Mention the name Solid State Logic and images of huge, high-end, high-ticket mixers immediately come to mind. Yet in 2004, this supplier of world-class consoles unveiled a product that broke new ground in terms of performance and price. The AWS 900 takes the high-performance, 200k Hz analog electronics of SSL's XL 9000 console.

The board, which can operate as a straightforward 24×8 analog desk, features switchable SSL E or G Series EQ, assignable SSL dynamics, G Series stereo main bus compressor and 100mm moving fader automation.

The AWS 900’s monitoring capabilities are formidable, with facilities for controlling two sets of stereo speakers and two entire 5.1 rigs: mains and near-fields. The AWS 900 was also the first SSL console to feature high-impedance inputs for interfacing with direct instrument inputs. Pricing was $85,000 — definitely more than a Mackie 1604, but affordable by SSL’s big console standards. In fact, during the nominations phase for the 2005 TEC Awards, SSL tried to enter the AWS 900 into the small-format console category (it was the smallest console the company had made at that time), yet somehow a 185-pound, 57-inch wide mixer didn’t quite meet the criteria for a compact console and today, that category is limited to models weighing less than 60 pounds.

But what did set the AWS 900 apart from other SSL products of its time was its DAW controller functions. The 24-channel controls can be bank-switched to perform as traditional audio channels, DAW channels or — in groups of eight — a combination of both. Within the master section's DAW control panel, most of the workstation action occurs. The AWS 900 software communicates with DAWs via MIDI, is Mackie HUI-compatible and included templates for Logic, Nuendo and Pro Tools.

Even more impressive is the fact that the AWS 900 — in its newest generation — remains in production some 14 year later — an impressive accomplishment for any console design.