Electronic Music Whiz Adds Outboard

Berlin, Germany (September 8, 2025)—German electronic musician/engineer Hannes Bieger, ​recently expanded his extensive collection of outboard gear for mixing and mastering.

In 2017, after more than a decade mixing projects for a long list of A-list international techno and house artists, Bieger switched gears to also focus on his own creative endeavors again alongside his mixing and production work. In 2024, he was invited by Electric Animals to preview his new album in a performance with a 30-piece orchestra at Costa Rica’s Oneiro Festival.

An aficionado and avid user of analog compressors, Bieger says that he previously found SSL compressors tightening the low end too much for the type of music he was producing—until The Bus+ was introduced. “The Bus+ expands so much on the original idea of an SSL compressor. It’s the first one I have really enjoyed using, except when I used to work on a 4000 Series console and mix right into the bus compressor.”

SSL Brings Back the 4000 E Channel Strip

​Selecting 4K Mode on The Bus+ matches the implementation of the 4000 Series bus compressor and allows the user to color the sound by introducing nine selectable levels of harmonic distortion via the VCA. “I like the 4K saturation mode and the possibility to add some flavor,” he says. “That was my starting point, and I have to say that I have gotten good results with it. I’m able to use The Bus+ in ways I wouldn’t normally use other types of SSL compressors.”

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He elaborates, “SSL’s SuperAnalogue technology is very clean and wide, having the 4K Mode color options available is just great. But with its Low THD module applied, what I’m doing is preserving just the right amount of transient, particularly at the low frequency end of the spectrum. Saturation is always a good thing and can be a very important, effective tool, especially across a bunch of different signals. You get more ‘grip,’ more presence. It does something to the stereo field, and you’re able to make it louder because the transients are smoothed out ever so slightly.”

Earlier this year, Bieger released his second solo album, Galaxies, on his own label, elektrons.