TOC Música Studio Builds on Thriving Chilean Music Scene with
Solid State Logic Origin 32-Channel Analogue Mixing Console

As a top percussionist in Chile, Raúl Aliaga Lewis built his studio in 1994, and has since aligned his studio development with Solid State Logic production equipment

Santiago, Chile, May 15, 2025 — Beginning in the late 1980s, Raúl Aliaga Lewis developed a reputation as a first-class session percussionist in Chile’s thriving music scene, demonstrating his versatility through a credit list that ranged from classical to popular and, as a full-time member of two of the country’s most iconic groups, fusion music. In 1994 he built his own studio, TOC Música, and 15 years later started along the path of incorporating equipment from Solid State Logic, culminating in the recent installation of an ORIGIN 32-channel analogue mixing console.

It was almost inevitable that Aliaga would eventually install a large-format SSL console, as he explains: “It was part of a scalable, organic process with the support of Croma Ltda, SSL’s distribution partner in Chile, which gave me access to a development that began with the X Desk, then the XL Desk and finally, when it arrived in Chile, ORIGIN — a console that captivated me with its quality and affordability.” During that time, he also added other SSL equipment to the studio’s inventory, including 500 Series EQ and Comp modules, a BiG SiX SuperAnalogue™ desktop console and interface, a UF8 advanced DAW controller and a UC1 plug-in controller. Taking advantage of ORIGIN ‘modular’ centre section, the 500 Series modules are now installed above ORIGIN’s master tile for easy access whilst in the listening position.

Aliaga's creative origins
TOC Música operates both as a private studio, supporting Aliaga’s own creative projects for various media and bands as a producer, composer and instrumentalist, in addition to a commercial facility offering recording and mixing services for national and international artists. “As a creative musician, technological quality has been essential to consolidate my professional career, always striving to develop excellence in each of my personal projects and deliver the highest quality services to our clients,” Aliaga says. Francisco Herrera was the facility’s acoustic designer, with technical design provided by Jorge Esteban and Aliaga.

“The ORIGIN’s quality is top-notch, living up to SSL's promise, which has never let us down,” he continues. “The headroom is impressive, the mic pre’s are versatile thanks to the DRIVE mode, and the EQs are wonderful. The Bus Compressor is the crown jewel of this console. It's a versatile and essential tool for mixing at TOC Música. Rafael Chaparro, our house engineer and studio manager, has worked with the SSL 9000K in the past and has noted the ORIGIN's improved workflow, ease of routing and user friendliness.”

SSL ORIGIN: having his cake and eating it too
Several of the ORIGIN’s features stand out for Aliaga, some of which are used daily, some less frequently. Typically, he and Chaparro generally use the mic preamps with the PureDrive™ switch disengaged, he says, “But we've used it for more creative experiments and to get more THD when recording.” The console’s E Series 242 “black knob” EQ, he continues, is “a versatile, musical EQ that can both enhance the musical content or precisely target unwanted sounds. We love it and use it on every recording. And I use the Bus Compressor for mixing — it’s the cherry on top of the icing on the SSL cake.”

As for signal flow through the input channel, “Personally, I use the small faders as inputs and the large faders for monitoring. I also generally use the EQ per channel and, in many cases, the high-pass filter. We also use inserts on the small fader if we want to track with processing,” he says. “For the control room, we listen to Pro Tools returns, which are routed to the large faders. For the musicians, we use the channel aux sends and cues, which feed into our Hearback rack, which in turn feeds modules that can be adjusted according to each musician or artist's liking.”

ORIGIN’s intelligent bus routing system has also proved useful on TOC Música’s projects. “It expands the possibilities for making creative decisions when mixing, such as with parallel saturation or compression,” Aliaga comments. “It also makes it easier to make subgroups of the things we use when monitoring, allowing for a faster workflow.” The console’s eight stereo (or 16 mono) groups are used more during mixing, he adds: “And in those cases, we use inserts on them.”

A diversity of projects
Just in the time since the ORIGIN was installed, the studio has hosted Grupo Congreso, one of Chile’s longest running and best-known fusion bands, which Aliaga joined in 1992, as well as Los Tres, Pettinellis, María y Los Templos, Camilo Aliaga and Cachay. Those sessions were variously engineered by Jorge Abarca, Gerónimo Labrada, Jorge Esteban, Diego Bustamante and Pablo González, as well as Chaparro, Aliaga reports.

Over the years, musicians such as Dennis Chambers, the Soweto Gospel Choir of South Africa, and Claudia Acuña have also recorded at TOC Música, as well as important Chilean bands and soloists such as Fulano, the other important Chilean fusion group of which Aliaga was a member, Isabel Parra, Álvaro Henríquez, Américo, Mario Rojas, Nahuel Blanco, Magdalena Matthei and Elizabeth Morris. Chamber music projects such as the Coda Wind Quintet, the Austral String Quartet, piano duets, and solo piano with Roberto Bravo have also been completed at the studio, as well as numerous folk, jazz, and rock ensembles, and soundtracks for TV and movies.

When he started out, Aliaga recalls, tape recording offered limited options for editing compared to today’s DAWs, demanding a high level of professionalism and musicianship. He was quick to embrace emerging technologies as a session musician, such as MIDI sequencers, synths and programmable drums, which allowed him to stay at the forefront of the business, both in the studio and onstage. “The continuation of studio work gave me an ever-increasing understanding of sound quality and allowed me to perceive the professionalism of sound engineers,” he adds.

Now, as a studio owner, Aliaga continues to offer the latest technology, especially if it sports the SSL brand, he says. “I plan to acquire some external processors like Fusion, some more SSL 500 Series compressors and mastering equipment. We also plan to acoustically remodel our control room.”

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.