How I Use the SSL Big Six for Recording and Summing (Workflow)

[@Studio_4to1]

Great video. Thanks! Lemme take you up on these questions, cause I’m really interested in the BigSIX but still have a few questions I can’t seem to be able to answer properly : 1) Is it possible to bypass the SSL preamps at all? Or, at least, inserting your own preamps and bypassing the SuperAnalogue preamps? 2) Is it possible to mix, monitor and print (but not necessarily sum) a multitrack in Logic Pro? I’d like to know how hard/easy it is to actually bounce a track through the GComp and a master insert (a Fusion or something else). 3) Does the Main Insert is located before or after the GComp? Is there a way to move its position? 4) I’m still wondering about the main differences between the Main Outs and the Main Monitors. If you ever got the time to answer these, I owe you one. Cheers!

[@Beethovan]

Which one sounds better when you record vocals or instruments? UAD X4 or SSL Big Six? Can we use SSL Big Six as just a analog mixer for live without connecting it to a Laptop through its USB interface?

[@Ponchy]

**UPDATE** There are a couple things I need to clarify after the filming of this video about the stereo output of Logic Pro versus the stereo output of the actual computer audio which are completely separate and need to be manually configured but are something you only need to set once. This allows for you to be able to keep your mono channels 1-4 completely free and not have to switch back and forth between using "From USB 1 and From USB 2" like I mentioned in the video: 1) I did not mention that you can indeed change the stereo output of Logic to ANY two channels (however keep in mind this is possible on any DAW) It would make the most sense to do it to channels 15-16, and then on the Big Six itself, you would have to press "Ext 2 From USB 15/16" up by the Bus Compressor section as well as "Ext 2 --> 15/16" where the Main Fader is in order for that to work. 2) Thanks to Mike REV, I learned that you can indeed change the output of your MAC OS X Stereo output (which keep in mind is completely separate from when you are using Logic or any DAW for that matter), and you would do this in the Audio MIDI Setup app which is located in the Other folder in your Applications. Select the Big Six from the left (while it is turned on and connected to USB) and then click Configure Speakers, and you can select the two channels that you want to use to send computer audio.

[@gbml9204]

Nice video, Im still finding a problem when I put any synth or drum machine through a super analogue channel. I have a Vermona DRM1 going to Channel 3 via two jack to jack however no sound coming on. When I add in stereo channel 5/6 works just fine. Any idea why?

[@allpdmusic]

Love your videos. I'm close to getting the Big 6 but I'm curious about something that no one seems to address. How is the latency when overdubbing along to already recorded tracks?

[@johnnysmillie7742]

yep...2 for this one

[@allpdmusic]

@@johnnysmillie7742 Any word on this @Ponchy ?

[@Ponchy]

Ty! Latency is super fast especially if you monitor what you’re overdubbing through the Big Six rather than through your DAW. Definitely no issues with overdubbing. Of course it also depends where your buffer size is set in your DAW which I usually leave at 256 unless I’m tracking vocals, I’ll turn it down to 128. Logic also has a low latency mode if I’m tracking a software instrument or VST using my Roland drums or another midi controller. Bottom line I wouldn’t worry about latency with the actual Big Six. It’s more of how you have your DAW and/or plugins set up.

[@allpdmusic]

@@Ponchy Thank you !!

[@dronbana]

Do you feel this is better than a summing mixer like Rupert Neve Designs Orbit 5057 or Dangerous music summing?

[@alexkubik1442]

What's latency like? For playing soft synths or doing over dubs?

[@Ponchy]

super low latency for sure.

[@NickDiMercurio]

when I plug It into pro tools and set the playback engine and I/O it still doesn't give me output. It's plugged into the speakers. I hear sound from the monitors on audio coming from other place (iTunes, KZbin) but in Pro Tools it's not working. I deleted the paths in the I/O and reset them as default. I also have the output set on Analogue 1-2 which it says is the output. I tried all the other outputs as well. The volume knobs are turned up. Any idea what the issue is?

[@dahlbaker]

Excellent review. You explained the versatility very thoroughly.

[@southkak48]

great video. I am also using the big six with studio one. I am not sure if logic works like this, but you should assign your main outs in logic to 15/16 on big six and press the usb button for those two channels next to the talk back volume. then press the ext 2 button on your monitor section. then you can monitor playback without giving up your mono inputs or any other inputs. Hope that helps.

[@Ponchy]

ah yes thank you for bringing that up! I forgot to mention that you can change the main out in logic but I should have clarified that when you are simply using the Big Six to monitor system audio from KZbin, for example, I am not aware of a way to change that in Mac so it defaults to channels 1-2.

[@Ecotechnologist]

Thanks for that

[@stevegeorge7773]

Thanks for the video! Very interesting and commented on Caro's discord.

[@4DaHoodProductions]

Do you use this for resampling in the mpc?

[@JohnnysaidWhat]

Ponchy ❤ sick studio dude!

[@Ponchy]

yooo thank you!

[@PedalTour]

Is there outs from the 4 pre’s so you could send them to my current set up

[@Ponchy]

No unfortunately unless you count the inserts which are TRS. You could how utilize the stereo cues or Bus B or the inserts for that but that’s quite a workaround and really just not worth it for the bang to buck ratio.

[@TituJoe]

Thanks for your video! I'm wondering if its possible to use the "usb from" and the "usb to" at the same time, to mix the tracks on the board and bring them back to separate tracks on your DAW. That would be amazing! Thank you for your time!

[@karolyliviusbakos9000]

Yes it is possible. Actually there is no usbe to button.... Indeed as an audio interface all the 16 channels are always active no matter what you do on the mixer. USB outs behave as a digital direct out. 4 mono + 8 stereo + 4 External inputs are sent to the computer via usb the latter 2 can be switched to the master. For audio inputs for the channels actually ther are 3 options 2 analogue (mic or line swiched with a push button) and digital swiched with the from usb button. The ins and outs shall be configured in your DAW. So if you press all the "from usb' buttons and you send tracks or groups/buses to the corresponding interface output you can eq and mix using the console. You can simultaneously record the channel outputs individually and(or the master bus to the daw. You have to set the track input to the corresponding usb channel. So you can print your mixing stems. Furthermore you can incorporate analogue gear to the 4 mono channels via inserts or you can also use your computer and plugins as "digital sends' and record the master bus with the mix and the effects . There are almost endless possibilities :) Hope that it helps!

[@patxivazili236]

@@karolyliviusbakos9000 Thank you man, I bought the big Six a month ago and im grateful for all your comments and contributions. Helped me alot! Much respect!

[@TannerByTheSea]

Wasup Ponchy! Love the Show Bruh! My name is Tanner- I just received my big six today and it looks like we’re running neck and neck with our gear 👍🏼 I’m combo’ing Apollo and the six.. 8XP-satellite-solo / Burl B2 clock / six - I have all kinds of questions for ya if you’re not too busy.. thanks 🙏🏼 again brother & keep up the good work!

[@hardheadedhero1]

Great work brother! I just got one and started watching ALL videos available multiple times to make sense of this beast! Can you show us how you connected/use the patch bay with it? Could be another useful video for us noobs. #onelove

[@Ponchy]

I appreciate that! And yeah for sure, I’ll definitely make a video on my patch bay here shortly.

[@Beethovan]

Thanks for the nice video on SSL Big six.

[@Ponchy]

Glad to help!

[@melokit-music]

thx for the overview still happy with the bix six ? this approach "Michael Brauer" style attracts me enormously..

[@Ponchy]

Definitely happy with it! I really like the simplicity of the G Bus compressor as well as the channel compressors and EQs. To some, analog summing isn’t worth it but I really like the sound I can get out of this thing plus I like the workflow of having a small form factor console in my studio, printing my mixes, etc.

[@melokit-music]

@@Ponchy nice ! Thx for your answer

[@wesleyhendricks153]

Wow...nice video exploring it's potential. I never knew all this can be done on such a mixer. I got lost with sending the vocals from channel one to channel 2 and then to channel 3 for effects? Wow...would be nice if you can make another video on how to do that and also include how to route when using the bus compressor as well. The sound quality in phenomenal.

[@Ponchy]

Glad it was helpful! I talked about how to use the bus compressor in my summing video as well as my latest video on integrating outboard gear. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYHHZGWhaL2ZiMk kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHXMZqZ-q9aCabM

[@kenzoblythetv348]

Does audio run thru usb like it did for firewire?

[@Ponchy]

Yes the audio goes thru the USB. The reason this thing is so powerful is because it is not only a mixer that you could use for live performance and recording but it is also a USB-C interface.

[@modestrhythm8422]

This was super insightful! I've been trying hard to research the capabilities of the Big Six vs the Six and the setup for them for multi track recording for sure seems quite a bit different from one another. One thing I'm not sure about, say I wanted to record a live band in my home using the Big Six, would I be able to use channel 1 and 2 for daw playback for click/tracks, channel 3 for vocals, channel 4 for bass and channel 5/6 for electric guitar 1, 7/8 for electric guitar 2 and 9/10 for keys? My hope was to maybe use 11/12 with from USB to route in a fx send from my daw for reverb to put on the vocals so the singer doesn't complain that their voice is too dry when monitoring lol. But I wanted to use ST Cue 1 and 2 both as artist mixes but I wasn't sure specifically about using stereo 11/12 for the effects send? I'm just pretty new to routing and have always previously only used a regular audio interface and monitored from the DAW but on the Big Six I'd like to monitor from the Big Six instead I guess? Thanks for your time and help!

[@mastermachetier5594]

Do you find the mono channels limiting for summing ? I’d love to see the full 16 mono version of this or a separate summing section so you can do both at once :)😊

[@Ponchy]

No I definitely don’t find it limiting right now because I do my mix in the box, set the Big Six faders to unity, and then for summing, I group everything in my DAW so it makes it easy to assign things to the physical channels. I definitely agree, I wish it was a full 16 channel mono mixer but we work with what we’ve got!

[@dronesurf2326]

Hi, My BigSIx SSL is not getting any signal in or out to the DAW from NONE the stereo inputs. The only channels that get signal to and from the DAW are CH 1-4 Super ANALOG. I have tried different settings: 1. Tried an SSL MicPre to Channel 5, 7, etc.. Board gets signal to monitos, but none to DAW 2. Tried line inputs , no signal 3. Tried Stereo signal via TRS from a Analog Synth, nothing 4. Tried MicPre with GTR nothing I think my stereo channels DA and AD to not work . Using Mac Ventura 13.4.1 and ProTools

[@1loveMusic2003]

it's cool but having no control over compression is an excuse for them to say oh there's compression, but is there? Transient material is compressed so differently than other sources and how can you get those compressors to work on both? I think if SSL want to say it has compression they need to give the customer control over that compression.

[@sleepyhorses6100]

The EXT INPUTS can absolutely be sent through the ST CUE's. Simply press the EXT 1 or EXT 2 buttons in the ST CUE master section.

[@Ponchy]

Thanks for posting this here. I say this in a later vids where I talk about using outboard gear as well as recording the talkback mic but at the time I hadn’t known about it.

[@OONNZZ]

Hi mate I had the same idea, using a Hosa Lil Bro Sub Snake to preserve the lifetime of those xlr connectors. I recommend anyone getting the big six spend a couple extra bucks to do this. Actually patched every i/o on this desk so they only get movement damage if I have to move house or whatever.

[@Ponchy]

Awesome! Yeah I’m not sure how many people realize that the connectors are technically limited in how much they can take and I definitely like to preserve mine as much as possible.

[@kevinlentz7604]

Awesome 6/Big /6 Love ❤it

[@Ponchy]

Thank you!

[@Hermiel]

Who says you have to monitor the output of your DAW on USB 1&2? Why not set your DAW up to monitor on USB 15&16? Then you could leave channels 1-12 as analog inputs. Also, wouldn't you rather have a single fader or knob control the stereo output from your DAW?

[@Ponchy]

I didn’t clarify in the video but I was referring to monitoring computer audio on Mac. By default Mac OS X sends audio out to channels 1 and 2 and you can’t change that. On Logic Pro or any DAW frankly, anyone familiar with their DAW knows you can monitor out of any channel you want.

[@MikeREV]

@@Ponchy You can change this in your MIDI Setup in your Mac settings :)

[@Ponchy]

@@MikeREV well would you look at that! Thanks for this! I couldn't find this anywhere when I was first looking and everyone I found seemed to be resigned to the fact that by default it comes out of channels 1-2. Definitely feel compelled to film an addendum to this video now thanks to you haha.

[@andyorr1597]

@@Ponchy You could always just delete the few minutes you spend on that topic. I knew it wasn’t correct when you started down that path and looked for a comment right away. And would you look at that! 😜 Thanks for the review. I’m staring at my credit card…

[@earlsfield]

So you bought an SSL to record electronic music through it? Wouldn't be my first choice for the budget.

[@Ponchy]

Lol what a stupid assumption. What makes you think I only record electronic music?

[@earlsfield]

@@Ponchy what a clumsy way to reply. You call everyone stupid? Sorry I assumed you are focused on electronic music because you have Elektron gear, and I think I heard your album last year that was fairly electronic driven. And there is nothing wrong in owning a SSL, not did I imply such a thought. I worked with on E and G series and those are high end mixers dear to my heart. I will stop here, apologies if I was understood incorrectly, thus called stupid. Ta.

[@Ponchy]

@@earlsfield Well, my apologies and my mistake for assuming that you were malicious in intent. We can chalk it up to a miscommunication so let's start over. No I did not buy an SSL just to record electronic music. I record many different genres for other people and I wanted a hybrid setup for my studio so I'm not always recording in the box so between the Big Six, my outboard 500 series gear, and the SSL UF8, I've definitely achieved what I was looking for.

[@a-nus]

​@@earlsfield stop being seething poor and get a clue lmao

[@thesedaze2381]

@@Ponchy People really don't understand the step up in audio quality from the crap they are using to SSL. For this budget there is nothing even close.

[@christopherbenedetto]

Is it worth the 2500?

[@Ponchy]

IMO yes but some people don’t agree that analog summing is worth it. As an interface, it’s amazing because of the built in EQ, compression, etc. and definitely gives you that SSL sound. To me, I like not having to use up DSP for extra plugins when I can just compress or EQ on the Big Six. But as for the analog summing, I think it does make a difference when you know how to do it correctly.