Overview

Bring your mixes to life with one of the most beloved consoles of all time
The 4000 E is the console that first earned Solid State Logic’s place in pro audio history, and helped change the sound of recorded music forever. Easily one of the best selling, best sounding and most respected professional consoles of all time, the 4000 E is a favorite of world class engineers and mixers like Chris Lord Alge, Tony Maserati, Rich Chycki, and Manny Marroquin to this day.

That Legendary SSL sound character
The E-Series is world renowned for being one of the best consoles ever made for producing and mixing rock and pop music, thanks to its tight, smooth and assertive tone, its pleasant saturation when pushed hard, and one of the most musical-sounding EQs ever developed by SSL. This widely-acclaimed sound helped make the 4000 E the mixing board behind countless top 40 hits of the 80s, 90s, 2000s and beyond.

The most faithful recreation of this studio classic available
The bx_console SSL 4000 E precisely recreates the signal path, workflow and sound of the original Solid State Logic channel strip at the component level, powered by Brainworx’ patented TMT technology. No other emulation comes as close to capturing the unmistakable sound and feel of working on a real analog SSL.

A complete console channel strip in the box
The plugin version of the 4000 E includes all the features and stages that made the original consoles so easy and satisfying to work with. From the tight, clear and assertive preamp, to its flexible filter and dynamics sections, and its game-changing EQ that remains one of the most talked about in the history of analog consoles. This bx_console rendition remakes every element of the original channel strip with startling accuracy.

Enhanced with special features only possible in the digital domain
Like all bx_console plugins, the 4000 E delivers the unique character of a real analog console with its Tolerance Modeling Technology, giving each iteration of the channel strip its own subtle character, increasing depth and realism, just like on the original board. Independent V-Gain and THD controls allow you to dial in additional saturation and vibe without upsetting your mix balances or gain staging. You can even switch between the classic “black knob” and “brown knob” versions of the EQ, with the click of a mouse.

If you own bx_console SSL 4000 E you can buy bx_console SSL 4000 G or bx_console N for just $99 each!
Just make sure you are logged in and you will see the $99 price for these products.

Features

  • 72 different (!) TMT Channel emulations in one plugin, just like a real console

  • TMT — Brainworx patent-registered “Tolerance Modeling Technology” (US Patent No. 10,725,727)
  • Switchable EQ modes between the “brown knob” version, for a gentler and more musical filter slope, and the “black knob” version for a more surgical filter

  • A complete dynamics section switchable between E and G modes

  • Perfect emulation of every aspect of the original 4000 E channel strip, including preamp, filters, compression, expander/gate and 4-band parametric EQ

  • Continuously variable THD and Virtual Gain controls to add colorful saturation and/or simulated analog noise independently or globally

  • Scalable UI to adapt to your screensize and workflow

  • Loaded with plenty of useful presets to give you a starting place for finding your sound

  • The only true CONSOLE emulation—everything else is just a channel strip.

Audio Examples

Industry Reviews

  • Richard Chycki

    Richard Chycki

    Mixer/Engineer (Rush, Dream Theater, Skillet, Aerosmith)

    The Brainworx SSL models perfectly frame the beauty of imperfection found in analog consoles.

Customer Reviews

  • SSL 4000 E

    ★★★★★
    by Mr Aaron
    A sense of space. I've had this for just a few days. Wow.
    Crack on Brainworks. Crack on boys.
    Brilliant. (You'll be hearing what I've mixed on this coming to a stage soon)
  • Insanely good

    ★★★★★
    by Synthic
    Such a great sounding plugin that literally emulates an entire SSL console in your DAW with all channels working together rather than just applying eq, comp etc on isolated channels. But please… Read More
  • Great!

    ★★★★★
    by Txema
    super usefull pluging, that allows to you to print a special flavor to your channels
  • Channel Strip SSL

    ★★★★★
    by Carlos
    Sencillamente no puedo hacer una mezcla sin ellos. Están en cada canal y comparándolos con otros de otras marcas son las mejores emulaciones que he oído. Súper recomendable.
  • good, but missing a few things

    ★★★★☆
    by dh
    sounds pretty great, and its nice to use, its a shame there is no oversample and no separate sidechain for the expander/gate... perhaps we'll get an update some day!

Specifications

Supported Plugin Formats
AAX DSP, AAX Native, AU, AAX AudioSuite, VST2, VST3

Supported Operating Systems
macOS 14 down to macOS 11
Windows 11 down to Windows 10

Mac
Intel, or Apple Silicon

PC
x64-compatible CPU

System Requirements
Display resolution: 1440 × 900px or 1280 × 960px or higher
Memory: 2 GB RAM

Downloads

With the Installation Manager you can select, download & install all the Plugin Alliance products. Select any and all formats you need for your system! Mac & PC.

ChangeLog

bx_console SSL 4000 E

Brainworx bx_console SSL 4000 E - Changelog

Version 1.7.1 (Oct 9, 2023)
- General: fixed CPU spikes on Mac OS

Version 1.7.0 (Aug 15, 2023)
- General: added native Apple Silicon compatibility for AAX
- General: added macOS Ventura support
- General: improved plugin loading time in the DAW
- General: fixed issue causing Logic to crash when closing the plugin UI
- General: improved font drawing behavior

Version 1.6.1 (Mar 21, 2022)
- Fixed incorrect metering behavior

Version 1.6 (Mar 15, 2022)
- General: added native Apple Silicon compatibility for VST3, VST2 and AU
- General: added macOS Monterey support
- General: added Windows 11 and Windows 10 21H1 support
- General: discontinued Windows 7 support
- General: discontinued macOS 10.9 and 10.11 support
- General: fixed metering behavior in block sizes of 2048 samples and higher

Version 1.5 (Mar 22, 2021)
- General: Compatibility with Logic on Apple Silicon devices via the Rosetta-2 layer
- General: Fixed possible artefacts when freezing or bouncing tracks in Pro Tools
- General: Fixed automation highlighting disappearing in Studio One
- General: Improved license dialog visibility in dark mode

Version 1.4 (May 27, 2020)
- General: Qualified for use with the Windows 10 May 2020 Update
- General: VST3: Fixed potential hangs in a DAW upon loading
- General: Fixed logical issues in undo / redo behavior
- General: Fixed UI resizing issues in Ableton Live on Windows
- General: Fixed audio processing initialization issues on amp and delay products
- Fixed possible compression misbehavior at 192k sample rate
- Improved metering behavior

Version 1.3 (Nov 06, 2019)
- General: Qualified for use with macOS 10.15 Catalina
- General: Qualified for use with Windows 10 November 2019 Update
- General: Fixed plugin validation in Logic under macOS Catalina
- General: Fixed preset name restore in Logic when reopening a session
- General: Fixed opening authorization dialog triggering automation
- General: Improved instantiation times for plugins
- General: Improved license functionality and branding for subscription
- General: Removed 32-bit support on macOS and Windows
- Added scalable UI feature

Version 1.2 (Jul 10, 2019)
- Added meter calibration functionality
- General: macOS 10.14.5 Update compatibility
- General: Windows 10 1903 Update compatibility
- General: Fixed activation issue in Windows hosts set to non-English language (e.g. Cakewalk)
- General: AU: Fixed issue with increased CPU and memory on reopening UI
- General: VST3: Fixed issue with adapting to host knob mode, and now prioritizing linear
- General: VST3: Fixed issue with VST3 preset permissions
- General: VST3: Improved synchronization between parameter states and some UI functions, e.g. toolbar reset

Version 1.1 (Nov 16, 2018)
- General: macOS Mojave compatibility
- General: Windows October 2018 update compatibility
- General: adding Windows High DPI support for VST2/3 plugins
- General: Fixed potential crashes in Cubase and other VST2 / VST3 DAWs
- General: Fixed potential CPU spikes and audio dropouts
- General: Fixed rendering in Pro Tools on the start of a session
- General: Fixed missing presets in Wavelab and other VST3 DAWs
- General: Improving keyboard control, fixing issues with catched keys preventing it from passing through to DAW
- General: Fixed parallel use of host sessions (e.g. with Live)
- Fixed THD ALL & V Gain ALL resets all Console THD ALL & V Gain ALL settings to default when loading
- Fixed Solo title remains in Mono version
- Fixed CPU spikes and UI animation issues during automation
- Fixed compressor mix knob at zero produces audible digital clicks

Version 1.0 (Jul 9, 2018)
- Release version