Denver, Colorado, September 22, 2026 — DVLP Academy, a music production and audio engineering school based in Denver, Colorado, recently became the first educational facility to install a Solid State Logic Oracle “Future Analogue” in-line mixing console. DVLP (“develop”), founded by engineer, producer, educator and entrepreneur Drew Dugan, takes a career-focused approach to modern music education, combining hands-on training in production and audio engineering with artist development, career strategy, branding and marketing. “Our tagline is that the purpose of life is to develop it, so we help people do that,” explains Dugan. “Our product is the people. Music is the medium we use to help them develop.”
Music is the medium
DVLP’s flagship Denver facility encompasses three studios, all networked via Dante and video. Studio A, where the SSL Oracle 24 is the centerpiece, and Studio B, which features an SSL X-Desk, each incorporate an iso booth. A live room is accessible from all three control rooms, allowing the entire building to function as one interconnected studio. Upstairs, the building houses a student lounge, accommodation for visiting artists and a rooftop deck along with a pair of Jadis Eurythmie II speakers. The facility was designed by Dugan and built with assistance from Robert Skelton, Ben Boggs, DVLP manager Connor McGhee, and DVLP’s team of instructors, producers and students.”
Dugan’s long experience with SSL’s top-of-the-line music production consoles led him back to the manufacturer when selecting equipment for DVLP’s Studio A. The SSL Oracle combines a totally analogue signal path with instant recall and reset of every function, but while the console offers a rich feature set, Dugan says that he is particularly impressed with some of the simpler functionality. “I love that you can show the channel detail view on the screen really easily. I also like how you can access everything just in one bay, so I don’t really have to move.” Oracle’s control surface enables users to page through 8-channel blocks of inputs in each bay of the console and allows them to rearrange those inputs in any order, while the 16,000 step resolution across all controllable parameters gives engineers the immediacy of hands-on analogue operation with the accuracy required for precise recall and perfectly repeatable settings.
Oracle: The ultimate tool for varied workflows
Oracle’s in-line design means that DVLP’s 24-channel console offers 48 simultaneous inputs. A further 16 lines can also be introduced through the stereo subgroup faders, for a total of 64 mixdown inputs. “I love the classic small fader/large fader situation,” Dugan enthuses. “I can record and monitor in and out to the interface on one console channel.” Which input path is assigned to the long fader and which to the small fader can be seen with a quick glance at the display just above the channel fader, he also notes. “That is really cool.” Further, using the three Quick buttons, Dugan can assign control of the level and pan of the inputs, aux sends or short fader path in each 8-channel block to the long faders. “That’s pretty amazing,” he says. “And having an insert on both the small fader and the large fader is awesome.”
The console incorporates SSL’s THE BUS+ in the master section, with dedicated controls, but as it turns out, Dugan was already a fan of the compressor. “I have another one right here in the rack. I bought it right when it came out. That thing is amazing. So now we have two!”
For DVLP, Oracle is more than a recording console. It also represents an opportunity to expose students to a new generation of production workflows that combine the sonic benefits of large-format analogue recording with the flexibility and efficiency expected in modern professional studios. Students can move seamlessly between tracking, overdubbing and mixing sessions while recalling console settings in seconds, enabling instructors to teach contemporary hybrid production techniques alongside traditional engineering fundamentals.
A thoroughly modern evolution
Oracle’s technology-forward approach to the hybrid music production workflow dovetails with DVLP’s philosophy, which combines education with real-world production, artist development and marketing. “What SSL is doing with Oracle aligns really well with our philosophy at DVLP. We’re always trying to push the envelope, develop what comes next and give students experience with modern workflows without losing the fundamentals. The fundamentals of music production don’t change. What does change are the tools and workflows around them. We want our students to understand both,” he says.
For students accustomed to DAW-centric workflows, Oracle also brings the physical experience of mixing back to the forefront, as Dugan explains. “We’re all so mouse heavy that it’s been a cool opportunity to force ourselves into using faders again to automate the mix. It’s such an empowering thing to ‘play’ the mix rather than try to catch up to it with the mouse. And it’s cool to be able to switch between the console and DAW layers. While I’m mixing something, I can go to the analogue layer and hit my outputs to drive the outboard gear on the large faders, or I can pop over to the DAW layer and automate in the DAW before it hits the gear.”
DVLP: Practising what they teach with Oracle
DVLP isn’t just a trade school offering hands-on engineering and production training. “We actively develop and produce artists as well. We take projects through our five-step DVLP Method — songwriting, pre-production, production, mixing and mastering. From there, we can continue into branding, content and full-service marketing. It means our students are learning inside a real working environment where the same processes we teach are being applied every day. Education, production and artist development all live under one roof. It’s a full ecosystem.”
Through its career-focused programs in music production, audio engineering and artist development, DVLP gives students the opportunity to learn in that same professional environment while building the skills, experience and body of work needed to pursue careers in today’s music and creative industries.
Dugan concludes, “The coolest part is that our students get to learn on Oracle every day. Being the first educational facility with one is exciting, but what matters most is what our students can do with it. They’re learning the fundamentals of working on a large-format analogue console while experiencing a workflow that represents where modern music production is heading. That’s exactly what DVLP is about — developing what comes next.”
SSL will be exhibiting at the AES Show Nashville, where its latest solutions for the education market—including the new Odyssey and ORIGIN EVO—will be demonstrated. Please stop by Booth 104 to speak to an education market specialist, or visit the SSL website at https://solidstatelogic.com/events/aes-nashville-2026.
About Solid State Logic
Solid State Logic is the world’s leading manufacturer of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider of creative tools for music, broadcast, live and post production professionals. For more information about our award-winning products, please visit: www.solidstatelogic.com.
