1. SSL Support
  2. Plug-ins
  3. Plug-ins
  4. User Guides
Print Friendly and PDF

SSL G3 MultiBusComp Plug-in - User Guide

Introduction

The SSL G3 MultiBusComp is a 3-band glue compressor with powerful drive, band-linking, external sidechain and filtering capabilities.

SSL_G3_MultiBusComp_23wk19_MarketingShot_B.png

 

Key Features

  • 3 bands of classic SSL glue compressor
    multiband compressor inspired by the G-series bus compressor module

  • parameter linking
    hold down shift (or turn on linking) to automatically apply inverse changes between the input/output gain, or the threshold and makeup gains in each band

  • per-band drive
    new algorithm inspired by the '4K Drive' circuit found in the SSL 2 and 2+ audio interfaces

  • band graph
    set your threshold and frequency crossovers in the 'BANDS' view

  • external sidechaining and filtering
    set custom sidechain filters - unlinking them from the band crossover - and accentuate or diminish response to certain frequencies using the per-band bell filter

  • auditioning
    mutually exclusive soloing on each band, and each band's sidechain input

  • resizable GUI
    resizable GUI from 50% to 200%

 

Supported Platforms and Hosts

For compatibility information about plug-ins, visit the Plug-in Operating System and DAW Compatibility FAQ.

When we release an SSL plug-in, we test it on all Windows and macOS operating systems that aren't End-of-Life (EOL) at the time of release.

The versions listed below are the latest on which we have officially tested the the product.

It is possible for our products to work on platforms outside of this list. However, if your host, host version or operating system is not listed here, we recommend you demo the product before purchase to confirm that it works correctly.

Hosts/DAWs

The plug-in has been tested in the following hosts:

  • FL Studio

  • Ableton Live

  • Logic Pro

  • Reaper

  • LUNA

  • Pro Tools

  • Cubase & Nuendo

  • Studio One

 

Demo/Trial

To demo this plug-in, you can simply download it from the product page and run it up in your host - the software will guide you through the rest of the process.

  1. Download and install the plug-in.
  2. Open your DAW/host.
  3. Insert the plug-in to commence activation (sometimes this will happen when the plug-in is scanned on startup, depending on your DAW/host).
  4. When you see 'Activation is required', click 'Try'.
  5. Log into your iLok account and click 'Next'.
  6. Select a location to activate the license to, and click 'Next'.

 

Installation and Download

We recommend using the SSL Download Manager application to to easily manage all SSL plug-in installations all from one place, on both macOS and Windows. In addition to easily installing, uninstalling or reinstalling individual or every SSL plug-in at the click of a button, the SSL Download Manager also provides you with detailed release notes and lets you know when updates are available.

You can also download offline installers for a plug-in from here.

All SSL plug-ins are supplied in VST, VST3, AU (macOS only) and AAX (Pro Tools) formats.

The installers provided (macOS Intel .dmg and Windows .exe) copy the plug-in binaries to the common VST, VST3, AU and AAX directories. After this, the host DAW should recognise the plug-in automatically in most cases. Simply run the installer and you should be good to go. You can find more information about how to authorise your plug-ins below.

 

Licensing

Visit iLok, Licensing and Activation for guidance in activating your SSL plug-in.

 

Parameter Mirroring

 

The Input/Output Gains, and Threshold/Make-up control include a new feature called 'parameter mirroring', which is indicated by the 'link chain' symbol.

Holding shift (or pressing the 'link' symbol') will activate mirroring. When activated, moving one control will move the other control in the opposite direction.

For example, you can hold shift and move the input gain to drive the plug-in harder, but automatically reduce the output level to compensate. Or reduce a compressor's threshold and simultaneously increase the corresponding make-up gain.

 

Setting the Band Crossovers

1. Low Frequency Crossover
Sets the low frequency cross-over, the highest frequency in the low compressor band.

2. High Frequency Crossover
Sets the high-frequency cross-over, the lowest frequency in the high compressor band.

The mid band will effect all frequencies between the Low Frequency Crossover and the High Frequency Crossover.

 

Linking Bands

Band linking allows you to combine the low and high bands and reduce the 3-bands down to a 2- or even 1- band compressor. For example, you might only want a low band, and a mid-high band.

1. Low Band Link
Links the low/mid bands, such that they are a single band (response is dictated by the mid-band controls).

2. High Band Link
Links the mid/high bands, such that they are a single band (response is dictated by the mid-band controls).

When a band is linked (controlled by the mid-band controls), the band will becomes visibly disabled in the user interface.

You will also see the bands become combined in the Graph view at the bottom of the plug-in.

 

Configuring the Compressor Bands

The G3 MultiBusComp supports up to 3 independently configurable bus compressor frequency bands. Each band has a set of parameters that only affect this band.

Input/Output

1. Per-band Bypass
Switching out this control means that no compression or drive will be applied to this band.

2. Audition Band
Use this control to isolate only the processed audio in this band.

3. Input Metering
Displays the instantaneous level of the input to the compressor band.

4. Gain Reduction
Displays the gain reduction applied to the signal in that band.

5. Output Metering
Displays the instantaneous level of the output from the compressor band.

Bus Compressor Controls

6. Threshold
Sets the level at which compression begins.

7. Threshold/Make-up Gain Mirror
When enabled, a change to the threshold will cause an inverse change to the make-up gain. Use this control to tweak the amount of compression.

8. Make-up Gain
Boosts the overall volume of the compressed audio to compensate for any reduction caused by compression.

9. Ratio
Determines how much the compressor reduces the volume of the audio when it exceeds the threshold, with higher ratios causing more significant volume reduction.

10. Attack
How quickly the compressor responds to loud sounds that exceed threshold, allowing you to shape the initial response of the audio.

11. Release
Determines how long it takes for the compressor to stop reducing the volume after the audio falls below the threshold, affecting the time it takes for the audio to return to its original level.

12. External Sidechain
Allows you to use an external audio source to control the compression for the band, enabling you to apply compression based on a different audio signal.

Refer to your DAW's manual for more information about how to route an external sidechain signal to a plug-in.

13. Drive
The Drive control adds saturation or distortion to the audio signal, giving it a more harmonically rich or aggressive character, modelled on SSL's '4K' drive circuit. Toggle Drive in and out using the power button, and introduce a gain-compensated drive from 1 to 11.

The LED indicates the amount of distortion being applied to the signal.

14. Mix
The mix control allows you to blend the compressed and uncompressed audio signals, giving you the flexibility to adjust the balance between the original dynamics and the compressed sound.

 

Graph

The Graph at the bottom provides two views - 'Bands' and 'S/C'. These provide a way to visually set the frequency crossovers and thresholds, as well as access advanced sidechaining capabilities.

Bands View

When in Bands view, the graph represents the up to 3 frequency bands of processing.

1. Threshold (horizontal line)
Drag the horizontal lines to set the compressor thresholds against the sidechain input level (displayed in the background). You can also use the mouse wheel to increase and decrease the threshold.

2. Frequency Crossover (vertical line)
Drag the vertical lines to set the frequency crossovers.

3. Sidechain Input Level
The sidechain input level is displayed in the background. You can also move entire bands left/right by dragging this area.

S/C View

The graph can be switched to the advanced ‘S/C’ mode, which allows you to configure the filters applied to the sidechain in each of the bands.

In this mode, you can ‘unlink’ the filter response from the bandpass defined by the frequency crossovers and perform advanced filtering on the sidechain signal. By default, the sidechain input to each compressor will be filtered using the Low Frequency and High Frequency crossover parameters.

1. Sidechain Listen
Turn on 'Sidechain Listen' to audition the input to the compressor sidechain after filtering.

2. LF Override and LF Cutoff
Click 'LOW' to override the low cut applied to the sidechain input. You can then set the cutoff frequency manually by dragging the 'L' node.

3. Bell Filter, Frequency/Gain/Q
Click 'BELL' the toggle a bell filter in or out.

4. HF Override and HF Cutoff
Click 'HIGH' to override the high cut applied to the sidechain input. You can then set the cutoff frequency of this filter manually by dragging the 'H' node.

 

Presets

All of our plug-ins ship with carefully designed presets to aid your workflow.

Factory presets are included in the plug-in installation, installed in the following locations:

macOS: /Library/Application Support/Solid State Logic/PlugIns/Presets/[Plug-in Name]

Windows: C:\ProgramData\Solid State Logic\PlugIns\Presets\[Plug-in Name]

Switching between presets can be achieved by clicking the left/right arrows in the preset management section of the plug-in GUI, and by clicking on the preset name which will open the preset management display.

The Preset Management menu reflects the folder structure of the preset folder.

Revert Changes and Delete

  • Revert Changes discards any changes to the current preset.
  • Delete removes the current preset from the filesystem. Factory and Producer presets cannot be deleted from the plug-in GUI, although they can be manually deleted using the filesystem (Windows Explorer or Finder).

 

A/B and Copy

  • A/B allows you to toggle quickly between two presets. This is useful for comparing between two parameter settings.
  • COPY X TO Y is used to copy presets between A/B.

 

UNDO/REDO

SSL plug-ins come with a built-in UNDO/REDO stack, in case your DAW doesn't handle this.

  • UNDO undoes the current action in the history stack.
  • REDO re-does the next action in the history stack.

 

HQ Mode

Click the 'HQ' button to drop the plug-in into 'high quality' mode. This will increase accuracy of filters and quality of saturation elements, by enabling oversampling under-the-hood.

 

Rescalable GUI

Click the 'Zoom' icon to set the scale of the plug-in.

 

Built-in Help

29.png

This plug-in features built-in contextual help. To turn this feature on, click the '?' in the bottom right-hand corner. Mouse over elements of the GUI to see some information about the feature.

Click the tooltip to cycle through the pages.