SSL Acoustifier - User Guide

14 April 2026 07:36

Introduction

SSL Acoustifier is a tone-shaping tool designed to make D.I.-recorded acoustic guitars sound like they were captured with high-end microphones in a treated room. Using a blend D.I.-to-microphone emulation, EQ, reverb, and compression, SSL Acoustifier creates the depth, clarity, width, and realism often missing when tracking from a piezo pickup.

Whether you’re recording in a home studio, working on demos, or mixing final tracks, SSL Acoustifier gives you the character of a professionally mic’d acoustic guitar...without needing microphones at all.

Key Features

DI-to-mic emulation based on professional studio recordings of premium guitars and microphones
Custom EQ controls for surgical tonal correction and creative adjustments
Natural-sounding reverb with 4 modes tailored for acoustic space
Transparent compression to control dynamics without pumping
Streamlined single-window user interface for fast workflow

Release Notes

Version 1.0.18 (November 2025)

First release.

Supported Platforms & 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 currently supported Windows and macOS operating systems that aren't End-of-Life (EOL) at the time of release. We test the plug-ins on a range of DAWs, using the latest version publicly available version of each one. It is possible our products may work on platforms outside of this list. However, if you are using a DAW not listed in the linked article, or an older DAW version (perhaps several years old), we recommend you demo the product before purchase to confirm that it works correctly. For 360°-enabled channel strip plug-ins, refer to the UC1 User Guide for tested DAWs and their integration capabilities.

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

Logic Pro 10.7
Pro Tools 2023
Ableton Live 11
Studio One 6
Cubase 12
REAPER 6
FL Studio 21
LUNA v1.5

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.

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

Installation & Download

If you own perpetual licenses for your products, 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.

If you are a subscriber to Complete Access, we recommend using Complete Access Hub to download, install, and activate all of the plug-ins (SSL, Harrison, and Slate Digital) that are included in the subscription.

All SSL plug-ins are supplied in 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 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.

Controls & Functions

SSL Acoustifier features a variety of processing sections, each with several controls, for achieving your final sound. The signal flows through the sections as follows:

Input -> DI-to-Mic Emulation (Acoustifier) -> Width -> EQ & Filters -> Compression -> Reverb (& Ducking) -> (Compression - if post reverb) -> Output

Input Section

The input section just has two components: The Input Gain and the Input Meter.

Input Gain Knob

Use the Input Gain Knob to adjust the signal entering into SSL Acoustifier. Use it to boost weak signals such that the signal shows up more clearly on the Frequency Analyzer and so the thresholds of the Compressor and Ducker are easier to set, or reduce signals that are too loud.

Input Level Meter

Verify the input level on the Input Level Meter—the top lights will light up red to indicate if the incoming signal is too loud (use the Input Gain Knob to reduce the level).

Acoustifier Section

The Acoustifier section is where the magic starts. This is where your mono D.I. recording is turned into an acoustic recording created with two microphones. It has a number of options which will greatly impact the resulting sound, so familiarize yourself with all of them.

Acoustifier Enable

The power button seen in the upper-left corner of the Acoustifier section turns the entire D.I.-to-microphone emulation on and off. When this is off, the raw sound of your D.I. recording will pass through into the rest of the sections in SSL Acoustifier (which would allow you to use the other sections of the plug-in as a type of "guitar strip" for normal recordings).

Guitar Type Menu

In order for SSL Acoustifier to create an accurate emulation, you being by selecting the type of guitar being processed. There are four to choose from: two Dreadnoughts, a Jumbo, and a Concert/Classical. The type you choose will be shown graphically in the Acoustifier window.

While choosing the type that most-closely matches the guitar type in use will provide the most accurate emulation, the emulation will still work with any type you select—you can experiment with other types to see if one might impart a unique quality that works well with your instrument and/or music.

You can also click the left and right arrows in the graphical display to switch between the various guitar types:

Mic Config Menu

The Mic Config Menu allows you to select the type of microphone setup to emulate, either a Spaced Pair (with one mic placed near the body of the guitar and the other placed up on the neck) or an X/Y pair (where one mic is oriented towards the body and the other is oriented towards the neck). Each has its own characteristic sound which may be more impactful when using SSL Acoustifier in a mono->stereo configuration. The positions of the microphones shown in the Acoustifier Window will change depending on the configuration you select in this menu to help you better understand their positions.

Mic Type Menu

The D.I.-to-microphone emulation features three different mic types, each with their own tonal character. Use this menu to select between models of condenser, dynamic, or ribbon microphones. The type you select will be represented graphically in the Acoustifier Window.

Microphone Mixer

At the bottom of the Acoustifier Window is the mixer section which allows you to control the blending of the two emulated microphone signals. Each microphone has a corresponding Gain control to set its relative level and a Pan control to adjust its position in the stereo sound field (the Pan knobs will be missing when using the mono->mono version of SSL Acoustifier since Pan position is irrelevant).

In the middle is an Align value which applied a small delay to one of the channels. By changing this delay, you can alter how the two mics align in terms of their timing. When the microphones are not hard-panned, or when using SSL Acoustifier in a mono->mono configuration, the Time Alignment will have an impact on the tonal characteristics as the frequencies between the two microphones interact with one another. When the microphones are hard-panned, this control can also be used to create a type of delay-induced panning where the image of the guitar can be shifted left or right in the stereo field while keeping the two microphones at the same volume.

Width Knob

Before entering the EQ, the signal passes through the Width Knob which offers an additional method for controlling the perceived width of the sound in the stereo field, and its sometimes more convenient to use this knob if you want to automate changes to the stereo width in your song (as you only need to automate this one knob instead of multiple pan knobs in the Microphone Mixer). Turning this knob past 100% will exaggerate the stereo width to a point where the guitar may almost sound "behind your head".

As this knob relates to stereo width, the knob will be missing when using the mono->mono version of SSL Acoustifier.

EQ Section

For further refinement of the guitar tone, SSL Acoustifier features an extensive EQ section featuring:

1 Tilt EQ
1 High-Pass Filter
1 Low-Pass Filter
3 Parametric EQ bands

EQ & Visualizer Enable

In the upper-left corner of the EQ Section are two buttons. The first one with the power icon toggles the entire EQ section—all EQ bands—on and off. The button to its right toggles the realtime frequency visualizer on and off. You may wish to disable this if your computer is running out of CPU power or if you find the visualization distracting.

Tilt EQ

The Tilt EQ is essentially two shelf EQs connected "end to end" and allows for quick changes to the overall tone of the guitar as it affects the entire frequency range. The Tilt EQ is represented with the following node in the EQ Window:

Clicking this node will make its Control Strip appear at the top of the EQ Window:

The first button on the left with the power icon turns the Tilt EQ on and off. You can also double-click on the Tilt EQ node in the EQ Window to toggle it on and off.

There are three values for controlling the Tilt EQ. You can drag up and down on the value displays to change them, or you can double-click and type in a value directly. The Frequency (F) sets the split point (center point) of the Tilt EQ. The nearest corresponding musical note is shown just to the right of the Frequency (C5 in the image, above). The Gain (G) sets the amount of the tilt while the Q value adjusts the slope of the tilt.

You can also change these values by clicking and dragging the Tilt EQ node within the EQ Window. Dragging left and right will change the Frequency (F) while dragging up and down will change the Gain (G). You can also use the mouse wheel to change the Slope (Q) while the mouse is hovering over the Tilt EQ node.

High-Pass & Low-Pass Filters

There is a High-Pass Filter (good for removing rumble) and a Low-Pass Filter (good for removing hiss) which are represented by the following magenta and orange nodes, respectively:

Clicking on either node will make its associated Control Strip appear at the top of the EQ Window:

The first button on the left with the power icon turns the associated filter on and off. You can also double-click on the either Filter node in the EQ Window to toggle it on and off.

There are two values for controlling the Filters. You can drag up and down on the value displays to change them, or you can double-click and type in a value directly. The Frequency (F) sets the frequency of the Filter. The nearest corresponding musical note is shown just to the right of the Frequency (F#3 and D3 in the images, above). The R value sets the slope of the filter and snaps to values of 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 dB/octave.

You can also change these values by clicking and dragging the Filter nodes within the EQ Window. Dragging left and right will change the Frequency (F) while dragging up and down will change the slope (R).

Parametric EQs

For precision frequency adjustments, there are three fully parametric EQ bands, all with the same behaviors and features. They are represented with the purple, green, and red nodes in the EQ Window:

Clicking on any of these three nodes will make its associated Control Strip appear at the top of the EQ window—here's the Control Strip of Parametric EQ 1 as an example:

The first button on the left with the power icon turns the associated Parametric EQ band on and off. You can also double-click on the Parametric EQ nodes in the EQ Window to toggle them on and off individually.

Next to the enable button is the EQ Type Menu. Clicking it opens a list of options:

There are 4 modes to choose from:

Low Shelf
Bell
High Shelf
Notch

There are three values for controlling the Parametric EQ bands. You can drag up and down on the value displays to change them, or you can double-click and type in a value directly. The Frequency (F) sets the frequency of the EQ. The nearest corresponding musical note is shown just to the right of the Frequency (C#3 in the image, above). The Gain of the EQ is adjusted with the G value—while this value is still present and adjustable for the Notch EQ, it actually has no effect. The Width or Slope of the EQ is then controlled with the Q value.

You can also change these values by clicking and dragging the Parametric EQ nodes within the EQ Window. Dragging left and right will change the Frequency (F) while dragging up and down will change the Gain (G). You can also use the mouse wheel to change the Width or Slope (Q) while the mouse is hovering over the Parametric EQ nodes.

Compressor Section

As the sound from a DI can be really dynamic, the Compressor section will help control the dynamics so the guitar sits comfortably in the mix.

Compressor Enable

The power button in the upper-left corner of the Compressor section will turn the compressor on and off. It offers a quick way to compare the impact the compressor is having on the sound.

Threshold Knob

As a compressor's job is to prevent a sound from getting too loud, the Threshold Knob sets the level above which the compressor should start reducing gain. Turning the knob down (counter-clockwise) will cause the compressor to work harder—the lower the Threshold level, the more likely the guitar signal will exceed it.

Gain Reduction Meter

While you'll likely hear when the Compressor starts applying gain reduction, you'll also get a visual indication of it on the Gain Reduction Meter. The higher this meter goes, the more gain reduction (compression) is being applied.

The meter is in dB scale. Therefore, when the 6 LED is lighting up, this means the output has already been turned down by half. By the time the red LEDs start lighting at the top, this means the gain reduction is extremely aggressive—this probably won't sound natural anymore but can be used as a special effect or when implementing some parallel compression (see the Mix Knob, below).

Timing Mode Selector

This mode selector sets the reaction time of the compressor between three basic choices: Slow, Medium, and Fast. These timings apply to both the attack and release stages of the compressor.

The Slow setting is better for controlling the overall volume of the performance while the Fast mode is better to control the initial attack (struming or picking) of the guitar—it quickly releases to still allow the sustain through.

Auto Gain Enable

As a compressor, by its nature, turns down the volume on portions of a signal, the overall volume will tend to get lower when compression is applied. Enabling Auto Gain will counteract this effect by raising the volume compensate for any losses. Therefore, with Auto Gain turned on, the overall volume will appear to get louder as more compression is applied (as the Threshold is lowered).

Compressor Mix Knob

The compressor's Mix Knob sets the balance between the uncompressed signal vs. the compressed signal. Normally, this knob is set at 100% so you only hear the output of the compressor. By turning this knob down, you can implement parallel compression—this is where compression is added to the uncompressed signal rather than replacing it with the compressed signal.

This technique often works well when the Timing Mode is set to Fast and the Threshold is a bit lower than usual—the compressed signal will lack a lot of transient sound but will still contain a lot of the sustained tone from the guitar. By then setting the Mix to a blend (like 50%) you will hear the original, dynamic sound of the guitar which then gains additional "support" from the compressed signal. This makes the sound of the guitar "fill out" nicely without compromising the transients.

Compressor Location Button

As stated in the signal flow at the top of this section, the compressor is located before the reverb. That is, the output of the compressor is fed into the reverb. However, by enabling the Post-Reverb button, this will change the location of the compressor in the signal path such that it is located after the reverb. In this position, the sound of the reverb will also be affected by the gain reduction being applied by the compressor; the reverb will also contribute to the overall level being detected by the compressor's Threshold control.

Reverb Section

Unless an acoustic guitar is recorded in an anechoic chamber, the process of recording it with microphones will also capture some reverb from the recording space. The reverb section helps recreate this ambience which is completely missing from a D.I.-recorded acoustic guitar.

Reverb Enable

The power button in the upper-left corder of the reverb section turns the reverb processor on and off. You can disable it to save CPU or as a way to quickly judge the impact the reverb has made to the overall sound of the guitar.

Reverb Type Selector

The reverb unit in SSL Acoustifier has four different types to choose from: Room (like the main room at a recording studio), Hall (similar to the sound of a concert hall), Plate (inspired by the vintage metal plate reverbs found in classic recording studios), and Chamber (akin to a smaller room or booth in a recording studio). Select the type you wish to use with this knob.

Pre-Delay Knob

This knob adds a small delay before the start of the reverb. Adding a delay can increase realism by simulating the time it takes for the sound to initially bounce back from the walls of the space. Adding a small delay can also help keep the guitar articulations clean by causing the reverb to wait until right after the initial pluck or strum (so they don't overlap). It can also be used creatively to create a rhythmic slap-back at larger values.

Reverb Time Knob

This knob controls the length (or time) of the reverb. The higher you turn this knob, the longer it will take for the reverb to fade (decay) away to silence. Chambers and rooms typically have shorter reverb times while some plates and halls will naturally have longer decay times. However, you can set this time creatively to match the feel or tempo of the music—shorter reverb times may be more appropriate for uptempo music (so the reverb doesn't turn into an indistinguishable wash of sound) while a long reverb time may be more suitable for slower, downtempo or ambient music where the reverb can help "fill the space".

Reverb Mix Knob

This mix knob sets the balance between the signal coming into the reverb and the reverberant sound generated by the reverb. If this knob is fully counter-clockwise (at 0%), then the reverb will not be heard at all. Conversely, if the knob is fully clockwise (at 100%), then only the sound of the reverb will be heard without any of the original guitar sound. Most of the time, this knob will be set somewhere between these two extremes to achieve a good balance between the guitar and the reverb—tune it to taste.

Reverb Ducking Enable

The right half of the reverb unit is dedicated to the Reverb Ducker which is essentially just a compressor, but one that is dedicated specifically to compressing the sound from the reverb. The Ducking In button enables or disables the Ducker.

Side-Chain Source Selector

The Ducker compresses the sound of the Reverb and you select which source is used to control the Ducker with the Side-Chain Source Selector. You have the following options:

DI Input: This is the signal of the guitar coming in to the plug-in before the Compressor stage. This option will likely make the Ducking respond most aggressively to the guitar.
Pre-Reverb: This is the signal coming out of the Compressor as it enters into the Reverb. The Ducker will still respond to the guitar, but will respond to the dynamically compressed guitar signal.
External: This chooses the SSL Acoustifier side-chain input as the source for the Ducker, meaning a signal from a different channel in the host can be used to duck the reverb.

Ducker Threshold Knob

This knob works the same as the Threshold knob in the Compressor, but sets the threshold at which the Ducker starts to push the reverb down (based on the signal source determined by the Side-Chain Source Selector, above). As this knob is turned down, the Ducker will start pushing the reverb down more as it will require less signal to trigger the Ducker.

Ducker Attack Knob

This sets the attack time for the Ducker. A short attack time will ensure that the reverb ducks and gets out of the way of the guitar quickly which will help ensure the articulations of the guitar remain clear and unobstructed by the reverb. A longer attack time will result in a small amount of overlap between the transients and the existing tail of the reverb. This can also potentially make the transients stick out by thickening them with a bit of reverb before the duck occurs.

Ducker Release Knob

Sets the release time of the Ducker, which determines how quickly the reverb returns to full volume after the duck. A fast release time will return the reverb to normal volume right after the transient passes whereas a slower release time will allow a bit of the guitar's natural sustain to play before the reverb is reintroduced.

Output Section

The output section controls the final output of SSL Acoustifier and includes a few additional options for controlling preset recall.

Preset Locks

The EQ and Mix Lock buttons will prevent changes to the EQ section or the Output Mix (below), respectively. That is, if the EQ Lock is enabled, your current EQ settings will remain fixed even as you change the presets. Similarly, if the Mix Lock button is enabled, the output Mix will be kept in its position when changing to maintain the dry/Acoustified blend you like.

Output Mix Knob

Sets the blend between your original, raw D.I. recording and the output of SSL Acoustifier. Most of the time, this will just remain on 100% so you just hear the refined guitar sound you've created with SSL Acoustifier. You can turn this down, however, if you want some of the original D.I. character to come through.

Output Gain Knob

The Output Gain Knob will adjust the overall output of SSL Acoustifier. This can be used to compensate for any volume changes that occurred through the Acoustifying process. You will see the output level on the Output Meter on the right edge of the plug-in (just to the right of the EQ Window).

SSL Plug-in Engine

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

NOTE: the available features in a plug-in might be or look different depending on what plug-in you are using, or when the plug-in was most recently updated.

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.

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 A TO B is used to copy presets between A/B.

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.

Advanced Settings (not all plug-ins)

Some plug-ins have advanced functionality. Click the 'Advanced Settings' button to access advanced plug-in functionality.

This will drop the plug-in into 'Advanced Mode', exposing more settings, and allowing you to tweak the 'under-the-hood' behaviour of the plug-in.

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.

HQ or ECO Mode

Some plug-ins come with a HQ or ECO mode button. When in HQ mode, we introduce extra processing such as oversampling for higher quality, at the expense of more CPU. When in ECO mode, a plug-in will drop into a lower, less CPU intensive and low-latency mode (if possible).

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.

Click the tooltip to cycle through the pages.