These boards have everything you'll need to track and mix a stellar-sounding recording - built in compression, EQ, automation. The SSL board, and the resulting quality, revolutionized the production of music.
These boards had a feature called the "Reverse Listen Mic", a feature where a microphone placed in the recording room could be turned on so you could have a two-way communication with the musician being recorded. This is great for making decisions on the fly, and as any engineer knows, communication is the key to a successful session!
During a session, a musician started playing his drums while the reverse listen mic was on. The sound was incredible! Overdriven without distortion, punchy and lo-fi.
Why It Works
The listen mic circuit has a compressor on the input stage to avoid overloading, and to make distant speech more intelligible. It was set with a unique attack and release ratio that, when put on a mic used for ambient noise on a drum recording, made a very unique sound. Engineers started modifying the SSL consoles to be able to record the output from this compressor. The main reason was to add a room mic into drum recordings. Guitar cabs and group vocals also found use with the LMC..How You Can Do It At Home
With the popularity of computer-based recording, SSL decided to release a plug-in that mimics the listen mic compressor exactly as it was on the original board. And the best part?It's free!
You can download the compressor plug-in free from SSL by clicking here. All you need to do is install it, and you'll have access to use it in your favorite DAW program.
For use on drums, simply put a good microphone in the same room as the drum set you're recording with close-mics. Anywhere from 5-10 feet will do, further back if you want more "open" sounds. Add the SSL LMC1 plug-in to this channel, and adjust how much compression you want. Bring this track up under your perfectly mixed drums, and you'll notice a huge change in the overall dynamics of your drum mix!
As with any compressor, remember this simple rule to keep things going well: don't over-do it; a good compressor is great, but too much of a good compressor is not. You can kill the dynamics and tone of a great recording with bad compression.
