Solid State Logic SSL Channel Strip 2 & Harrison 32 Classic Channel

What SSL Native Channel Strip 2 Is For

SSL Native Channel Strip 2 is a channel strip plug-in designed to speed up and make your mixing decisions more reliable on every track: vocals, guitars, synths, drums, buses, and even light mastering. It combines the essentials of "console" processing into a single interface to sculpt tone, control dynamics, and manage gain staging with a coherent approach from initial setting to final balance.

Thanks to its SSL identity and workflow designed for stacking multiple instances, it is particularly suited for productions seeking a clean yet lively sound, with firmness, impact, and a natural sense of cohesion between tracks.

Main Features

Fader Level + Output Trim: the right balance between character and cleanliness

Previous versions relied solely on an Output Trim control. Channel Strip 2 adds a true Fader Level, developed on the SSL fader scale and designed to integrate with the 360 Plug-in Mixer for a "virtual console" workflow. When you adjust the Fader Level, your existing Output Trim settings are preserved, allowing you to use both controls together.

In practice, the Fader Level provides a soft saturation digitally modeled, while the Output Trim remains a clean gain control. Combining both lets you precisely set the output level while choosing how much "grain" and density you want to retain in the signal.

SSL 4-band EQ: precise, fast, musical

The core of Channel Strip 2 is a 4-band EQ with the traditional SSL layout, digitally modeled on the XL 9000K circuit curves. The built-in filters cover everyday needs for cleaning and shaping: a 12 dB/oct low-pass filter and an 18 dB/oct high-pass filter. The mids are split into lower mids and upper mids for better targeting of sensitive areas in vocals, guitars, snares, or keyboards.

"E" Button: two curve behaviors (Series E / Series G)

The "E" button allows you to change the EQ character between two iconic signatures. The Series G mode offers shelves and filters with a curve behavior showing slight overshoot and undershoot depending on frequency, which can help add definition and a more "console" feel. The Series E mode removes this effect and provides slightly smoother slopes.

Another key difference: in Series G mode, the mid band bandwidth varies with gain level (same Q setting), which suits subtle corrective EQ on already dense or grouped sources. In Series E mode, bandwidth remains constant at all gain levels, resulting in a tighter behavior often appreciated for shaping drums and gaining precision.

Flexible routing: adapt processing order to your intent

Channel Strip 2 goes beyond the original hardware by allowing you to choose the processing order of filters, EQ, and dynamics blocks. For example, you can compress before EQ to stabilize a signal, or EQ before compressing to shape the compressor's response. This routing freedom makes the plug-in especially effective when you want a fast, reproducible result tailored to each source.

Anti-Cramping Technology: more natural highs without forced oversampling

Digital filters can suffer from a "cramping" effect near the Nyquist frequency, which can limit the sense of air when boosting high frequencies. SSL incorporates proprietary Anti-Cramping technology to maintain a more symmetrical and linear response, even with high boosts, without requiring you to change the project's sample rate or enable external oversampling.

Modern dynamics: smoothness, parallel, and side-chain

For more musical compression, Channel Strip 2 offers a soft compression characteristic called Over-Easy that facilitates smoother transitions. The plug-in also includes an external side-chain input to trigger compression from another track, and a Wet/Dry dynamic balance control to easily perform parallel compression without complex routing.

SSL 360 and control surfaces: a true "hardware" feel

Designed as an SSL 360 plug-in, Channel Strip 2 integrates with the 360 Plug-in Mixer and can be controlled from UC1 and UF8 surfaces. The goal is simple: keep your hands on the controls and your head in the music, with quick and consistent adjustments across your entire session.

Technical specifications

Type

Full software

Downloadable

Yes

Signature	SSL channel strip features and sound with an improved workflow	Mac Processor	Intel Dual Core 2.4 GHz or higher
HQ Mode	improved quality via oversampling, with increased CPU usage	Windows Processor	Intel Core 2 (or comparable) 2.4 GHz or higher
macOS	Monterey 12, Big Sur 11, Catalina 10.15	RAM	8 GB recommended
Windows	Windows 10 (64-bit) and Windows 11 (64-bit)	Mac	AU, VST2, VST3, AAX Native