SSL 12

I was looking for a new audio interface with 4 input and I was in between universal audio and SSL!
The Volt series looks very simple and pleasing to the eye but I needed an ADAT connection so I went with the SSL.
Received the product in 3 days!
Unboxed and it looks very professional, I like that the 4 input are at the back and the front is neat with the headphones out and instrument that don’t look bad at all. You have 4 outputs so you can connect 4 monitors that you can control with the big knob.
Really clean preamps and lots of headroom if you enable the 4K button.
Great interface!!!

You absolutely can not go wrong with this interface. It truly brings legit studio quality in any house/setup at a tiny fraction of the cost of a studio console.

I don't have much to add on top of what most reviews say about the SSL 12, or rather the amount of praise it gets. It's all justified and real from my point of view. It's built like a tank and it performs like a race car, simple as that.

In every technical aspect it really outperforms many interfaces which can be even 2-3x more expensive. The drivers are reliable and the extra software around it with all the extra functionalities delivers in essentially every aspect.

My only "complaints" are ultra nitpicky details like:
- the knobs are just plain ugly and being plastic doesn't make them look any better, I am so done with this ultra ugly aesthetic of many brands that make studio gear. This mentality that ugly inspires a professional look is a tired and outdated trope.
- the metering could be more accurate, but I guess it gives you something to look at. It could definitely be improved, but if you're relying solely on those to check things, you have bigger issues.
- the form factor is very comfy and practical from a workflow perspective, but a nightmare if you are OCD with keeping stuff clean like me. I'm aware there's a "deck saver" for it, but I think that 40 eur for a plain piece of transparent plastic is beyond outrageous and it should be included by default in the package.

The only other real competition of the SSL is the equivalent MOTU in terms of functions and I/O config and price bracket and at that point it's really a matter of preference in relation to size/form factor and whatever else.

The interface is okay, but I can't hear much of a difference with the 4K button depressed. It's SUPPOSED to emulate the sound of the pres on a SSL 4000. I hear a bit of air and distortion...nothing else that seems usable. I think the pres on an SSL 400 sounded MUCHO better. Free bundles of offered software are hard to get , if at all possible. Most require a download of a specific plugin manager, that takes up space, but then you have to fight with CS to find out where to put in the code....With Amplitude, I gave up. Impossible. and with most, like SSL itself, don't expect a quick answer or a solution. Extremely poor.