“I built the showfile on an L350 Plus and deployed it across an L650, L200 Plus and L100 Plus using SSL Live’s compatibility mode,” says Huff. “The only real difference between my setups is the stem architecture. From the L350 Plus up to the L650, I’ve pushed stem usage to almost the maximum, which is a big part of my workflow.”
Huff first used SSL’s Live consoles several years ago with pop singer Jake Miller, mixing on an L200, and later took an L300 on tour with R&B/jazz artist Masego. “The SSL Live desk was the undisputed champion every time I took it out. No matter if we were playing clubs, small arenas or theaters, everyone would say, ‘What’s that?’ We would do the show, and everyone would be like, ‘That was crazy! I’ve never heard this room sound like that.’ And a lot of that was a testament to the SSL desk.”
While Huff does use some effects, he typically also carries a rack of outboard gear. “The SSL BUS+ sits on my band bus and gives me that classic SSL Bus Compressor sound that everyone loves. The addition of dynamic EQ makes it even more versatile. You can set those fixed points to expand or compress, and it really helps on a band bus.” He bought an SSL Fusion about five years ago but has lately left it in storage since Live’s software was upgraded to include the unit’s processing capabilities. “What’s nice about it being on the desk is being able to change your processing order. I can hit it with drive, then high-frequency compression, then the EQ, then the width, and that’s really helpful,” he says.
In fact, he reports, “Some sort of Fusion processing has lived on every single mix I’ve done in the last six or seven years, whether it’s hardware or now in the desk. For guitars, high-frequency compression is pretty much a staple at this point because the bands I mix have that big mid-range. I’m able to dial in around 3 kHz to 5 kHz and knock it down a little bit.” When he’s using the Fusion rack unit, Huff says, “that lives on the vocal bus. The transformer, drive and high-frequency compressor are all great. For me, at times, it’s all buttons in, turn it all the way up, and you’re in a whole other world.”
Huff also recently acquired a pair of SSL Revival 4000 channel strips and Harrison 32Classic MS Mix Strip channel strips and used them for the first time during Pierce the Veil’s Australian shows.
While Huff says he isn’t much of a plug-in user, he does use SSL plug-ins when the need arises. “When I find myself in that situation, I go to my SSL plug-in folder and think, ‘Which one’s gonna do the job?’ I’ve gone as far as using Vocal Strip 2 and X-Saturator on things. The whole plug-in range has been really nice to work with. The SSL plug-ins work more efficiently than some other companies’ plug-ins, so you don’t get the same latency. Even on the few studio mixes I’ve done, when helping remix some things for some friends, it starts with the 4K E Channel Strip. You just paste that across the channels and you’re 50, 60, 70% of the way there.”
Looking ahead to a summer of shows with Pierce the Veil, he says, “There are a lot of shows with My Chemical Romance this year, which is fun, because they’re also an SSL band.”
