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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 6, 2024 12:54:39 GMT -6
Thoughts?
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 6, 2024 13:22:50 GMT -6
They’re well reviewed but do regularly come up used.
I think some regret their cost and sell them.
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Post by notneeson on Feb 6, 2024 13:43:07 GMT -6
Related to this: does anyone have the 500 series version of the Violet EQ— thoughts?
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 6, 2024 14:02:51 GMT -6
Demoing the plugs right now and I'm not sure what I think.
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Post by seawell on Feb 6, 2024 14:18:16 GMT -6
I had one for a year or so. Really cool box. The one odd thing that I didn't like(and why I ultimately ended up selling it) is that I preferred lower settings on the drive and density knobs in the vintage drive section but when set to low amounts there isn't a very good signal to noise ratio. It was to the point where I thought it was broken, reached out the Vintage King who reached out to SSL on my behalf and they basically confirmed that's normal. All sections of it are cool and very usable. The stereo width in particular was awesome. I found that I didn't usually have the transformer engaged, but then again that's not really the SSL sound so not too surprising. I chose it over a Silver Bullet at the time, also not surprising because I was looking for more of an SSL sound. Now that the Silver Bullet MK2 has an SSL option, I'd be very curious to hear them side by side. The Fusion was definitely good enough though that I'd like to give it another run at some point and see if I could experiment more with my 2 buss chain gain staging to where it might work better with a higher setting in the vintage drive setting/less noise. To be honest, I think I was just attempting to use it in a way that they didn't really intend. Anyway, hopefully there's something useful in that rambling 😁
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 6, 2024 14:19:56 GMT -6
The Stereo Imaging plug is definitely better than Ozone. That might be worth buying alone. Might start a new thread about wideners
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Post by ragan on Feb 6, 2024 14:25:16 GMT -6
Related to this: does anyone have the 500 series version of the Violet EQ— thoughts? The UltraViolet? I’ve got one. I dig it. The mids sound like SSL and I like them for carving/sculpting. |
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Post by enlav on Feb 6, 2024 14:44:13 GMT -6
Related to this: does anyone have the 500 series version of the Violet EQ— thoughts? The UltraViolet? I’ve got one. I dig it. The mids sound like SSL and I like them for carving/sculpting. For the cost you can get these at too, they're pretty feature-packed. I think I got mine for $300 $400 USD? (guitarcenter.com, with a coupon that probably shouldn't have worked when they were initially price-cut to $500) HPF, 2 parametric mid bands with further increased boost/cut settings, and an output trim even. Cheap problem solver especially if you want to fix something in outboard land before you go back to tape/disk/ssd.
The only knock I can say about it is I'm usually reaching for other eq's for low/high shelf duties, but this thing is already cheaper than a lot of plugins.
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Post by viciousbliss on Feb 6, 2024 14:44:55 GMT -6
The issues with Vintage Drive have been reported pretty well in various places. I don't feel a need to use it. You need really well-recorded stuff to minimize the problems. With the Violet Eq I started using the 50hz and 16khz settings. Been using the 30hz HPF too. Cranked the Space and Width more than I did before. These settings work better with my current mixing strategy where I'm using Basslane Pro and UAD Culture Vulture on busses. The transformer works really well for me. There aren't a lot of utility hardware pieces like this. It's as valuable as more expensive things I've used. Maybe it would be a lot more expensive if it wasn't made in China. The HF compressor is also useful and unique. I'm not sure what I would replace it with if given the opportunity.
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 6, 2024 14:55:33 GMT -6
None of this is helping me not buy this...
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Post by viciousbliss on Feb 6, 2024 17:32:26 GMT -6
The Fusion is cheaper used now than it was when I got mine in 2022, sometimes I've seen them at near $1600. Try using Affirm or Klarna if you can get access. Or 48 months on VK if you got a card. My guy there was willing to do 48 months on anything. Access Analog has two as well, I think. The plugins are not all that close if you watch the multiple videos comparing them. My experience corroborated what I saw on Youtube. But I also have very limited hardware experience. What other hardware wideners are there? The Drawmer, one of the Vitalizers, and the Overstayer piece that Access Analog has in the Magic Garden chain? There's probably some I don't know about. I'm not sure if I consider the Portico's SFE to really be a widener. It can get phasey and I've heard it's just a mid-side eq simplified. I've never had the Fusion's SW get phasey on me.
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 6, 2024 18:24:34 GMT -6
The Fusion is cheaper used now than it was when I got mine in 2022, sometimes I've seen them at near $1600. Try using Affirm or Klarna if you can get access. Or 48 months on VK if you got a card. My guy there was willing to do 48 months on anything. Access Analog has two as well, I think. The plugins are not all that close if you watch the multiple videos comparing them. My experience corroborated what I saw on Youtube. But I also have very limited hardware experience. What other hardware wideners are there? The Drawmer, one of the Vitalizers, and the Overstayer piece that Access Analog has in the Magic Garden chain? There's probably some I don't know about. I'm not sure if I consider the Portico's SFE to really be a widener. It can get phasey and I've heard it's just a mid-side eq simplified. I've never had the Fusion's SW get phasey on me. Yeah I need to see if it's any different than just M/S compression. |
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Post by notneeson on Feb 6, 2024 18:27:57 GMT -6
The Fusion is cheaper used now than it was when I got mine in 2022, sometimes I've seen them at near $1600. Try using Affirm or Klarna if you can get access. Or 48 months on VK if you got a card. My guy there was willing to do 48 months on anything. Access Analog has two as well, I think. The plugins are not all that close if you watch the multiple videos comparing them. My experience corroborated what I saw on Youtube. But I also have very limited hardware experience. What other hardware wideners are there? The Drawmer, one of the Vitalizers, and the Overstayer piece that Access Analog has in the Magic Garden chain? There's probably some I don't know about. I'm not sure if I consider the Portico's SFE to really be a widener. It can get phasey and I've heard it's just a mid-side eq simplified. I've never had the Fusion's SW get phasey on me. SPL has a widener built into the Mix Dream. Not sure where else they use that circuit. There's also a home stereo box that some folks swear by, I can't remember what it's called right now The new Silver Bullet has aspect ratio. I love the plugin version of it, and sometimes use aspect ratio alone since I have a hardware Mk1. I actually like plugin wideners sometimes for delays and pads etc., stuff where you're not overly worried how it collapses if you can make it more special in stereo. . |
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 6, 2024 20:28:22 GMT -6
The Fusion is cheaper used now than it was when I got mine in 2022, sometimes I've seen them at near $1600. Try using Affirm or Klarna if you can get access. Or 48 months on VK if you got a card. My guy there was willing to do 48 months on anything. Access Analog has two as well, I think. The plugins are not all that close if you watch the multiple videos comparing them. My experience corroborated what I saw on Youtube. But I also have very limited hardware experience. What other hardware wideners are there? The Drawmer, one of the Vitalizers, and the Overstayer piece that Access Analog has in the Magic Garden chain? There's probably some I don't know about. I'm not sure if I consider the Portico's SFE to really be a widener. It can get phasey and I've heard it's just a mid-side eq simplified. I've never had the Fusion's SW get phasey on me. SPL has a widener built into the Mix Dream. Not sure where else they use that circuit. There's also a home stereo box that some folks swear by, I can't remember what it's called right now The new Silver Bullet has aspect ratio. I love the plugin version of it, and sometimes use aspect ratio alone since I have a hardware Mk1. I actually like plugin wideners sometimes for delays and pads etc., stuff where you're not overly worried how it collapses if you can make it more special in stereo. . There’s a 500 series SPL Big widener…got my attention. |
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Post by notneeson on Feb 6, 2024 20:37:36 GMT -6
SPL has a widener built into the Mix Dream. Not sure where else they use that circuit. There's also a home stereo box that some folks swear by, I can't remember what it's called right now The new Silver Bullet has aspect ratio. I love the plugin version of it, and sometimes use aspect ratio alone since I have a hardware Mk1. I actually like plugin wideners sometimes for delays and pads etc., stuff where you're not overly worried how it collapses if you can make it more special in stereo. . There’s a 500 series SPL Big widener…got my attention. Oh yeah, that could be great. They make cool things. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2024 21:14:46 GMT -6
I like most things that SSL make and before I found ways to spend more money my 2bus chain was SSL UV > G-bus > Fusion. Yes the fusion can produce a bit of nasty hiss if light touched but this is where one should RTM  . Page 9..
"In these situations the recommended workaround is to increase the DRIVE control in the VINTAGE DRIVE section and decrease the front-end INPUT TRIM control, to leave you with the same overall effect but with less hiss."
The Fusion's HF compressor could be a bit tetchy dependent on the material but apart from that it sounds great. As for the UV it has that standard forward SSL type "clarity", the UV sounds exactly the same as the SSL EQ's in my Big Six the only difference is the UV has a lot more functionality, for the price you really cannot go wrong with it.
Now, the reason I got rid of the Fusion and the UV is living on a reverb return is because whilst I think the SSL chain sounds great if budget allows you'll always probably find something better. The Bettermaker Mastering limiter alongside the Gainlabs Empress can do most of what the Fusion can, a lot more in other area's with far greater granual control and there are zero compromises in those devices, as a 2 bus chain I couldn't be happier with this setup. Athough the BM is twice as expensive as the Fusion and the Gainlabs is 4X more expensive than the UV. Soo, is it worth it? I seriously think so, others might not YMMV etc.
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Post by noob on Feb 6, 2024 22:22:59 GMT -6
I don't have one, but I used the one on access analog and it was just all right. Nothing I would spend that much on, didn't find the saturation or drive useful at all for my mixes. If I were looking in that price bracket I'd go for something like the SPL Vitalizer MK-3, that thing sounds great and is tube flavored.
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