Nahuel Bronzini Uses the Cost Effective, Intuitive Software Tools to Create an Engaging, Magical and Compelling Listening Experience that Preserves the Artistic Process
GRAMMY® Award-winning Producer, Arranger and Engineer Nahuel Bronzini, who works with Fantastic Negrito, approaches every project as an artistic piece beyond its genre, creating fluid mixes that elevate the production and embrace the song. From folk and rock, to R&B and synth-heavy pop, Bronzini uses a wide array of audio tools and techniques to best serve the music and artistic intent of a song. To create the world-class sound for which he is known, Bronzini relies on a selection of plug-ins from NUGEN Audio.
In addition to engineering GRAMMY-winning “Please Don’t Be Dead” Fantastic Negrito album, Bronzini has worked with a wide range of artists. This includes writing string arrangements, playing shows and engineering studio sessions with R&B legends Tony Toni Toné!; and creating multi-artist collaborations with Bay Area favorites in his own release, entitled “The String Quartet Experience.”
“I have really been enjoying NUGEN’s Monofilter, ISL and MasterCheck plug-ins,” says Bronzini.
“Monofilter is a wonderful tool that brings focus to the low-end. For the Fantastic Negrito record, there were a lot of drum tracks or programmed loops that had a lot of the character and punch to the groove, which came in as a stereo print. In some of those, the low-end was a little problematic when mixed together with the bass and other low-end-heavy elements, like kicks and stomps, so EQ’ing out the low-end wasn’t the answer. I needed that low-end, but in a more controlled, focused way. NUGEN’s Monofilter was perfect for that; I love the interface and the flexibility of the width control tool.”
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 plugin 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 capabilities, 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.”
Information about NUGEN Audio’s complete product family is available at www.nugenaudio.com. For all other inquiries, please email info@nugenaudio.com.