My unit didn't come as perfect as I would have liked but it's just cosmetic, sweetwater worked with me. Alright, so whats this unit actually like after two years of off and on use? Even for my setup, six channels going into a 2in\2out usb SSL 2 the sound is very very nice. The best way I can describe the quality of the sound? Extremely open sound, don't know if that makes sense to many people but the sound is just very very open sounding and just everything I put through it sounds like it can actually breath. It pairs extremely well with Mixbus 9 32C software, although nothing is software integrated both are an excellent comination. I recently synced my Arturia Drumbrute Impact with a Roland S-1 that I programmed and my lord! It just sounds phenominal in the session I'm working on, everything just sparkles and breaths!

Can you do what you want on other cheaper mixers? Oh yeah, yes and even get great result but if you want that extra sheen, open breathing sound? It's worth it to drop that cash on this. I have never had a mixer that I felt so comfortable using, the faders, switches input jacks, it all just feels really really good to use. It have it as my instrument input for my usb interface, it was well well worth it in my opinion, especially if I'm experimenting with sound before everything goes into my DAW.

For a small desktop mixer unit it gives you quite a bit of options for a small home user studio, I have it paired with a pair of Adam Audio T5V's and a $ set up cheap logitech desktop speakers for really trying to get my final mix right.

Once you have figured it out, it is a lot more to offer than what it is.

Oh I've tried. I've recorded acoustic guitar, vocals, drums, I've mixed and summed through it. Problem is, though I would really like to work through real faders and channels, I've cut my teeth on DAWs, interfaces, and outboard gear. Any of my outboard preamps, eqs, and compressors sound better than the SiX. The routing, inserts and terminology are all out of the big board era, I still don't really get it. Its really just not a great idea for someone like me. The Big SiX is even a worse idea, again, for me.

The main benefit has been is that it has showed me (for a lot less money than a big board) that this workflow is not my jam. Looking at digital equivalents. Also, though SiX line is not great sounding in my opinion, the SSL E EQ is great, indispensable, so it's not the brand.

In the debate of summing mixers, I've always been a fan of analog summing. At surface level, I was skeptical if this were a good buy. But after about a year of research, this was a no brainer. I get a summing mixer, 2 channel strips, a bus compressor, a monitor controller and tons of routing. I used to own the 1st generation Dangerous D Box and was looking for an upgrade. This took my sound to a whole new level. Tons of headroom on my mixes. And the monitor section is crazy loud. I never had to go beyond a quarter of way on the volume knob. I loved using the bus compressor, but I now have a louder than liftoff silver bullet going into the Tegeler Audio creme on the insert. I was bummed out after the big six was released. In hoping SSL will make a console like the Big Six with motorized faders!!! SSL please look into it!

There's just no substitute for this device in my mastering room. It is my little problem solver, the nerve system of my setup. Takes whatever I throw at it, however hard from whatever direction and just works. Performs double duty as my listening room preamp, no need for a receiver - route any source through this thing and out to the amplifiers, headphones, etc. Pure awesome.

I actually use this mixer a bit different than it was maybe intended... or maybe not... but I have all my stuff (Vocal Mic, Acoustic Guitar Mic, 2 Electric Guitar Mics, Bass DI and SM7B going into the inputs of this unit. I then go out of this and into a Burl Bomber. I keep everything muted and only unmute what I want to record. I call it a poor mans Burl Mothership that I have all connected into the digital in of an Apollo Twin X.

If you're looking for a great mixer, this is a good choice.

Pros:

Hase great sound.
Has a great compressor (G-series).
Can push your ribbon mics.
Opportunities for routing, bus B, Dsub send/return, external and more.

Cons:
The unit gets hot.
Will put off a smell.
Made in China (if you care).
EQ has no mids.
Channel compressor is weak.

Lots of great products Sweetwater sells for fully equipped mixer functionalities (Big SiX).

Overall, this mixer has great qualities.

In a digital world, sometimes we forget about the benefits of having an analog Consol. SSL six is extraordinarily well-built and extremely well thought out. The frequency range is extremely wide and the monitor section 2nd to none . This thing can really help you get that professional sound that you're looking for.

After about two years of ownership the mix bus compressor failed. On my unit when the bus compressor is engaged the left channel is basically removed from the signal path. I spent a few weeks emailing back and forth with SSL tech support with videos and finally they confirmed that the unit is defective; but out of warranty and thus on me repair. It worked fine for two years however, I expected more.

Given all the recent problems with the larger version, this tells me that SSL has significant reliability issues.

The routing flexibility of this unit is amazing but the quality is wanting.

It still works as a mixer, just without the bus compressor which is kind of the whole point.

Sweetwater's customer service was excellent.

I'd always dream't of owning an SSL gear ever since I got introduced to one of their large consoles, 32 years ago. Obviously, cost made that only a dream....until now. This mixer is in small format but it packs a big punch. I did some summing for a couple associates overseas and they were so impressed, they now constantly send me their mix to run it through my SiX. The G-bus compressor is just what it is, a G-bus compressor.Try as you might, you cannot make it sound bad. I now run my Studiolive 32SX into the SiX and the sound is amazing.

Growing up in a studio that had an SSL 4000E console, I was blessed to be able to hear and feel the warmth of the G bus compressor. Fast forward to my adult years, money made it hard to get the g bus sound....until now. well done SSL! This machine is a game changer and I have lots of compliments from clients for the clarity and glue on their tracks.

I run 3 outboard preamps & my daw interface thru this mixer. I could run a lot more since I also have the breakout cables. Sound and configuration options are excellent. A keeper. I'm going to get the Big Six & use this as an auxiliary mixer into it.
I've had this mixer for 3 years with no problems.

Not a beginners board, but great sound. Lots to learn about this good for live and mixing recorded media.

I debated whether to purchase this mixer for months before taking the plunge. Best purchase I've made for my home studio. I mix in the box and bounce everything down to 5 stereo stems (Drum Buss, Melody Buss, Hook Buss, Vocal Buss, Adlib Buss). I send these stems out to my SSL Six (Tracks 1/2 panned hard L+R, stereo track 3/4, stereo track 5/6, stereo external inputs 1L+1R, and stereo external inputs 2L+2R). I balance them on the SSL and send thru the G-Buss compressor for analog summing. I return the stereo mix to my DAW. All I can say is that the result is a wide, 3D, HD mix that has that grammy winning sound. Get one for yourself!

First off, you're not going to really understand anything in this review until you hear it in real life. With that being said, it's a SSL and it sounds like a SSL even with the parred back feature set. Just about everything you run through it sounds bigger, and rounder with more width and air. The compressor, while not adjustable works very well in most applications. It has a way of making any percussive material in the 200Hz-4k range snap and smack. It tightens up most kicks, (although 808s are challenge for the channel compressor) I find that if you just engage the buss compressor (threshold at the highest possible setting) on 808s or round beefy material it just gives a subtle hug around these sub and low frequencies. On vocals... Yeah its like that!!! Best of all, the flexibility of using inserts and signal routing. This little box will open your entire creative process and workflow. The build quality is what you'd expect for the price, but the value so much more. But before I forget, the SUMMING! Crazy thing is I haven't even had a chance to really use it as intended. Just running your signals in your tracks through this box gives it that "radio" ball-park sound. Your biggest issue with this will be not messing up your mixes by trying to do to much post tracking. Track right with this and leave it be. The EQ curves are versatile considering the frequency options. One thing to watch for though is that the unit gets hot! Which makes sense given the high voltage preamps. My only complaint is that I ordered this a couple of months before the release of the SSL BiG 6, otherwise I would've waited and got more channels and EQ selections. Ordered this thing from Sweetwater. It was on back order forever, but as soon as they received their shipment, mine was on my door a day later at no extra cost! Tell me another store that's doing that for customers. Most companies would have just said the shipping delays and shortages are out of our control so go fux yourself, but not Sweetwater. As soon as we get it in will get that out to you sir! That's Sweetwater!

The SSL 6 is the perfect centerpiece for an upscale home studio. Great sounds, features, and lots of routing options in a small relatively inexpensive package. I'd recommend SSL6 as a first piece for your home studio that you won't outgrow as you expand and upgrade.

Love the size, features, the tone of the Six!!

For years now i have felt the need to do analog summing and got the SSL SIX and I love it!! My mixes have turned out so much better I don't know how i mixed without it, it's that good so if your thinking about buying it just do it!

Major thanks to Aric, My direct sales guy for over 7 years now. Thanks to Aric, it was maybe 23 hours between when I ordered the SSL SIX and when I was plugging cables into it.
Now that the SSL SIX is set up with my UA Apollo, I feel like I have the ultimate home studio for my production. No longer do I have to run an SSL "plugin" on my inserts since my sounds are going through a REAL SSL now.
The sound coming out of this mixer is everything you read about in the reviews LOL. I kid you not, there is a real difference between the SSL SIX and the others.
If you were on the fence or hesitant, go ahead and pull the trigger. You will not regret it.

Initially bought to use only as a front end to my Prism Titan to manage various Elektron gear and mojo while tracking guitar and vocals. I did not think Six would have a good enough monitoring section for my Prism titan conversion, so I didn't plan on Summing or monitoring. Once I got it up and running, I spent a fun weekend experiment and eventually summed a few tracks. Was blown away. Now I use it as a summing, tracking, and monitoring and its become the studio's centerpiece. It's pristine when I want it to be (monitoring) and can add mojo at will (mastering, tracking, and summing) I dare say I could coax better summing from this than my Burl Vancouver 32 (great summing device as well). However, that likely more to do with the compressor on the bus and just the naturalness of working physical faders V a mouse, and my output conversion is better. The six is a no-brainer product. The only wish is the Six had and effects return. While there is a way around this with Cue outs it's less intuitive/convenient. I hope in the future they come out with an 8 or 16 channel. I'd buy in a second. People are just waiting for a pro-quality, simple, small-format board in the 3-8k range like this.

get this now. get me another one while you're at it.

The Octopus! With extensive reach and cuddly compression!

 The Six is right at home on my desk as the centerpiece for routing all my ideas into and out of my SSL2+.

I can finally have everything setup and connected with the Six only taking a small footprint allowing me to switch and route things easily in completely new ways. It's very powerful for how small it is. It's the perfect companion to my home studio and a much better option than other mixers for my needs. It really makes sense for someone who needs to do a lot, but no room or want for a full-sized board. Now we can have excellent quality at the smallest footprint.

The External Inputs (top right) allow you to feed your interface / devices back in and route it monitors, master bus, or foldback outputs. Most of the time I route EXT1 directly to the monitors for playback. But it's really handy to use the master bus option to jam along with backing tracks, mix my guitar from 1/2, apply GBus compression and capture main outs.

The Foldback outputs (rear right) are really useful for routing things out and optionally back into the stereo channels or EXT2 for external processing. Maybe you don't want to invest in DSub cables to access the inserts, but you still want to patch something in, the Foldback outs are perfect for this. For example you can also use them to patch a processor into your main mix before it hits the GBus comp. You can experiment before you decide to unlock all the connectivity with additional cables. You could also use these as direct outs for your additional interface inputs.

The TalkBack input seems unnecessary for most use cases, but it's sweet for crushing mono sources. Use it to process individual drums etc with LMC before you decide to invest in a full-sized processor for that specific function. It's also great as a general mic input for videos, streaming etc.

The channel compressor is great, very useful and very transparent. The EQ is also sweet and useful for correcting any issues with sources.

Lastly, the GBus compressor. There's some noise when you activate the circuit to A/B. Switching could be improved for this specific function. I wouldn't expect to hear this on the full-sized processor and it's a little surprising to hear any switching noise in a console of this price (especially how much the GBus is played up in the Six marketing). Complaint aside, when used subtly it's a great addition to glue your mix and one of the features that makes this mixer great.

It seems like a lot to digest, but really it's very simple once you wrap your head around it's routing matrix.

IF you mainly use your Apollo/focusrite and are looking to upgrade your process the SiX will supercharge and enhance the quality of your recording flow. All you have to do is send the main outs from the SSL in to the 1+2 inputs of your interface. then either record in stereo or mono. incredible gain staging and printing capabilities for tracking and mixing. Fantastic pre-amps and DI's. Its versatility can be overwhelming in terms of routing options, but i like to have 1+2 record mono guitar and vocals, while I route my NI maschine and synth into the external aux inputs(far right - these inputs do not have gain staging control on the mixer but they do in their hardware and software - so aux input is perfect for instruments like this). There are sill 4 line inputs left which I usually have routed back to the interface so I can listen back to the recordings. There is definitely a learning curve with recording, especially with track isolation - not to mention the accessories (cables, interface, microphones,) required to optimize it, but it enables and optimizes your resources very well - and for the price it is absolutely 5 stars. Very compact and very powerful. This will be the heartbeat of your hybrid studio and certify a fantastic warm analog sound to all your recordings.

Una navaja suiza con todo lo necesario para trabajos profesionales

The reviews here are spot on. Been playing with this thing for two weeks now. Superlative sound and build quality. Built like a tank with gobs of headroom. It illustrates the difference between prosumer and pro gear in sound and quality. One of the best purchases I've made.

My First SSL Product, This Lil Guy is amazing, so many ways I can use it. Mainly I Use it To summed all tracks through it and using that G Bus Compressor makes My mixes sound Big. Man That Lowend. One Day Im getting A SSL Origin and when I do Im Still Keeping This Unit. I you are thinking of getting one, Dont overthink get it. You are going to regret it

I was looking to replace my monitoring setup for my hybrid studio and came across this little mixer luckily. As a monitoring section alone it is well worth the money but it has quickly turned into my mini-summing solution as well. The two mono input channels are well thought out and the two-band eq works just as described. Great for adding sweetening a track but it is defiantly limited if you are looking for a more surgical need, but heah, that's what these modern plugins do! The compressor on the mono channels is fantastic and works very well on Kick, Snare, and GTR's. I cannot say enough good things about the buss compressor. Even with it's "preset ratio, attack, and release" it works perfectly on a heavy mix. I'm not sure I would want to use it on quieter mix's but that's not what it was really meant for. Finally, the versatility of this little mixer is fantastic. I had no problem configuring it to accept all 12 analog outputs of my Apogee Ensemble TB and you drive the buss hard just like it's bigger older siblings! I'm looking forward to adding a second SiX as soon as able!

I am not sure that I am happy about how warm the Six gets when in use. Components do not like to run hot, and the 2/3 of the way up the strip in 'stereo in 3-4' gets almost hot to the touch. Have sent SSL an email asking about this and there has been no response at all.

I have a small project studio and the SSL Six has greatly improved my studio front end, and has added tons of flexibility in terms of routing and monitoring. I mic'ed a guitar to the super analogue channel and used one of the cue sends as an effect send to my H9, returned to the first stereo ins 3&4, and wow, it sounded like I was listening to a professional CD. The routing flexibility on this is amazing. All the stereo inserts (3 I believe when you include the DB25 connections) are always active and these allow for recording paths to the DAW, effects sends (these are the two uses I primarily use them for) or even separate mixes for artists, front of house, stage etc. if used in a live scenario. I have mine connected to a patch bay so I never have to rewire the actual SSL SIX as I progress from recording to mixing. Make sure you use a cable tester to check all the balanced cables before connecting everything. To get the most out of this you do need an interface/ expander and DB25 cables. I connect my Six to the DigiMax DP88 and from there optical to my main interface. Yes, the EQ and one knob compressor are basic, but they sound good. So far I've run, guitar, voice, and synths through them. If a more detailed EQ and dynamics section is needed that's where the inserts (on DB25) come in quite handily. As always my Sweetwater Engineer Tom Koch was awesome! He ensured I had everything I needed to get the most out of this console. So yes it's not cheap, but I believe it's well worth the cost.

I have tried for years to record and mix songs and podcasts somewhat on the cheap, since I'm entirely an amateur and don't make any money from my music. In the nineties I tried using low-end mixers and audio interfaces, with pretty poor results most of the time. In the early years of podcasting I worked with barely-functional setups involving cheap USB mics that clicked and stuttered and was constantly frustrated by the quality. Over the years I have been able to upgrade my signal chain sometimes, adding some decent microphones, a Sony PCM-D1, and good direct boxes. For a few years I had an Apogee Ensemble, which is the first thing I had with really decent and clean-sounding preamps. For years I tried to do most of my signal-processing inside the computer, sometimes combining two audio interfaces into an aggregate CoreAudio device, and using setups with Logic and MainStage to handle complexities like recording a podcast with two people in-studio and one person remote, requiring two monitor mixes, or live-streams done with Traktor and a mic.

After recently encountering all kinds of problems trying to use my older audio interfaces with recent versions of MacOS and Windows, resulting in endless glitching and dropouts, I wanted to try a setup that would do more of the audio processing outside the computer. I looked at buying stacks of rack-mount gear, but was intrigued by the option of the SiX mixer which would give me channel compressors and a bus compressor, and was getting high reviews.

So... impressions after using it for just a couple of weeks!

The preamps sound fantastic. It brings out the best of several different kinds of microphones I've tried, including a Sennheiser e935, a Rode NT5, an old Oktava ribbon mic, a kit-built large-diaphragm condenser, and a Sennheiser e609 on my guitar amp. There's a lot of gain available, and they are very clean!

The compressor also sounds great, and I like having a button to put it in and out of the signal path. It might be nice to have some more control options, but it's not essential because it works well on several different sources that I tried. I was initially hesitant to crank it up high because often things like this only sound good in a narrow range and extreme settings aren't musical. But this thing sounds good across the full control range, which is a theme that keeps coming up in this mixer!

The EQs also sound great, and again, I like having a button to take it out of the signal path, and the "bell" options. Again, the full range of the controls produces sound that could be useful, depending on the source. This sounds so much better than the EQs on something like a Mackie that it's not even funny.

I'm happy to have separate pan controls and in/out buttons to route the two mono input channels to the stereo cue busses.

I miss, just a bit, the "solo" button design that some lower-end mixers implement, which lets the user turn off the other inputs with a single button, but the routing of this thing is actually very flexible, so it doesn't matter a lot.

I have not played with the mix bus a whole lot, but it does work nicely to create a loud and clear mix between, for example, a vocal mic and electric guitar. I'm not going to talk about how it "glues together" the tracks, but it sounds great, and I'm starting to understand why I might want to mix in the analog hardware realm instead of in the computer.

This is all quite simple so far but things are about to get more complex, and here is where I start to think that this design may not be ideal for me.

The cue busses are designed to create separate "artist" mixes, which could be sent to a headphone amplifier for the artist in a second room. There are a lot of features for routing these busses along with various other things that can be mixed in, the most notable one being the feed from the talkback mic input.

The talkback mic input is separate, with a limited set of controls, and its "Listen Mic Compressor" compressor circuit, which can optionally be engaged. The LMC is designed to make anyone in the control room heard clearly, so it is really a kind of hard limiter that brings just about any sound way up to a high volume level.

There's also a very complex monitor section. That complexity also makes it very flexible.

Let's say you are a single person and you want to mix a number of sources for a live stream, and you _don't_ have a separate control room and performance room and you're not engineering performers, like me. In this case, you are probably never going to use the cue busses and talkback mic for what they were originally designed for. If you don't use them for what it is designed for, you can still use these features in other ways -- for example, it works fine to use the cue busses as effects sends, for example to add reverb to a vocal. And it works fine to use the talkback mic input to record something like the e609, although you may not find the LMC to be very useful except for a special effect.

But there is no really easy way to put the cue bus on your monitor or headphones. And there's no easy way to put the talkback mic into the main mix. These were not _quite_ designed to be general-purpose busses and a general-purpose mic input, although fortunately, because SSL added so many flexible routing options, you can rig something up, routing the foldback outputs, carrying the cue buss mixes and/or the talkback mic, into a stereo channels, and because everything is so high-quality, this will sound absolutely fine, and the automatic switch to mono when using only the left side of a stereo input pair is very helpful here. But it uses some of your precious channel inputs.

There are probably other ways to do this, using the extra outputs and inputs that are made available on the DB25 output and input connectors, but they require snake cables, and so you might not want to dive into all that right away.

A similar situation exists for using the SiX as a summing bus. There are lots of optional inputs that can be engaged, especially if bust out the DB25 input connector. But because they are more specialized and less general, it is a bit confusing to get all those inputs working together, and because they have different signal paths, they don't seem like they are all part of a single buss, even if they all _can_ be mixed together.

So:

- This is an incredibly good-sounding tool that combines mixing, preamps, compressors, and EQ, especially for the price. I don't think there is anything comparable in the price range at all.

- I would love to see more products in this series. For example, a version with two more of the mono input channel strips would be great - an Eight, maybe? Or one more stereo input channel strip - a Ten. I would be happy to pay a bit more for the extra inputs.

- The channel strips are very easy to use.

- The routing and summing capabilities of the various busses are really impressive and give you a lot of flexibility, but I do find myself wishing that in some ways the design had not been oriented towards replicating the cue bus/foldback/talkback design of their larger-format mixers, but instead had been rethought to provide a more generic set of options to mix and route channels.

- For example: I would have liked to be able to put the cue busses (maybe just called a generic A and B mix bus) onto the monitor section, so I could easily listen to my vocal input with reverb, without having to route it back to an input.

- On the other hand, if you intend to use the features the way they are designed, as an engineer with artists and a real talkback situation, you'll probably find it ideal.

- The summing features are no doubt very powerful, but I suspect that because the actual routing is complex to set up and requires squinting at diagrams, this mixer probably won't really be used as a summing mixer all that often. If it had a simpler way to bypass processing on all channel inputs, it would be easier to explore using it as a summing mixer, with the very nice mix bus.

So -- overall. Like I said, I don't think there's anything like it, for audio quality, in the price range. So in that regard, it was almost a no-brainer to buy it, except for the cost -- but I'm really glad I bought it. It's easy to get really good compressed and equalized sounds out of a variety of microphones and other inputs, and the mix bus makes it really easy to get a good combined sound that is ready for streaming or recording. It sounds so good, in fact, that I'm thinking of getting a second one, so that I can have one set up and configured for mixing and one set up for a small live music/podcasting/streaming studio.

But I think it is a bit of an oddball design, in that trying to migrate the cue buss, foldback, and talkback features to a small desktop mixer may seem, for some people, like a solution in search of a problem, kind of an attempt to create a new market niche for producers. But I suspect that given customer feedback, over time, SSL may be able to create more models that expand this niche, and I'm really looking forward to that.

Everything sounds great through this. I have always run my media gear through a board and this ijust sounds amazing. For just listening to iTunes through the SiX is great. Mixing stems out of Pro Tools will make you cancel your Waves account. There is nothing better than a hands on mix, better than chasing a mouse. It's hard to walk away from listening to the sound of the SiX, it's addictive...So happy I made this purchase. I want another one but after contacting SSL and suggesting a lager version of this (TeN maybe) I'll be patient.

I've had this for a few months now and am mixing an album project for a singer songwriter through it. I don't use a DAW, rather run a couple synchronized digital recorders as tape machines. Outboard old school and new school (new old) gear for both tracking and mixing. The SIX is fantastic for my centerpiece, and I'm using almost all of the inputs and inserts and routing, literally all of it. I absolutely LOVE the sound. The G serious buss comp 1-3db reduction on the master, cream. I haven't used the inputs for tracking as I have higher end outboard preamps that I love, but I'm sure the super analogue channels would be excellent for tracking. The long throw faders are awesome. The EQs surprisingly flexible and useful, using outboard eq for aggressive changes. The bell/shelf and moving points very clever. The layout takes some getting used to, but not much. It simply has a great tone if you will. I've finished a couple rough mixes and my client is elated. I can tell this thing will be my buddy for some time to come. I use outboard monitor controller but the onboard one is great. The db25 outputs are super useful and I'm using almost all of them. I know people have concern with China quality, but SSL got it right by designing in U.K. and quality control in China. Plus Sweetwater would take care if any issues arise. Unbelievable machine for the price. I highly recommend it.

This is my first review of a product on Sweetwater and before I get to the details let me start by saying one word ... WOW!

I am not in the music profession, never formally trained in recording or mastering. Started as a hobby 20 years ago with a prosumer sound card and a DAT recorder. I mostly record live performances on a volunteer basis for a small circle of semi-professional classical musicians who call on me time to time. I have slowly built up my gear (both new and used) over time, evolving to better mic-pre's, mixers, compressors, eq's, reverb units, multitrack recorders, etc. After I got a used small format Midas mixer, I realized that my previous mixers had been a major weak point in my setup when my recordings improved and the complements kept coming :) About a year ago I started reading about SSL and their Superanalogue circuitry and G-Buss compressor. The one thing I struggled with in all my recordings was getting the compressor setting just right. I happened to come across the SSL SiX at the 2019 AES in New York. I casually played with it and while it looked cool, I found the routing to be complicated and confusing and only 2 pre-amps felt limited. However, one thing really struck me ... it REALLY sounded good through those headphones. I also had a conversation with one of the SSL reps who spent 45 mins with me 1 on 1 explaining each and every feature. I came home and could not get the sound out of my mind. Well, the holidays came and Sweetwater's zero percent financing offer convinced me to purchase one and life has never been the same. I went back to a couple of older multitrack files and patched them thru the SiX and re-mixed them to stereo, and my jaw dropped. It now sounds like it is a Grammy worthy recording, the percussion is tight, the eq is crisp, vocals are clean and the G-Buss brings it all together like I've never been able to achieve before. I am now hoping SSL comes out with an 8 or a 10! I would sell most of my gear and be the first in line to get one!

This is the real thing, if you're serious about your project studio you should get one of these. Believe the hype ;) The SiX paired with my Sony C100 gets me those pristine pop vocals Ive always aspired to produce.

I had my eye on the X-Desk for years but it was always out of my price range. When I heard about the Six I knew I was going to pick one up. I bought one in April 19 and have been really happy with it. I have an Apollo and a Clarett Octopre for 16 ch of analog I/O and it suits this board and my needs really well for my small project studio.

I was skeptical at first about the onboard eq and compressors, but everything sounds really great (and can be bypassed). I use them more often than not. The bus and channel compressors are fixed, but they found a good balance and all sound awesome on a wide range of sources. The two (really three, the TB pre is no joke, just has limited routing) preamps and the buss compressor alone are worth the price of admission.

It pairs perfectly with an Apollo. I have the channel and main insert sends/retruns and the two aux sends/returns all fed into my Apollo so I can insert plugins in real time and it works like a dream.

I don't have any real negatives to say. The only one I can think of is that 2 channels of one of the DB-25 connectors are not used. This isn't a huge deal, but since I am using a DB-25 to DB-25 cable to hook up to my Octopre, it eats up two of my output channels that I want to use for some outboard gear.

If you want to add analog summing, some nice preamps, and some analog flavor to your workflow, definitely pick one of these up.

Weird title, but here's what I mean: Like most other top notch professional audio gear, you can hit thie SSL model Six with just about any signal you want. It just doesn't break up - pretty much set and forget. The ability to handle really hot signals is the magic quality that makes gear like this sound so good and what separates it from all the $300 mixers out there. Conversely, soft sounds come at you from a well of velvety silence. Of course, that's just my opinion, but this little mixer, along with its extensive routing capabilities, is a true game changer. Finally, I have something worthy of my outboard stuff!

Why would anyone buy a 2-channel preamp instead of the SiX? Disconcerting to think I was nearly an anyone myself, but it's very satisfying to know I came to my senses in time. This mixer is all that and then some. Fun to use,too. Add one great mic and a pair of quality monitors and You Are There. Thing is, You Are There is just the beginning as the SiX adds SO much to everything it touches, especially as a mix down console/stems. G-Buss,too? C'mon, SSL...this is ridiculous! In all seriousness, SSL has outdone itself with this mixer;this is high quality, studio-grade kit at a price that still stuns me. Stuns me, I say! I use with two different interfaces,a Scarlett 18i8 and an RME Babyface Pro matched with a Clarett 8 channel preamp via optical,depending on the project. Stellar results and it's a blast getting there! Believe the word on the SSL SiX and just buy one ASAP.

But if that's not enough, this is SSL through and through in every way. Qaulity is great, build is great. What else is there to really discuss. Only way this could be better is if they make a bigger version... Especially if an SSL TWELVE could be like a SIX but with 6 Mono, 2 Stereo channels, with mid band EQ on the mono channels.

Do not be fooled by its size or the number of channels.
The SSL Six overflows quality in every detail. From the routing capacity, the quality of its preamp (wow!) The hidden utilities and versatility of the eq, the bus compressor (just going through the circuit provides stereo opening and details) and its options as a central monitoring. I am absolutely in love with SSL Six and use it for everything.

I love this thing! I was able to make a profit when I got my hands on this, because I no longer needed my preamps and compressors. For a small home setup it’s really all you need if you have a decent interface.

I went in hoping that this would replace an x rack, x desk, 500 series set up. Probably unrealistic to think that it would considering the price. I can say that if your looking for "That" ssl sound that you find in the 500 series, x rack, standalone stuff..then unfortunately you have to spend the extra cash to get it. The six doesn't sound nearly as good pretty much across the board in terms of pres, eq, g comp, etc. That being said, I still gave it 4 stars because it is a cool and useful bit of kit and definitely doesn't sound bad by any means..it just doesn't sound as good as to what I'm used to hearing with ssl gear. I'll end this with saying that a lot of people really dig it, and its definitely worth a check out if you're interested. It just wasn't right for me. When SSL comes out with a 6 channel mixer for 5 grand with the same sonic character as the old stuff, I'll be the first to buy it.

I needed two quality preamps/channels and also needed them to be portable. This was a no-brainer. Two killer channels and so much more. Very pleased.

Shines in every studio application. Tracking, mixing, mastering. Really amazed by what the channel strips can do with their eq + comp. ,, couple that with the bus conpressor and it's really a miracle worker. Has reduced my mixing time because things just sound better and sit better together from the get go running through this into my existing setup. Easily integrates, adds so much routing and expand ability. Don't sleep on this it's worth it for the G series comp alone which in a rack would cost 1000 more. Thank you SSL a real game changer. Professional quality at an accessible price.

This SSL SiX is a steal at a 1500. price point. It gives the track so much more fullness and adds some 'hair' to the sound in a really good musical way. It really is a mastering level piece. The channel and stereo bus compressors alone are worth the price. I'm very impressed at this offering. One of the best and most useful pieces of gear I've purchased in the last 25 years. I'm using it as a finishing piece at mix coming off a DAW- quite a useful piece as one can introduce your outboard gear through the cue buses after using your DAW plugs in the box. Such a pro level sound!

Love seeing that SSL SiX has a perfect 5 star rating on Sweetwater. Happy to contribute my 5 stars. I was immediately excited when I caught wind of this things release but it took me a bit to collect the funds to afford one. So that time has come and after about a 3 days worths of live recordings and mix downs I can humbly say this is one of the best purchases I've made in quite a while.

Yes, it's tiny, yes it only has 2 SA inputs but don't be fooled by these immediate concerns because the SSL six is incredibly powerful and has really made me rethink how I record and mix. No, this isn't going to solve and meet everyones needs but I believe if you are someone who has a decently budgeted home studio that understands how to record and produce a great mix and you want to improve your mix quality from great to amazing I believe this can definitely be a powerful tool to help achieve that.

Live studio recording session:

I have a small home studio with an Apollo Twin as my interface. I've got a UA 610 and UA 4710d preamps to record all my projects with. In my setup this week I connected the Six into my 2 Apollo inputs and tracked a vocal session in my DIY ISO booth. I routed the vox through the 610 then 1176 compressor through Six SA line 1 @ unity gain. So I didn't really take advantage of the SiX preamps themselves but I was able to apply just light touches of eq and comp just by turning the switches on. Vocal take was great but I was also really in love with the Talk Back Mic. The compressor is crazy. made for a real comfortable chair time cause I could sit really anyway I liked and as far back from the mic as I wanted and I could still communicate with the singer. Stoked to experiment with shoving different audio tracks through it.

Mixing Session:

I finished a track for my personal project a few weeks ago and I decided to run the SSL as a mixing console and rework the mix. Holy. God. That was a pretty special experience. I configured the mix by sending everything but the bass and drums out of outputs 3/4 on the apollo and into the SA preamps. Then I used the head phone jack on the apollo to run the bass and drums on stereo tracks 3-4. I got to twiddling, a little bit of HF shimmer, a little touch of LF boost with the bell curve. Engaged the line compressors and pushed them pretty hard then dialed in that sweet... sweet...wonderful Buss compression and BOOM. This wide, creamy awesome mix just fell in my lap. Again, you got to start from a great mix to take advantage of the SiX but it really gives everything that pro SSL sound.

Of course there are tons of routing option and things yet to explore on this thing since this is really only my 4th day with it but man I'm really glad I decided to take the dive and spend the cash. Absolutely worth it.

Amazing mixer from SSL, in a class of it's own. I recorded my first tracks on an SSL back in 1986, and as anyone that has spent any time with an SSL board can tell you, they absolutely do have a "sound". There is a personality of harmonic magic known to inhabit those mixers,with the G Buss sweetening it all, just spreading the love and making the mix just right. At this price, I was hoping for just a smidgen of that mojo, never expecting more. Well, we be totally blown away at it all. Hands down, best small studio purchase ever. We followed the recommended routing path, with all the DAW mix-down tracks exiting the digital interface, flowing through the SSL's Magic Mojo Zone, then finally smoothed and sweetened by G-Series master buss compressor. What a mix! At that point, the mind-blowing performance of the SSL SiX is just smashing you in the face, while providing sweet relief to the "my digital mix sounds too digital" syndrome that fries your ears (and haunts your dreams). Add in those 2 SuperAnalogue mic preamps to go along with all the routing/mixing options and you have virtual perfection. Game changer for small home studio's--time to rethink point A-to-Z. Again...at this price?! It's hard to believe, but hey, no complaints...all good! Call your Sweetwater tech, get the plan a rollin' .

Awesome mixer for the price.

Run it through my patch bay, for 1,500 you get two channels of eq and the g buss compressor. I"ve bought rack unit pre with eq single channel for 1,000 in the past plus the 500 series g buss is around two grand. It"s a deal if you ask me.

This is the best investment I've made regardless of price in many years. I worked behind SSL consoles for years and now I have that sound on my desktop. I find myself using less plugins and access outboard gear more often. The preamps alone are worth it. The G Bus Comp is as I remember at 4:1 fast attack, fast release times. Channel comps and EQs are amazing and almost free. Routing??? OMG.... Get it.

I LOOOOVE THIS THING! I LOVE RECORDING BUT AM NOT THE BEST MIXER, BUT THIS BAD BOY CHANGED ALL OF THAT! THE EQ COMPS AND PANNERS ARE SO EASY TO USE AND MOST OF ALL SOUND GREAT! PRODUCTIONS ARE BANNANAS, VOCALS ARE PURE SILK! LIVE AUDOMATIONS ARE A BREEZE WHICH CUT MY EDITING TIME IN HALF! FLAWS ARE THE BUTTONS ARE FLIMSY ONE CAME OFF (IT POPPED BACK ON AS IF ITS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN BUT WHAT IF ONE DAY I LOOSE A BUTTON?) BUT SWEETWATER REPLACED IT AND OFFERED AN EXTENDED 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (SHOUT OUT MY SPECIALIST CJ) BUY THIS PIECE !!! I HAVE AN APOLLO TWIN DUO BUT ITS CONVERTERS AND PLUGINS DONT TOUCH THE REAL THING! NIGHT AND DAY! GREAT JOB SSL FOR HUMBLING YOURSELVES AND REALIZING WHERE MUSIC IS HEADING!

I bought this thing for the two superanalogue preamps and I honestly had no intention of mixing on it....what a fool I was! I've had it for 2 days now and I've already re mixed half a dozen songs! The bus compressor on this thing is sweet. The fact that you don't have much control over it doesn't bother me at all, the settings they chose are money. Same goes for the EQ, limited but great sounding and more useful than you'd think it would be. Dont let its size fool you, it's nothing like the other little desktop mixers out there. I've used other little mixers before and they dont even deserve to be in the same room as the six! I couldn't be happier with my purchase. The funny thing is I haven't even plugged a mic into it yet.....

Clean and full sounding pres/compressors. They can get a bit "hazy" when pushed but it is a pleasant sound to my ears. My only complaint is that I keep singing louder to try and get this thing to break up and it never does. The compressors sound so great when you lay into them. I've used this for live shows combined with my new helix, it's a powerhouse setup. Pres sound great when tracking in the studio, the summing feature is some serious icing on the cake.

This is an awesome mixer for a professional home studio use. I have it hook up with my antelope zen tour. This mixer took my sound to a whole new level. The summing on it is gorgeous. It gives me a lot of headroom. And has this rich clean tone. The eqs and mic pre are awesome. The channel compressor ads a little extra. Don't forget the master bus compressor. Its better than the plugins in my opinion. It gives it the glue. Makes everything sound good. I have 8 outputs coming out of my zen tour going into ssl six. I create a sum mix then bounce it back into my interface with my zen tour with mastering effects. I recommend for someone to buy it. It is a perfect addition to my tiny house professional studio!

SSL hit this ball way out the park for sound, quality, and value.

I"ve had the six for just about a week, give or take. I am very happy with purchase. I bought this little mixer primarily for recording purposes. I definitely got a bang for my buck. I just used the mixer in a voiceover recording session yesterday with excellent results. I used the onboard preamps. I was thinking about buying straight forward clean preamps already, so when this came out I figured I"d get the preamps plus so much more. I hooked up the mixer to my 8 in and 8 out D/A A/D and I am taking advantage of channel 1 & 2 sends as individual sends to my DAW. I now can now easily set up cue mixes by sending a cue mix from pro tools to ssl ch. 5 & 6 and routing channels 5 & 6 along with my vox channel (ch. 1/2) to the foldback. I was also able to set up DAW monitoring by routing my main mix bus/master to SSL"s main insert return. There"s so much flexibility, you just have to understand how to use it. Having some experience with mixers and consoles helps. Also, I should mention that I use a patchbay in between the SSL and converters so that helps with routing. I"m not sure if I"ll use the mixer to sum stems, but if I wanted to do that it would be easy enough to do. Now, I do wish there were sends or direct outs on the stereo channels. I wouldn"t have minded paying a little extra for additional mono channels with preamps. Hopefully SSL releases another unit to expand this six to add more channels, something like an Xpanda or Xdesk. Overall though, this has made a fantastic addition to my project studio and will help me work faster.