SOLID STATE LOGIC Duende

Jul 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Larry the O

           

The Solid State Logic Duende offers hardware-accelerated plug-ins with the SSL sound.

Speed Bumps

Getting the Duende operational was not as easy as I would have liked, though I couldn't call it a nightmare. When I received the device, Intel Mac support was just being released. This required me to update both the firmware for the processing module and the software that runs inside MOTU Digital Performer (DP), my digital audio sequencer. The updates had to be performed in the right order, but at first the Duende seemed reluctant to execute them properly. After a few attempts, I finally got both updates done (firmware 1.15 and driver version 1.24) and started to work with the Duende inside DP.

I quickly realized I could not keep my FireWire drives running while the Duende was online, because I do not have a FireWire card and my 3 GHz quad-core Mac Pro Intel Xeon machine has only one FireWire bus for the four ports on it. For a while, I kept the Duende window open all the time as I explored the product's features. When I finally closed the Duende window, DP started stuttering horribly. This was an entirely consistent problem. It took a few exchanges with SSL technical support (which was quite prompt, pleasant, and professional in our email exchanges) before I understood that the problem could be remedied by selecting Always Run In Real Time from the contextual menu in the plug-in window. I'd never seen this command in DP before. It is designed to allow prerendering for DSP-intensive plug-ins, which isn't possible with external DSP hardware.

Selecting that command fixed the problem. But every time I instantiated a Duende plug-in, I had to remember to select Always Run In Real Time or else I'd suffer the consequences. SSL says that this problem is unique to DP and does not occur with any other host.

Even after I made the proper menu selection, several times DP went into an odd mode where tracks played back out of sync. Deinstantiating a Duende plug-in seemed to fix the problem; I would then reinstantiate the plug-in and everything would play okay. I suspect (but can't prove) that this is related to communication glitches between DP and the Duende.

The Sweet Sound of Success

Having more or less tamed all the beasts, I got down to working with the Duende and enjoyed myself quite a bit. While I'd always found the 4000 E-series EQ serviceable (I've had little experience with the G-series EQ), it had never flipped my wig. I found the Duende's G-series EQ much more engaging than the E-series, and I started using it extensively (see Web Clips 1 through 3).

I found myself reaching for Channel often, even when I already had other plug-ins on a track. It didn't meet every need — sometimes I needed more bands of EQ or a different compressor characteristic, for instance — but Channel frequently made me very happy. I liked the EQ, especially in the low end, and the compressor usually worked well to tame dynamics problems. It was also very nice to be able to instantiate Channel in stereo, which you could not do on the 4000 consoles.

Bus Compressor, on the other hand, is magic. It's not a gain maximizer, it's not quite a leveler, and it's not really transparent. In fact, it combines a bit of each of these features to create an effect that pulls together all of the mix elements and makes them sit together well (see Web Clips 4 and 5).

The great part of having it as a plug-in was that I didn't just use it across the stereo bus; I often used it on individual tracks. It did a beautiful job of combining several background vocals into one creamy layer. Bus Compressor also made a crunchy electric guitar track feel like the instrument had been really loud when it was recorded. On bass, it just smoothed out the peaky notes. There are many different kinds of compressor sounds, and no compressor works for everything, but Bus Compressor is a very valuable tool to have for a variety of applications.

I often use more than one compressor on a track that really needs dynamics management, and I was interested to note that both Channel and Bus Compressor worked excellently in that situation. Again, you can't throw any two compressors on a track and get that well-managed sound without lots of pumping, but the Duende's compressors seemed to play well with others nearly all the time.

Although you can save your plug-in settings as presets, no presets are included with the Duende. Granted, the EQ and dynamics processing are pretty straightforward and not too hard to set up, but it would be helpful to have some of the classic sounds as jumping-off points.

SSL Authenticity

At $1,995, the Duende is at the high end of DSP hosts, especially when you consider that it includes only two plug-ins. On the other hand, Channel has a lot of functionality, both plug-ins sound great, and 32 instantiations is about what you would have gotten on a 4000 console, and more than you can get out of some other plug-in hosts.

Although the price of entry may be daunting to some, for those who really want the sound of an SSL console's dynamics and EQ, the Duende is the most affordable way to get it. Keep in mind that you will need to add a FireWire bus (unless you have a machine that actually has more than one bus and can afford to dedicate it to the Duende). But the result will be a classic flavor with which to season your music.

Larry the O is finally ready to throw away his 8-inch floppy disks of SSL automation sessions.

GUIDE TO EM METERS

5 = Amazing; as good as it gets with current technology

4 = Clearly above average; very desirable

3 = Good; meets expectations

2 = Somewhat disappointing but usable

1 = Unacceptably flawed

DSP host and plug-ins
$1,995

RATING PRODUCTS FROM 1 TO 5

PROS: Famous SSL sound, including both E- and G-series EQ. Up to 32 instantiations. Plug-in setup is straightforward.

CONS: Only two plug-ins. Needs dedicated FireWire bus. Some problematic interactions when Digital Performer is host. No factory presets.

MANUFACTURER

Solid State Logic
www.solid-state-logic.com