Los Angeles, CA (May 3, 2023)—Producer and label executive Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Dave Matthews Band, My Chemical Romance) wanted to bring a bigger studio sound to his home setup, so he installed a new SSL BiG SiX desktop mixing console.
Over the last couple of years, Cavallo has been trying a mix of different preamplifiers, converters and other hardware to dial in the sound of his home studio. Chris Lord-Alge, his mix engineer partner on several Green Day albums, suggested he try the new BiG SiX.
“I thought, ‘Wow, look at this—you get a mini 9K board with amazing mic pres, in-line compression, E series EQ and the famous bus compressor,” Cavallo says. “I mean, that is the essence of your studio right there. My only question was how good the mic pres and converters are.”
Naturally, he set up his BiG SiX, recorded some tracks and ran a mix through it. “Sonically, it just blew away anything we were doing. Our jaws hit the floor, and it was unbelievable how much better it was. Those mic pres are shocking. In my job, we are very spoiled; we get to compare these mic pres to the very best versions of 1073s, 312s and so many others—that is our playground—so recording on BiG SiX, I don’t feel like I am missing anything. I feel like I am plugging into the best stuff in the world.”
COUNTERFEIT. Unite with Cavallo in Hollywood
Cavallo reports he has been recording guitars and vocals through a variety of high-end microphones. “Those mic pres are as good as any mic pres I’ve ever heard before. I feel like I am at a big fancy studio using the best preamps and mics in the world, but I am really in my Harry Potter closet underneath the stairs, and it sounds magnificent.”
He also appreciates the BiG SiX’s summing capabilities. “You can basically sum 18 inputs through this desk, which is of course much better than summing in the box,” he says. “The icing on the cake is that you have that SSL bus compressor, so now you are playing with fire!”
Currently, Cavallo and Chris Lord-Alge are working on a new Green Day album, which is being mixed on Lord-Alge’s SSL console.
