Everything I track goes through this after the Fatso. It's so awesome. I set it and forget it based on the user's guide for tracking. That's all it needs. Just sounds amazing. Worth every penny.

The Fusion is fairly amazing. The build quality is exceptional and everything works as explained in the manual. The unit is extremely quiet and transparent when nothing is selected, and except for one function which the manual tells you will deliberately introduce some hiss, it remains very quiet when functions are selected and used.
I am not going to try to describe all the functions because they are described very accurately in SSL's promotional literature. Also, the usefulness of each option depends very much on the track, bus, mix and genre you are working on and what your goals are. You can be very subtle or very extreme with this device.
I particularly like the HF compressor and the "secret" SSL buss compressor option hidden within that set of controls. I like them both, but the unit design only allows me to use one or the other. That is my only complaint, which comes from liking both functions.
The metering and the insert design are exceptionally clever and helpful.

Man I love thing! I got it about a month ago and use it on my master bus and wow! It so cool to go thru each section and small tweaks and everything just comes to life, clarity, depth, and a sound I could absolutely not get thru a plugin. Hardware is the real deal, electricity and vibe. The Fusion will be part of every recording I make.

I've seen lots of bad reviews about this gear, but I have to say, when you connect an SSL bus compressor to the insert, the magic is real.
That's exactly why they designed it this way.
Without a compressor, the unit feels incomplete, and you won't get the most out of it.
5 stars for this beautiful piece of equipment!

Was hesitant, but did serious listening to demos on my in my studio set up and was convinced to at least give it a shot.
Haven't looked back since. There are enough features to fully manipulate the mix bus, with possibly the exception of the mids. It's by no means a deal breaker in my work flow, because the control of low end and high end are so worth it. I have the G bus connected s as an insert in this part of my master chain and its just so sweet sounding. I prefer to have the transistor turned on, because when mixed in with drive and highs, it really gives certain elements of the mix a sweet kiss.
Comparing this to plugins, it's no challenge. I love VST and have all the UA SSL plugins, but analog still wins on all of them. VST is still brilliant and a great alternative to get the job done, well done in a few cases, but analog will never let you down and faces everything with confidence, utility, and pure magic. It's simply sex to the ears and I'm looking forward to comparing this to other color units to see if theres some other magic tool out there that gives the same giddy feeling when turning knobs.

I love my SSL on that Master bus chain haves me that clean sound I been looking for. Hoping to add to the chain later.

I have a good sounding studio, mixes translate well and everything. I felt like i still needed to level up my mixes. No plugin was giving me that missing vibe. So i researched this box, saw the reviews and bought it. It sounds great. It takes everything i've mixed in the past few weeks to another level. No more excuses. This box is awesome and really shines in the lows and mid range. makes vocals, keys and guitars sit outside the speakers. I love it.

Quality Quality Quality. I am using this unit for its core purpose as a master buss processor, with an Audioscape G Stereo Compressor in the insert. After two weeks of using the unit on all kinds of sources, I have to say that the intentional interaction between all of the processors in this unit is overwhelmingly welcome, fun, and to the highest standard. Flexible, modern and vintage treatments are all attainable.

Some examples would include:

1) The transformer being at the tail, yet BEFORE the insert (typically compressor). I'm sure if you are reading this you've seen tons of videos talking about driving the unit bah blah blah, but I can attest to how well conceived this relationship is. You will be able to achieve different results through very minute balance changes driving into the output transformer. Further more... the insert "pre eq or post transformer" will make the compressor a part of this puzzle, or make it receive the puzzle. Well conceived.

2) The Insert sends signal at all times, whether its in the chain or not, so that the auto release time of a typical buss compressor doesn't get signal cut up when the user is auditioning. You know... that 30 second long release when signal abruptly stops....

3) The width controls very surprisingly fold down with almost no artifacts. I can literally turn the sides almost all the way up and its imperceivable when I collapse my system to mono. The only aretifacts are under the "eq" umbrella... as the "Depth" control is a highpass with a bump that ONLY effects the sides. Remember when andrew scheps used the helios eq ten years ago in a video and we all went out and bought it because he simply high passed a guitar buss at 60, and then there was this rich bump at 100.... thats what this does.... only it does it on the sides only so now you dont have to high pass the center channel at 120.

4) The Violet eq is definitely a "just leave it on" eq during the mix stage, surprisingly open and clean. It isn't a pultec, it is its own thing - (its not meant to be). Putting it before the hf comp is another "we thought of that" moment... because just touching the comp (which has some makeup gain involved) can package your mix in a way you wouldn't have expected.


While I haven't used the plug in versions of these, it would be hard to imagine there would be as much obvious symmetry when using all 5 to replicate the unit, not saying it isn't possible,

The SSL Analogue Fusion is amazing!!! But even more amazing is the man who sold it to me: Carson McClain! It was at his suggestion that I bought it, and kudos for that!

He is a very knowledgeable and sincere person, and I would highly recommend using Sweetwater!

Chris Goldbach lined me up with my purchase of the Fusion. It is a multi-talented effects processor with a variety of charms that can contribute to a final mix. This is a processor designed to work on a final mix - or perhaps in some cases for mastering on certain songs.

The five separate components of the Fusion are, to me, all quite useful.

The best two videos demonstrating the Fusion are the SSL video and (even better) Mitch's Sweetwater video. Mitch's video steps through the processes and applications in a very thoughtful manner.

This is a valuable box that is well worth the price to me.

I should also note how good the build quality is. Solid and beautifully designed.

Props to Chris G and Sweetwater for getting it to me.

Tom

I run FOH sound at a mega church and I got the SSL Fusion to enhance our live sound and live stream recording experience. I heard this unit as a studio master processor on a master buss chain but did not know how it'd sound in a live sound environment as I could not find any content of the Fusion in that setting. It of course rose to the occasion and really glued the band and vocalists together in the house mix. It took me a few tries to get it dialed in for both the House mix as well as the live stream mix, and I learned that the drive circuit should remain disengaged for recording purposes as even the lowest settings still produce a good deal of harmonic distortion, which is my only gripe about the unit - the drive seems a little too touchy for live sound, but it can sound ok depending on the song. Overall a great piece of equipment. The EQ and transformer circuits really put a sparkle on my mixes and the compressor really just glues it all together and adds a little punch.

I purchased this to use as a stereo hardware insert with my SSL Six to do analog summing and mastering in my home studio. I'm very happy with my purchase. This combination gives my mixes that SSL grammy award winning sound.

Let me just say that after adding the Fusion to my 2bus, I never want to mix without it again. I use a hybrid system when mixing. I use plugins along with some great outboard gear. The SSL Fusion has mad the most impact out of all my gear. My 2bus chain consist of: Dangerous 2bus summing mixer into a Warm Audio bus comp, into the SSL Fusion, into the Dangerous Bax EQ, and finally into the Handsome Audio Zulu Tape Emulator. The best part of the Fusion is the high frequency compressor. The high frequency compressor lets you tame those harsh high end frequencies that are synonymous with in the box mixing. You can dial down the snare and high hats to taste. Each part of this unit works very well. With space you can decide how narrow or wide you want your low end. With the width knob you can boost or cut everything in the stereo realm. Drive and Density give you the saturation you would get on vintage gear when hitting it hard. I always leave the transformer engaged. Because of the Fusion I don't have to use as many plugins which helps with cpu usage. I have even heard of people tracking and using the Fusion on vocals. I chose this unit over the RND Master Bus Processor and I am glad I did. Next on my list is probably going to be adding the Elysia EQ into the chain.

This is literally the first time I have EVER felt inclined to leave a gear review. I've been engineering for over 20 years but the majority has been in the box. Even though I'm very happy with my ITB mixes (and so are my clients), I've been thinking about putting together an analog mix bus for a while. I finally pulled the trigger on a couple of nice pieces of gear and the Fusion was the first thing I bought. I'm really struggling with coming up with the right words to describe what thing does to your mix. The unmistakable sound of SSL thoughtfully laid out with all kinds of goodies. It can be as subtle or in your face as you want. I'm not going to bore you by just repeating all the things you've read or seen about this thing. The one thing I will tell you is, it's the real deal Holyfield. I have the Fusion on my 2 bus with a Manley Variable Mu on the insert and its like butter. So happy with my purchase.

So, the SSL fusion blew its fuse after less than a year.
FWIW it's a slow acting, 250v, 5mm x 20mm, 1Amp fuse. NOT easy to find. Called SSL multiple times, Email them….Nada

I always wanted a real ssl sound..i purchased a year ago 2 ssl alpha channels and ssl bus compressor . After watching a video from my mastering buddy Doug jenkins from imix and master.com..i was. Sold! I pulled the trigger and got the beat help from sales person mark maditch..and my jaws hurt from smiling so much! I highyly siggest...BUY ONE

First off I'd like to Thank Rob Amaral the "Magic Man" He is truly the best!He helped me with my huge studio upgrades! The Fusion is the future! Not everyone needs a large format console, but everyone needs SSL console sound! This box delivers in a huge way! 80's / vintage compression sound with Violet EQ superb! This is a hit!

This box practically replaced Ozone for me. Each section is super musical and adds an extra dimension to the sound, and the mid/side imaging section is brilliant for getting a huge mix without ruining mono compatibility. Pair it with a mastering compressor on the insert and add a maximizer after and you're set! The versatility and ease of use of this unit makes it a mainstay in my studio from the second I plugged it in!

I rarely write reviews, but reading them from others was helpful for me deciding whether or not to buy the SSL Fusion so now that I bought it and have been using it I wanted to also leave a review to maybe help you :) A quick background on me, I've been producing and mixing albums for myself and many other artists for over 20 years now, and especially in the past few years mixing is almost all I do all the time, like it's ridiculous how much time I spend mixing music. I have always done everything strictly in the box and have acquired a lot of great plugins including UA stuff. I have gotten very good at what I do but the thing always driving me is trying to find out how I could have my stuff sound even better, even more pro, even more polished and "like a record." I'm at the point where spending $... to even barely get my mixes sounding better is worth it. All of that said, I pulled the trigger on a Fusion.

Overall this thing is wonderful, and as a main component of my mixbus chain now it is helping me get even better mixes, even if it's just subtly better and most non-engineers could never tell a difference. Now depending on how hard you push this thing it actually can be obviously better to non-engineers, but on a mixbus it tends to work best to dial this thing in subtly. The vintage drive knobs are great, especially the Density knob. It is more subtle than the Drive knob and you can push it further before it breaks up, and the character it adds is awesome. The eq section is really useful, but I do find the high end to be a little harsh. On some mixes it is nice, on some it isn't as nice, although the HF Compressor, when dialed right, can help tame down the highs and you can get great results. The eq works better and sounds great on individual tracks rather than a whole mix I've found. The Stereo Image section is my favorite part of this and does widening better than any plugins I used to use. Also having the Space knob to widen just lower frequencies is really cool. Usually it doesn't sound good, sometimes it sounds great. The Width knob is magic for me. The other transformer button is really subtle but can be really nice as well.

Now beyond just putting my final mixes through this on the mixbus, I am finding that I'm using it all the time on individual tracks with epic results. I tend to work almost only in Ableton these days so if I'm in session view and making something where everything is short loop-based clips, it takes no time at all to put the Fusion on something and print it to a new clip. Using this thing on any element in a production that is sounding a little lack-luster, or like it needs more vibe or character or whatever, just crushes. I am using it often on individual tracks so that my whole production just sounds better before I'm even mixing. I am super happy with the Fusion using it this way!

Lastly, the fact that you can hold down the HF Compressor button for a few seconds and then it turns into an aggressive slammed compressor is super dope. I've been running drum breaks through it and when you dial it right, and then turn up the output to makeup the gain from the compression, you can get super great character and energy in drums in a way I feel my software compressors don't quite emulate.

This thing is versatile, it looks super sexy and awesome in my studio, and I love it. All I hoped for is that it could make my mixes slightly better, and it does do that and more. Also the app "Session Recall" has the Fusion as a device so you can be really organized with saving your settings for recall in a very easy way. If you don't know what I'm talking about look up "Session Recall" software. I also LOVE that the Fusion has the ability to patch in a hardware compressor as an insert that works in tandem with the Fusion, and I can't wait until I get something to do that with, I'm thinking maybe a Neve MBP. Then that will be light and the truth!

I hope this review helps, good luck!

Gabe (9 Theory)

Definitely worth investing! Using this on individual stems or even the mix bus will bring your mixes to life. LMC mode is pretty cool, you can smash everything as you now have a hidden compressor.

It's takin me awhile to get to this point. This box is superb in what it does and after I realized I was using it wrong I laughed at myself and moved into really enjoying the SSl fusion, so if one gets this finalizer for their use let me say it's not a compressor for I was handling the Drive knob like a scary cat trying to find the sweet spot up from 1 like I do my drawmer 1968 and get some nice airy tones and it wasn't until I cranked up the drive(5to 5.5 area) and the rest is history it's subtle but ya know it's there

A lot of people are calling this thing a mastering box and I would most definitely not agree with that. What this will do, is make a lot of the work easy for you, but at the very very least you will need to compliment the Fusion with a limiter to master your tracks.
All the frivolous stuff... looks beautiful, the brushed metal front, the colored knobs, the little dance the lights do when you power up the unit, etc. add to a fun experience. Of course, its the sound that matters though, so....
Wow. I do not exaggerate when I say the violet EQ in and of itself is worth the price tag. I had been running my 2bus into a pair of Great Lakes Harrison 32EQ's which sounded great but it was a huge P.I.T.A. Clearly they aren't stereo units so I was constantly jumping between channels to make sure I was matching the units by ear. Great results, but took too much time. I was really worried about finding a proper stereo EQ that would SOUND as good as the filters on the 32EQ. Well, here it is. Again, I would pay the price just for the Violet EQ. Thankfully, I got much more than that.
Without the transformers engaged, I don't think the gain stages of the Fusion add anything more than negligible amount of color. Which I think is a good thing. The HF Compressor is a subtle but necessary tool. The stereo imaging is fantastic. How it does its magic without the smallest hint of phasing is beyond me.
This is a new permanent on my 2bus, but by itself it won't master tracks. It will help in the process or at the very least make your mix that much better. Grab one.

pear it with xlogic compressor and ull have radio ready sound

This was a piece of gear I was not sure of investing in at first. But this is definitely a GREAT piece of gear that is worth the money. The input and output knobs give you plenty of space for proper gain staging . The vintage drive portion of the unit sounds really great ! The violet EQ has a great sounding high end section that can be tamed by the HF Compression portion of the unit. The stereo spread portion of the unit gives ambience, depth, and space to your mix or your vocal. I have been sending vocals through the unit and have been VERY HAPPY. The only thing I wish they added was a dedicated compressor but luckily you can side chain another piece of gear into this unit which is great as well. My buddy owns a studio and he has the Neve Portico II master bus processor, I wanted something different and I am glad I decided to get this. I couldn't be happier with my decision. It is a great piece of gear that sounds modern, looks modern, and can really give anything you send through it more texture and character. Very Nice ! If you are interested in buying this unit make sure to also research analog summing and a monitor controller as well to get the most out of your analog gear !

I would like to give a special thanks to Drew Owens and the rest of the team over at Sweetwater for exceptional customer service, and patience while I attempt to put together the best sounding pieces of gear for my set up !

Now that I have the Fusion, I could never live without it. 20 years ago when I first started making music and set up my first studio ITB wasn't a thing so all the gear we used back then added character and vibe. Fast forward to now and the technology we have is amazing being able to rock everything completely ITB, but yeah I so miss the roundness and organic flavor of back when I first started out.

I make Synth Pop/Industrial/EBM music and I also mix and master my own stuff. I switched over to UAD for my interface and I feel that as far as plugins go you cannot get any better or closer to the sound of analogue original gear than UAD plugins. With that being said I firmly believe that for the 2 bus there simply is not any plugin that can do what outboard hardware and specifically the SSL Fusion does to sound. One of the bottom line things with outboard gear is that you're passing sound through actual electrical current and that alone adds a magic. There's emulation and there's actually running sound through electrical components.

What do I have to say about the Fusion...Anyone who's running an ITB/Hybrid setup and wanting to take your sound to the next level must have this in your rig!! The Vintage Drive section thickens and fattens up sound like nothing I've never heard before, instant low/mid girth. The Violet EQ is the sweetest shelving curve EQ, you can gain the hell out of the high end and it will brighten and sheen the mix without sounding a bit harsh. Next is the HF Compressor and it works hand in hand with the HF section of the Violet EQ, you boost the high of the Violet EQ and you can tame it just a tad or a bunch with the HF Compressor, it keeps the brilliant highs but softens them like recording to Tape. The icing on the cake and the one module worth the price of admission alone is the Stereo Image....you can take your mix wide and huge like it jumping out of the speakers with zero phase issues. Like I said before there's no plugin that can do what this can. I still use and love Izotope Ozone 9 for Mastering my final mixes but even the Stereo Image Module on Ozone 9 cannot add the space and width that the Fusion is capable of.

I've only had my Fusion for 2 weeks now but just yesterday I was mixing with it as an insert on my 2bus via Logic's I/O plugin and I did some tests with LUFS metering and the Stereo Out level in Logic. I had no idea that the Fusion is also capable as a Limiter. On Logic's Stereo Out with the Fusion bypassed the peak level was hitting -6db and the LUFS meter was hitting -18. I engaged the Fusion and LUFS meter hit 12.5 and Logic's Stereo Out peak level stayed the same at -6db! The Fusion gave my mix a 5.5db apparent increase in volume all while staying at the same peak level on my Stereo out. This blew me away and made my day. The Fusion is the new secret sauce in my studio and it will never leave my side.

I will be adding a Stereo Bus Compressor to the inserts of the Fusion for even more Analogue Mojo and I can't fathom how the sound will be when I do so.

If you're thinking about buying this, just get it NOW. You won't regret it.

Thanks as always to my amazing Sales Engineer and someone I am honored to call my friend, Carson McClain for always helping to guide me in the next direction to furthering the quality of my gear and my sound.

This is definitely a must-have, especially in a hybrid-mix setting. The color, the vibe, the smooth EQ is just phenomenal!

This box is amazing. If you're a front end hound but haven't been investing into your buss chain... stop buying preamps for 2 seconds and buy this. This will elevate the Sonics of your mix by a huge margin.

If mastering has been mysterious to you... this will make you feel like a magician.

This is one of those pieces that will be in every studio. It's solid, sounds AMAZING and is pure joy to work with.

If you are a 'Top Down' approach fan, by all means get this. You can use this on your buss, or use it to master. Throw a buss compressor on it's dedicated insert and after some tweaking you can start seeing nice fat waves compared to the input file. This is a winner.

Some people don't know how to use this and claim that its a mastering unit but its not. I just love my fusion. Would buy this many times over.

Chinese made. The input and imager are ok. Everything else is substandard and do not enhance. The drive at best sounds like a Vox NuTube circuit. The eq is just 2 bands and doesnt sound thin and nothing like the 6 or 500 series ssl eq's. The HF comp distorts easy and sounds terrible. Overall there is not much headroom and no usable attenuation if you want to drive the input. Its not true stereo and cross bleeds. The inside looks like a giant computer board, the audio output sounds like a giant computer board. Its like, hey lets just bundle all the failed SSL recent rnd effects units together and sell it at what would have been a great price for a mastering unit. But Alas! How there are so many positive reviews really makes me question the system, the youtubers, the write ups. This is not a pro level mastering unit imho..

I'm using this on my master buss and loving it. Subtle but very effective. Each section is in the most useful order. The drive adds some cool harmonica. The eq, very effective for minor tweaks. The high comp super cool and can be used to reduce upper harshness or even d'essing. The mid side processing very useful for opening up stereo picture or focusing bass. I'm using a an eq and comp on the insert and just love it. Recommended!!

So the new SSL fusion, let's start with the journey.
AES 2018 New York City, my team and I came to see all the amazing gear and catch up with all our colleagues we never get to see and talk to cause we all work. Fast forward to the SSL booth...this thing sounds amazing to the point we plotted in how to buy it from the floor asap lol

Ok, so in use now at my studio, this thing is a powerhouse in its own right and demands respect from the build quality to the overall tone shaping abilities and there are a lot of them. The high pass filter is super gentle but instantly noticed when used which brings me to the Eqs. These eqs are so hands off it's like the nicest 2 shelves imaginable and in combination with my clariphonic is just unstoppable for low-end greatness. They just scream more please! Now the real star imho is the drive section...talk about analogue mojo when you need it for days!

Drive and density deliver this depth and clarity that just can't be denied and if you're an itb mixer should definitely be heard on a mix to be believed. Now sadly I've only had the pleasure of getting gentle usage out of the high-frequency compressor as I'm very careful with my top end but when it does engage it's basically invisible. Moving on! Last but 100% not least we have the crazy, incredible, stereo imager and as an imager fanatic this hit the spot and connected all the dots so well that I retired my favorite image (ozone) from my mix bus. It's that good! It's the hardware version of Dr.MS, where you can inject or take away some of the low-end content to and from the sides. An amazing concept and flawless execution on the part of SSL, while the width knob deals with the sides apparent volume respectively.

Add the fact that the ins and outs have a ridiculous amount of headroom to the point I had to turn the output down in respect to my mastering engineer (I was hitting the best sounding -4/5 rms I've ever heard in my 17+ years of audio). This thing fires and wins on all cylinders and is a must-have for anyone really looking to get "that sound" easily and fast. Just to finish up my original story, after being just amazed by this thing I was invited along with a few of my other colleagues to come back after AES to New York and check it out at SSL headquarters. This time I brought 6 of my recent mixes I had done for a few labels and indie artist...yea I was sold on the thing then hands down. Now here we are 6 months later and it's like falling in love all over again.

Get one. You on the fence. Get one. You need some umf to your mixes. Get one. You "think" your records could use a little seasoning and you'll be happy. Get one.

I love my new SSL Fusion.. It adds richness and depth to the mix.. the vintage drive and the transformer button gives a pleasant weight to the sound, the eq effect is subtle but appropriate for mastering, the HF compressor is very effective to reduce harshness, and finally the stereo image enhancer adds a cool dimension to the mix.. i highly recommend this unit

Simply sensational I have been a ssl user for 18 years. My domain has been digital aidio, this is my first analogue equipment. I was looking for a master procesor to give the analogue touch to my digital mix and saw this new acquisition of ssl thanks to my sales engineer Frank Gerdts. In summary my experience with this new magic box of ssl has been great more than expected without a doubt.

SSL Fusion adds so much to my already potent mastering chain. It handles high definition signals gracefully and gives my audio depth and richness . I was a little skeptical of all the media hype until I got it in my studio. The transformer circuits are awesome adding the right amount of analog body to the converted digital signal from my Benchmark DAC . Its a must have in our digital audio world, bringing back what was missing in today's music.

Great unit, but no front on/off power switch, so I can't use it. I can't leave it on 24hrs a day, and I can't power it on with other equipment in a master power rack as a surge could and did damage some expensive equipment once before with that sharp power spike and jolts when I used to power everything up at the same time daily.

Having waited many months past original SSL delivery date, I can say that SSL Fusion delivers and was well worth the xtra wait.

Now to be fair, the box is built to finish an already great mix and take that mix to the next 10%.

The unit is a solid well thought out box that functions as one would expect from SSL.
I'm a fan of the old SSL stuff and this has the mojo of that era in spades!
THE HF Compressor really lets you roll off those digital highs and is probably my favorite section with the most promise of making your mix sound like a record.

Craftsmanship is far better than previous SSL offerings.
SSL has hit this one out of the park.