SSL 2 - THE BEST AUDIO INTERFACE FOR GUITAR?

A very nerdy test of the SSL 2 Audio Interface that I bought. I'm comparing it to the two audio interfaces that I'm using the most, the Apogee Ensemble Thunderbolt and the UAD Arrow. And with focus on the what's important to me when I try an interface.
Here are the DI files for you to download and compare yourself:
www.dropbox.com/sh/jxo54cjrmp...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm Ola Englund and welcome to my channel. A channel dedicated to guitar related gear with a focus on metal. I also play in the metal bands The Haunted & Feared and run a guitar company www.solar-guitars.com
My Pages
► My Music - www.olaenglund.com/motu
► Merch - www.olaenglundshop.com
► Website - www.olaenglund.com
► Twitch - / olaenglundofficial
► Facebook - www.olaenglund.com/facebook
► Instagram - / olaenglund
► Feared - www.fearedband.com
► Want to interact more with me? Join My Discord Channel and Become a KZbin Member for VoiceChat and more. Click the Join button above. Link To Discord - olaenglund.com/discord
►List of things I use to make my video:
www.amazon.com/shop/fearedse

[@OlaEnglund]

Alright here you go, an EXTREMELY nerdy video of the SSL interface! See Description for a link to the DI files I made for this video,

[@AndyDion]

Love the nerdfest video. I still get shit for recording DI but it’s way more versatile when recording in my opinion.

[@IStabz]

I only "disliked" because the "likes" were @ 333..haha \,,,/

[@MetaITurtle]

Hey Ola, do you use Superior Drummer for your drums?

[@murwgebeukt]

Thanks! altho slightly disappointed by that buzz when pushed, still ordering this!

[@Zzyyxx22]

I watch some “audiophile” videos. They talk about noise from the power block of sources. You can buy blocks with shielded cables. Might help.

[@rumar4u]

Dude, you've been the ONLY reviewer that actually mentioned the worthy facts that makes the difference between a Great Interface vs Starting Interface. Noise levels, decibels, Round Trip Latency with low buffers and Pre-Amps. +1 and great job

[@niklasschmid9123]

Ola: the difference becomes more clear when you add distortion Me: hearing even less difference

[@Podcastage]

All about the nerdy tests Ola. Keep em coming.

[@MarcoPolux]

exakt! ... Ola knows his stuff 👍

[@DavidDiMuzio]

This was a great review. My personal favorite that you've done.

[@hamtheman222]

I bought mine last week entirely based on your excitement for it and it's SO good. Thank you for being excited about it haha

[@massttrshrdrharmonicminor2002]

Like videos like this, lace us up Ola, the more nerdy more better,

[@PC85X]

Yeah, a whole side series oh home recording is needed! Love this stuff even if more clarity means exposing my amateur playing...

[@AhmedKhaled-hy2vo]

You have no idea for how long I've been looking for a video like this, awesome dude! Very informative and to the point

[@JesseDKangas]

Been waiting for this video. I’m in the market and needed Ola’s stamp of approval! Thank you!

[@AVportau]

i own an SSL 2+. the straight mic preamps are great. 4K adds an attempt to sound like an 80's slightly overpushed analog channel, but sounds more tape burn, and on some sources rather bright and biting. handy but not a 'go to' button. self noise is pretty good for me with a noise floor of around -110db no input and -100db with the valve mics in wavelab. bang for buck it can't be beat and the reliable sound from SSL is legendary. we will hear a lot more from users in the future and the success they achieved for low budgets. hopefully new high end budget stuff from the likes of SSL and opposition interfaces will raise the bar even further... but hey, if you have this level of interface, good mics/instruments, a bit of talent etc.... all you need is the right song... this unit is capable of commercial grade releases and that's exactly what we dream of.

[@levondarratt787]

can you run a bass amp or guitar amp luxury plugin (BX , Softube etc) and get no noticeable lag? UAD Apollo X4 is my go to - and their amps are like playing the real thing - and I own the real thing, lol.

[@Fiveash-Art]

Mine buzzes and crackles in the first instrument channel and the 2nd channel just outright failed. It wasn't like that after I first bought it ... The SSL 2s don't last ... Only had it for about a year. I don't know why these things are getting such solid reviews.

[@rgdec74]

Ola! San Antonio, Texas here! What a great job comparing the SSL 2 Audio interface with the Arrow and Ensemble units. Very impressive. Nerdy but necessary.

[@BeachCat]

A thorough and concise review. Thanks for mentioning latency, as most interface reviews don't, for some reason.

[@jesseaviman]

I just tracked my bands entire album with the SSL 2+ for the vocals and they came out insanely good. Great piece of equipment here 🤘🏻

[@StarWarsRumors]

Is the album online? Would love to hear it.

[@jesseaviman]

@@StarWarsRumors yep, search: Wild Chariot - reaching for the sky

[@StarWarsRumors]

@@jesseaviman wow, sounds amazing. We’re the guitars sims or real amps?

[@dawoud8013]

it's not my kind of music, but really good work on the sound, the voices, the mix, and nice playing !!!!!

[@jesseaviman]

@@StarWarsRumors thanks. Yes all real amps and drums too with samples blended.

[@kevinfox8920]

Also, this interface seems it will be super useful for me. Thank you for your hard work you put into your demos 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@nicolasayastuy]

These are the kind of videos we're looking for when we look for differences between audio interfaces. Thanks good man for a proper well made video.

[@skyler-bluwhitaker2710]

Ola, great video! this is very helpful for me, as i have been in the market for a new interface for awhile, and you're doing a great job educating me, teaching me exactly what i want when looking for a new interface.

[@Skeimag]

Super interesting video. Considering upgrading my focusrite these days without not knowing what to look for. This is gold

[@alphacat6881]

Thank you! I've been looking forward to your review of the SSL! Sounds like a good replacement for my old Line6 UX1. BTW, you are awesome! Thanks for all the great work you do!

[@Kaozgoat]

Did you buy the ssl? How is it vs the ux1?

[@brunowilliam7529]

Great video! I love the very organized and structured review format!

[@briansau8729]

Dude, that soundboard at the beginning gets me everytime.

[@drdrew7475]

I played that part over and over. Laughed every single time. I'm okay with it

[@TheEmperorOfIceCream]

Loved how thorough you are with this testing. I wish other content creators did such a thorough job. I'm in the market for an audio interface and am thinking of going with the Tascam Model 12 because it covers so much. I just wish there was a thorough video documenting tests like this one for it.

[@bingbong7431]

most thorough and proper test of an interface I've seen, more technical stuff please

[@YousefAHMusic]

I really liked this video! It was awesome for you to show the input latency which a lot of people in other videos gloss over. Thank you, Ola. I've been looking for a new interface because I'm sick of the driver annoyances with my Focusrite 2i2 2nd gen. I'm trying to decide between this unit and the Axe I/O.

[@mdfkrz79]

I got the axe i/o a few months ago, isn't too bad, plus amplitube 4 comes with it.

[@underfeed]

I bout the Axe I/O recently and am super happy with it so far. No noise at all and low latency

[@M.e.molina]

I just got the SSL2+ and it sounds so beautiful on guitars and drums! 🔥 So happy with it

[@davidcastonguay2927]

Really great content man! Those kind of reviews are putting numbers into play when it comes to compare one product to another. It's not nerdy, it's professional. One suggestion I may give for a futur video would to analyze different kinds of distorted guitar signal chains in terms of their frequency content. There must be quite a lot to say about a good chugging guitar sound spectrum and a bad one...

[@mtbmwe6684]

2:44 Some seconds of Christopher Walken impression - Ola, you nailed it!

[@broncoxy]

Got this one, very happy with it! Its nice and small, does its job well and doesnt put myself as a beginner with the whole interface stuff in front of too many questions... Thanks for the recommandation!

[@koonsickgreen6272]

Sounding serious and professional while discussing recording. How long it has been.

[@ShattererMetal]

These videos are pure gold

[@AtTheSourceStudios]

Right lol it kinda threw me off I was like oh shit... It's business Ola today guess I better clean up my posture.

[@vigneshkarthikeyan8174]

Remember his how to record metal guitar videso 😂

[@LunaticTheCat]

This video came at the perfect time for me. Thanks for the advice, Ola.

[@SuperMetalLicious]

So wierd I was just thinking about what interface options were out there. Thx Ola

[@cowork2010]

This video couldn't come at a better time for me. I have just purchased an audio interface and this answered some of my question.

[@BillyBongwaters]

Out of everyone who reviewed the new SSL interface...Yours is simply the best.. You actually Tested it...no one else tested shit lol .... the others all read what the specs say and just repeat it....after taking an hour to unbox it... THANK YOU Ola

[@Hugmir]

Are you unaware of the existence of Podcastage? or Julian Krause's channel? People did test this thing on other channels.

[@BillyBongwaters]

@@Hugmir Oh I saw those before this ....and I could give a shit about podcasting and how a Shure SM7B either works with this or not...A microphone I will never own...thanks

[@sirspikey]

More of these comparing interfaces, really informative!

[@guitarsimon1]

This is a cool comparison Ola, interesting to see and hear the differences between the different preamps, I’ve been using the same Focusrite Scarlett seemingly every amateur uses, so its great to tangibly hear the added value I could gain (pun intended) from something more high end, cheers!

[@eric1982R]

Glad you did a video on this interface for all us nerds. thanks ola.

Excellent, Ola! Nerdy stuff is ok, I think most of us are nerdy as hell, like you maybe, so please do more like this, I'm sure lot of people enjoyed this one as much as I did, It remainds me some of your old videos. Awesome one, cheers from Venezuela.

[@poetametal]

Tks Ola, I was awaiting for a metal Guy to test the ssl!

[@berniepaulson2270]

Hi Ola ! I bought the SSL2 after seeing this, and it's f$#**#* great !

[@dgmwitz]

ola I was literally looking for one of these thanks sm

[@xplanet2112]

About time you got nerdy again Englund, great demonstration thanks.

[@jonmoser484]

This was a great, sound, analysis. You continue to be the man!! Thanks, and stay safe and sane...ish.

[@natmetal7328]

Is it me , or last sunday you said that making a man Bun with your hair is bad ,😏 mmmmmmhhhhh . Ola , explain this pls edit : thanks To everyone for liking this comment , and thank you Ola for liking it as Well, even tho i edited the comment and your like disapearded, you made my day Ola and everyone else too , and then people think metalheads are angry and agressive all the time , they have never watched Ola's videos , metalheads actually take care of each other and respect other metalheads, the metal community is the best community that i've been part of

[@OpenMouthReactionsAreFake.]

I thought the very same thing.

[@monsterk7603]

Man bun. Lol.

[@shyank_life2899]

I kno. I went around all day thinkin I was a douche! Lol I immediately put my hair down. Thanks Ola!

[@GaijinMo]

Wasn't Ola's point that keeping your hair tied up for long periods of time damages the hair and scalp? He wasn't saying to never do it unless I am thinking of the wrong video.

[@luminousbrilliance1711]

Man Bun's apparently only for very serious professional hardware reviews. *pokes Ola* This makes me laugh and Peace to Ola and all people of Sweden. Lols :-)

[@ScttSt_vocals]

Round-trip latency. Finally a comparison of it. THANK YOU OLA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH

[@alexcarey6569]

I have used and tested both interfaces. The RTL for the SSL 2 (usb) is twice that of the Arrow (thunderbolt). You have to go into the settings of the arrow and set the lag to zero, then you get sub 4ms RTL at 96 kHz w/128 samples. But the Arrow is meant to be used with the onboard DSP, for which the RTL is 1-2ms, even without changing the settings.

[@levondarratt787]

@@alexcarey6569 year...so no way to play the SSL2+ as a tight bass player in real time?

[@alexcarey6569]

@@levondarratt787 SSL 2 has true direct monitoring, so you can hear your DI (no effects) in real time. That works great for bass, not so much for vocals or electric guitar.

[@4carhur1more]

Great demo of this interface! I've just recently started to use my SSL 2+ and I'm really happy with it. I try to make a slightly wide range of recordings and it really works well for most every use case. Great punchy clean tones and shows off the sound of my stratocaster in funk and works great with my plug ins when I do a more distorted metal sound!

[@AmauryCastillo]

How's it going after 7 months?

[@BenjaminFranceMusic]

Thanks for the informative, in-depth review Ola! I was curious about this, but I think I'll stick with my UAD Apollo Twin after watching this and after listening.

[@Mark-OutWest]

Thanks Ola! Very helpful video as I just got an M1 Mac and wanted an interface. You saved me from making a mistake going with something like Focusbrite.

[@thomascoolberth2648]

what did you wind up getting? I'm about to pull the trigger on Mac Mini M1 as my old Mac Pro just died. Basically I'm going from 2008 to 2022.

[@mwrecordingstudio4238]

Awesome video!! Very usefull, thank you Ola!

[@darkentity7255]

Goddamn I love the gear nerd videos, it kicks ass just talking about gear in depth!

[@AdrianBellue]

Excellent video, you did a great job with this dude. Hope you and your family are well!

[@brianb4877]

Believe it or not, I’ve been really stoked for this video lol, TY

[@jimmintz4348]

Word of the day "yourself" Nice video and very informative Ola!

[@SlendyPython]

How do you not have more subscribers? Seriously, youre fucking hilarious and seem as down to earth as a fresh grave. You deserve more.

[@LitesLAB]

Great demo Ola! I think you were both fair and through in your assessment. 🤘🏻

[@ryand4533]

OMG I had no idea SSL finally made an interface for home studios?!?!?!!!!!! Thank you for covering this!!!!🙏🏻

[@mechtechguy8192]

Really liked this video. Do more of these please!

[@joecrowsantibanez1733]

Thanks for the upload, I just bought this unit because of youre video .

[@chrisdudeword1]

You should totally do a short home recording series! I know there are plenty of videos out there but people want to see YOU specifically. I imagine it would go over well!

[@mprater86]

I love the nerd deep dive videos with Ola :D

[@frederic_viennot]

Awesome comparison; thank you for sharing !!!!!

[@guitarpilipinasproduction414]

Awesome content Ola! Thanks!

[@fretBeastForever]

That was very beneficial video to me. I was thinking to buy SSL, and after seeing this I will change my mind to another interface less noisier. Thank you Ola. I would buy something more expensive. But, better sound quality and last longer. It's like an investment.

I'm planning to buy SSL 2+ and this comparison review is the best ever about this product. You should make more videos about recording gear Ola, Thanks!

[@massivebeatzz]

"is this the longest cable in the world right now?" that was really funny!

[@anderssundqvist]

Bra och tydlig genomgång av produkterna, kul att du dessutom körde gitarren direkt i ljudkorten.

[@metalmorningthoughts6607]

Outstanding vid loved it as always \m/

[@jklappenbach]

I couldn't tell you how many creators / influencers that I've watched on the topic of audio interfaces. But you're the only one so far that have addressed the true questions and priorities of a working engineer / musician. Thank you!

[@underfeed]

damn good review Ola. super helpful. thank you for that. I recently purchased the IK Multimedia AXE Solo,,, and did the Analyser test with the pre amp cranked and NO input peaks what so ever!...didnt show anything. So im super happy with it! Thanks again for this very useful review and testing tips! Cheers Jeff

[@ryanschindler923]

Very nice to see a somewhat straight forward (nerdy) video on here, would love to see more like this. Also im curious about his choice of dialing back the gain on the interface when recording, when i watch Misha Mansoor doing his tutorials he always turns the gain up to right before you start to clip (go from green to yellow/red) when doing heavy chugs.

[@georgevl2658]

very usefull video,good job Ola!

[@gn0sis603]

Dang that noise floor... i bought an SSL2+ unit that sweetwater had used in some demonstrations so i got it cheaper, and a couple weeks before most ppl got theirs. Im really happy with the 4k sound, it helps me get killer guitar tones

[@jorrickthole6505]

Great video. Very detailed. Thank you 🤘💀🤘

[@Saber-2]

I was just looking for comparisons on interfaces a few days ago. Nice coincidence.

[@ProgMax1992]

Hi Ola, it would be really cool if you could compare more consumer level audio interfaces like the audient id14 or focusrite scarlett 2i2 with your other gear. Thanks for this really informative comparison!

[@anthonylee3311]

Thank you, great review, I've subscribed

[@redsix49]

Cool vid...learned a lot from Ola today

[@5urg3x]

Epic tip with how to test the noise...lol sorry for the multiple comments but I love this video. Lots of cool stuff and info here! I just tested my interface with the multimeter plugin (make sure to turn any noise gates off!) and it's in line with your Arrow.

[@juanfranciscoherrera9400]

I haven’t seen your videos for a while, the quality increase was exponential god damn!!!!!

[@keebitsimplehu3954]

Jopp, my next Interface .. thanks Ola !

[@cheatereater3495]

I actually think this is exactly how one SHOULD REVIEW THESE!!!!!! THANKS!!!!

[@ontogeny6474]

Nerdvana at it's finest. Most appreciated!

[@algleymi24]

start watching video thinking about the SSL 2, leave video needing the Apogee Ensemble

[@davidroikit8121]

I had an Ensemble, worst piece of gear I ever brought. It even completely died just after the warranty ended.

[@lordmanshaft1112]

The audience ID14 is pretty killer for this type of application. good customer support too

[@23Guitardood]

@@lordmanshaft1112 Audient*

[@lordmanshaft1112]

@@23Guitardood Thanks; Autocorrect strikes again.

[@eliaskapravelos7171]

Save your money and buy an Audient id44, better DAC, or just go all out and get a metric halo

[@OkanerOkan]

thanks ola this is really helpfull review

[@Airtrooper719]

Worth mentioning, they recently updated the drivers with software loopback. So its as easy as selecting loopback as your audio input for live streaming or playing over zoom etc. Thats a feature that isn't mentioned on the box.

[@adrianbernaldez1025]

Wow that's awesome! I think i need to get one!thanks for this😊

[@benachurch]

Great video Ola!! That’s was awesome! 🤘🏻🇦🇺🤘🏻

[@kcampbell4098]

NOT a nerdy vid at all! Great honest a/b comparison, I do not have $10000 falling from my pockets. Great vid! my hats off....Kevin

[@davidjenkins3101]

Great video Ola the explainer

[@rjb7569]

Ola... First review of yours that I've watched. Impressive. I've subscribed. Down-to-earth. What I like to see. The SSL was under consideration, but the noise level for the DI has made me wary of it. Any opinion on the Motu M4 or M2 that are in the same price range as the SSL? Again, nice job.

[@cydrums3411]

You explained this like a boss 👍!

[@kj-27]

It's nice seeing you get your nerd on. We all end up being a little nerdy over gear, but I really appreciate this review Ola!

[@maxupp]

Honestly impressed with the review, wish there were more interface reviews like this. One point of constructive criticism: The difference in levels on the DI recording made judging the samples really difficult. To our ears louder sounds better, and thus my initial impression was that the SSL sounds way worse than the other too, which I'm not sure is correct. You may want to normalize these clips so they have the same energy level.

[@CarcPazu]

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. Those are minor differences that look huge when you zoom on the. But we're walking details here and there that could be matched with slight EQ moves.

[@DalleyMusic]

I also read that a very good price-point competitor would be the Audient iD14.

[@dogh2o921]

This is one of the best explanations of all this contraption stuff. Ola knows tech, yep. I hate latency number one. Tks old man.

[@Earth-Worm-Tim]

This is EXACTLY why I’m a member. I have been trying to figure out how to select a good audio interface between the cheaper (100-600 USD) and then the jump to (1-3K) audio interfaces. I’m too much of a recording newbie to go buy a badass Apogee interface, but the I’ve been eyeballing a couple UADs and the fact the UAD is so comparable to the Apogee just solidified my decision I do believe. Thanks again Ola 🤘🏼

[@7643268769]

I just got my signed copy of the sun & the moon 😁 I totally forgot this was coming so it was an awesome surprise

[@reinhardswart753]

This video was fricken great. Loved the detail you went in to here. I tried to go completely digital and use BiasFX to replace my amp so to say but the roundtrip latency into my Scarlett 2i2 is just too much for me to handle. So my signal path currently is my guitar into a Samson MD1 DI box, from there I have a through signal heading to my amp to "monitor" my playing and then have the clean output heading to my interface. For recordings I then use BiasFX to add distortion and it's working for now but I would love for something to reduce that round trip latency.

[@user-js3op5lu7y]

the main reason the ensemble noise floor is higher than the UAD arrow is the preamp gain is 10db more than the arrow,in the high gain situation, 10db is a big step

[@Ric007Mason]

Great and useful video man! Did you use the ssl2 to record this vid? Thought icould hear that noise level thing towards the end??

[@AWSOMEPOSSUM16]

Great review! Bought a new Mac and found out my Thunderbolt T4 isn't compatible with the latest Mac OS. Need to get recording and I think this is all i'll need. Thanks for making up my mind for me, Ola!

[@saberreiter8569]

amazing, I was just trying to find a comparison between the Arrow and the SSL 2. Thank you Ola. drivers/software comparison would have been awesome, too. But Your main points of comparison are the most inportant for me, too ;) - If you read this comment: What brand are your acoustic panels? I need some treatment for my room and I find the ones you have very visually appealing. Have a great day and thanks for making awesome videos.