Following our story on changes to the way their products are accessed, and the announcement of a number of big product offers, we spoke Nigel Beaumont, Managing Director, Solid State Logic and John Bastianelli, CEO, Slate Digital to get the wider view and to ask some more questions about the industry in general, along with the development of the tools engineers have access to.

We Talk To Slate Digital And SSL

PE: Firstly, we were surprised to hear of Gobbler’s closure in October. Can you tell us what your immediate concerns were for your users?

JB: informing the Gobbler customers to migrate over to our platform with the least amount of friction and confusion, as well as reassuring them that any subscription time they may have remaining with Gobbler would be honoured by us. This very much felt like the right thing to do.

NB: Making sure our subscribers are still able to access their plug-ins and keep producing was our immediate concern. Downtime is never good, especially in the middle of a project or session, so providing a smooth transition to our new Complete Access platform was vital.

PE: Can you tell us what the thinking was behind launching such a big promotion given the circumstances?

JB: We’re dedicated to offering our customers and potentials the best possible value, so the SD and SSL promotion is a no-brainer! It sends out a clear message of how much we appreciate our loyal customers new and existing.

NB: Slate Digital and Solid State Logic being in the same group of companies holds many potential benefits for our customers, and with Gobbler’s closure, it seemed like the right time to offer both subscriptions for the price of one. The offer is partly to thank our existing customers, but also because both brand's plug-ins work so well together. As John mentions, it was a no-brainer!

PE: We’re seeing a divergence between smaller studios and large-scale production facilities. Can you tell us how you see your products fitting into the studio landscape in the next couple of years?

JB: Honestly, we’re already in both segments and the combined offering of SD and SSL further solidifies a complete solution of great tools that can grow with musician/producers/content creators alike from project studios to the world's top production facilities.

NB: For SSL, we’re noticing that many of our SSL Complete users are large-scale production facilities - they want to take the SSL sound and workflow from their large-format consoles into the box. We’re also seeing our interfaces being used in bigger facilities for tasks where a console isn’t required; smaller break-out production rooms, etc. Same for UF1/UC1/UF8 controllers. Whilst our large-format consoles are almost exclusively found in bigger control rooms, we see SSL rack mount, desktop, and software products continuing to be used in studios of all sizes.

PE: Could you share insights into your product development process? Particularly, how user feedback shapes the design and functionality of new products?

JB: We are constantly listening to our customers through our social media, tech support and customer surveys. We are dedicated to offering solutions for the evolving creator including educational material through our Slate Academy courses.

NB: Feedback from user groups is very important and helps build a picture of where SSL should focus product development. Whether it’s a 10x GRAMMY-winning engineer providing feedback on the workflow of the Duality Fuse console, or a budding producer commenting on how intuitive an SSL plug-in is, they each have very different requirements, but they both help SSL to develop better products for users of all levels.

PE: Nigel, most reading this will know SSL’s legacy in analogue technology. How do you balance the integration of digital advancements while maintaining the 'SSL sound' that many producers and engineers cherish? How can users be sure that the audio plugin sounds the same as the gear?

NB: The key for SSL in our plugin development is our ability to make digital audio sound fantastic. We've been developing digital consoles since the early 80s’. System T - our digital production platform for immersive music and broadcast - has some very sophisticated digital audio handling under the hood. Its built-in suite of processing tools heavily leans on what we’ve learnt from our legacy in analogue, but we’ve evolved them for next-gen content production. An example of this is System T’s 7.1.4 channel Bus Compressor. We aim to deliver the power and flexibility of digital, whilst maintaining the sound producers and engineers love.

As far as plug-ins are concerned , we redesigned our analogue modelling process for the 4K B Plug-in. To make our emulations as accurate as possible, SSL product dev uses a combination of hardware prototyping, component modelling, and digital simulations to make sure our plug-ins deliver the SSL sound. We have exclusive access to the original design sheets and hardware, which puts us in a unique position when creating digital emulations of our analogue hardware.

PE: Finally, we all need great tools, but the key to success is how to use them. What advice would you give to aspiring music producers and engineers who want to get ahead who are looking up at those making records with both Slate Digital and SSL products?

JB: Let’s face it, there are many good tools from companies in bits and pieces, however our philosophy is offering complete solutions backed by the nurturing our subscribers through their creative journey.

My biggest advice to the aspiring music producer/engineer is to listen to your favorite music for inspiration then reference our Academy courses from the beginning. Be patient as you’ll be making some great music before you know it and you won’t get bored as you grow and improve. Most importantly have fun throughout your creative journey!

NB: My advice is to experiment with your creativity and find your sound, but make sure you’ve built the foundation to do so. The combination of SSL and Slate plug-ins allows you to build a sturdy knowledge of production, but then take it further when the time is right. You don’t have to dive in with multi-band processing and complex sidechaining from the get-go. A lot of our plugins sound great from the moment you insert them on your track - we designed them this way. Other plug-ins allow users to dive deep into the technical/engineering side of the craft. SSL and Slate users have access to a range of plug-ins which allow them to find the right balance of creative tools and precision processing.

PE: Thanks to Nigel Beaumont and John Bastianelli for their insight and for taking the time to talk to us.

Complete Access

• SSL and Slate Digital are combining two premium suites of plugins under the name “Complete Access”, offering SSL Complete and Slate AAA bundle for $14.99 per month.

• Each of the two suites contains over $6,000-worth of plugins.

• Available only through Black Friday, then the price goes up to $19.99 for the dual subscription.

• Slate Digital AAA Including FG-X 2, MetaTune, ANA 2 Ultra Bundle & over 75 more.

• SSL Complete Including classic processors, legendary console channel strips, and advanced dynamics processing like G3 MultiBusComp and Fusion processing suit.

• New ‘Complete Access’ platform will also deliver exclusive interviews, tutorials, and more going forward.