Building A Hybrid Console With SSL X Rack Summing, Plus Yuzu Keycaps And Studio Chairs

James Richmond and the Production Expert team discuss building a hybrid analogue summing using cascading SSL X Rack chassis and used modules, plus Luke Goddard on the PreSonus StudioLive Series III SE. The conversation moves through Yuzu custom Pro Tools keycaps, experimental tape-and-percussion music finds, and a practical discussion of studio chairs, sit-stand desks, and the cost of poor posture. Useful listening for anyone weighing the cost and benefit of bringing analogue summing back into an in-the-box workflow.

Building A Hybrid Console With SSL X Rack Summing, Plus Yuzu Keycaps And Studio Chairs

Most engineers running hybrid workflows hit the same wall. Every channel that touches outboard adds a conversion. By the time a kick drum reaches the master, it can have been through eight A to D stages, and the per-channel bus structure that a large format SSL gives you for granted is nowhere in sight. James Richmond's solution, built from used SSL X Rack modules for under £3,000, recreates A/B/C/D bus architecture in ten rack spaces. It's the centrepiece of an episode that also covers PreSonus's StudioLive Series III SE, the software that quietly saved a mix, and the ergonomics question most studio owners are still ignoring.

In this episode:

• James Richmond on cascading SSL X Rack summing mixers, why the used module market made the build viable, and how the record bus on the four-channel modules enables true subgroup compression on drum shells and vocals before they hit the master
• Luke Goddard on the PreSonus StudioLive Series III SE 32-channel mixer in three frame sizes, USB 2.0 versus Thunderbolt bandwidth concerns at 64 in/64 out, and the AVB-to-Dante bridge question for facilities already on Dante infrastructure
• Julian Rodgers on DynAssist solving an unmixed legacy session for a social delivery in minutes, with no automation passes required
• James on Yuzu Keycaps, custom Pro Tools labelling on a Keychron K5 mechanical keyboard, and why most pre-made Pro Tools keysets look like a bag of sweets
• Luke on the Tape Bowing Ensemble by The Open Reel Ensemble, three performers playing magnetic tape stretched across bamboo bows
• Julian on Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers, a Swedish percussion film built from found objects across a stranger's house
• Ashea on a sub-£100 ergonomic studio chair from Amazon as an alternative to the Herman Miller Aeron, with a wider discussion on armrests, sit-stand desks, anti-fatigue mats and the posture problems most producers eventually develop

Tools and products mentioned:

PreSonus StudioLive Series III SE, SSL X Rack, SSL X Rack four-channel and eight-channel summing modules, SSL E Series EQ, SSL 9K compressor, SSL XL Desk, Avid S6, ADL 1500 tube compressor, API 550A, Chandler Little Devil, BAE 10DCF, DBX 160A, DBX 160X with Carnhill output transformers, Empirical Labs Fatso, ADR Compex, Dynasys, Yuzu Keycaps, Keychron K5, Pro Tools, Dante, AVB, Milan, Source-Nexus Suite, Genelec UNIO, Herman Miller Aeron

About the guests:

James Richmond is a producer and engineer based in Oxfordshire, formerly a product specialist at SSL, where he supported the X Rack. His hybrid workflow combines a six-bay patch bay setup, three X Rack chassis, and a working knowledge of large-format SSL bus architecture, which informs the entire summing build discussed in this episode.

Luke Goddard is a Production Expert staff writer whose videos and reviews cover hardware and workflow topics across the site.

Timestamps:

Timestamps to be added before publication.

Related reading on Production Expert:

How To Get The Right Chair For Your Studio — production-expert.com/production-expert-1/how-to-get-the-right-chair-for-your-studio