Nahuel Bronzini

Bronzini also relies on NUGEN's ISL to create great sound. "I used it extensively on the 'Please Don't Be Dead' record," he says. "I had a dedicated bus that was after my main lead vocal chain. It helped me achieve an even, transient shape across the song to keep the vocal controlled; and it did that in a really transparent and musical way."

For the final mixdown, Bronzini comes back to a print track in Pro Tools, where he can monitor levels with the MasterCheck plug-in as the audio gets recorded. "Sometimes it feels good to mix a little louder, sometimes it doesn't; it all depends on the song and the processing that's involved," he says. "Some pieces of gear like to be pushed, and then a little more level is needed. NUGEN's MasterCheck is great for getting a real-time assessment of how loud my mix is coming back and how dynamic it really is, both instantaneously and within the context of the song. The NUGEN software really helps me get to where I want to be."

In addition to his NUGEN tools, Bronzini works mostly in the box, with a Universal Audio Apollo-based rig. "I do my summing out of the box, coming out of 32 outputs and hitting a Burl Vancouver summing mixer," he explains. "Then I come back to Pro Tools via the UA console, where my two-bus processing happens. This way, I get all the flexibility of the digital workstation and instant recall capabilitues, as well as the depth and size of analog summing and, of course, the fun of the meters. I listen through my trusted Meyer HD-1 monitors. Once I feel happy with what I am hearing, I am pretty certain it will translate into most other systems and listening situations."