Solid State Logic .. SSL Big SiX

I really don’t know, other than they are different products. I just know I’ve seen this issue crop up a couple of times in regards to the Six in certain synths. I could take a guess though, and maybe it’s the type of components used in a Super Analogue channel? Or maybe it’s the power supply and power handling of that specific synth that is causing issues? Or maybe it’s a combination of things? To get so much headroom, things are probably juiced up quite a bit on the Big Six. Just some guesses, maybe someone who knows more about this can chime in.

I tried with the small SiX, and there is no noise on the same synth (prologue). I only had noise when connecting a guitar amp’s cab emulator (mesa) to it, but it had a ground lift switch that solved it, and, I believe, the issue was the amp, not the six.
From my perspective, with the B6 it is a power supply issue, the original power supply sounded like it was failing, and I would have changed it for safety reasons anyway, even if using only balanced gear. The unbalanced connections are slightly more noisy than the balanced ones, but I guess that’s normal.
Apart from these issues, how are you finding your B6. I am finding it really well thought out and convenient, exactly what I wanted.

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This page gives some detail. If I interpret it correctly, to connect an unbalanced instrument to an ssl balanced input, one should make a ts to trs cable with floating s and s → r
I have been using standard ts cables with no issues though.

Yesterday I set it back up and tried out the Ableton DC correction that you had mentioned above. It works well, and all of my readings are in the -90’s or better.

Apart from the issues, I think the package is perfect for what I need. It’s pretty much what I had asked for after using the Six. They nailed where the ins and outs are on the USB channels, and the tactile experience is great. My favorite new feature is the “ST CUE 1 TO G COMP & SUM TO MAIN BUS” switch. It makes it so that ST CUE 1 goes through the Bus Comp and then it is summed back in with the Main Mix. This could be great for parallel processing drums. It’s not something I will always use, but it is just one of those clever routings they came up with.

Another aspect of the Big Six I am enjoying is when I am listening music, I route the computer output to one of the stereo channels. Well hey, now I have 3 band EQ at my fingertips. Listening to a banger and want more bass, done. This scooped track need little more mids, done. Well, you see where I am going with this. Just part of the great and easy routing options.

Just a funny thought; When I had the Six on my desk, it seemed so small. But with the Big Six on my desk, it seems so large.

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Okay, now I’m hearing the noise you mentioned too – loud and clear. It’s a humming plus a rhythmical clicking noise. I only hear it on my Prophet 10 channel, not on the Buchla 200 channel (both unbalanced outputs).

Did any of you try to isolate the unbalanced input with a transformer? Or does swapping the PSU get rid of the entire noise?

Anyway: This is a very obvious problem that should be solved by SSL. I’ll write a support ticket too.

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For me, the new power supply solved the problem completely. The transformer made it worse (maybe it routed more current to another instrument …)

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Have you tried a balanced cable? I know it’s not a balanced output on the prophet 10, but I read some comment from Sequential about this being possible and helpful in some situations. It’s been a while and from memory it helped me with noise on the P10 and an interface.

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Hi HBIII, interesting test with the pseudo-balanced cables, did you use N. 14 from the RANE 110 doc?


This is what SSL recommend, but I guess they assume that the noise does not come from the mixer (power supply) itself…
Just in case, I found that https://www.designacable.com/ sell pseudo-balanced cables in the UK.

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Thanks so much brucegill! Using a TRS cable to connect the Prophet solved the problem entirely and got rid of the noise on that channel.

This is so weird and counterintuitive. Usually you should never use a TRS cable for a unbalanced to balanced connection because your’e loosing 6 to 10 dB of the input signal. I accidentally used TRS cables to connect an externel effects processor to the Big Six and it completely destroyed the signal. But in the case of the Prophet it works.

Something about the balanced IOs of the Big Six seems to be … very different.

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Fantastic! Pleased it worked :slight_smile:
Yes, very strange and counter intuitive!

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Yes that is what I did. With a pseudo balanced cable wired like that the power supply noise on the channel was worse than the unbalanced cable with the synth off (I could hear it even with the gain turned all the way down) but better than the unbalanced cable when the synth was on (I could only hear the power supply noise with gain near max). This is testing with a subsequent 37.

I agree with rklem, something about the balanced IOs on the big six seems different

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I never noticed much difference or had any trouble using balanced or unbalanced cables + gear with previous mixers and interfaces, but can say I noticed similar things with the small SiX

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OK, so I tried both an XP Power ALM120PS24 and a Delta MDS-090AAS24 BA power supply. Both are much quieter than the original Fidus one. There is no obvious power supply noise with either of these, and just a slight hum with the channel gain cranked near max (which would probably blow my ears or speakers out if I actually played a note on a synth with it like that). The XP power one might be slightly quieter than the Delta, but it also has a really short chunky cord which is annoying.

SSL also got back in touch with me and had me a do a few more troubleshooting things and I will post an update here with anything I find out.

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So the new PSU removes issues with unbalanced inputs?

Well, I mean, it’s not optimal having to buy a new power supply and I wish there were not any issues with unbalanced synths in the first place and that there was not any hum left at all…

But there are not any other quality mixers with the features and routing options this one has for less than $10k. And if that is just the way this mixer is and is not a problem specific to mine and a few other peoples then it is what it is I guess. I rather buy a $60 power supply than $2000 in DI boxes or something for all my synths.

I also wish synth makers would just add $1 to the cost of making a synth and have balanced ins and outs on them FFS.

I’m interested to hear what SSL has to say at the end of all this.

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Thanks :slight_smile:

I feel the impetus here is on SSL at this price point (and reputation) to make a product that works with the full gammut of gear. One thing is new gear - but especiall loads of vintage gear is unbalanced

And at the very least not shipping a noisy PSU with a $3k mixer :exploding_head:

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Hey got the Delta today and can confirm that it’s much quieter. If I cranked everything before I would get this kinda Apocalypse Now helicopter sound that the Delta got rid of.

Maybe we can get SSL to give us some free plugins in exchange for the bad supplies/time wasted… haha.

Edit: also, thanks again for the tip.

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Reading this thread, it’s impossible to know if the Big SiX is just a mess of a sloppy product or fantastic. It’s like going to this forum and trying to decide if Overbridge is just a crash-ridden bug festival or amazingly stable and overall great.

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I’m not kidding, I’m eyeing the Big Six and I’m reading this thread and thinking, no way I can go for this. It seems like a noise disaster with about average converters at that.

And I’m on a regular SiX with a Zoom H1n+ as a recording interface.

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