How come I never hear any talk of SSL preamps...

[De chromium cob]

You don't hear alot about them because they are considered by most to be good preamps, but not great preamps. They dont really give you the mojo that many of the other pres you see discussed here impart...
I've used the ones in the 9000J and while they aren't bad, they generally dont get used for the stuff thats considered really important.
The eq, dynamics, automation, routing, number of channels and sound of the board is what SSLs are really all about.
My $0.02....

[djui5]

Originally Posted by De chromium cob

I've used the ones in the 9000J and while they aren't bad, they generally dont get used for the stuff thats considered really important.

Precisely. The pre's in the previous boards really blew...and the 9J's are ok for stuff that's not important, like the 40th layer of shaker in a boy band track...

[bpatural]

the 4000 ones are really gritty, but good for mpc hip hop stuff, the new ones are very very accurate and clean, but most people don't really like that in a pre...anyway, if you're doing an overdub are you going to reach for one of the 80 pres stuffed in a console on a budget or one that was designed with cost as no issue designed to do one thing well.
-brian

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by bpatural

the 4000 ones
-brian

The E's are gritty and at times down right foul.

The G's have more smoother line amps.

Personally i would only track through either for an effect.