Dave Pensado

GRAMMY-winner Dave Pensado is counted among the recording industry’s preeminent mix engineers. His career began in Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s doing live and studio sound engineering, and has been living in Los Angeles since 1990.  He mixes between 200 and 250 songs a year at Larrabee Studios in Los Angeles. Christina Aguilera, Pink, Shakira, Beyoncé, Flo Rida, Afrojack, and more are just a sampling of the superstars who call on Dave for his mixing talent. From pop to hip hop, country to Latin, and R&B to indie, Dave’s special niche is making radio-friendly records while enhancing artistic intent.  

On September 12, 2011, he started a weekly show called Pensado's Place with Herb Trawick. The show is about engineering techniques and interviews a guest Mixer, Producer or Artist each episode.

With all the success, what is Pensado’s favorite part of his career? "Nothing is better than being able to teach," says Pensado. "The ability to share and watch it positively impact a life is incredibly powerful." It’s that ethos that makes Dave so respected by his peers and fans.

Dave Pensado's Website

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  NEOLD V76U73

  The V76U73 is a combination of two rare and highly coveted pieces of audio gear as the name implies. It is essentially a tube channel strip that faithfully emulates the finest of German technology. (And adds a few modern touches.) Today we use less EQ and shape our sounds more with harmonics, saturation, and distortion. The V76U73 has become my favorite tool for this. Please check it out I am sure it will take your creativity new heights! Way to go Plugin Alliance.

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  Black Box Analog Design HG-2

  The HG-2 plugin is destined to become a classic. The hardware unit seduced its way onto all my mixes for the last couple years, and now the plugin is finding its way onto multiple tracks like guitars, synths, vocals, drums and the stereo buss. The HG-2 plugin is a winner and should be in everyone’s arsenal.

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  Mäag Audio Magnum-K

  The MAGNUM K plugin is a true Innovation in dynamics. Modeled after the hardware of the same name it is a necessary piece of gear in every engineers rack. The plugin version also has MS, width and 20 TMT modeled analog channels. This is the same technology found in Bx consoles. But the most important element is it has that Cliff Maag musicality and usefulness. Please check out a demo for yourself.

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  Brainworx bx_console Focusrite SC

  I’ve been waiting to see this for a long time; the few times I’ve used a Focusrite console I was blown away by the musicality, the sound, color and character of it. The ISA110 (designed by Rupert Neve) quickly became my favorite EQ. The bx_console Focusrite SC faithfully captures the essence of all the things I like about the Focusrite console. This channel strip is going to see a lot of use in my mixes from now on.