We recently compared the Waves SSL EV2 Channel with a real SSL 4000E console. It was less about the science and more a little bit of fun for the community.

Did you take the test? If so, how convinced are you that you spotted which was the Waves plugin and which the console? Scroll down to take the test again and then check out the results.

How Does It Sound?

We ran some stems through the Waves SSL EV2 Channel and also through a real SSL 4000E console to see how they sound next to each other. All the control settings in the plugin were matched on the console like-for-like for each stem.

The same channel on the desk was used for all tracks. This was to provide a high level of consistency from track to track and also to ensure the stereo tracks didn't suffer from any channel to channel discrepancies.

Each stereo track was split into mono L/R and one side at a time run through the desk using the appropriate settings using the plugin images below.

The whole mix examples are for context and were summed and bounced in Pro Tools- we are comparing the stems here as opposed to comparing summing busses. The true identity of the A and B options is different for each stem.

The Results

If you took the original test did you spot the right ones or is the plugin that good that you didn’t?

Let us know in the comments how you got on and whether these results surprise you.