GSSL HELP THREAD!!!

[kante1603]

@Che_Guitarra:


Hello,


looks like you're really confused about this topic,same as a lot of others here.


I'll try to explain it as simple as possible.


The original SSL bus compressor has two sidechains already while the GSSL has one.
Adding the turbo board adds this second sidechain to a GSSL build.
The hpf filter might not be needed if you run it especially in the original two-sidechain or "Oxford"-mode.
Why?
Because in "Aarhus"-mode (or one summing sidechain) as per default the coherent signals mainly in the bass
frequency area will add up to max. +6dB (in theory) and will therefore force the unit to compress stronger than if it will with a second sidechain.
This is why the sidechain filter boards came up to compensate it a bit.
The original SSL doesn't have this filtering provision,but if you want to make your compressor more versatile you might want to add filters.A matter of taste or needs I'd say.
So no,there's no need for filters in turbo mode,but could be done.
If so you'll need two identical hpf filters or filter boards (one for each sidechain).


I hope this cleared it up a bit,


best regards,


Udo.


Edited typo.

 

[Che_Guitarra]

Thanks Udo, that was a great explanation 

 

[wamlechacal]

Hi,

I bought the New Gssl  few month ago and i finished it yesterday.
It sounds good but... i have a problem...

It seems there is no compression. When i turn the "threshold" and "ratio", no change. (meter never goes up to 5 dB...) (for information it's the meter DC (edge) of pcb grinder)
But, the "recovery" seems to work and "attack" and "release" too (i can see with the meter)

Could someone  help me to find the problem, with some voltage to check or something like that?

Thank you

 

[wamlechacal]

nobody to help me?  :'(

I check all my welding... but no short cut...

For my first diy...

if someone could show me the way, or even a small track, it would be super nice !  ;D

 

[turk sanchez]

...hey guys, just a quick word ~ I got the new bypass switch and soldered it in just now (before my session) and had a chance to test the GSSL and..............it's working great!!!! I won't have time to mess w/it till later (just tracking today), but I wanted to drop in and say thanks again for the help from the great people on this forum.

 

[kante1603]

Hello wamlechacal,


sorry,but it sounds confusing to me:
There is no compression but attack and release work?How does that go?
Or are you refering to the meter response?
And the unit sounds good but compressions does not work.....I absolutely don't get it.
I have built it a couple of years ago,but those were the first revisions of the boards.
I'm sadly not familiar with the new boards from Gustav,maybe someone doing this actual kit atm will chime in?


Sorry I can't help,


Udo.

 

[kante1603]

...hey guys, just a quick word ~ I got the new bypass switch and soldered it in just now (before my session) and had a chance to test the GSSL and..............it's working great!!!! I won't have time to mess w/it till later (just tracking today), but I wanted to drop in and say thanks again for the help from the great people on this forum.

Hey turk,


that's excellent news!


Have fun,


best,


Udo.

 

[wamlechacal]

Hi Kante1603,

I understand what you mean...

When i test it, the sound on "out" is clear, no buzz, no click... that's what i wanted to say !  :

There is no compression but attack and release work?How does that go?
Or are you refering to the meter response?

Yes i am. For example, when i change the "release" to "fast", the needle return faster at 0 than the "slow" position. But maybe i'm wrong ?

I hope i'm clearer... 

Thank you !!!!  ;D

 

[kante1603]

o.k.,so the meter circuit seems to work somehow,the behaviour seems to be alright.
No compression audible.....hmmmmm.....are you sure you are really in active mode and not bypass by accident?
Might be just a wiring error for the bypass,I'd look there first,just an idea of course....


Udo.

 

[turk sanchez]

PS...sounds GREAT! No problems. balanced from left to right, I can slam it with out any "distortion", HPF works, all knobs do what they are supposed to do. I really dig the way it sounds and I like hitting it a bit harder than my SSL Duende buss comp. I like about -4 to -8 DB gain reduction.

Thanks, Guys! Super happy.

Just a little PPS...I have messed with this compressor more now. Wow. It really sounds excellent. I can't believe how good it sounds on my 2buss. I also tried nuking it on the drum buss (10:1, slow attack, fast release, tons of gain reduction, pumping) and it sounds incredible there too. Very tempted to build another.

 

[gforsythe]

Hello fellow DIYers!

As a relatively new to DIY projects individual, like so many others I want the GSSL project to be the next one I tackle. I've successfully made a VP26 preamp from Classic API and the Bo Hansen DI, which has given me the confidence to move to something with a bit less step by step instruction. The GSSL seems to be the great right of passage project for cracking away through forums like this to help guide the work along. After having spent a good deal of time on this thread already, I'm sure that everything is pretty well covered. One thing however that keeps popping up for this and any other project like it is the intimidating red markings of "LETHAL VOLTAGES-- hire an EE when dealing with mains power." Though much of the safety involved with DIY projects is common sense, the more I read about working with the toroid transformers and mains power, the more I realize how crucial it is to open a dialog about safety practices for DIY projects such as this, especially since this is a popular build for newcomers.

I wanted to add to this thread a chance for people to discuss their experiences with working with the mains power wiring and if they worked with licensed professionals or not, and what safety precautions they used when powering up the unit for the first time. Because I'm not, and perhaps many other DIYers are not licensed EEs, in order to really develop confidence moving forward I would love for people to share their advice on this intimidating but essential step.

As a side note, I live in Brooklyn and would love to try and get a DIY meetup going to share some of these amazing projects in person-- if anyone knows of something like this already for the New York area I'd love to know!

All the best and happy building,
Glenn

 

[wamlechacal]

Hi everybody,

Thank you kante1603 for your help. I tested this morning and the bypass is ok... 

I made more test and the sound between Left and Right is not the same... In the left, the sound is "full" and loud , and in the right, the sound is like there is no low frequencies and quiet...

I switched the "that2180b", and the "5534" and it's the same...
I switched the "5534" on input side and "5532" on output side and it's the same too...

Somebody have tension to verify ? Gustav ???  :'(

 

[kante1603]

Hi everybody,

Thank you kante1603 for your help. I tested this morning and the bypass is ok... 

I made more test and the sound between Left and Right is not the same... In the left, the sound is "full" and loud , and in the right, the sound is like there is no low frequencies and quiet...

I switched the "that2180b", and the "5534" and it's the same...
I switched the "5534" on input side and "5532" on output side and it's the same too...

Somebody have tension to verify ? Gustav ??? :'(

Seems you have more than just one issue in your build.
One channel being quieter and having less bass frequencies normally leads to a balancing error.
Happens whether in the input stage (debalancing circuit) or output stage (balancer).
So if you have the ics swapped from left to right channel and vice versa it is most likely that somewhere a hot or cold signal is missing.Could be a wiring issue with the xlrs from or to the pcb,a short in that area or an open condition,anything in between too,e.g. continuity on the molex headers.
To confirm you can do a quick check:Send a sine signal,say +4dB (studio standard) at 1kHz to both channels and compare the levels at the output.
If there is a difference from about 6dB then it is nearly 100% sure that it really is a balancing issue.
This will be the same difference in bypass and active mode.
So let's check this first.


Best,


Udo.

 

[Gustav]

Somebody have tension to verify ? Gustav ???  :'(

tensions/voltages is given by the supply voltages. I know its a lot of learning getting started, but in this project, you have +/-15 on all the active components in the signal way.

To see where to measure for +/-15, you can always google the data sheets for the active component.

For example:5532 pinout.

https://www.google.dk/search?q=5532pinout&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=rGpwVKrrGeHgyQPTsIG4Bg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1143&bih=702

Here, you can see the negative voltage pin is 4, and the positive voltage pin is 8.

Repeat for the 5534 and THAT2180, and you can check the voltages and report back.

Like Kante said, it sounds like you have multiple problems in the build. I would start by verifying the soldering work is good overall and follow his suggestions.

Gustav

 

[Ave Crux]

Found out the problem! Oh man, turns out I wired my power switch incorrectly. Turns on fine now, although it doesn't pass any audio.

I've been working with our in house tech and borrowed his ossiloscope. The first IC chip on the input takes audio, although for some reason it is split in half -- and the signal doesn't reach the VCA's at all.

I suspect I have some cold solders somewhere since I also checked the output pins on the regulators and they are intermittent. One of them even smoked, our tech guys says it should be fine since it still reads proper voltage (again, intermittently) but I will replace them anyway.

Otherwise, I got one of my frustrating problems out of the way, and I'm very excited to keep working on it.

 

[gyraf]

...remember that you can't measure signal at the input pin of VCA, as this is a virtual-earth current input (discussed earlier)

Jakob E.

 

[kante1603]

And what does "...split to half..." mean,the signal at the ic input (how goes that),the ic,germany,,your wifes' budget,a tomato......
Brilliant tech guys you must have there suggesting a regulator to be good that already smoked.
Now you have an oscilloscope -wow-but wasn't it you who fooled around with mains voltages without following our recommendations before?
You solved a problem because the mains switch was wired wrong?How?
This time you "might have some cold solders",and a reg outputs "intermittend".


I really wonder where this all will end......


Don't you think it is time to stop this project,put it aside for a while and learn some basic stuff first?
Most of us had to do so and after having understood things like Ohm's law and basic safety rules we started with little useful projects like say a d.i.-box or so.This teaches a lot abour circuitry,handling instruments like a dmm and improves your soldering skills btw.


Udo.

 

[wamlechacal]

After testing all advice of Kante1603 (with no success...), i decided to check another time all my weldings! But this time with a wen and the metrix at my work !

It may be time to invest in a real multimeter... because i have it!! It was two short cut between two welding and my personnal multimeters didn't ring !!!! 

I'm REALLY SORRY to have bothered you for just... a multimeters problem...  :'(

Thank you very much to Kante1603 and Gustav for your patience and precious advices !!!!!!

I tested the GSSL yesterday and it was..... GOOOOOOOOOOOODDDD!!!!

Thanks a lot!!!!

 

[Ave Crux]

OH GOD! I just literally pissed myself, I finally got it to work!!!!!!

I am so freaking happy! Oh man, thank you for everybody that helped!!!

(Just one small bug, the right channel is somehow only half as loud as the other channel) but other than that oh my goodness this is the happiest day of my life.

 

[Ave Crux]

And what does "...split to half..." mean,the signal at the ic input (how goes that),the ic,germany,,your wifes' budget,a tomato......
Brilliant tech guys you must have there suggesting a regulator to be good that already smoked.
Now you have an oscilloscope -wow-but wasn't it you who fooled around with mains voltages without following our recommendations before?
You solved a problem because the mains switch was wired wrong?How?
This time you "might have some cold solders",and a reg outputs "intermittend".


I really wonder where this all will end......


Don't you think it is time to stop this project,put it aside for a while and learn some basic stuff first?
Most of us had to do so and after having understood things like Ohm's law and basic safety rules we started with little useful projects like say a d.i.-box or so.This teaches a lot abour circuitry,handling instruments like a dmm and improves your soldering skills btw.


Udo.

Sorry for being so stubborn Udo. I have been seriously considering the GSSL for over a year before starting the project, and I couldn't let it down without having it finished. I took everybody's suggestions about finding a tech person and so I went. I learned a lot from them in an hour than a week scouring through the web, and the problem with the web is that there are so many different (and sometimes outdated) things that relate to this subject (electronics) that it was really difficult for me to understand it concretely.

But aside from my stubbornness came with extreme dedication. I resoldered all suspected cold solders, traced and tested for continuity, cleaned the board insanely, and took a long time carefully quadruple checking everything, and behold it now works!

On the oscilloscope note, I just borrowed it from our tech guys. Not actually mine haha!

And for the wirings, I don't know, it was really quite peculiar. I could have sworn I followed Gustav's wiring guide correctly. I'm in Canada and so our mains is 120VAC, and I am attaching a photo here on how I currently wired it up and it seems like it resembled the 240VAC wiring. But we checked the voltage running and we were getting the proper readings to the board, so, well, I don't know still quite unsure about that part but I am glad it works nonetheless.