The PURE DRIVE OCTO harnesses Solid State Logic's renowned SuperAnalogue PureDrive™ microphone preamp technology, originally featured in the ORIGIN console. This advanced unit introduces a new DRIVE mode, comprehensive connectivity, and state-of-the-art digital conversion, all within a compact 8-channel 2U rackmount format. The ORIGIN recording console, a contemporary-classic from SSL, first introduced the groundbreaking PureDrive™ microphone preamplifier. This innovative preamp maintains the clarity and punch of SSL's previous designs while also offering the flexibility to switch its character to a warm, harmonically rich, and driven tone that varies with gain.

ORIGIN, in combination with the PureDrive™ microphone preamp, has left an indelible mark on the world's top recording studios. Whether you're capturing the delicate nuances of a piano concerto in PURE mode or adding warmth to a drum recording in DRIVE mode, the PureDrive™ microphone preamp has become an indispensable tool in some of the industry's most prestigious studios and recording facilities due to its versatility and exceptional sonic characteristics.

PURE DRIVE OCTO continues the legacy into rack format, delivering eight microphone preamps with ORIGIN’s renowned PURE and DRIVE modes, but takes it further, adding a new ‘Asymmetric’ DRIVE, advanced digital connectivity, and an onboard USB interface. 

PURE DRIVE OCTO offers four mic preamp input impedance options, enabling engineers to explore various tonal possibilities or match the mic pre's impedance closely to the microphone. Additionally, each mic pre includes independent +48V phantom power, polarity inversion, and a High Pass Filter. 

PURE DRIVE OCTO stands as one of the most capable and feature-rich outboard microphone preamplifiers available, introducing a host of new sonic possibilities and workflows for the discerning producer and recording engineer.

3 Flavours, 1 Mic Pre

PURE DRIVE OCTO is a testament to SSL's commitment to progressive analogue circuit design. No electro-mechanical components (potentiometers, mechanical switches, relays etc) are used in the critical audio signal path of PURE DRIVE OCTO, increasing product longevity, and allowing impeccable ‘matching’ between all channels – not just a stereo pair. The use of digitally controlled analogue circuits, controlled by detented pots and electronic switches simplifies recall and precision of settings. Each of PURE DRIVE OCTO’s mic pre’s can be independently switched between three distinct DRIVE modes: Clean, Classic Drive, and Asymmetric Drive.

Key Features: 

• 8 channel high-performance PureDrive™ mic preamps 
• +48V phantom power, polarity invert and 3rd order hi-pass filter
• Stepped Gain control up to +65 dB Gain 
• 31-step Trim control, with precise 1 dB increments – overdrive the signal with the Gain control and then reduce to a suitable level using Trim. 
• 3 modes for each preamp – Clean, Classic Drive and Asymmetric Drive 
• Mic/Line Input Switching 
  • Mic via XLR  
  • Line via choice of TRS Jack or dedicated D-Sub connectivity 

• 4 x front panel Hi-Z/DI Instrument unbalanced inputs with automatic input detection 
• 4 mic preamp input impedance options – explore new tonal possibilities from your dynamic and ribbon microphones
• Balanced analogue outputs/insert sends for external processing 
• +24 dBu professional line level insert returns/ADC inputs 
• Analogue to digital connectivity via ADAT, AES and USB
• Ability to switch ADAT and AES connections to source audio from DAW outputs (USB) instead of the A/D converter 
• USB soundcard mode: OCTO – 8 in / 24 out (@44.1/48 kHz) ; 8 x analogue / 8 AES + 16 ADAT outs
• Stepped pots and digitally controlled analogue electronics for precision, stereo matching and ease of recall 
• Up to 192 kHz and 32-bit conversion, professional I/O levels (+24 dBu = 0 dBFS). 
• Selectable Auto-Sleep mode 
• Auto-ranging Wordclock In and Out