Nope. Same here. Got everything else, but no sticker to affix to the unit itself. I’ve emailed them to see if they’ll provide one as it seems it might be nice to outwardly show that the unit’s been updated.
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yes… same here… no sticker
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Has anyone compared the quality/character of the preamps on the mono channels to those of the stereo channels? I am wondering if it is worth me tracking stereo samples through two mono channels or if it is not really going to add or change anything.
Run a few samples through each and see if you prefer it one way or the other.
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Any compressor that allows you to change between stereo and mono is a good thing. From my experience with compressors and mono mode. The drum bus can get more dynamic on the left and right channel. It’s not overwhelming but it adds a little extra.
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Just got an email from SSL about the issue:
Thanks for being part of the SSL Big Six Family. An even bigger thank you for your patience while we’ve worked on a particularly annoying niggle in our phantom power supply which resulted in a small number of users experiencing low level noise on their mix busses.
We’re in the process of rolling out a free of charge, user-retrofittable adapter board which resolves the issue. If your unit is affected, please contact the SSL distributor where you purchased your unit who can arrange to ship you a kit with full instructions to get you up and running with as little delay as possible.
We recognise you might feel uncomfortable fitting the kit yourself so we’ve put together a video to guide you through the process (rest assured, your factory warranty remains unaffected). If you’re still not sure, our distributors will be happy to arrange return of your unit to SSLHQ for the kit to be fitted by one of our technicians and returned to you.
As a gesture of goodwill, we’ve arranged for a 50% discount to be applied automatically to any single item you might like to purchase from our webstore at store.solidstatelogic.com. To redeem your discount, log into the webstore using the email address you registered your Big Six against and click the ‘BIG SIX Voucher 2022’ link during the checkout process.00
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the following might be totally my setup, but without alternative monitors or desk to currently test i wanted to check here if; since the fw update and retrofit has anyone noticed some very quiet “air/subtle hiss” on their right main monitor output? this is with all faders and monitor lev at 0.
when i plug monitors in main out it’s not there, and not on recording.
Is anyone using the Big Six in conjunction with the new SSL Bus+ compressor? I’m looking at getting one of these, but wondering if the addition of the Bus+ would be superfluous or too overlapping with the Big Six bus compressor. I also hope the QA issues from the Big Six didn’t transfer over to the manufacturing of the Bus+, so I’m being cautious.
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It’s a completely different world. Like stepping into a Ferrari from a Daihatsu Cuore.
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I have the Bus+ on the master bus of my Big Six and it adds a deep dimension for tracking/mixing/mastering. The G-series compressors on the Six/Big Six are great, but the Bus+ Is a major step up. The (Big) Six channel strip compressors have never been suited to my studio work, so having two mono full parameterized compressors to use as inserts is fantastic. Still wrapping my head around the dynamic EQ’s, but the Bus+ is deep and will handle material that isn’t optimal for the Big Six compressors. Control over side-chaining, mid-side processing, saturation modes —deep toolbox for studio work.
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Great, thanks for the breakdown of the extra features of the Bus+ and illustrating its versatility! Those dynamic EQs and stepped pots are a nice addition. Sounds like you’re using the Bus+ as an insert instead of taking the master outputs of the Big Six straight into the Bus+ and then onward? In any regard, all signs point to this being an awesome pairing and extending the signal chain to greater depths of processing. Although not cheap by any means, SSL is going for the jugular so to speak as the Bus+ is priced right below many other outboard compressor boxes (API, Neve, Bettermaker, and the like.).
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I have it on the master bus insert, but it’s just normalled in my patchbay, so I can easily put it on a couple mono channel inserts. No question, it’s the new SSL flagship compressor. I was looking for a workhorse that I can use every day in the studio for a wide range of projects and the Bus+ is nicely priced for the capabilities. I’ve had my eye on the Neve Portico for awhile, but couldn’t justify the price against my paying projects.
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Hey team, picked one up today and I’m impressed with the build.
That said, I’m no expert when it comes to testing the unit for the known faults.
I have noticed a couple of things:
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My unit was purchased yesterday and arrived today from Gear4Music… it came with firmware 1.07. Upon installing the new firmware, I didn’t get a confirmation it was done, but that it could not be found, similar to other users in this thread. That said, I restarted the installer and the firmware seemed up to date 1.18. Weird.
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WIth all faders down, I hear airy noise/hiss coming out of both of my speakers… when I turn the unit off, the sound goes away… is this one of the known faults?
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I am so dumb with routing that I still haven’t figured out how to use send/return correctly and I haven’t even tested the DAW capabilities yet. Do I connect my H9 pedal to ST1 sends on the back and then bring it back in using one of the 2 external stereo inputs on the top right?
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What if I want to use my analog Moog delay that is mono? Can I send it into ST2 and bring it in mono on the top right as above?
I’m so confused, maybe I should just stick to my Apollo’s…
Also, does anyone know how to check whether their new unit has already been fitted with the necessary retrofit from the factory? thank youuu
yeah both EXT inputs default to mono if only L input is used
i’d like to hear more responses to this, after upgrade there is quiet hiss with everything at 0 for me too.
I really like this form factor as an option for simple dub mixing with the long throw faders but wow, crazy how they’ve botched this.
Anyone know of anything similar? Don’t need an interface, just a 8-12ch analog mixer with nice faders and solid routing.
Anyone have experience with the big six/six and maybe an A&H mixwiz 14:4:2 / 16:2 in terms of sonics?
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thank you @waftlord
so to use traditional send/return one must use the ST1 or 2 and bring the signal back in, either on one of the channels strips or, either of the two external inputs on the top right…
Regarding the hiss/noise, is there a way for me to check if the unit has the retrofit already installed?
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Not very flexible, six stereo channels, no mono and no audio interface but … best sounding mixer to my ears is the Playdifferently Model 1 which I’ve been using alongside my Apollo’s until I bought the Big6
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I think the only way would be for you to take a peak inside and see if the retrofit kit has been installed. There is a supposed to be a sticker on the back of the unit stating that it has it, but from reading the gearspace thread this does not appear to be the case.
Might be worth doing before you have it totally hooked up to everything, there are instructions on opening it (not very difficult if you just want to peak in) on the ssl website if you create and account and log in.
I came across some other forums where they mention, at least for UK consumers, the box itself (not the unit), will have a blue sticker dot next to the barcode (if it has been retrofitted at the factory).
I can confirm my box has this sticker and given i dont hear any of the pulsing noise, I’m certain its been done.
Not sure what this means for people outside the UK though…
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