Introduction & Key Features

Introducing SSL 360 Link: a new plug-in and workflow that allows UC1 to control third-party plug-ins... and best of all, it's free.

SSL 360 Link brings a new level of power and flexibility to your hybrid SSL workflow, enabling effortless control of any third-party plug-in using the UC1 hardware. Combined with UC1 – which draws upon decades of console design experience to provide a knob-per-function control surface – the SSL 360 Link plug-in now allows you to control an unlimited range of sonic flavours, giving you even more creative options when producing and mixing music inside the virtual SSL 360 console workflow.

Delivered through a streamlined user interface and designed with intuitive setup features, SSL 360 Link lets you effortlessly start dropping third-party plug-ins into your session and control them with the advanced ‘console-style’ workflow that UC1 offers. Any third-party plug-ins mapped via 360 Link become as a channel strip in the Plug-in Mixer (also controllable from UF1 and UF8) alongside 4K E, 4K B and CS2, allowing you to mix-and-match your favourite third-party plug-ins with SSL’s own heritage channel strip emulations.

SSL 360 Link comes with a selection of customisable factory maps for popular SSL channel strip plug-ins from the likes of Slate Digital®, Universal Audio®, Waves® and Brainworx®. While UC1 is optimised for a typical channel strip layout, any plug-in can be easily mapped from scratch using the user-friendly mapping interface - super simple to use and offering a variety of mapping methods such as drag and drop or click and turn, allowing you to map your favourite plug-ins in no time at all.

Note: the SSL 360 Link plug-in is available in AAX Native/AU/VST3/VST formats, and therefore supports all major DAWs. It requires third-party ‘hosted’ plug-ins to be in VST3 format.

This plug-in is a 360-enabled plug-in and integrates with the SSL 360° Plug-in Mixer software, including first-class integration and hands-on control via the SSL UC1, SSL UF8 and SSL UF1 hardware controllers.

Key Features

• Control ANY third-party plug-in with UC1 and open up your hybrid SSL 360 workflow.
• Mix like a pro; SSL’s tactile ‘muscle memory’ hardware controls meets ultimate plug-in flexibility.
• Choose from a selection of editable factory control maps or customise your mixing experience by creating your own from scratch.
• Workflow-ready maps included for selected Slate Digital®, Universal Audio®, Waves®, Brainworx® and Harrison Audio® plug-ins.
  • Waves SSL EV2 Channel Strip
  • Waves E-Channel
  • Waves G-Channel
  • Waves G-Equalizer
  • Waves CLA MixHub
  • UAD SSL 4000 E Channel Strip
  • Brainworx bx_console SSL 9000 J
  • Brainworx bx_console SSL 4000 E
  • Brainworx bx_console SSL 4000 G
  • Slate Digital VMR
  • Harrison FasTrack
• Optimise workflow efficiency by centralising control within the SSL 360 ecosystem.

The table below shows the differences of functionality between our natively integrated channel strips and 3rd party channel strips hosted within 360 Link.

360° Link FAQs

How do I demo the SSL 360 Link plug-in?

The SSL 360° Link plug-in and SSL 360° are free. Simply download and install them via the SSL Download Manager.

I want to use my Slate Digital Virtual Mix Rack with 360° Link

360° Link comes with a factory control map for Slate Digital VMR that should be used in conjunction with a Slate Digital VMR preset that we provide. Please scroll to the bottom of this article to download it and then place it in the following folder:

macOS: Library > Application Support > Slate Digital > Virtual Mix Rack > Presets > Virtual Mix Rack > Slate SSL - 360 Link

Windows: C:/Programdata/Slate Digital/Virtua Mix Rack/Presets/Virtual Mix Rack/Slate SSL - 360 Link/

When hosting Slate Digital Virtual Mix Rack inside of 360° Link, load this preset.

Can I use more than one instance of SSL 360° Link on a DAW track?

Yes, of course! This is a great way of using UC1 to control different 3rd party plug-ins on the same DAW track.  

Will I see the compression/gate metering of my 3rd party plug-in hosted in Link on UC1?

This is currently not possible but something we hope to improve in the future with the help of 3rd parties.

Can stock plug-ins in my DAW be controlled via 360° Link?

Stock plug-ins in most DAWs are not available in VST3 format, and therefore cannot be hosted inside 360° Link.

Can I host VST, AAX or AU plug-ins in 360° Link?

360° Link only supports hosting VST3 in v1. However, the 360° Link plug-in itself is available in all AAX, AU, VST and VST3 formats – so that you can use UC1 with 3rd party plug-ins in any DAW that we already support with UC1. Scroll down to the ‘How does my DAW work with UC1/360° Plug-in Mixer?’ table on the UC1 webpage. 

Can I use a VST instrument with 360° Link?

360° does not currently support MIDI input/output and therefore will be unable to function as a host for a virtual instrument.

Can I use multi-channel plug-ins with 360° Link?

360° Link only supports up to stereo input/output at this time and a stereo or mono sidechain. When hosting a plug-in, we pick closest format that the hosted plug-in supports to fit to the channel format of the container 360° Link instance.

Can I use 360° Link with LUNA?

Yes. Make sure you are using LUNA v1.5.4 or above because it supports the VST3 version of Link. LUNA v1.5.3 and below only supports the AU format of Link, which will not benefit from the enhanced DAW integration.

Known Issues

Waves plug-ins parameters not responding to 360° Link in Logic, LUNA or Cubase/Nuendo on macOS

When no audio is playing, Waves plug-ins will not respond when controlled via 360° Link in some DAWs, including Logic, LUNA and Cubase/Nuendo. As soon as playback is started, the controls with jump to their correct values.

Release Notes

For more comprehensive release notes and known issues about integration with the SSL 360° Plug-in Mixer and other hardware controllers, please refer to: SSL 360° Downloads and Release Notes

V1.0.33 (March 2024)

• Initial release.

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.

Apple Silicon Support

This plug-in is provided as a universal binary for macOS and features native support for Apple Silicon.

Operating Systems

Please refer to the Plug-in OS Compatibility FAQ.

Hosts

• Pro Tools 2023
• Logic Pro 10
• Cubase 12 / Nuendo 12
• Studio One 6
• REAPER 6
• FL Studio 21
• Ableton Live 11
• LUNA 1.5 (1.5.3 AU only, 1.5.4 VST3 support)
• Bitwig 5.1.4
• Digital Performer 11.31

Installation, Download and Licensing

Demo/Trial

360 Link is a free plug-in. To start using it, simply download and install it using the SSL Download Manager.

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.

Quick Start Guide

The first time you load 360 Link, you will need to scan for third-party plug-ins.

1. Press the 'Click to Load' button.
   
2. Press 'Open Plug-in Library'.
   
3. Press the 'Scan Plug-ins' button.
   
4. In the dialog, configure which folders you would like 360 Link to look for VST3 plug-ins.
   
5. Press the 'Scan' button.
   
6. Wait for scanning to complete. Note that this might take upwards of 5 minutes, depending on how many plug-ins you have. If you only want to scan selected plug-ins, you could consider moving these plug-ins to a special folder, and only scanning this folder.
   
7. Once scanned, you will see a list of all available VST3 plug-ins.
   
8. Double-click a plug-in to load it. Once loaded, the 360 Link will displays the currently control mapping, if available. SSL 360 Link ships with several Factory control maps, which means you can simply load the plug-in, and start controlling it from the UC1 and the 360 Plug-in Mixer. If no Factory or User control map is defined, then the Configuration panel will open, so that you can start building a control map.
   
   
   360 Link with a third-party plug-in loaded, ready to use.
   
   
   360 Link with third-party plug-in loaded, ready to map to your UC1 and 360 Plug-in Mixer.
   
   
9. Instances of 360 Link will automatically appear in the 360 Plug-in Mixer and be controllable from hardware control surfaces such as the UC1, UF8 and UF1, in that same way as our official channel strips (Channel Strip 2, 4K B, 4K E etc.).
   
   

Plug-in Library

Note: 360-enabled plug-ins such as Channel Strip 2, 4K B, 4K E, Meter and Bus Compressor 2 etc. cannot be loaded in 360 Link at this time. To use these plug-ins, insert them directly into your DAW session as previously.

The Plug-in Library page allows you to:

• Scan plug-ins
• Set a default plug-in to load
• Favourite plug-ins, for easy access from the main 360 Link GUI

The Plug-in Library page is accessible from the quick load menu in the center of the plug-in, or via the 'Plug-in Library' page button on the bottom bar.

Scanning for third-party plug-ins

To scan for compatible VST3 plug-ins, press the 'Scan Plug-ins' button.

In the dialog, you can add or remove a list of folders to scan for plug-ins.

If you have a lot of plug-ins, and only a few that you wish to use with 360 Link, you could move these plug-ins to a different folder, and then add that folder here.

Loading a third-party plug-in

To a load a third-party plug-in, double-click it in the list, or highlight it and press 'Load Plug-in'.

Setting default plug-ins and favourites

Click in the 'Def' column to set your default plug-in. The next time you create a new instance of 360 Link, it will load this plug-in by default.

Click the star icon next to a plug-in to mark it as a favourite. This is useful if you have a lot of plug-ins, but only a few that you regularly want to host in 360 Link.

Favourited plug-ins will appear directly in the plug-in selection dropdown in the main GUI.

When you map a new plug-in for the first time, or there is already a factory map that ships with for that plug-in, then it will be automatically favourited. To remove it from your favourites, simply enter the Plug-in Library Manager and click the star icon to unfavourite it.

Sorting the table

You can click the 'Def', 'Favourite', 'Name', 'Manufacturer' and 'Profile' to sort the table. 'Profile' is especially useful to sort by, since this will display all plug-ins that have control maps available at the top of the list.

• Def
  Displays a tick if the plug-in is set to load by default
• Favourite (star icon)
  Allows you to favourite and unfavourite plug-ins.
• Format
  Displays the format of the plug-in to host e.g. VST3.
• Category
  A list of plug-in categories e.g. Reverb or Dynamics.
• Manufacturer
  The plug-in manufacturer.
• Profile
  The current control map. This can either be blank (no control map exists), Factory (you are currently using the official SSL 'factory' control map) or User (you are currently using your own control map).

Manage menu

• Clear list
  Resets previously scanned third-party plug-ins from the cache
• Remove selected plug-in from list
  Removes the currently highlighted plug-in from the scanned plug-ins cache
• Remove any plug-ins whose files no longer exist
  Cleans up the plug-in list by removing any plug-ins that have been removed
• Show folder containing selected plug-in
  Opens the folder of the currently highlighted plug-in
• Unload currently hosted plug-in
  Unloads the currently hosted third-party plug-in
• Open control maps location
  Opens the local folder that contains 360 Link user and factory control maps

Displaying the hosted plug-in window

To toggle the hosted plug-in window, click the 'open plug-in' icon.

You can set 360 Link to open the hosted plug-in automatically whenever you open 360 Link by using the Automatically open hosted plug-in setting in the configuration (cog icon) menu. For more information, ready 'Creating a control map' below.

Creating or editing a control map

To map a third-party plug-in to the UC1 and 360 Plug-in Mixer, load the plug-in that you wish to map. If a control map doesn't already exist, 360 Link will enter 'Configure' mode automatically. To open the configuration panel, click the 'cog' icon.

Global settings

• Automatically open hosted plug-in
  When enabled, the hosted plug-in window will open automatically whenever you open 360 Link.

Control map

This displays the current control map that 360 Link and the 360 Plug-in Mixer will use for the currently hosted third-party plug-in.

• Factory control map
  A 'Factory' control map is an official SSL mapping of a third-party plug-in. These are provided for popular official SSL channel strip emulations and other plug-ins, so that you can get up-and-running with as quickly as possible.
• User control map
  A 'User' control map means that you've created your own custom mapping for a third-party plug-in.

You cannot edit Factory control maps directly, but if you start editing them, we will automatically create a new 'User' control map for you. This means that you can always swap back to our official 'Factory' map whenever you like.

How to assign parameters

When in 'configure' mode, assignable controls are displayed as outlines.

You can also assign to the output fader control. When assignable, this is indicated by a highlighted blue track.

SSL 360 Link uses bi-directional mapping. This means that you can map parameters using drag-and-drop, or click-and-turn, or by using the hardware.

Drag-and-drop

You can drag-and-drop third-party parameters to a control to assign it.

Click-and-turn

You can also assign parameters by clicking the control first, or by moving the control on your UC1 control surface. This will make the control 'listen' for an assignment. Next, simply click a parameter in the 'assignable parameters' list, or click/move the control in the hosted plug-in GUI.

You can also click/move a control in the hosted plug-in GUI first, or in the 'assignable parameters' list, and then click the 360 control or move the UC1 control to make the assignment.

Setting control legends

Once assigned, you can double-click the control label to set the control's legend.

By default, when you assign a parameter to a control, it will inherit the parameter's name.

The legend is also displayed on the UC1 when you change the parameter.

SSL Plug-in Engine

The 'SSL Plug-in Engine' has several features that are available across our entire plug-in range.

Undo/Redo

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

• Undo (left arrow) undoes the current action in the history stack.
• Redo (right arrow) re-does the next action in the history stack.

The undo and redo buttons are disabled when in mapping/configuration mode.

Preset Management

360 Link does not feature any built-in preset management system. To utilise presets, please use the preset management system provided by the hosted third-party plug-in.

Version Number

Click the version number to display more information about the plug-in.

When logging a bug to our support team, always include the full version number e.g. v1.0.13.

Scale/Zoom

The scale/zoom menu allows you to resize your plug-in from 50% up to 200%. 

Note that if resizing would cause the plug-in to go offscreen, then this option will be disabled. This is designed to prevent DAW resizing bugs that exist in some DAWs.

You can also right-click anywhere on the background of the plug-in to change the scale.

Built-in Help

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.