Pro Studio Live Benny Faccone Mixing Session

In this episode, Benny Faccone uses an example mixing session to talk shop and demonstrate some of his techniques. Through this engaging episode, you’ll not only learn how he got started in Latin music, and how things have changed throughout the years, but you’ll also learn Benny’s philosophy and technique.

Benny Faccone discusses his philosophy on a range of topics, from automation, to his involvement in the mastering process, to live recording and acoustics. He also demonstrates his technique, from EQing and panning, to gating and editing different instruments, and even how he achieves the spaciousness in his mixes. Throughout this episode, you’ll learn details like Benny’s gear recommendations, favorite plugins, and how he adapts to working in a different studio than usual. You’ll also learn how he finds the groove or swing in the foundation of his mix, and the importance of staying true to that, and to the song as a whole. This episode is perfect for anyone looking for some solid philosophy and technique from one of the greats!

In this episode:

-How Faccone got started in Latin music, with details about his career and experiences throughout
-The history of how things have changed in the industry over the years, and how Faccone has shifted his approach as the industry has evolved
-How teamwork influences a production: including different roles and how they’ve changed over the course of his career
-Some studio construction basics, and the importance of good acoustics
-The importance of focusing on the whole picture for the song
-The extra work involved in just being the mixer and not the recording engineer
-How Benny achieves the signature spaciousness in his work
-The benefits and importance of being involved in the mastering process
-Automation vs. gear work, including how he automates background vocals, and his approach to mixing and automation
-The importance of respecting the process that happens after mixing, like mastering and radio
-How he handles the bottom frequencies
-Benny’s approach to mixing drums, including his process for determining whether and how to add samples
-His philosophy on panning: detailed panning placement to create space
-The importance of going by feel and using your ear, rather than just working the same way each time
-His advice for if you’re working in the box (or in a different studio)
-Advice on selecting gear, and Benny’s go to gear and microphones for varying purposes
-The importance of the swing or groove to the music: how he finds it, and how he works from there
-Gating vs cleaning up instruments like toms: when and why he does each
-Faccone’s advice and opinion on stereo bus compression
-How to artfully blend your kick drum with bass
-Faccone’s approach and technique using EQs, and a discussion of some techniques used by other engineers
-Monitor and gear discussions: the importance of consistency, listening on different devices, and listening in mono
-Faccone’s approach to drums, guitars, bass, and vocals
-Faccone’s approach to metering, and where he starts
-Benny’s thoughts and technique on reverb, including some history of reverb, and how he EQs his reverbs
-What Faccone does for his center section
-Advice on dynamics, and automating using outboard gear vs Pro Tools
-Faccone's favorite plugins, and some tips and tricks for using them
-Editing and tuning advice: Benny’s definition of different jobs within the industry
-His vocal chain
-His philosophy and advice when it comes to labelling your session
-His philosophy on drum room mics
-Using filters to clean up a mix