Introduction
Dave Pensado is a Grammy Award-winning mix engineer. His career began in Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s doing live and studio sound engineering. He has lived in Los Angeles since 1990. He mixes between 200 and 250 songs a year at Larrabee Studios in Los Angeles. When recording, he usually records at Echo Bar Studios in North Hollywood.
On September 12, 2011, he started a weekly show called Pensado's Place with Herb Trawick. The show is about engineering techniques and interviews a guest Mixer, Producer or Artist each episode.
On July 20, 2013, Dave Pensado and Herb Trawick hosted an event at Vintage King Los Angeles called "Pensado Gear Expo 2013". More than one thousand people from around the world attended. 22-time Grammy Award-winning engineer, Al Schmitt, Steven Slate, Alex da Kid, Ryan Hewitt, and Robert Duncan were a few of the featured guests of the expo.
Equipment
Pensado mixes exclusively in the box, which means he uses very little outboard gear and programs everything in his computer. Apart from the very occasional Logic session, he uses Pro Tools.
Awards
Pensado won a Grammy Award, alongside fellow engineers Jaycen Joshua and Kuk Harrell, for Mary J. Blige's 2008 Best Contemporary R&B Album, Growing Pains.
Discography
| Year | Title | Artist | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Rocks and Honey | Bonnie Tyler | Mixing |
| 2012 | Breathless/At Last... The Duets Album | Kenny G | Mixing |
| 2007 | Growing Pains | Mary J. Blige | Mixing |
Alumni
Some successful audio engineers & producers that have assisted for Dave Pensado in the past include Sylvia Massy, Jaycen Joshua, Dylan "3-D" Dresdow, Ariel Chobaz, and Ethan Willoughby.