The Revival 4000 is an all-analogue, mono 1U channel strip from Solid State Logic, built around the sound and features of the 4000 Series consoles of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It is designed for tracking vocals, drums and other sources through a console-style mic preamp and for bringing SSL EQ and dynamics into a modern DAW-based studio.
-
E Series mic preamp with a Jensen JT-115K-E input transformer, +20 to +70 dB gain, +48V phantom power, polarity invert, 20 dB pad and line input switch
-
B Series de-esser with a single control, fixed 10:1 ratio and 7 kHz high-pass filtered sidechain
-
E Series VCA compressor/limiter with true RMS detection, an all-discrete Class A VCA, switchable soft/hard knee and fast attack
-
Gate/expander with up to 40 dB range, hysteresis and separate LED metering for compression and expansion
-
4-band E Series EQ switchable between the 02 "Brown Knob" and 242 "Black Knob" circuits, plus high- and low-pass filters
-
Flexible routing with balanced insert point, external key input, stereo sidechain link and reconfigurable processing order
The signal path brings together four sections that SSL users will recognise from its consoles. The preamp uses the same Jensen transformer part found in the original E Series channel strips, giving a transformer-balanced front end with a line input that offers -20 to +20 dB of gain.
The de-esser comes from the 4000 B compressor/limiter. Rather than acting on a frequency band, it compresses the whole signal when its high-pass filtered sidechain detects sibilance, with a 2 ms attack and programme-dependent release. The compressor covers ratios from 1:1 up to limiting, with release from 0.1 to 4 s on a logarithmic or linear curve. The gate's hysteresis lets instruments decay below the opening threshold before it closes, which helps with drums and sustained sources.
The EQ can be switched between two classic circuits. The 02 "Brown Knob" offers fully parametric, symmetrical mid bands and 6 dB/octave shelves that can be turned into fixed-Q bells. The 242 "Black Knob", developed in 1983 with George Martin for AIR Studios, extends the gain range to ±18 dB and uses a steeper 18 dB/octave high-pass filter.
Routing options make the unit adaptable in a mix. Filters and/or EQ can feed the dynamics sidechain, filters can be moved to the input, dynamics and de-esser can be placed after the EQ, and the insert can be moved to the output. Two units can be linked as a stereo pair, and a switchable 5-LED meter shows input or output level.