SSL Sigma ... Opinions

[Becharax]

Hello Folks,

Does anyone have an idea about the SSL Sigma ??

Where does it stand compared to its peers ?

Avid Omni, Apogee Symphony, Apollo ?

Regards

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by DJ Bechara

Hello Folks,

Does anyone have an idea about the SSL Sigma ??

Where does it stand compared to its peers ?

Avid Omni, Apogee Symphony, Apollo ?

Regards

I was going to say you're comparing apples to oranges but the units you're talking about are not even that close. The Sigma is a digitally controlled summing box and not a traditional ad/da converter like the Symphony, Omni or Apollo. The latter three units do not do summing and are NOT peers of the Sigma. You have to ask yourself what do you really want - analog summing or exactly what? Sigma does NOT do ad/da conversion.

[Becharax]

I see ... just read about it ... so basically this box has got no I/O ?? only summing the digital tracks in my DAW to a final stereo/mono Track .. ?? why would I pay that much when I can render all those in pro tools ?

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by DJ Bechara

I see ... just read about it ... so basically this box has got no I/O ?? only summing the digital tracks in my DAW to a final stereo/mono Track .. ?? why would I pay that much when I can render all those in pro tools ?

Depends on the sound you want. There are some that say mixing outside the box gives a more spacious sound than mixing inside the box. I'm not going to get into that argument one way or the other as enough emotion has been spent on that in the past so don't ask which is better. Google that for yourself.

The Sigma has no da conversion; you'd still need something like the Symphony ad/da converter box to get your digital signal out of the computer to the Sigma and back in again.

As to what your original question was before you edited your response - you have GOT to really read and pay attention to what a product is and does and not depend on someone to feed you the answer. You've evidently done some research but not enough on your own to answer as simple a question as what is the difference between the boxes. That becomes evident when all the information is read.

[Becharax]

Musicman ... thanks a lot for the info ... just to put things straight I am a senior financial analyst :) the music is my hobby .. I never took courses or learnt anything about music production ... just by instinct and trial and error and asking in forums and reading and watching videos and tutorials I learnt ....

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by DJ Bechara

Musicman ... thanks a lot for the info ... just to put things straight I am a senior financial analyst :) the music is my hobby .. I never took courses or learnt anything about music production ... just by instinct and trial and error and asking in forums and reading and watching videos and tutorials I learnt ....

Then you know about things like research and looking at ALL the data/info. Music being a business or not for you doesn't enter into the equation but knowing the equipment does and what that equipment does is important. You will have to learn about computers and hardware.

[Bill Denton]

In fairness, it took me two or three reads of SSL's info and a ton of posts on another forum before I finally figured out what the hell the Sigma is and what it does, and I'm still not 100% sure I know what it's all about.

And I've been playing with recording and radio toys for...well, a looooong time.

Here's what it is...best I figure...

You're familiar with a mixer...with knobs and faders and stuff.

And...

You're familiar with control surfaces, that allow you to move real faders and knobs to make the faders and knobs on your DAW's screen move.

Now, suppose you took a very basic mixer, then used your light saber to slice off the faders and knobs (sorry, couldn't resist the analogy).

Then, you hook up the control surface to the now-mixette so that when you move a knob or fader on the control surface, it has the same effect that would have been had by moving the knobs and faders that were on the now-mixer until you sliced them off with your light saber.

Got it...?

[Becharax]

yea ... the sound of the ssl mixer but with no faders and knobs ... but just using the faders and knobs of pro tools itself

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Bill Denton

In fairness, it took me two or three reads of SSL's info and a ton of posts on another forum before I finally figured out what the hell the Sigma is and what it does, and I'm still not 100% sure I know what it's all about.

And I've been playing with recording and radio toys for...well, a looooong time.

Here's what it is...best I figure...

You're familiar with a mixer...with knobs and faders and stuff.

And...

You're familiar with control surfaces, that allow you to move real faders and knobs to make the faders and knobs on your DAW's screen move.

Now, suppose you took a very basic mixer, then used your light saber to slice off the faders and knobs (sorry, couldn't resist the analogy).

Then, you hook up the control surface to the now-mixette so that when you move a knob or fader on the control surface, it has the same effect that would have been had by moving the knobs and faders that were on the now-mixer until you sliced them off with your light saber.

Got it...?

There is a ton of info out there and what Sigma is and does and like I tried to get across to DJ one has to carefully read everything about the unit before asking questions. Otherwise if you just go on a forum and start asking for answers to comparisons to other pieces of equipment and don't understand what a certain piece does you're taking a short-cut and not really learning anything. It's like using the Cliff Notes versions of a book for a book report versus actually reading the book. You don't really get the meaning of what the author was/is trying to get across.

[Emcha_audio]

You can actually download audio examples of mixes done with the sigma at http://www.solidstatelogic.com/audioexamples/ There's also a video that you can watch if you haven't already that explains it pretty well.