SSL Line Mixer, is this a real thing?

 Based on this screenshot, it looks like it was built in 1989. At least the PSU was. Guy claims it was made for Quincy Jones. Haha. Although he admits he has no way of knowing that.

It's an IC op amp with gain... like 12 dB. I'm not sure how much you will get out of that, tone-wise. Not sure what is SSL about it.

I'd prefer a Speck VF16 to this, personally. A bit more - $600 or so more new, but you can find them used from time to time.

I literally asked the seller "what is SSL about this?" in those words haha.

I dont' need tone, what I actually want is clean gain. I'd use it to push into my RND Orbit to drive it's transformers a little bit. I just don't have enough headroom coming out of my conversion.

Nothing at all SSL about that. Maybe a couple hundred bucks in parts.

And it took a serious drop?! 

Hard pass. 

For a couple grand you could buy an actual SSL line mixer like mine... with mutes, faders, aux sends... solo... even a whole center section! Or... I thought you had an RND summer box? 

This thing? Probably not the 'upgrade' your looking for. 

You have the X-Desk correct?

 
Yes indeed! Its more or less the jukebox/return section of a 9000 desk. 16 line in + stereo returns. No mic amps. No EQ. Everything you need to mix a record, nothing you don't! 

Back to that driving the Orbit more thing eh..? 

Like I suggested in your other thread, whuz the problem with hanging your outboard there? Between the D/A and the summing box?

That's what most people do. Need more juice outta the vocal? Reach over & turn up the output of whatever compressor 'ya slapped across it. 

Then you can drive stuff into sweet spots... total mush or anywhere in between.

FWIW the ssl desk itself is extremely clean. Not much "mojo" to speak of, in terms of grit... its just super squeaky clean, crazy headroom and ultra wide bandwidth which IMO makes it an excellent blank canvas to paint with outboard gear & other means. 

Also FWIW - I have seen actual chopped down SSL desks & outboard racks... various summing things all cut from large frame 4000/6000/9000 consoles. There's an outfit in the UK that does it... if that interests you... but they aren't anywhere near $1k - Buy an 8 or 16 input mini frame but serious $$ there. Big commitment! 

So it's not so much a "problem" as I'm not sure it's the solution. The transformers on the Orbit aren't on the individual channels, they're just on the summed signal. So I could definitely jack up one or two channels enough to get into that territory, but then I'm basically mixing on a mixer that has no mix knobs! Not fun.

The concept of the Orbit is that it's literally just the summing portion of a desk. The only additional feature is mono/stereo on channel level, silk control, and output trim.

So something like the X-Desk would work (and actually I think the guy who I first worked with using the Orbit here in Austin uses the X-Desk in front of it now that I think about it. He's featured in the RND video actually). And maybe something like the Speck fader pack would be ideal too.

X-Desk has all kinds of other routing benefits too of course. Worth considering.

Every piece in my studio may or may not have belonged to Quincy Jones.

You know Mark my wife saw me laughing at your post and reminded me at one point every piece of kit was either former Cheap trick, Bodeans gems or Garbage/ Smart.