cite web|title=Douglas Sax and Solid State Logic, Ltd to Receive 2004 Technical Grammy Awards|url=http://www.aes-media.org/historical/html/recording.technology.history/grammys2004.html|website=aes-media.org|publisher=Audio Engineering Society|date=27 January 2004|access-date=24 February 2022}}

Two of SSL's products were inducted into the TEC Awards TECnology Hall of Fame, which "honors and recognizes audio products and innovations that have made a significant contribution to the advancement of audio technology": the SL 4000 series of mixing consoles was inducted in 2004,{{cite web|title=TECnology Hall of Fame 2004|url=http://legacy.tecawards.org/hof/04techof.html|website=legacy.tecawards.org|publisher=NAMM Foundation|access-date=29 July 2022}} and the AWS studio console was inducted in 2018.{{cite web|title=TECnology Hall of Fame 2018|url=https://www.tecawards.org/tecnology-hall-of-fame/2018|website=tecawards.org|publisher=NAMM Foundation|access-date=29 July 2022}}

• Soundscape Digital Technology – acquired by Solid State Logic
• Soundscape R.Ed

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Solid State Logic}}

• [http://www.solid-state-logic.com/ Solid State Logic – official website]
• [http://www.ssosystems.com/ Solid State Organ Systems – official website]

{{Peter Gabriel}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Manufacturers of professional audio equipment

Category:Manufacturing companies of England

Category:Companies based in Oxfordshire

Category:Electronics companies established in 1969

Category:1969 establishments in England

Category:Audio mixing console manufacturers

Category:Audio equipment manufacturers of the United Kingdom

Category:Peter Gabriel

Category:Audio software companies