- in Production by Bobby Owsinski
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New Music Gear Monday: SSL UF1 Advanced DAW Controller
To some degree, we’ve all learned how to live without a console during mixing or content creation. That said, mixing with a mouse can be downright boring and quite a bit slower than using a dedicated controller. The problem is that most DAW controllers have either limited functions or a clunky UI, not to mention that it has to talk to your DAW seamlessly. SSL’s new UF1 ups the ante for the controller category with a unit that’s as sexy looking as it is functional.
The Fader Section
The UF1 contains just about everything you’d want in a controller combined with a slick, professional layout in a box that looks at home in any studio situation. It consists of a long-throw motorized fader with a color LCD TFT display that provides visual feedback of track metering, track names, V-POT readouts, track record-arm states and more. Speaking of V-Pot, that’s the virtual pot below the display that allows you to control various DAW parameters including Pan position, Send levels and Plug-in parameters. Above the display is a small soft key that allows control over various assigned DAW parameters.
On the left side of the fader are the common SOLO, CUT, and SELect keys found on most DAWs and controllers. There’s also a FLIP switch that exchanges the control from the fader to the V-Pot and vice versa. The MASTER key instantly shows the fader as the DAW master, but that’s not available on all DAWs.
More Control
On the lower right there’s the typical transport control and on top of that are automation assignment buttons. These include OFF, READ, WRT (write), TRIM, LTCH (latch), and TCH (touch). These keys also expand on the most common DAW transport controls and for most DWA profiles come preassigned to common functions such as Loop on/off, and Metronome on/off. These 6 keys are customizable via SSL 360° software included with the controller.
There are plenty of ways to control things, including a large weighted jog wheel, cursor and mode keys, and layer and bank keys. There’s also a larger-than-the-rest switched pot labeled Channel that takes you from channel to channel on your DAW, but can also act as a master monitor volume control.
At the very top of the section are 4 soft keys, followed by a display, with 4 virtual pots underneath. The high-res display can be switched between a variety of readouts, including the DAW’s time display, track names, V-Pot parameter readouts and more.
Expandability
The UF1 can be expanded with the addition of SSL’s UC1 plugin controller and/or its UF8 eight fader controller by connected a USB A connector on the rear of the units. The UF1 connects to a computer using USB-C but a USB A adapter is also included.
UF1 integrates with all major DAWs and includes workflow ready templates for Ableton® Live™, Cubase™/Nuendo™, Pro Tools®, Logic Pro®, Studio One®, LUNA™ and Pyramix™. Many producers and engineers prefer to split their creative process across multiple DAWs, and the unit will allow you to control 3 different DAWs simultaneously.
Every UF1 purchase includes a perpetual license for the SSL Meter plug-in (worth $99.99) which is visualized on the large 4.3” IPS display and can be controlled directly from the UF1 surface and the SSL 360° Plugin Mixer. The SSL Meter Plugin offers essential metering tools including Peak & RMS levels, K-System, stereo balance, phase corelation bar, Lissajous phase scope, 31-band RTA, VU and PPM metering. It also comes with a free 6 months trial of the SSL Complete plugin bundle.
The SSL UF1 retails for $699, and works with both Macs and PCs. You can find out more about the controller here, or watch the video below.
