Console ergonomics and workflow

SSL production tools are the benchmark for studio ergonomics and workflow. UC1 draws on decades of analog and digital console design to develop an intelligent and deeply integrated SSL plug-in control surface that lets you focus on your production goals and not the process.

UC1’s layout of encoders, switches, and color groupings offers professional SSL console ergonomics seamlessly integrated with our most advanced Channel Strip and Bus Compressor plug-ins to date. Multiple parameters can be controlled simultaneously and precisely, equipping you with a production tool that nurtures muscle memory, provides unmatched sonic flexibility, and inspires operator confidence.

Every detail of UC1 has been implemented to keep you in control and informed of how your mix is reacting to processing. Dedicated front-panel encoders accompanied by an onboard hi-res display allow you to move quickly between instances of Channel Strip and Bus Compressor directly from the surface. You can also load presets, as well as alter the Channel Strip process order.

SSL 360° Plug-in Mixer

At the heart of the UC1 system is the SSL 360° Plug-in Mixer, which views and controls all of your Channel Strips and Bus Compressors in one place. 360° Plug-in Mixer offers an efficient way of interacting with multiple plug-ins simultaneously, further bridging the gap between console and in-the-box workflow.

Channel Strip and Bus Compressor

UC1 provides dedicated controls of all key Channel Strip 2 plug-in parameters. EQ, Filters, Compressor, and Gate/Expander controls offer the same configuration and visual feedback as found on large-format SSL consoles, allowing you to quickly hone in on your channel processing sweet spot.

At the heart of UC1 are Bus Compressor controls. Its authentic layout and metering feel like you’re controlling a hardware bus comp built into the center section of an SSL console. With a classic moving-coil gain reduction meter as found on SSL consoles since the 1970s, it represents the Bus Compressors time constants and gain reduction characteristics perfectly for producers and engineers to know exactly how it’s reacting with their instruments, subgroups, and of course mix bus.

SSL Native Channel Strip 2 & Bus Compressor 2 Plug-ins

Full licenses of SSL Native Channel Strip 2 and Bus Compressor 2 plug-ins are included with UC1. Channel Strip 2 is a fully-featured Channel Strip, based on digital modeling of the EQ and Dynamics curves from the legendary XL 9000 K SuperAnalogue console. V2 adds SSL’s proprietary anti-cramping algorithms and the ability to trigger the dynamics sidechain externally. Bus Compressor 2 adds a tonne of user requests, with additional Ratio, Attack, and Release options, the ability to trigger the sidechain externally, as well as x2 and x4 oversampling.

The UC1 connects to computers via USB, and communicates with it using the same SSL 360 app that was introduced with the UF8. Like the UF8, the UC1 can also switch between controlling up to three different DAWs.