Sound Semiconductor SSI2100, a new generation Bucket Brigade Delay IC with new features

Sound Semiconductor SSI2100 is the company’s first new BBD IC in decades and brings new features while preserving the sonic characteristics.

A delay is an effect that belongs in every musician’s toolbox. Even though modern DSPs have made highly complex digital delay effects possible, there is still considerable interest in vintage-style analog delays.

This is because of its distinct sound character. A BBD delay instantly envelops an instrument with warmth and life. Additionally, a lo-fi timbre is added as the delay increases. Sound Semiconductor has released the SSI2100, a new BBD chip that is likely to bring new life to the BBD delay effect market.

Sound Semiconductor SSI2100

A BBD delay is often compared to the very popular PT2399 chips. However, both are very different. The PT2399 is a digital processing chip with an ADC that converts the analog input to a digital signal, while the BBD is an analog circuit.

The same is true of the new Sound Semiconductor SSI2100. It’s a new-generation 512-stage Bucket Brigade Delay IC that uses a novel analog circuit (patent pending).

They took advantage of a modern CMOS IC that processes only to permit a reduced chip die size, but also allows the addition of new features. It provides noiseless gain, allowing multiple SSI2100s to be easily connected for longer delay times without recalibrating inputs or outputs.

The SSI2100 includes an on-chip clock driver with anti-phase outputs that accepts a single TTL/CMOS 5V or 3.3V input that can be easily generated from a wide range of sources, negating the need for a traditional companion clock generator IC.

In addition, the SSI2100 incorporates a clock tree to distribute the two anti-phase clocks throughout the chain for improved fidelity. The SSI2100 also internally provides the legacy ì14/15 VGGì supply voltage, needing only an external capacitor.

Easy Daisy-Chaining

It also offers a wide range of delay times using clock frequencies from 1kHz to over 2MHz. An additional benefit to daisy-chaining is access to intermediate feedback taps for interesting reverb and other psychoacoustic effects.

This could be the beginning of a series of new analog delay effects pedals and units, using this new IC.

The developers emphasize that special care was taken to faithfully reproduce the bucket-brigade chain to preserve the ‘mojo’ of these quirky, beloved analog delay circuits.

First Impression

This is excellent news from Sound Semiconductor. If the IC delivers what the developers say it will, we will certainly see some new, modern BBD-based analog delays in the coming years. I’m looking forward to what the companies are doing with it. 

Sound Semiconductor SSI2100 is available now in a compact SOP-8 package and is priced at $1,08 at 1k pieces, with samples available to qualified OEMís.

More information here: Sound Semiconductor 

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