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  • Overview
  • Customer Reviews
  • 4.9/5
    (17)
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Regular Price: $299.00

$89.00

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4.9/5
(17)

Turn your DAW into a classic SSL console.

Unlock the sound of the SSL 4000 E, the famous British-made console that has added unmistakable clarity and punch to albums from Nirvana to Tupac, Dr. Dre, and Bruno Mars.

Add punch to vocals and instruments with our end-to-end emulation of the SSL 4000’s Jensen transformer-based preamp, then use precise EQ and classic VCA compression to hear your session come to life through one of the most revered analog channel strips ever made.

Included Versions

UAD Native
Runs on your Mac or PC without UA hardware.

Apollo Realtime & UAD‑2
Runs accelerated on Apollo interfaces and UAD‑2 hardware.

UAD Native plug-ins run on both macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer and Windows 10 and 11. Go to our UA Support page for system requirements.

  • Track and mix through a stunning emulation of a vintage SSL analog channel
  • NEW! Get external side-chaining with UAD Native plug-in version — no Apollo required
  • Get the full character of SSL’s Jensen transformer-based preamps
  • Sculpt your sources with both Type E “black” and “brown” knob EQ and filters
  • Harness the famous SSL VCA Compressor and Gate for incredible dynamics control
  • Mix with artist presets from Just Blaze (Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar), Ryan Hewitt (Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Avett Brothers), Ian Boxill (Prince, Tupac), and more

Want to Try It?

Use this plug-in free for 14 days and find out if it's right for you.

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Deep-dive with Drew
Deep-dive with Drew

Deep-dive with Drew

SSL 4000 E Channel Strip

Turn Your DAW into a Classic SSL Console

Turn Your DAW into a Classic SSL Console

In crafting the SSL 4000 E Channel Strip Collection, our team of engineers dug deep into the SSL 4000 E hardware, faithfully modeling the original preamp’s Jensen input transformers and dbx "gold-can" VCA output section. This gives you all the punchy, assertive SSL tone that has become a hallmark of modern music.

Get Famed British EQ in Spades

Get Famed British EQ in Spades

The SSL 4000 E Channel Strip Collection plug-in features both the Type E 242 “black knob” and 001 “brown knob” four-band EQ and filters. The “brown” EQ is easy to dial in and musical, while the “black” is more surgical and clean. Both offer iconic SSL band interactions and amp modeling, adding punch to drums, presence to vocals, and heft to bass.

Expansion, Compression & More

Expansion, Compression & More

From subtle dynamics control to in-your-face smack, the E Series’ compressor gives guitars presence, makes vocals “pop,” and can add clarity, punch, and depth to your drum bus. PRE-DYN controls let you place the EQ or filters before the dynamics section for tons of different timbres, while the DYN-SC buttons provide frequency-dependent compression using the EQ filters, cut filters, or both.

Add Depth and Openness with any UAD hardware

Add Depth and Openness with any UAD hardware

Of course, the SSL 4000 E Channel Strip Collection isn’t just for Apollo owners. UAD-2 owners can use the SSL E Channel Strip on any source, without going outside the box. With the SSL E Channel Strip's complete console channel emulation, plus the included DSP-lite SSL E Channel Strip Legacy plug-in, you can craft your projects with Platinum‑selling sound.

Unison Technology for Apollo

Unison Technology for Apollo

Harnessing UA’s groundbreaking Unison technology, the new SSL 4000 E Channel Strip plug-in gives you the hardware’s mic/line preamp impedance, gain stage “sweet spots,” and exact circuit behaviors. Just insert the plug-in into the Apollo’s Unison preamp slot to track in real time through a perfect SSL modeled preamp.

Watch The Reviews

      Customer Reviews

      SSL 4000 E Channel Strip

      Overall Rating

      4.9/5
      (17)

      I. Vorobok

      December 3, 2024

      SSL 4000 E Channel Strip

      I have worked with many SSL 4000 E clones, but none of them gave me such a clean sound without picking up unnecessary resonances. A great plugin for coloring instruments and vocals in solos. After this purchase, I completely abandoned clones, now I prefer exclusively the UAD version.

      K. Holley

      November 30, 2024

      Impressive

      I operate a hybrid audio signal processing route. This consist of UAD Twin Finity 710 Preamp, Heritage Audio Successor Compressor, SSL Fusion hardware. The UAD SSL4k Channel Strip I use in post to retain my hardware color and this plugin is clean and effective. My only issue is I have upgrade to Apollo gen2 because my hardware signal aren’t retain after routing though Apollo Twin duo Mk2. While the plug-in is impressive Kaizen is always a conversation. Modernize the GUI or HMI.

      F. Costa

      November 26, 2024

      Excellent SSL Channel Strip

      For me, this is probably the best-sounding SSL Channel Strip on the market right now. When I want to EQ a vocal, it's my go-to. My only regret is not being able to use it on every track because I don’t have enough DSP to handle it. Such a shame. But if I could, I’d probably put it everywhere.

      Z. dayan

      November 26, 2024

      Amazing!

      I was waiting for this along time!
      The best ssl vst on the market!

      A. Kofler

      November 25, 2024

      Clean Character

      Nice clean control of the frequencies without too much coloration yet just the right amount of sweetness with out saturating. Very cool EQ

      .

      November 22, 2024

      Fantastic plugin

      Absolute go-to plugin for tone shaping! 5/5

      D. BUITRON

      October 22, 2024

      Oh yeah, this is the real deal.

      I've never owned a real SSL board, but compared to the SSL emu's I have, this one just feels authentic. From the harmonics, the clipping, the way you can push the compressor to absolutely SMACK a transient source, the way it starts to gradually get into compression before showing up on gain reduction meter like I've seen the real ones do... Make no mistake folks. If you're looking for the dead nuts SSL channel strip emulation, quirks and all, this is the one. I've since put all my other SSL emus away.

      F. Coletti

      October 21, 2024

      Truly a classic

      I’ve worked for years on a SSL 6k E (with half channel 4K E) and I’ve tried all the possible plugin recreation. I must say this is the only one that really conveys my that sound (especially on the dyn part!!). Talking specifically about the E series, some other manufacturers did great jobs, but compared to the hardware UAD gets the best results.
      FC

      A. Nicklin

      October 20, 2024

      Worth the wait for Native

      Having 14 DSP’s in total spread across an Apollo and two Satellites I was still limited to a relatively small number of instances that I could run - not anymore, on my M1 Max Mac Studio, I’ve literally put the native plugin on every audio channel in Pro Tools (at least 16 instances) and along with the other UAD Native plugins I’ll have in the session (Distressor, LA-2A, 1176, EMT140, Sunset Studio and more) I’m still only hitting around 65% CPU.
      Prior to the native versions, I had to compromise - and it is a compromise - by using other vendors emulations which quite frankly don’t compare (not naming names, but one of them does charge for an update plan which you can choose not to take up, but you wonder sometimes what are you getting for your money).
      Ok, let’s address the elephant in the room - existing DSP owners of the original plugin.

      I was expecting this to appear in my UA Connect itinerary as with previous plugins , but adding in external sidechain functionality is not a simple case of adding a button to the UI, so $9.99 is a small price to pay for a feature that works flawlessly.
      Bottom line, and this is what it boils down to, it is hands down the best sounding SSL emulation I’ve used, and having an Apollo also allows you to record using the preamps.

      s. ermolaev

      October 17, 2024

      Very good!

      Well, finally.)) Thank you very much! 10 dollars is not a pity.

      A. Husaini

      October 16, 2024

      The Greatest of All Time

      I owned Brainworx SSL 4000 E Console. I owned Waves SSL E Channel Strip. I also owned Waves CLA Mixhub and Waves SSL EV2. I have used Solid State Logic's channel strips and Slate Digital VMR.

      Still, nothing beats this.

      G. Girard

      October 15, 2024

      great channel strip

      best ssl channel strip, very faithful, now in native

      U. Sabiniewicz

      October 13, 2024

      Better than SSL

      In comparison with the SSL Plugin version, very good. How can a 3rd party emulation be better than the Original manufacturer? I cancelled my SSL subscription finally because all the Plugins sounds so bad, and, since I listen to the UA version, yes nearly perfect.

      A. Lau

      October 10, 2024

      Still the best SSL 4K in the box

      UA's DSP plugin has always been the best way to mix with the classic SSL 4000 E channel strip in the box. Now the plugin is also available natively and even with external sidechain. The seamless switching between native and DSP-based plugin in LUNA also works flawlessly - a dream come true.

      J. Davy

      October 10, 2024

      The best SSL Channel Strip plugin

      The SSL 4000 E Channel Strip is hands down the best SSL 4kE plugin! The iconic sound is there, and now the flexibility of Native is off the charts! The biggest win for me is that you no longer need a ton of DSP power to run just a few instances. You can have as many as your CPU can handle, opening up a world of possibilities for larger sessions and more complex mixes. Highly recommended

      C. LAURENT

      October 10, 2024

      I love this channel strip

      Excellent slice, I like the sound of the SSL, the Channel strip is superb, much better than some developers.
      The native version now lets you put more in mixes. That's great, thanks UAD

      a. toth

      October 10, 2024

      THE BEST SSL 4000

      It’s my favorite Plugin. The sound is incredible. I Have All ssl 4K Plugin and this is the Best emulation.