The Chameleon Labs 7720 is an SSL clone?

Yes...it's actually a not so subtle copy of the Gyraf SSL clone circuit, which is inspired by the SSL4000 buss compressor. The thing is, is that the 7720 is built with cheap components. You can build the GSSL with top shelf components for about half the cost of a 7720, and come out of it with a much nicer piece of gear. You'll also have the satisfaction of knowing you built something awesome!

I haven't sodered anything since Clinton was shoving cigars in interns. How hard is it to build one of these puppies? Can you buy complete kids ready to be assembled?

The Chameleon Labs 7720 has gotta sound better than the plugin clones, right?

Im not sure, probably in a third world country somewhere.

Wasn't a typo - I want to open my own sweatshop.

I'd like to invest

I think I ended up paying like $450 for mine, since I got it during the introductory period. There's no way you could build it with really high end components and come in substantially under that, I don't think. Not enough to make it worth the effort anyway. At the currnet price it might be a little more reasonable.

As to cheap components, I'm not so sure I'd worry about that. I always find it a little strange that people want to build some of these classic pieces with super-high end compnents, when the originals generally didn't use anything particularly fancy. If you want the classic piece for the sound it has, but you use completely different sorts of components from what the originals used, then what's the point? You could only be making the sound less like the original AND paying more for it.

I don't know what the original SSL comp being cloned used, but it would not be unusual for it to have used quite run of the mill electronics, because they were being made to turn a profit and unless something inside the box where it would never be seen really made a measurable difference in sound (as apposed to just looking prettier), they probably wouldn't have spent the extra bucks just for fun.

Anyway, I wouldn't be too worried about the components used unless they are proveably bad or proveably create a sub-standard result.

I build them pretty regularly with WIMA film caps, panasonic FM electros, and THAT2181A vca's, and a gorgeous laser etched front panel for around $300. I can turn the makeup gain to full with no increase in noise floor, and the compression is extremely transparent. That's the benefit of using high quality components. I don't care about remaking what SSL did. I want something that performs better.

Do you sell any that you build?

Sounds pretty much like the Chameleon to me. Of course if you can do it cheaper, then go for it. For folks who are very comfortable doing their own parts substitution and whatnot, it's probably more reasonable to look around and find good deals. Most folks though are going to be a lot more comfortable using standard BOMs from the usual places. I priced out the standard BOM, and even with a cheapo case it wouldn't have been but a hundred or so bucks less than what I paid, so it just wasn't worth the effort. The 1176 and LA-2A were well worth the effort, saving thousands of dollars.

Yes, but $300 is my cost...not what I would sell them for. I build all kinds of stuff...check out my myspace

I agree 100%

I've built both of those, and it's truly shocking how much you save building it yourself. Thousand of dollars is not an exaggeration!

you can see the units i do here:

SSL

this one has a an sidechain extension for more fun at all.

an Sidechain filter with a highpass to make it less sensitiv to bass, which is useful, and two modified compression modes for "loud" and "very loud"

besides that, there is of course the untouched ssl compression mode.

The modified compression modes are actually sidechain hi pass filters that boost the uncompressed low end rather than simply letting it pass through untouched as the standard hi pass filters do - Thrust Loud (TL) and Thrust Medium (TM).

I've started building them with a 2U and 3U vintage look for the last couple customers, with big vintage knobs and meters - serious visual vibe! I also just built one with Lundahl transformer outs that had a killer sound to it.

this is so cool that these comps can be made for home studios at a reasonable price......

then add the Turbo board, CRC filter board, Crush'N'Blend, and some output transformers when you get tired of that sound.

Found this old topic by typo error...

Just for the record!!
I bought a G SSL Clone used 2 years ago and I am totally happy with it...

Which one did you end up getting, i am also looking for one of these.

how can sound the same???

I am not saying they do sound 100% identical (I dont really care, personally), but if you are under the impression that the sound of a circuit is dictated by the look of the PCB layout, you are mistaken. I can do two PCBs based on the same circuit that will sound identical and look completely different. If you look, you will see the same elements are features in blocks, but the GssL layout is less generous with PCB space (europacard size means its self etch friendly for DIY).

In any case, the GssL is something Jakob shared with the DIY community a zillion years ago, and not nearly as cool as the units you can buy from him.

Gyraf Audio

Or the latest DIY incarnation of a VCA comp by moi.

https://pcbgrinder.com/index.php?rou...product_id=193



Gustav

Hey Gustav.

Yes the sound is dictated by the ciruits design, If u look for that sound , u need the same trace, pcb, everything..I was not able to make my LA2A DIY sound the same till i start to bypass the pcb and sold in air.

anyway.

grab what you want.

my money goes to SMART c1, or SSL 384

That's beautiful.

LA2As are tube comps with high impedance circuits hence layout and parasitic capacitance matters a lot. The SSL buscompressor circuit is low impedance all over the place, so parasitic capacitance (=PCB layout) matters a lot less.

Thanks! (wheres the blush icon?)

Theres an off the shelf, ready to plug in version on the site as well, but for DIY, as you know, you can dramatically change the looks to personal preference.

Gustav

I've been looking for a nice DIY SSL--that's mostly in kit form. (I prefer to do things the hard way--but time--that commodity can be so tragically limited.) The 500/51x land is missing a good one, which would be my preference. But on features and thoughtfulness yours is way ahead of the pack. It's definitely on my list.

And after you do that........You no Longer have the SL4000 Master Bus Comp!
you were trying to build!

Actually, I was astonished at the fail rate of successful builds for these kits on the SB4001 DIY Clone forum. There were SB4001/Gyraf Clones that had been going for 6 months to 18 months and many were still not complete, had problems, ongoing problems and or BOM mistakes with add on's such as Crush, and dual/Quad Sidechain plus Turbo Mod etc.

I was More....... surprised at the amount of people whom had stuffed the main boards, racked the units, got the the Sidechain/Input/output Trimming Task and the Units seemed to just fail? Why? Always seemed to go back the the main PCB and just 1 or 2 or 4 Caps or components that were stuffed and trimmed incorrectly.....ended up choking around a decent Third of all Builds! So a huge lesson to be learned just by reading a 28 page Build Diary! More so it should be noted IIRC that the Original SL4000/E Bus Compressor is a Feedback/Forward Design that was modified by Jakob for the Gyraf SSL 40000 Bus Compressor Builds as Feed-Forward!

So really from Obsidian to SSL 384, to SB and Chameleon with all Kits included - these newer (Last 8 -12 Year Designs) are literally Gyraf Knock off Designed! Seems as though Al Smart was the 1st into building an actual Clone the C1 (originally in C2 Silver) due to frustration after working on Eddie Grants Electric Avenue Studios SSL Console Install and then as Eddie's Engineer, so the C1 Compressor he built seemed more out of frustration that he could never get to use the SSL Bus Compressor and wanted one for the B. Room at Electric Avenue Studios.

So is an SSL Bus Compressor a Bus Compressor? - Be it 899$ or 2,499$...? Not in my hearing tests, though I would say the general idea and outcome is near the same if it does the Job to any end users satisfaction, I guess people pay the big money for a feature set and the certain quality and sound of Euphonic Clarity and Options are of a differing matter, from the SSL 384 w/ DBX 202C's to the SSL Xlogic with THAT 2080's or 2081's etc.

Then again......Is the Girl down the street going to care on her i-Phone or iPod, iPad etc Earbuds @ 384kb MP3 Quality.....I doubt it!

thats a crappy attitude

1) everything is bypass-able, including OP trans. The VCA is the only thing I didnt do, but have heard the difference before between 202 gold cans and THAT chips...indistinguishable.

2) the original quad comp sat in the middle of a LFC desk master, surrounded b wiring. That fact alone is ke in understanding that, once puled from that electronic environment, in a wa we are free to pla with functionalit and tone.
The base design becomes a platform.
Smart does this. Obsidean does this. Dozens of other companies do this.
If lineage was the argument, then grey G384 would be the standard.

regardless, mine is awesome and used daily, making me money.

Cheers!

-s

thats a crappy attitude

1) On my personal GSSL: everything is bypass-able, including OP trans. The VCA is the only thing I didnt do, but have heard the difference before between 202 gold cans and THAT chips...indistinguishable.

2) the original quad comp sat in the middle of a LFC desk master section, surrounded by wiring. That fact alone is key in understanding that, once puled from that electronic environment, in a way we are free to play with functionality and tone. In fact, that is a great part of the job!
Playing around and pushing the use of old formats into new.
The base design becomes a platform.
Smart does this. Obsidian does this. Dozens of other companies do this.

If lineage was the argument, then grey G384 could be considered the standard, and then the semantic argument would be one of qualifying every other compressor in some scientific manner against the sonic character of the G384.

Really kinda sounds ridiculous huh?

regardless, mine is awesome and used daily, making me money,
and you quoted me, an email was sent, so here I am.

Cheers!

-s

Huh? .........I was quoting you in talking about the SB4001 Builds that seem to fail and is there really a difference to the MP3 Chick who's nicked the music of YouTube as to buying a CD etc......The references to the SSL FX 384, Smart C1/2 or others were just asides? Erm.......I didn't send you an email, you're most likely subscribed to this thread? As to the Chameleon Compressor, I think as long as it's well built and affordable.....why build a kit? I mean that Comp might be able to be modded, though Stock IIRC it's pretty Vanilla and my post had nothing directly to point at you, save to say that it seems the numerous features added to Sb40011 builds often seem to come a cropper of fail in some part? I guess the point was......Can you really hear that 2-3K$ Vs 800.00$ Compressor and is building your own cheaper when so many things can go wrong etc?

Why.....the post had nothing to do with you?

unsubscribed!