SSL Native Bus Compressor 2

The SSL G-Series Bus Compressor needs little introduction. Fitted as standard in virtually every SSL G-Series console built since the early 1980s, it defined the sound of commercial music for decades — the glue, the punch, the sense that a mix is one thing rather than many separate tracks playing at once.

Bus Compressor 2 is SSL's own emulation of the circuit, built in-house with direct access to the original hardware. That matters: where licensed emulations work from measurements or circuit analysis, SSL built this one from the source. The result is an accurate reproduction of the compression characteristics, including the famous Auto release mode that adapts to programme material rather than applying a fixed timing.

Version 2 extends the hardware's limited control set considerably. The original console unit offered only three attack times, four release times, and three ratios. Bus Compressor 2 adds a 20ms attack option, additional release times at 0.4s, 0.8s, and 1.2s, and new ratios — 1.5:1, 3:1, 20:1, and X, where X sits above 20:1 and below hard limiting. These additions make the plug-in more useful across individual tracks and subgroups, not just the mix bus.

The Mix knob enables parallel compression without external routing — blend the compressed signal against the dry input to retain transient detail while adding density. The sidechain HPF keeps low-frequency content from triggering excess gain reduction, which is particularly useful on a mix bus with prominent bass or kick drums. Both features are absent from the original hardware.

Oversampling at 2x or 4x reduces aliasing at the cost of higher CPU and increased latency — most useful in mastering or critical mix bus contexts where sonic precision takes priority over processing overhead.

For engineers working with SSL 360°, up to 8 instances can be controlled simultaneously from a single panel, with hands-on hardware control available via the SSL UC1 controller.

Who Is This For?

Engineers who want the SSL Bus Compressor as close to the source as possible, with the added flexibility for modern sessions that the original hardware lacked. At $99 it sits at a higher price point than competing emulations, but this is SSL's own work — and existing SSL Native licence holders get it as a free upgrade.