But at the end of the day you get what you pay for. This is quite steep for a producer to pay just for a channel strip. The price of this chain in stereo would cost you £2714 and in mono would cost £1357. The analogue hardware of the SSL 4000 E-Series is what these plugins are trying to emulate. At $29 it's not a bad price but don't think for one minute you have anything like a SSL channel in your arsenal. Which is why you will always find Waves products in a constant sale at $29 each month. Nobody is being fooled by boosting the price up 100 times it's value to make people think it's a great product anymore. All in all if you are looking for a digital version of a great channel strip skip passed waves and go straight to UAD. The low end when increased has more fullness and body to it. The EQ when increased in the high end doesn't become crazy harsh and digital sounding. No ducking and pumping can be heard, like you do in the Waves version. When compared to the hardware in sound you will notice the UAD version captures a great deal of how the hardware sounds and feel. This can be done by setting the low shelf at around 100hz. For instance in some cases you may want to allow the kick drums low end punch to push through the compressor and not be compressed below 100hz. This allows you to control where the compression is applied in the frequency range. Another excellent feature incorporated into the UAD version is the option to use the filters in dynamic sidechain mode. For the audio comparison we used black knob as this is the only option in the Waves version. This is a feature you will find on the X rack version of the SSL hardware and ensures an accurate emulation between the two. Additional features the UAD version supports that the Waves version does not are the option to switch from black to brown knob for the low end.
![waves ssl 4000 waves ssl 4000](https://www.audioanimals.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/digital-vs-analogue-ssl-4000-e-series-channel-strip.png)
As a plugin it makes the Waves version look and feel like a kids toy. The UAD version captures everything the hardware has. Making this an accurate comparison between the 3 units.
WAVES SSL 4000 SERIES
In this comparison the original E series emulation was used which doesn't include the unison pres. Not only do you get the standard E Series emulation but you also get the updated version which includes unison pre amps emulating the SSL pre amps. The UAD emulation is something quite spectacular. When you consider for around the same price you can buy the UAD version which we will talk about next. At a price of $249 RRP it's quite frankly a rip off. It just doesn't compare in any way shape or form to what it is trying to emulate. The highs are harsh when compared to the same settings on the hardware. The compressor sucks and dips in ways only a cheap compressor would.
WAVES SSL 4000 FULL
The black knob which is beautifully warm and full on the hardware is thin and flappy. There is little to no likeness between the Waves version and the hardware. It's a standard channel strip you would receive stock with any DAW with an SSL skin. This is not a SSL E-Series compressor and EQ. Let's just put this out there straight away.
![waves ssl 4000 waves ssl 4000](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/study365.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/18234606/Waves-SSL-4000-Collection.jpg)
![waves ssl 4000 waves ssl 4000](https://producenewmedia.com/images/SSL-large.png)
When it's looked at in that sense it falls short massively. The fact that it is branded as an SSL 4000 E-Series channel strip it is meant to emulate as close as possible the analogue hardware. As a compressor and EQ channel strip without the name SSL on it, it would be an OK channel strip. If we were to be doing a star rating system this would get 2 stars out of 5 and that's really being generous. The first emulation in the audio demo is the Waves Audio emulation. From listening to all 3 versions we have come to the following conclusion.