DJ and Producer Drone Integrates Solid State Logic SSL 12 Into His Synth-Based Compositions, Anchored on Trap, Grime and Alternative Electronic Music

05/26/2026

Bristol, U.K., May 26, 2026 — Producer and DJ Finn Donohue, better known to fans of his genre-defying electronic music as Drone, has upgraded his personal studio in Bristol, in southwest England, with the addition of a Solid State Logic 12 USB bus-powered audio interface. Donohue is primarily using his new SSL 12 to introduce synths and drum machines into his unique productions, which cross the boundaries between dubstep, grime, breaks and everything in between, to send sound sources through his collection of guitar pedals and other outboard effects devices.

The 12-in/8-out SSL 12 interface has not only made it easier to get signals in and out of the DAW but has also added new sonic character to Donohue’s productions. “Almost anytime I record anything — I would say, 90% of the time — I just flip the 4K switches on and get a little bit of extra color. It gives everything a little sprinkle of something as it's coming back into the computer.” The SSL 12’s front panel Legacy 4K switches individually impart analogue enhancement inspired by the company’s famed 4000-series console to any signal routed through each of the four mic amp channels.

SSL 12: dialling in the workflow
“A lot of my work is in the box,” Donohue elaborates. “I have a few synths, like a Teenage Engineering OP-1, a Roland SH-201 and a Korg microKORG. I’m using software and plug-ins in the box but also running audio out and through a bunch of different guitar pedals, and distortion and delays. So, I’m sending audio out of my laptop and back through the 4K switches. I use a lot of delay and have a Strymon TimeLine, and an Elektron Analog Heat that I use religiously, plus a bunch of more obscure distortion and fuzz pedals.” In a typical DAW session, he says, channels one and two are dedicated to the audio outputs of the SSL 12. “Then I'll also have a mic going into one input and a synth going into another.”

Dononhue is using his SSL 12 interface in a hybrid workflow that not only incorporates outboard hardware but also a variety of plug-ins from SSL. “I use the Bus Compressor on pretty much every tune. The sort of music that I make is very bass-heavy electronic music. Club music, especially, is driven by the drums and the bass, and you want things hittin’ and slappin’, so I would say the Bus Compressor is my go-to.”

Shaping sounds
Other favorites include the SSL Fusion Vintage Drive plug-in, a digital emulation of the saturation processor of the same name from SSL's critically acclaimed Fusion hardware. “I use the Vintage Drive quite a bit on basses, usually the growling frequencies,” he says. “I’ve also dabbled with the Violet EQ plug-in,” which is also an emulation from the SSL Fusion. “I work a lot with vocalists and rappers as well, and I tend to use the Violet EQ’s, the Vocal Strip 2 and Channel Strip 2 with them — more so the vocal strip, but Channel Strip 2 sometimes, if it's on a bus or for more synthy, spacey frequency range stuff.”

When he first got his hands on the SSL plug-ins, he says, “I didn't quite realise how many plug-ins there were in there. I was familiar with a few of the popular, go-to ones, but there were just so many more! One of them, the Digicrush, which I think is a newer one that they released in the last year or so, I've been using quite a bit recently to add a little bit of crushy, crusty sort of feel. I tend to use that on a variety of different things, like weird little one-shots and vocal stabs and things, just to make them a bit more animated and crusty sounding.”

In fact, he says, “I like to use a lot of distortion. I like crunching things up. That reflects what my go-to plug-ins are — the Variable Harmonic Drive (VHD) emulation, X Saturator, Digicrush and things like that.” That love of distortion may stem from his playing in heavy guitar bands during his teens. “Before I really got into producing electronic music, I used to play bass in a hardcore metal band. I would down-tune the bass and use distortion pedals. I really love that in-your-face, distorted sound, and I think I've carried that through into my adult life, where it translates into my productions.”

A portable, yet reliable, desktop companion
Donohue has mainly been releasing his productions through 1985 Music, a label owned by Drum & Bass producer, Alix Perez. “I put out my first album with them in 2023. I also started my own imprint, Evil Sky, a couple of years ago. I still work with labels, but now I've also got an outlet to do my own thing. The possibilities of how you operate and how you release music are endless now.”

The compact SSL 12 desktop interface rarely leaves his studio, Donohue concludes: “I do like how portable it is, and I have taken it with me a couple of times since I've had it. But I’m a bit of a one-man band, and most of the time it's firmly rooted on my desk, hooked up to a patch bay with all the pedals going in and out. I really like the way it looks — it's got that SSL quality.”

About Solid State Logic
Solid State Logic is the world’s leading manufacturer of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider of creative tools for music, broadcast, live and post production professionals. For more information about our award-winning products, please visit: www.solidstatelogic.com.