Using the Inserts on the Silver Bullet
The Silver Bullet allows easy integration of separate outboard processors, such as a stereo compressor via its unbalanced insert jacks located on the back of the unit (pictured below).
Use of the insert requires two separate insert patch cables - one for the left channel and one for the right channel. Each TRS jack carries both Send and Return signals, which then is split out to separate Send and Return connectors as shown in the following article.
We recommend the following affordable insert cables from Audiopile.net:
XLR Insert Cable - Audiopile.net
TS Insert Cable - Audiopile.net
We also recommend the following 2-channel insert cable from Pro Audio LA:
2-channel Mogami XLR Insert Cable
You can also wire your own insert cables by following diagrams 9 or10 at the following link:
Note: Because the Silver Bullet uses unbalanced inserts, it's important to properly wire the ground of the Return. Outboard gear that differentially drives the cold leg of the output signal via op amps (like many SSL bus compressor clones) may experience a 6 dB level drop when it's plugged into the unbalanced Return jack of the Silver Bullet. This is totally normal. If your inserted outboard gear has an unbalanced output switch or jack we recommend using it. Otherwise we recommend using the output pots of your inserted outboard gear to make up the gain difference. If you are experiencing distortion this is likely because you have an insert cable with pin 3 of the Return cable connected to Ground. If you are using a piece of gear with an output stage like we just described, the cold leg op amp will not be happy shorting to ground. In this case you'll want to leave pin 3 of the Return cable (XLRF connector) floating. Please consult the manuals of your gear to know what kind of output stage it has or contact that piece of gear's manufacturer to find out how they recommend interfacing with unbalanced inserts.
Using an SSL 4000 Bus Compressor? Check out the related article.