Episode 310

Bruno Barcella: The Analog Sound in a Digital Mix

Bruno "Brown" Barcella is a recording, mixing, and production engineer based in northern Italy. He got his start behind a drum kit, touring the US and Europe with bands like Miss Chain & The Broken Heels before crossing to the other side of the glass. After studying sound engineering in Milan, he joined TUP Studio in Brescia in 2011, an analog-focused room built around a Neotek console and Studer 2" tape where he's spent the better part of 15 years crafting records rooted in garage rock, punk, and rock 'n' roll. He's the engineer behind the catalogs of Bee Bee Sea, The Peawees, Faz Waltz, The Apers, and dozens more. In 2020 he launched his freelance career, collaborating with studios across northern Italy, doing live sound for artists, clubs, and festivals, and increasingly mixing records remotely for artists from around the world.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

The one-monitor rule: why Bruno mixes exclusively on Sennheiser HD 650s and never switches between sources while working
The tools he adds to headphone mixing to get closer to a speaker-like experience
The arc every mixer goes through for getting good
Why artists shouldn't be in the room during a mix session
How doing less usually gets you better mixes
Getting mixes to feel warm, but not muddy
The benefit of using analog saturation plugins across multiple tracks in a mix
How he thinks about blending saturated and clean microphone signals together
Why he aims for low-tuned, dry drums, and how that affects the saturation and tone decisions he makes
Why being willing to fail is still the most important thing a young engineer can do

To learn more about Bruno Barella, visit https://brownbarcella.com/

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