Brainworx bx_console SSL 9000 J Review: Like Working in a Recording Studio

I have a confession: I own way too many channel strip plugins. Like, an embarrassing number. I’ve mostly gotten over it now, but I used to be the person who’d sees a sale on a channel strip, and it’d instantly cause an eyebrow to raise. The Brainworx bx_console SSL 9000 J is one of the crown jewels in that ridiculous collection, and while it’s not a perfect for most peoples’ needs for basic remote work, it’s worth talking about.

What’s a channel strip anyway?

If you’re not familiar with channel strips, think of them as an all-in-one audio processor that combines the most commonly used tools for shaping sound. In a typical recording studio or broadcast setup, you’d need separate plugins for EQ, compression, gating, and other effects. A channel strip bundles all of that into a single interface, usually mimicking what you’d find on one channel of a physical mixing console. When you picture a mixing board in a recording studio, what you’re really picturing are a bunch channel strips, side-by-side, with one strip for each channel, instrument, track, etc.

For remote work, channel strips are particularly handy because they simplify your workflow. Instead of opening four or five different plugins and trying to remember the order they should go in, you get everything in one place with controls that are designed to work well together. It’s the difference between assembling your own meal from individual ingredients versus getting a well-thought-out combo meal; both can work, but one is definitely more convenient when you just need to get something done quickly.

The typical channel strip will include:

• Gate/Expander: Reduces background noise when you’re not speaking
• Compressor: Evens out your volume so you’re not too quiet or too loud
• EQ: Shapes your tone to sound clearer and more professional
• Gain: Adjusts the volume going into (which often affects how the various modules behave) and out of the channel strip
• Additional effects: Might include de-essers, harmonic enhancers, or other specialized tools
• Analog modeling: If a channel strip is based on real hardware, it often attempts to model to nuances, subtle distortion, and overall behavior of the original hardware

The beauty of a good channel strip is that these modules are pre-configured to work together in a sensible order, with controls that complement each other. You’re not fighting with signal flow or wondering if your compressor should come before or after your EQ. It’s already set up the way professional engineers would do it, because the pros need to work fast and efficiently to achieve a great sound.

The big downside to channel strips is that you tend to be stuck with what’s in the strip. So if you want only the strip’s EQ section but don’t want its dynamics section, you’ll have to disable dynamics and just hope it’s not still doing something unwanted or using system resources for functionality that’s disabled anyway.

The SSL sound

If you hang around audio engineering circles for more than five minutes, you’ll hear someone wax poetic about “the SSL sound.” SSL (Solid State Logic) made the mixing consoles that defined the sound of countless hit records from the ’80s onwards. Engineers would pay thousands of dollars per day just to use studios that had SSL consoles. Brainworx took one of those legendary consoles, the SSL 9000 J, and meticulously modeled it as a plugin.

The result? A channel strip that sounds solid on pretty much everything you throw at it. Vocals, guitars, drums, synths… it just works. I’ve never really cared all that much about the classic sound of vintage hardware, especially for meetings, but this one does tend to just sound good. More importantly, it’s got nearly everything you need in a small and easily accessible package.

What you get

The SSL 9000 J gives you a full channel strip with:

• Input and output gain controls
• A gate/expander with full controls
• A 4-band parametric EQ, along with high and low pass filters
• A compressor with variable ratio, attack, and release
• Switchable E-series and G-series EQ modes

It’s basically everything you’d find on an actual SSL console channel, complete with the exact same workflow and sound characteristics.

TMT

One unique feature you get from most (all?) of the Brainworx channel strips is “TMT” (tolerance modeling technology). It lets you change a number in the UI to very slightly tweak the sound of the plugin, mimicking the way that every piece of hardware is subtly different.

I don’t know for sure (if I was less lazy, I could go find out by reading the patent ), but as a software developer, I can make an educated guess. I suspect it works by pushing various parameters in the analog modeling code up or down by very small random amounts. They could ensure the random variations remain within the specs of the components in the original hardware by simply making sure they don’t push things too far in either direction and go out of spec. The number you select in the UI would then be the seed for the random number generator, allowing for consistent behavior while allowing for that small amount of randomness to reflect the random variations in hardware components.

The result of TMT is that you effectively end up with a 99-channel mixing board, as you have 99 very slightly different versions of the channel strip, all of which closely mimic the original. It’s a bit gimmicky, but it’s also a really cool idea!

The UI

The interface tries to replicate the look and feel of the original hardware, which means it’s… functional but not exactly modern. Everything is laid out in a logical top-to-bottom, left-to-right signal flow, and the metering is helpful, but it definitely shows its hardware heritage. Some controls are a bit small and fiddly, especially on laptop screens. Fortunately, you can scale the whole UI nicely, making it work well on any screen.

It’s a plugin that definitely requires a quick perusal of the manual, in order to understand all of the buttons and knobs. The UI is riddled with cryptic abbreviates, and the signal path isn’t always obvious. In particular, the “x3” and “/3” buttons have always annoyed me. They multiply the or divide the frequency values for their nearby controls, meaning you have to math to figure out what’s going on. And because it’s analog-modeled, there’s a really good chance the values you see in the UI aren’t particularly accurate. In that regard, the metering really suffers, since they are labeled with studio reference levels values that don’t actually correspond to the values we’re all used to.

That said, once you learn where everything is, it’s pretty efficient to use.

Why it’s probably overkill for remote work

Here’s the thing: for basic remote work (cleaning up your voice for meetings and calls) this plugin is like buying a Ferrari to commute to the grocery store. Sure, it’ll get you there in style, but you’re not really using what you paid for.

bx_console SSL 9000 J excels at subtle, musical processing that makes things sound polished and professional. But for voice-over-IP work, you’re often dealing with compressed audio that’s going to lose a lot of that nuance anyway. Most of what makes this plugin special will get thrown away by Teams, Zoom, or whatever meeting platform you’re using.

Plus, at $175 regular price, you could buy several more practical tools specifically designed for voice processing. That said, it’s a Brainworx plugin, meaning it goes on sale very often, so no one in their right mind should ever even consider paying full price for this thing.

When it actually makes sense

That said, there are scenarios where it’s absolutely worth having:

If you want a nice all-in-one solution, this makes a lot of sense. With a good denoiser and this plugin, you can get by pretty well.

If you record podcasts or YouTube videos, this thing is phenomenal. You’re working with uncompressed audio that will actually preserve all the detail and polish that bx_console SSL 9000 J provides. When you think about it, the needs of a podcast and remote meeting are very similar, except a podcast has higher demands for quality; you get to keep the nuance that is normally lost in remote meetings. This would be a good for when you need that professional sound without it being overly processed.

If you dabble in music production, this becomes a go-to tool. I tend to use it on just about every track, from guitars to drum buses to synth pads. The EQ is incredibly musical (meaning you can push it hard without things sounding harsh or weird), and the compressor just sounds nice. When I use it for music production, it’s usually the first plugin in the chain (unless I need to remove noise first), to get things into the ballpark of what I want. After that, I’ll follow up with more specialized tool. The result is that the subtle “SSL sound” adds up across the various tracks, to become a bit more noticable in the end. This is where the plugin really shines, as the “TMT” feature allows you introduce very subtle differences across your whole mix, so that it’s not the same exact for every since piece.

If you want to learn mixing on “real” tools, using an SSL channel strip plugin is genuinely educational. You’re learning on the same controls and workflow that professional engineers use every day. That knowledge transfers directly to other tools and real hardware if you ever get the chance to use it. It’s also pretty fun and interesting.

The E vs G thing

One cool feature is the ability to switch between E-series and G-series EQ curves. Without getting too technical, the E-series has a slightly more aggressive, punchy character, while the G-series is a bit smoother and more transparent. For voice work, I tend to stick with G-series, but having both options is nice for different sources. Honestly, it’s not something I really care about, but it’s important for some.

Where it really shines for remote work

The dynamics processing is stellar. I hate the UI for it (a button that looks like an LED, labeled ↑F? Seriously?!), but it sounds really good on speech, especially the gate/expander. If I’m using it for remote meetings, I’ve almost certainly turned the rest off and I’m using it for the gate alone.

Overall impressions

The Brainworx bx_console SSL 9000 J is an absolutely stellar plugin that sounds amazing on everything. But for pure remote work use, it’s really more about convenience. Something like the SSL VocalStrip 2 is a better fit, with a more streamlined workflow for voice processing, but at a higher price.

However, if you do any content creation, music production, or just want a “professional” channel strip that you can grow into, bx_console SSL 9000 J is worth considering, especially on sale. They run promotions constantly, and it frequently drops as low as $10, which makes it a total no-brainer. I’m pretty sure they’ve even given it away for free before. It also tends to be included in various bundles, which can be pretty sweet deals, too.

I keep it in my toolbox not for daily meeting use, but for when I’m recording something that actually matters. For those applications, it’s absolutely worth having around. Other times, it’s mostly just a fun thing it play with.

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