Jaycen Joshua, Dave Pensado Production Seminar 4 Advanced Mix Techniques TUTORIAL
Filmed at Studios La Fabrique in France, this in-depth series uncovers a number of innovative mix techniques used regularly by Dave Pensado and Jaycen Joshua. While the majority comprises discussion and demonstration by Jaycen, there are many moments of insight into Dave’s approach too. The engineers reminisce on their time working as a team and the learning curves they went through.
Joshua plays excerpts of some of their favorite-sounding records by Nine Inch Nails, Blackstreet, The Roots, Busta Rhymes, and more. Upon critical listening, the pair comment on what they love about the mixes and why they’re a benchmark for their own aspirations. Jaycen opens multiple Pro Tools sessions to show his work on projects by Ed Sheeran, Poo Bear, Juanes ft. Sebastián Yatra, and Meek Mill ft. Drake. He goes into great detail on handling gain structure in a way that enables maximum perceived loudness and punchy transients without audible distortion.
You’ll see how he uses a variety of tools including stereo imagers, dynamic equalisers, multi-band compressors, harmonic enhancers, reverbs, and delays. This is a gold mine of information packed into a couple of hours!
Part 1
26 mi
Mix analyses, dry energy, cleanliness, transients vs. loudness, front-to-back panning, Fletcher Munson curve
Part 2
23 min
Gain structure, low end reference, frequency masking, pre-delay, stereo spreading, summing, multi-band compression
Part 3
26 min
Low end consistency, side-chaining, dynamic EQ, transformer tracks, white noise, odd & even harmonics
Part 4
18 min
Vocal effects, section-based treatment, spreading a mono signal, adding variation to loops, band saturation
Part 5
26 min
Conserving voltage, filtering, kick drum sustain, loudness before mix buss, tracking signal chain, vocal space
Part 6
26 min
EQ types, taming harshness, phase cancellation, automating parallel compression, tape emulation, mix chain
Part 7
23 min
Headroom for mastering, checking for distortion, RMS level, vocal chains & effects, artefacts, adding air
Jaycen Joshua
Jaycen Joshua’s career in the music business began at age fifteen, when he began working at MCA and Motown records under the mentorship of Jheryl Busby. Later, he undertook a Marketing / A&R position at Dreamworks, then joined MTV as a show developer and Viacom in the advertisement division.
Longing for more engagement in the creation of records, he enrolled himself in the Los Angeles Recording Workshop. Within days of starting the course, he made the decision to devote his life to mixing, and soon landed an internship at Larrabee Recording Studios in North Hollywood. There, he became the assistant of all-star mixer Dave Pensado. The two began collaborating on mixes, teaming up to form the ‘Penua Project’ in 2006.
He soon positioned himself as one of the top mixing engineers in the industry. To date, he has worked with numerous high-profile artists including Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, Sean Combs, Jay-Z, Chris Brown, Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, Justin Bieber, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, R. Kelly, Celine Dion, J-Lo, T.I., Usher, Michael Jackson, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Mike Shinoda, Seal, Nas, Chris Brown and Whitney Houston.
Dave Pensado
Dave Pensado is counted among the recording industry’s most distinguished mix engineers.
His career began in Atlanta in the 1970s, where he engineered sound for live shows and studios; He relocated to Los Angeles in 1990, and has since mixed countless hit records by Christina Aguilera, Pink, Shakira, Beyoncé, Flo Rida, Afrojack, Michael Jackson, Kelly Clarkson, Elton John, and Jill Scott, to name but a few. In 2008, he won his first Grammy award for the album ‘Growing Pains’ by Mary J. Blige.
In 2011, Dave started a weekly show about engineering called Pensado’s Place, and he is now acknowledged as one of the leading online educators for all things pro audio. Alongside his passion for teaching, Dave Pensado remains at the forefront of professional mixing for the world’s top-tier pop artists.
