SM Entertainment Boosts Production Efficiency with Latest SSL Console

SM Entertainment has significantly improved the efficiency of its music production by adopting cutting-edge audio technology. The company installed the ORACLE console, the latest model from Solid State Logic (SSL), a leading manufacturer of high-end audio consoles, in its BigShot Studio located in Seoul. GearLounge, SSL’s distributor in South Korea, handled the supply and installation to support numerous projects for the entertainment company.

The most notable feature of the ORACLE console is SSL’s ActiveAnalogue technology, which allows users to instantly restore the entire console’s routing, signal processing, and all knob settings with just one button press. Lee Min-gyu, SM Entertainment’s mixing and recording engineer, explained that this function has revolutionized session management. “There are days when I open and close over 10 sessions per day. In the past, I had to manually record the settings of external gear and then restore them one by one,” he said. “Since introducing ORACLE, I can restore the entire console’s routing, signal processing, and knob settings with a single button press, freeing me completely from physical tasks and the mental stress of wondering if the sound will remain consistent.”

The performance of ORACLE shines particularly in large-scale K-POP production environments. Such productions typically involve extensive vocal arrangements with 100 to 200 vocal tracks. By routing signals through ORACLE, it becomes possible to make detailed adjustments to vocal groups and instrument sections more efficiently than relying solely on DAW buses.

The ORACLE console’s workspace can also be switched to function as a DAW controller. Lee Min-gyu emphasized that being able to mix by directly manipulating the console’s faders instead of using a mouse helps him focus more on the music. “When I place my hands directly on ORACLE’s faders and monitor the flow of the music with my ears while mixing, it creates a clear and positive difference in the engineer’s musical intuition. It significantly reduces the physical delay caused by having to aim at a mouse during those critical moments in the music, allowing me to focus entirely on the sound rather than the screen. As a result, the overall texture and feel of the final mix become much more natural.”

Another advantage of ORACLE LE is its flexible routing capabilities. The SSL O-Control app enables users to save and restore session-specific settings, reducing studio setup time and allowing experimentation with various signal paths. In addition to ORACLE, SM Entertainment continues to use SSL Fusion in its mixing workflows to enhance sound quality.