It was announced today that Solid State Logic, the company famous for its large-format recording consoles, has been acquired by the Audiotonix Group, which includes top audio brands like DiGiCo, Calrec, and Allen & Heath.
SSL rose to prominence after the 1979 release of its SL 4000 series console. The 4000, along with the iterations that followed, would dominate the professional recording industry of the ‘80s and ‘90s and are still widely used today.
In 2005, Peter Gabriel, along with American businessman Dave Engenkle, bought SSL. Since then, the company has primarily focused on digital consoles for live sound and broadcast while continuing to deliver analog desks like the large-format Duality and the scaled-down AWS series.
With their incredible history and reputation, their enthusiasm and loyal customer base, SSL is ideally placed to be the next partner in the group… Having their help to further expand our international reach, technology and customer base will be a lot of fun."
Gabriel’s history with SSL started long before he bought the company. It was during the recording of his song "Intruder" that engineer/producer Hugh Padgham stumbled across a drum sound that would become emblematic of ‘80s pop music. The SSL board, which came equipped with compressors and noise gates on each channel, also included a talkback mic that had its own heavy compressor.
As Phil Collins played drums in the live room, Padgham inadvertently heard them through the talkback mic. The huge sound that resulted was first put to tape on Collins’ classic "In the Air Tonight."
As the majority shareholder of SSL, Gabriel now becomes an investor in Audiotonix.
Audiotonix CEO said in a statement that his company is excited to be a part of SSL’s next chapter: "With their incredible history and reputation, their enthusiasm and loyal customer base, SSL is ideally placed to be the next partner in the group… Having their help to further expand our international reach, technology and customer base will be a lot of fun."