In our latest video at Nest Recorders in Los Angeles, we tracked a complete session through eight channels each of the SSL Revival 4000 and Super 9000 channel strips—comparing side-by-side how these two units handle drums, bass, guitar, synth, and vocals. In this session with artist Jessy Fury and his band The Sound, producers Wally Gagel and Xandy Barry of Wax Ltd., and multi-Grammy-winning engineer Chris Sorem, we used Radial OX8 microphone splitters to feed every mic into both SSL channel strips simultaneously with no additional outboard processing, allowing for direct A/B comparison.
Fadi Hayek, Vice President of Music Products at Solid State Logic, joined us for the video to provide insight into the legacy and design philosophy behind these powerful channel strips. “What you’re looking at is about 50 years of SSL history in these two modules,” said Fadi. The Revival 4000 draws from the legendary 4000 B and E Series consoles that shaped rock and metal from the late 1970s through the 1990s, while the Super 9000 represents SSL’s SuperAnalogue evolution that won over hip-hop, R&B, jazz, and orchestral engineers from the mid-1990s onward.
This video is not a shootout—one unit isn’t “better” than the other. Both units are powerhouses that impart a specific sound onto your recordings. The Revival 4000 delivers classic SSL 4000 Series character: warm, musical, with the variable Brown Knob EQ for gentle shaping and the Black Knob for surgical corrections. The Super 9000 offers the sound of the SSL 9000 and Duality consoles with SuperAnalogue cleanliness and punch with on-demand harmonic saturation via VHD, ideal for engineers who want transparency with the option to add color.
Both channel strips give every studio access to the premium SSL sound that historically required hundreds of thousands of dollars, dedicated machine rooms, and high electric bills. Whether you’re drawn to the classic 4000 character that shaped rock history or the 9000’s SuperAnalogue precision that redefined contemporary production, SSL has distilled 50 years of console evolution into channel strips built for the modern studio.
Revival 4000: The Soul Of The ’80s
The SSL Revival 4000 brings the unmistakable sound of early 1980s SSL 4000 Series consoles into a compact 1U channel strip – the same sound that shaped hits from Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, U2, Prince, Metallica, and countless other music legends. Drawing on the revered circuitry of both the legendary B Series and E Series consoles, the Revival 4000 delivers the signature tone and sonic flexibility that form the foundation of SSL’s industry-defining legacy.
Super 9000: The Modern SSL Sound
The SSL Super 9000 uses Solid State Logic’s iconic SuperAnalogue technology to deliver the modern SSL sound in a single analog channel strip. It draws from the circuitry and features of the iconic SSL 9000 J and the Duality console, offering ultra-low distortion, punchy dynamics, and exceptional clarity. This channel strip brings the sound of SSL’s flagship consoles into a compact rackmount format.
Renowned studios like Abbey Road, Metropolis, Real World, Record Plant, and Avatar/Power Station adopted the 9000 Series early on. Likewise, top engineers such as Manny Marroquin, Michael Brauer, Kevin Shirley, and Tony Maserati used SuperAnalogue technology to shape genre-defining hits for artists from Led Zeppelin to Jay-Z and Rihanna.
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