CHRIS LORD-ALGE’S SSL SETTINGS NOW AVAILABLE AS PART OF WAVES’ SSL BUNDLE

[The Press Desk at Gearslutz.com]

Waves LTD., the world’s leading innovator of audio signal processing tools, has partnered with GRAMMY® Award-winning mixer Chris Lord-Alge in developing signature presets for the Waves SSL 4000 Collection, a bundle of plug-ins that precisely recreate the sonics of the legendary Solid State Logic® 4000 series recording console.

The equalization and dynamic parameter presets that Chris Lord-Alge uses to create multi-platinum hits for artists including Green Day, Sheryl Crow, Hoobastank, Tim McGraw, Audioslave, Brian Setzer, Eric Clapton and dozens of others, are now available as part of the SSL 4000 Collection. These include the exact same settings — for vocals, guitar, bass, drums, strings and brass — that Chris has used on hit after hit, providing Waves users with an unprecedented degree of insight into how this renowned mixer approaches equalization and dynamics.

“I literally copied my settings off the desk for the Waves bundle, and when it came back it was incredible how exactly it matched what I do,” explains Lord-Alge. “Mike Fradis, Waves’ plug-in guru, came here to my studio in Los Angeles. He is very intuitive and he had already nailed the SSL 4000 sonics precisely. That’s what they added my presets to and since I love the way the Waves’ stuff sounds, I find that I can use my own plug-in presets as starting points on mixes. When I mix I come out of Pro Tools® and transfer to a Sony 3348 digital tape deck, because I think that sounds best. The number of tracks is limited to 48, but I might have 200 tracks from Pro Tools, so I create premixes. In mixing, it’s not about the size of the console but rather it’s about the prep work. And the Waves SSL 4000 Collection lets me have my own settings for various tracks ready to go at the touch of a button. It’s almost like having another 48 channels of SSL linked to the mix. Waves did such a great job on this.”

Developed under license from Solid State Logic, the Waves SSL 4000 Collection includes three meticulously modeled plug-ins based on the legendary SSL 4000 Series: the SSL E-Channel, SSL G-Master Buss Compressor and SSL G-Equalizer. Waves engineers spent more than a year analyzing and modeling the distinctive sonic characteristics of SL 4000 factory reference consoles and components provided by Solid State Logic. The Waves plug-ins sound so close to the original consoles, even experts who work with SSL boards day in and day out can’t tell the difference. The Chris Lord-Alge preset plug-in update requires a previous installation of the Waves SSL 4000 Collection version 1.1. In the words of Chris Lord-Alge, whose intimate knowledge of the SSL console is virtually unmatched, “I'm proud to share my secret presets with SSL 4000 users. Waves SSL models are the best I’ve ever heard.

Chris Lord-Alge is known for his technical talent when mixing a record and his passion for music, his sense of humor, and his highly personal approach to the mixing process. And it’s a family affair — along with his brother, Tom, Chris has become a mixer to rock & roll royalty: their combined credits are a virtual pantheon of hits from the past 20 years. “It’s in our blood,” says Chris. “We have the gene.” Chris grew up in New Jersey, the son of musical parents. At an early age, his mother got him an apprenticeship at H&L Studio. According to Chris, the moment he stepped in the studio, he was hooked. As his success grew over the years, he began producing as well as mixing. After producing several albums, including classics by Joe Cocker and Peter Frampton, Chris realized he just wanted to mix: “And what Waves has managed to accomplish with the SSL 4000 Collection is incredible,” he adds. “It really helps me as a mixer.”

http://www.waves.com/content.asp?id=2201

[subatomic]

I find the notion that this world renowned mix engineer would use the same eq and compression setting every time a little insulting.
This just seems like a bunch of marketing b.s. to me.

how you approach EQ and compression are both HEAVILY dependent on the signal that you're putting into them in the first place.

I would find Chris Lord-Alge's presets totally useless.

I'm sure that he got a fat paycheck for attaching his name to them, though.

[zboy2854]

Originally Posted by subatomic

I find the notion that this world renowned mix engineer would use the same eq and compression setting every time a little insulting.
This just seems like a bunch of marketing b.s. to me.

how you approach EQ and compression are both HEAVILY dependent on the signal that you're putting into them in the first place.

I would find Chris Lord-Alge's presets totally useless.

I'm sure that he got a fat paycheck for attaching his name to them, though.

You might want to try them first. I did, and I can tell you that indeed some of them do give you instant "Lord Alge" sounds, or at least very close starting points from which to tweak.

And anyone who's worked with the Lord Alge bros will tell you that they have arrays of gear that stay set the same most of the time that they run stuff through, which is one reason they're notoriously able to crank mixes out in only a few hours.

[subatomic]

sounds like just the kind of attention to detail that I'd expect from a world famous engineer that I'm paying a bazillion dollars to mix my record.

[zboy2854]

Originally Posted by subatomic

sounds like just the kind of attention to detail that I'd expect from a world famous engineer that I'm paying a bazillion dollars to mix my record.

Question: If the end result that said world famous engineer gets for your record is exactly what you were looking for and sounds great, why should you care how he goes about getting it, or how "hard" he has to work to get it?

Have you ever considered the idea that these guys have gotten to the point where they have a system that works for them, so that they don't have to "reinvent the wheel" every time a new project comes in? Ask around the boards here, you'll find plenty of guys who have either assisted for, sat in with, or had their projects mixed by these big shots, and they'll all tell you the same thing.

[subatomic]

I, for the most part, am incredibly bored with these hired-gun mixers who put their "sonic stamp" all over everything they do. It's assembly line engineering. Cranking out hits. Boring.
I prefer the work of people who take each artist, each album, each song, and each sound into consideration when deciding what's best for a mix.
I think that taking your project to one of these "sonic stamp" mixers is the audio equivalent of buying all of your clothes at Old Navy.

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally Posted by subatomic

I, for the most part, am incredibly bored with these hired-gun mixers who put their "sonic stamp" all over everything they do. It's assembly line engineering. Cranking out hits. Boring.
I prefer the work of people who take each artist, each album, each song, and each sound into consideration when deciding what's best for a mix.
I think that taking your project to one of these "sonic stamp" mixers is the audio equivalent of buying all of your clothes at Old Navy.

I´m sure even you have a sonic stamp or style.

[zboy2854]

I, for the most part, am incredibly bored with these hired-gun mixers who put their "sonic stamp" all over everything they do. It's assembly line engineering. Cranking out hits. Boring.
I prefer the work of people who take each artist, each album, each song, and each sound into consideration when deciding what's best for a mix.
I think that taking your project to one of these "sonic stamp" mixers is the audio equivalent of buying all of your clothes at Old Navy.

Fair enough. Some people don't care for those guys' work and some people absolutely love it. But I was responding to your initial post questioning the idea that they in fact use similar or the same settings from one mix or project to another, and in fact they do, at least as their starting point to tweak from, which accounts for why they have such a "sonic stamp" as you say.

[djui5]

Wow, what are you all bickering on a press release thread for?

[zboy2854]

He started it! I'm telling mom!

[Schmacko]

Isn't this press release a little late??

[danasti]

Originally Posted by subatomic

I find the notion that this world renowned mix engineer would use the same eq and compression setting every time a little insulting.
This just seems like a bunch of marketing b.s. to me.

Because they are world renowned they do it this way. Some will get 5 or 6 1176s and actually have them "fixed' so you can't move anything on it. So that box will always sound the same. They'll get 32 channels of neve eq and set them once.

What he'll do is set the level going onto tape from PT, or actually have an assistant do this. Then when he goes to mix he doesn't ever have to dial in a setting - it's all presets - faders and routing.

Originally Posted by subatomic

how you approach EQ and compression are both HEAVILY dependent on the signal that you're putting into them in the first place.

You got it. They set the level before and send it to the appropriate channel and apply whatever preset (outboard) they deem necessary to that channel. It's how you churn out mixes quickly.

All the McMixers pretty much do it this way.

[horseface]

Looks like Waves are just trying to divert attention away from the Duende by announcing this. They already had these presets available for download, didn't they?



It's going to be interesting to see which famous-arse producers SSL will ask to make presets for the Duende. We can all sound exactly like them, no matter what source material we have.

[warhead]

Originally Posted by zboy2854

He started it! I'm telling mom!

Don't make me come back there, I will pull this thread over NOW!

hahaha

War

[kats]

LOTS of guys work in the "cookie cutter" manner with just small tweeks. They also specialize in specific genre's as well. Theres a good reason for this. It's a tried and true method creating a sound that the buying public has come to expect from the respective genre's.

If an old school jazz band comes into your studio, you don't hook em up to your Marshall stack, SVT, close mic the crap outta everything, and present the material dry. Why not? Why not break the mold and be a visionary?

Because there's a certain tone associated with the genre that the public is EXPECTING when the buy the record.

[jjdpro]

YOu missed the point when Chris stated that he uses the presets as "A STARTING POINT"..

There is nothing with with having a "GOOD" starting or reference point..You are coming off sounding like "Sour-Grapes"..I'm sorry Waves did not come to you for your presets and the check..

One other thing, most Engineers don't know how to use a compressor, so having a world-class Engineer's prests help one to learn what a certain setting is used for and the context it belongs..

Waves has written extensive "how" to use their plugins manuals for the sole purpose of educating beginners and pros on how the use their plugs..Nothing wrong with more knowlege..
Get off of your snob horse and mix a hit record..

Originally Posted by subatomic

I, for the most part, am incredibly bored with these hired-gun mixers who put their "sonic stamp" all over everything they do. It's assembly line engineering. Cranking out hits. Boring.
I prefer the work of people who take each artist, each album, each song, and each sound into consideration when deciding what's best for a mix.
I think that taking your project to one of these "sonic stamp" mixers is the audio equivalent of buying all of your clothes at Old Navy.

[ignatius]

i think it was sound on sound perhaps 3 years ago had an interview w/one of the lord'alge bros and he said he transfered everything that came in to a sony 3348 digital multitrack regardless of whatever format it was already on.. i guess it is/was whatever.. favorite format to mix from.. simplest or something..

they had a pic of his rack and it was 50 compressors or something. said he runs everything thru a compressor and chains compressors etc. seems like it all gets pretty squished.. listen to a blink 182 record and it's pretty easy to hear.

also, i heard a story from some engineer i worked w/who said he was in the room when some uber-mixer-engineer and he finished a mix then loaded up another mix for a totally different artist/tempo/genre etc and just ran the mix to tape and was done.. didn't even repatch anything. said the guy changed one or two compressor settings and that was it.

perhaps stories like this have some truth perhaps not. perhaps having the 'magic' compressor presets can make your mixes take 10 minutes as well? perhaps they are just good starting places?

[noiseflaw]

I would love to have Waves come knocking on my door asking for my settings

I'm all for learning from great mix AE's - it's a good move by Waves and my Toms are certainly sounding better!

However, what would have been more useful is an informative explanation .pdf / booklet type thingy writtem by Lord Alge explaining his settings in more detail.

But it's still pretty cool though.

[Old Dog]

Just listened to CLA mixes. The settings described in the presets don't surprise me at all. Everything is sooo smashed. Lots of EQ boosts pre comp to "key" the comp and boosted top to compensate for high end loss. Very typical of this sound. Not one I shoot for, but if it's what you want then you'll love the presets I guess. It's working forr CLA!!!

[skygod]

Originally Posted by kats

LOTS of guys work in the "cookie cutter" manner with just small tweeks. They also specialize in specific genre's as well. Theres a good reason for this. It's a tried and true method creating a sound that the buying public has come to expect from the respective genre's.

If an old school jazz band comes into your studio, you don't hook em up to your Marshall stack, SVT, close mic the crap outta everything, and present the material dry. Why not? Why not break the mold and be a visionary?

Because there's a certain tone associated with the genre that the public is EXPECTING when the buy the record.

And thus the term "reference listening cd" by genre right?
Have a good collection in every genre

[skygod]

Originally Posted by jjdpro

YOu missed the point when Chris stated that he uses the presets as "A STARTING POINT"..

There is nothing with with having a "GOOD" starting or reference point..You are coming off sounding like "Sour-Grapes"..I'm sorry Waves did not come to you for your presets and the check..

One other thing, most Engineers don't know how to use a compressor, so having a world-class Engineer's prests help one to learn what a certain setting is used for and the context it belongs..

Waves has written extensive "how" to use their plugins manuals for the sole purpose of educating beginners and pros on how the use their plugs..Nothing wrong with more knowlege..
Get off of your snob horse and mix a hit record..

dudes and dudettes, CLA has an unlimited operating budget and can add on as many comps or EQs as he needs as much as most folks change condoms ....

The ssl was his mixer of choice years ago because he, as most realized back when, that it was is transparent and efficient patching automated medium that absorbs whatever you feed it. There is no magic. He puts the pultecs on the bottom, and the mid eqs in the middle and uses external pres like everybody else, and uses as many comps and limiters as required per instrument/voice requirements. He used DBX 160s and 165s as much if not more in the old days as he advocates the SSL G and SSL surround now. So what's magical? Nothing. He keeps his templates uniform throughout just about every mix for any client. The LVoc is on that channel with that comp, the B Vocals on those channels with thiose limiters, and the Pultecs sidechainig the bass and kick and snare comps ... yada yada yada. Its all engineering 101 basics on a very expensive console with a metric buttload of outboard to complement it. Basic presets? Ha ha ho ho hum hum. Its a fvvking hilarious gimmic thats sells sofware ... too bad they didn't expand the merchandising to edible panties and bras too. Oops, sorry, I'm treading on the 'KISS Army' marketing merchandising genius .... my bad ... don't wanna get sued by the masked metalheads lol

[clonewar]

Um, isn't this thread almost two years old? Maybe you should start a new thread to complain about Waves.. there's not enough of those.

[john caldwell]

CLA's SSl 4000 presets appear to have been taken down from the Waves site. There are a few other celebrity mixer presets still available Waves – The World's Leading Developer of Audio Signal Processing Technologies, but no longer the Chris Lord-Alge presets.

Does anyone have the zipped presets file handy? If so, I'd be grateful if it could be shared.

Many thanks,

John-
john_caldwell*at*mac*dot*com

[Dutchmuzik]

The CLA presets are included with the SSL installers now and are installed automatically.

[john caldwell]

Yes, Paul. Waves responded to my inquiry with the link below. You can download just the presets here, but you need to scroll through the process to get just the "CLA Presets":

Waves | Downloads | V4 & V5

[JMWS]

Well I just installed the classic bundle 5.9.7 SSL (Leopard), but there was no extra presets, just the few old ones. So... eh, what´s going on?