DEMETER SSC-1 SILENT SPEAKER CHAMBER REVIEW

Guitar Player
By Terry Buddinch

New Tone Toys: The Demeter SSC-1

When Jimi said, "Turn that damn git-tar down," were you listening? Since the dawn of rock and roll, guitar layers have sought ways of obtaining tube-and-speaker-meltdown sound without causing a ruckus in the next county. Power soaks and speaker emulators will tame a loud amp for recording - and many come close to sounding like a miked speaker - but they're all missing that one important element: They only pretend to connect your speaker's frantic gyrations to a real mike. As every Voodoo Chile knows, if you want a big sound, you've gotta crank it.

The idea of a speaker-in-a-sealed-box has been around for quite some time. Ronnie Montrose and Allan Holdsworth were among the earliest experimenters. Until now, however, commercial specimens have been rare. Demeter fills the void with two offerings to the gods of immaculate tone: The SSC-1 ($350), a single 12" speaker model, and the SSC-2 ($450), a dual-speaker, stereo version. (Prices do not include speakers or mikes.) Both units come with built-in, adjustable mike stands, and input and output jacks. They're built from 3/4" marine-grade plywood, and come fully insulated. You even have your choice of black, tweed, carpet, and exotic simulated-reptile coverings. Wow! Our SSC-1 came pre-loaded with an 80-watt Celestion Classic Lead speaker, and a Shure SM-57 mike. The speaker and mike are accessed through a trap-door in the side of the cabinet.

The big bang. We started testing the SSC-1 by pumping a Fender Twin Reverb into it as hard as we dared. With the door closed, you could easily hold a normal conversation. The volume difference between the SSC's opened and closed door is amazing. Caution: Because the apparent volume is so low in the closed position, you need to be careful to avoid frying your speaker. Tweaking the mike placement was a bit frustrating; the SSC's flexible mike stand would not hold a setting and would always spring back to the same position.

We also ran a potent 50-watt Hiwatt head into the SSC-1 and recorded it direct to DAT tape for a critical evaluation. On playback, the Hiwatt sounded amazingly big, tight, and powerful. Likewise, the Celestion's aggressive snarling midrange was readily apparent. Right on! When it comes right down to it, there's just no substitute for miking a real speaker.

Lastly, we experimented by recording with the SSC's trap-door in the open and closed positions. No doubt about it, the best sounds are obtained with the door open. In the closed mode, we could hear a definite loss of fatness, depth, and body. The sound was just smaller and punier, though we were able to partially compensate for this by tweaking the amp's tone knobs.

Demeter's SSC-1 doesn't sound exactly like a wailing Marshall 4x12, but if you record loud guitar amps - and have to keep the lid on your studio's volume levels - this device is a godsend. The SSC-1 could also prove handy onstage. Heck, for less than the price of a cleaning deposit, it just might keep you from getting evicted too.