![]() ![]() The 100mm motorised faders are smooth and precise, and their touch‑sensitivity was flawless for me. ![]() The UF8’s legs are removable, allowing it to sit flat on a desktop or be mounted in a rack with the optional rackmounting kit. There’s no power switch, but the review unit didn’t object to being turned off at the wall. A deeply recessed bay in the back panel hosts the small amount of necessary socketry: DC power from an external laptop‑style power supply, a Type‑C USB port for connection to the computer, a Type‑A USB port for connection to further UF8s, and two quarter‑inch jacks for footswitches. It can be used flat on a desktop or tilted to a comfortable angle using supplied legs, and can also be rackmounted if you purchase the optional rack kit. Physically, the UF8 is an impressive unit that lives up to the high standards of build quality we expect from SSL. And whereas Mike Senior tested the Nucleus mainly with Reaper, in its MCU guise, I’ll focus here on the UF8 as a HUI controller for Pro Tools. Since the two are not identical, and as it’s been nearly a decade since the Nucleus was covered in depth in Sound On Sound, it’s worth giving a broad overview of the UF8’s features here, even where they do overlap. There are also quite a few differences in detail concerning the layout and operation of the two products, and the UF8 is designed to be used in multiples of up to four units. ![]() Whereas the Nucleus transmits its MIDI data over Ethernet, the UF8 does so through a USB connection. In place of the Nucleus Remote software, SSL have developed a new package called SSL 360 to handle MIDI data transfer and set up the UF8’s many configuration options. And, like the Nucleus, it aims to offer a great deal more than basic level and pan control, with a big complement of assignable buttons and context‑sensitive controls.Īt the same time, though, the UF8 also differs from the Nucleus in several significant ways. Like the Nucleus, the UF8 achieves its mastery over recording software through the MIDI‑based Mackie Control and HUI protocols, and with three Layers available, can provide simultaneous control over multiple DAWs. The UF8 draws on many of the ideas behind the Nucleus, and as a starting point for understanding what it’s capable of, you could do worse than imagine turning one of the Nucleus 2’s two banks of eight touch‑sensitive, moving faders into a standalone product. It’s a mark of how successful the concept has been that even though the original Nucleus was reviewed in SOS June 2011, the updated Nucleus 2 remains a popular product today. This ingenious device combined a 16‑fader control surface, a four‑channel audio interface with high‑quality mic preamps, and a ‘master section’ with transport and monitor control. SSL’s DAW control technologies originally appeared in the AWS and Duality consoles, before making their project‑studio debut in the Nucleus. This has enabled them to develop products like the Fusion mastering processor and the 2 and 2+ audio interfaces, at prices that wouldn’t otherwise have been achievable. But that’s not all: the company have also successfully colonised the market for studio outboard, 500‑series modules, DAW controllers, software plug‑ins and more.Ī couple of years ago, SSL brought online manufacturing capability in China to complement their UK factory. SSL mixers are now available at all sizes and prices, from the mouthwatering Duality and Origin down to the compact SiX. Long renowned for their studio mixing consoles, Solid State Logic have responded to the project‑studio revolution with an impressive programme of diversification. SSL’s new control surface is very much the SSL of control surfaces - at an affordable price! ![]()
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