Los Angeles, CA (February 13, 2024)—Bernard “Focus…” Edwards, Jr., Grammy-nominated staff producer at hip-hop legend Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, is an early adopter of SSL’s Pure Drive Octo preamps, using them to record directly into his DAW.
“I’ve always worked on SSL consoles,” says Edwards. The son of the late Bernard Edwards, co-founder and bass player with R&B icons Chic, whose “Good Times” was turned into rap’s first mainstream commercial hit in 1979 by The Sugarhill Gang on “Rapper’s Delight,” he is practically hip-hop royalty. He has produced tracks for a long list of prominent artists, including Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg and many, many others. “Everybody here in the [Aftermath Entertainment] camp stays as close to SSL as possible, and the new mic pre’s with built-in interface is going to give us a little bit more of an ability to get that sound within the DAW.”
Dr. Dre, whose Aftermath Entertainment Edwards joined in 2002, is a longtime SSL user and has worked on or owned nearly every model of SSL large-format music console since the E Series. But, Edwards comments, “Large-format mixing consoles are not for everyone. For the latest generation of producers, digital natives who have grown up working exclusively in-the-box, SSL’s new Pure Drive pre’s enables them to introduce a sonic character that isn’t easily replicated with plug-ins.”
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He reports, “The Octo is great for recording my analog pieces within my Logic DAW. I have gone back into retrieving old MPC 3000 files to update and I love that Octo allows me to do this with each channel. Certain kicks have great body when I engage the Asymmetric Drive while using the Classic Drive on my snares and hats. I also love being able to record bass and guitar onto my tracks with Octo.” One of three operating modes, Asymmetric Drive makes even harmonic content dominant.
“Hip-hop productions are returning to more of a live feel,” Edwards adds, “and SSL’s Pure Drive units have a place in that workflow. This is not just a studio component; this is an on-stage component. There are so many things that you can do with this box. This hardware is giving these kids, who are trying to get our sound without going to the pieces that made our sound, a different feel for music.”
