Soundscape Mixpander Page 8 of 59
When using a native MIDI+Audio sequencer in parallel with the SSL Soundscape Mixer, you can
use VST and/or DirectX (depending on your choice of sequencer) and DSP-powered effects at the
same time. In situations where the computer runs out of power, when the audio quality suffers or
the MIDI timing becomes so poor that you cannot work with it, the SSL Soundscape hardware can
take some of the work off the computer, allowing it to perform at its best and giving you the extra
power needed to complete your work.
While Soundscape format DSP-powered effects and processing plug-ins provide a unique
combination of superior sonic quality, negligible latency and rock-solid reliability, we recognize
that native processing has a part to play. The SSL Soundscape Mixer supports the VST format. This
means that VST effect plug-ins running on the host CPU can be inserted directly in the SSL
Soundscape Mixer. This is extremely useful in situations where latency is not an issue (e.g., during
mastering) and allows access to a multitude of plug-ins.
The SSL Soundscape hardware is friendly to the rest of your studio too. You can hook up your
external effects units to the SSL Soundscape Mixer using any number of pre/post sends and insert
additional mixer strips to mix the return signal. Every element in the Mixer is in fact a plug-in that
you can place exactly where required, which means that you can record to disk through the EQs,
compressors or other effects.
If you already have a mixing console or you use the native EQs from your sequencer or audio
software, then use the power of the SSL Soundscape hardware for the cool DSP effects rather than
straightforward EQs and compressors. It's all up to you, and it means that you do not end up
paying for processing power that you do not need, as is the case with some PCI cards that offer an
inflexible mixer, with no possibility of running plug-in DSP effects from third party developers.
All settings and the entire mixer configuration can be saved and loaded from a PC file, so you
never need to lose that perfect mix you were working on yesterday!
The clock reference for the SSL Mixpander is provided by the Alpha-Link AX, Alpha-Link MADI-
AX or Alpha-Link MADI-SX. These units have an on-board Master Clock generator and
WordClock input and output connectors. They can be set to operate as Clock Master, or
synchronize to external WordClock or to ADAT/AES Clock.