Dave Pensado

Dave Pensado
Dave Pensado
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Mix engineer
Years active	1970s-present

Dave Pensado is a Grammy Award-winning mix engineer.^[1] His career began in Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s doing live and studio sound engineering. He has lived in Los Angeles since 1990.^[1]

He mixes between 200 and 250 songs a year at Larrabee Studios in Los Angeles.^[1] When recording he usually records at Echo Bar Studios in North Hollywood.^{[citation needed]}

On September 12, 2011, Pensado started a weekly show called Pensado's Place, together with Herb Trawick, his manager and business partner.^{[citation needed]} The first part of the show is about audio engineering techniques; Pensado evaluates - sometimes assisted or replaced by a guest speaker - plugins, outboard gear like microphones, and demonstrates how to improve the mix. The second part is an interview of a mixing engineer, master engineer, producer, label CEO or singer-songwriter.^[2]^{[failed verification]}^{[better source needed]}

On July 20, 2013, Pensado and Trawick hosted an event at Vintage King Los Angeles called "Pensado Gear Expo 2013".^[3] 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

At first, Pensado occasionally demonstrates outboard analog gear, but later on, he only processes/edits audio tracks with his computer, which is also called mixing 'in the box', before sending his mixes to a mastering engineer. For all demonstrations he uses Pro Tools as his DAW (digital audio workstation), and the show is sponsored by audio companies he respects.^[1]

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.^[4]

Pensado was the recipient of the 2020 NAMM TEC (Technical Excellence & Creativity) Hall of Fame Award. Pensado was officially inducted into the NAMM TEC Hall of Fame at the 35th Annual NAMM TEC Awards, held on January 18 in Anaheim, California during the NAMM Show.^[5]

Discography

Year	Title	Artist	Role
2016	Sounds of the Sea	The Cetacea Boys	Mixing
2016	R&B Anthems		Mixing
2015	Golden Moments	Jill Scott	Mixing
	Rub	Peaches	Mixing
	The Story Continues	After Romeo	Mixing
2014	Happy Hour: The Greatest Hits	T-Pain	Mixing
	Holiday	Earth	Mixing
	Me. I Am Mariah...The Elusive Chanteuse	Mariah Carey	Mixing
	The Lyricists' Opus	Chrisette Michele	Mixing
	The Way	Macy Gray	Mixing
	Xscape	Michael Jackson	Mixing
2013	Write It On A Wall	Xai	Mixing
	Break the Pot	Rich Boy	Mixing
	Now, Then & Forever	Earth	Mixing
	Rocks and Honey	Bonnie Tyler	Mixing
2012	Breathless/At Last... The Duets Album	Kenny G	Mixing
	Greatest Hits, Chapter 1	Kelly Clarkson	Mixing
	R&B: The Collection	[Rhino]	Mixing
	Decode	Exilia	Mixing
2011	1977	The-Dream / Terius Nash	Mixing
	A Family Business	Brandy / Ray J	Mixing
	A.N.T.	Farm	Mixing
	Contact	Boney James	Mixing
	Gloria	Gloria Trevi	Mezcla
	Killer Love	Nicole Scherzinger	Mixing
	Roy: Tribute to Roy Orbison	Damien Leith	Mixing
	The Light of the Sun	Jill Scott	Mixing
	Heal	Andrea Renzullo	Mixing
2010	Calling All Hearts	Keyshia Cole	Mixing
	Charice	Charice	Mixing
	Greatest Hits... So Far!!!	P!nk	Mixing
	Just Dance, Vol. 3		Mixing
	Love King	The-Dream	Mixing
	Luna Nueva	Debi Nova	Mixing
	Monkey Business/Elephunk/Bridging the Gap	The Black Eyed Peas	Mixing
	Pulse	Toni Braxton	Mixing
	StarStruck	Disney	Mixing
	Still Standing	Monica	Mixing
	The Love Trilogy	The-Dream	Mixing
	Twenty Ten: Greatest Hits	Guy Sebastian	Mixing
	Uni5: The World's Enemy	Bone Thugs-n-Harmony	Mixing
	Wear My Kiss	Sugababes	Mixing
2009	Above and Beyoncé: Video Collection & Dance Mixes	Beyoncé	Mixing
	Charmbracelet/The Emancipation of Mimi/E=MC2	Mariah Carey	Mixing
	D.N.A.	Mario	Mixing
	Days Difference	Days Difference	Mixing
	Deeper Than Rap	Rick Ross	Mixing
	Def Jam 25: DJ Bring That Back		Mixing
	Differently	Cassie Davis	Mixing
	Evolution of a Man	Brian McKnight	Mixing
	Fantasy Ride	Ciara	Mixing
	Fight for Love	Elliott Yamin	Mixing
	Forever in a Day	Day26	Mixing
	Guilty Pleasure	Ashley Tisdale	Mixing
	Hits	Seal	Mixing
	How to Be a Lady, Vol. 1	Electrik Red	Mixing
	I Look to You	Whitney Houston	Mixing
	Just Dance, Vol. 2		Mixing
	Just Go	Lionel Richie	Mixing
	Lady Love	LeToya	Mixing
	Let It	Beat Shwayze	Mixing
	Let's Get Crazy	Cassie	Mixing
	Love vs Money	The-Dream	Mixing
	Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel	Mariah Carey	Mixing
	My World	Justin Bieber	Mixing
	P!nk Box	P!nk	Mixing
	Ready	Trey Songz	Mixing
	Round 2	J. Holiday	Mixing
	Ruthless	Ace Hood	Mixing
	She Wolf	Shakira	Mixing, Mixing Engineer
	Soft White	Mack 10	Mixing
	Still	BeBe & CeCe Winans	Mixing
	Stronger with Each Tear	Mary J. Blige	Mixing
	Sweet 7	Sugababes	Mixing
	The Rebirth	Bobby V	Mixing
	This Is Us	Backstreet Boys	Mixing
	This Is the One	Utada	Mixing
	Toussaint St. Jean: From the Hut, To the Projects, To the Mansion	Wyclef Jean	Mixing
	Untitled	R. Kelly	Mixing
2008	A Different Me	Keyshia Cole	Mixing
	A Long Time Coming	Wayne Brady	Mixing
	Best of Hilary Duff	Hilary Duff	Engineer, Audio Engineer, Mixing
	Best of the Best: Love Songs	Diana Ross	Mixing
	Black Summer Party: Best Of, Vol. 5		Mixing
	Brutha	Brutha	Mixing
	Call and Response: The Remix Album	Maroon 5	Mixing
	Colby O	Colby O'Donis	Mixing
	Cookie Jar	The-Dream / Gym Class Heroes	Mixing
	Departure	Jesse McCartney	Mixing
	Discipline	Janet Jackson	Mixing
	Doll Domination	The Pussycat Dolls	Mixing
	Dream a Little	Jimmy Demers	Mixing
	E=MC²	Mariah Carey	Mixing
	Exit 13	LL Cool J	Mixing
	First Love	Karina	Mixing
	Girlicious	Girlicious	Mixing
	Here I Stand	Usher	Mixing
	I Am...Sasha Fierce	Beyoncé	Mixing
	I'll Be Home for Christmas	Brian McKnight	Enhanced CD Audio Creation
	Intuition	Jamie Foxx	Mixing
	Just a Rolling Stone	Donnie Klang	Mixing
	Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits	Christina Aguilera	Mixing, Audio Production, Assistant Engineer
	Music in My Soul	Leigh Jones	Engineer, Audio Engineer, Mixing
	OnMyRadio	Musiq Soulchild	Mixing
	Playlist: Woman		Mixing
	Prima J	Prima J	Mixing
	Raven-Symoné	Raven-Symoné	Mixing
	Shwayze	Shwayze	Mixing
	Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams	Solange	Mixing
	Texas	Playradioplay!	Mixing
	The Best Love...Ever!		Mixing
	The Hits	Kelis	Mixing
	The Quilt	Gym Class Heroes	Mixing
	The Truth	Cherish	Mixing
	Theater of the Mind	Ludacris	Mixing
	True to the Game		Mixing
	Turbo 919	Sean Garrett	Mixing
	Uncle Charlie	Charlie Wilson	Mixing
	Yours, Mine and the Truth	Sterling Simms	Mixing
2007	All in My Blood	Wiz Khalifa	Mixing
	Big	Macy Gray	Mixing
	Bratz [Original Soundtrack]	Bratz	Mixing
	Ghetto Passport	Famouz	Mixing
	Greatest Hits	Groove Armada	Mixing
	Growing Pains	Mary J. Blige	Mixing
	Just Like You	Keyshia Cole	Mixing
	Look What You Made Me	Yung Berg	Enhanced Recording
	Love Is Wicked	Brick & Lace	Mixing
	Love/Hate	The-Dream	Mixing
	P!nk Box [2007]	P!nk	Mixing
	Souljaboytellem.com	Soulja Boy Tell Em	Mixing
	Soundboy Rock	Groove Armada	Mixing
	Spirit	Leona Lewis	Mixing
	Strength & Loyalty	Bone Thugs-N-Harmony	Mixing
	System	Seal	Audio Engineer, Mixing
	Taking Chances	Céline Dion	Mixing
	The Best of Me: Yolanda Adams Greatest Hits	Yolanda Adams	Mixing
	The Cool	Lupe Fiasco	Enhanced Recording
	The Real Thing: Words and Sounds, Vol. 3	Jill Scott	Mixing
	The Rise and Fall of Keite Young	Keite Young	Mixing
	Trey Day	Trey Songz	Mixing
	Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls	Tyler Perry	Mixing
	We Ride (I See the Future)	Mary J. Blige	Mixing
2006	A Mary Mary Christmas	Mary Mary	Supervisor
	A Public Affair	Jessica Simpson	Mixing
	Aura	Yvonne Catterfeld	Mixing
	B'day	Beyoncé	Mixing
	Back to Basics	Christina Aguilera	Mixing
	Be Without You	Mary J. Blige	Mixing
	Christina Aguilera/Stripped	Christina Aguilera	Mixing
	Club Bangers		Mixing
	Coming Home	Lionel Richie	Mixing
	Dance Revolution	The Slumber Party Girls	Mixing
	Director	Avant	Mixing
	Heart to Yours/Do You Know	Michelle Williams	Mixing
	I Don't Need a Man	The Pussycat Dolls	Mixing
	In My Own Words	Ne-Yo	Mixing
	Kelis Was Here	Kelis	Mixing
	Light Poles and Pine Trees	Field Mob	Mixing
	Live in London	The Pussycat Dolls	Mixing
	Loose	Nelly Furtado	Mixing
	Maneater	Nelly Furtado	Mixing
	My Book	K-Ci	Mixing
	My Friends & Me	Dionne Warwick	Mixing
	Point of No Return	Shareefa	Mixing
	Reflections (A Retrospective)	Mary J. Blige	Mixing
	Step Up		Mixing
	Ten	Brian McKnight	Mixing
	Testimony, Vol. 1: Life & Relationship	India.Arie	Mixing
2005	#1's	Destiny's Child	Mixing
	Beautiful Life/Just As I Am	Guy Sebastian	Mixing
	Check on It [Single]	Beyoncé / Slim Thug	Mixing
	Cool Traxx!, Vol. 2		Remixing
	Day by Day	Yolanda Adams	Mixing
	Desperate Housewives [TV Soundtrack]		Mixing
	Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul	Jaguar Wright	Mixing
	Gemini	Brian McKnight	Mixing
	Girl, Pt. 1	Destiny's Child	Mixing
	Hero	Kirk Franklin	Mixing
	I Am Not My Hair	India.Arie	Mixing
	Illumination	Earth	Mixing
	In Public	Kelis	Mixing
	In This Life Together	Kindred the Family Soul	Mixing
	In the Mid-Nite Hour	Warren G	Mixing
	In the Mix [Music from the Motion Picture]		Mixing
	Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen		Mixing
	Lost and Found	Will Smith	Mixing, Composer
	Missundaztood/Can't Take Me Home	P!nk	Mixing
	PCD	The Pussycat Dolls	Mixing
	Sweatsuit	Nelly	Vocal Mixing
	The Breakthrough	Mary J. Blige	Mixing
	The Way It Is	Keyshia Cole	Mixing
	This is Me	Jully Black	Engineer
	Tilt Ya Head Back	Nelly	Vocal Mixing
	When Love Is Gone	Martin Nievera	Mixing
2004	At Last...The Duets Album	Kenny G	Mixing
	Barbershop 2: Back in Business		Mixing
	Beautiful Life	Guy Sebastian	Mixing
	Believe in Angels Believe in Me	Angel	Mixing, A&R
	Cherie	Cherie	Engineer, Mixing
	Destiny Fulfilled	Destiny's Child	Mixing
	Do You Know	Michelle Williams	Mixing
	Grammy Nominees 2004		Mixing
	I Changed My Mind	Keyshia Cole	Engineer
	Just for You	Lionel Richie	Mixing
	Let's Talk About It	Carl Thomas	Mixing
	Never	Keyshia Cole	Mixing
	Outrun the Sky	Lalah Hathaway	Mixing
	Shark Tale		Mixing
	Sweat	Nelly	Vocal Mixing
	The Collection	Dina Carroll	Mixing
	The Ultimate R&B Album		Mixing
	The Very Best of Macy Gray	Macy Gray	Mixing
	Throwback	Boyz II Men	Mixing
	Tiffany Villarreal	Tiffany Villareal	Mixing
	Walkin' in the Shadow of Life	Neville Brothers	Mixing
2003	Biker Boyz		Mixing
	Chasing Time II	Martin Nievera	Mixing
	Emosoul	D.J. Rogers Jr.	Mixing
	Fallen	Mya	Mixing
	Falling Uphill	Lillix	Mixing
	In This Skin	Jessica Simpson	Mixing
	Low	Kelly Clarkson	Mixing
	Miss Independent	Kelly Clarkson	Mixing
	Moodring	Mya	Mixing
	My Love Is Like...Wo	Mya	Mixing
	Rose Falcon	Rose Falcon	Mixing
	Solo Star	Solange	Mixing
	Tasty	Kelis	Mixing
	Thankful	Kelly Clarkson	Mixing
	The Fighting	Temptations	Mixing
	Trouble [Import CD]	P!nk	Mixing
	Try This	P!nk	Mixing
	U Turn	Brian McKnight	Mixing
2002	Amor Secreto	Luis Fonsi	Mixing
	Austin Powers in Goldmember [Original Soundtrack]		Mixing
	Dirrty	Christina Aguilera	Mixing
	Dirty	Child Rosey	Mixing
	El Cool Magnifico	Coolio	Mixing
	Emotional	K-Ci & JoJo Engineer,	Mixing
	Family Portrait	P!nk	Mixing
	Fight the Feeling	Luis Fonsi	Mixing
	From There to Here: 1989-2002	Brian McKnight	Mixing
	Full Circle	Boyz II Men	Mixing
	Full Moon	Brandy	Mixing
	Fun Rose	Falcon	Mixing
	Get the Party Started [Australia CD]	P!nk	Mixing
	Go-Get-Her/Nowhere	Vi3	Mixing
	Greatest Hits	Jon B.	Mixing
	Justified	Justin Timberlake	Mixing
	Love & War	Jerzee Monet	Mixing
	Moulin Rouge [Original Soundtrack]		Mixing
	Scooby-Doo [Original Soundtrack]		Mixing
	Simply Deep	Kelly Rowland	Mixing
	So Tight	Vi3	Mixing
	Stole [4 Track Single]	Kelly Rowland	Mixing
	Stripped	Christina Aguilera	Mixing
	This Is the Remix	Destiny's Child	Mixing
	Transporter [Original Soundtrack]		Mixing
	Virginity	TG4	Mixing
2001	8 Days of Christmas	Destiny's Child	Mixing
	A Girl Like Me	Emma Bunton	Mixing
	Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Soundtrack)	James Newton Howard	Mixing
	BBD Bell	Biv DeVoe	Mixing, Mixing Engineer
	Down to Earth [Music from the Motion Picture]		Mixing
	Dr. Dolittle 2		Mixing
	Greatest Hits	Ice Cube	Mixing
	JP	Jesse Powell	Mixing
	Jersey Ave.	Jersey Ave.	Mixing
	Joy Enriquez	Joy Enriquez	Mixing
	Lady Marmalade	Christina Aguilera / Missy Elliott / Mya / P!nk	Mixing
	Legally Blonde		Mixing
	M!ssundaztood	P!nk	Mixing
	MTV: TRL Christmas		Mixing
	Pleasures U Like	Jon B.	Mixing
	Pure R&B, Vol. 2		Mixing
	Superhero	Brian McKnight	Mixing
	Survivor	Destiny's Child	Mixing
	The Very Best of Dina Carroll	Dina Carroll	Mixing
	The Brothers [2001]		Mixing
	Victoria Beckham	Victoria Beckham	Mixing
2000	Black Trash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones	Sticky Fingaz	Mixing
	Bridging the Gap	The Black Eyed Peas	Mixing
	Fearless	Crystal Lewis	Mixing
	Gift of Love	Diana Ross	Mixing
	Gotta Tell You	Samantha Mumba	Producer, Mixing
	La Colección	Crystal Lewis	Mixing
	Love & Basketball [Soundtrack]		Mixing
	Men of Honor	Mark Isham	Mixing
	My Kind of Christmas	Christina Aguilera	Mixing
	Nutty Professor II: The Klumps		Mixing
	Paris: New York	Marc Laurens	Mixing
	Remix Plus	Christina Aguilera	Mixing
	Revelation	98°	Mixing
	The Hurricane [Original Soundtrack]		Mixing
	X	K-Ci & JoJo	Mixing
	You Can't Resist	Jessica	Mixing
1999	24-7	Kevon Edmonds	Mixing
	5 for 1 5	Young Men	Mixing
	Chocolate Mood	Marc Nelson	Mixing
	Christina Aguilera	Christina Aguilera	Mixing
	Coolio's Crowbar Records Presents a Compilation of New Artists		Mixing
	Elton John and Tim Rice's "Aida"	Elton John / Tim Rice	Mixing
	Enrique	Enrique Iglesias	Mixing
	Hot Coko	Coko	Mixing
	I Love You...Me	Cherokee	Mixing
	I Want It All	Warren G	Mixing
	It's Real	K-Ci & JoJo	Mixing
	Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album		Mixing
	Northern Star	Melanie C	Mixing
	Pokémon: The First Movie		Mixing
	Shanice	Shanice	Mixing
	Trina & Tamara	Trina & Tamara	Mixing
	Unleash the Dragon	Sisqó	Mixing, Mixing Engineer
	What a Girl Wants	Christina Aguilera	Mixing
1998	12 Soulful Nights of Christmas	Jermaine Dupri	Mixing
	4 Bruthas and a Bass	Solo	Mixing
	Behind the Front	The Black Eyed Peas	Mixing
	Bethlehem	Brian McKnight	Mixing
	Breath from Another	Esthero	Mixing
	Fame	L.A.	Mixing
	In Love at Christmas	K-Ci & JoJo	Mixing
	Only You	Tami Davis	Mixing
1997	BeBe Winans	BeBe Winans	Mixing
	Betta Listen	Laurneá	Mixing
	C U When U Get There	Coolio	Mixing
	Greatest Hits	Eternal	Mixing
	Love Always	K-Ci & JoJo	Mixing
	My Soul	Coolio	Mixing
	Rahsaan Patterson Rahsaan Patterson	Engineer	Mixing
	Samantha Cole	Samantha Cole	Engineer
	Steel		Mixing
1996	Back to the World Tevin Campbell	Engineer,	Mixing
	I Am L.V.	L.V.	Mixing
	Light Years	Jamiroquai	Mixing
	Jermaine Dupri Presents: Soulful Nights of Christmas	Jermaine Dupri	Mixing
1995	Damn Thing Called Love	After 7	Mixing
	Do You Wanna Ride?	Adina Howard	Mixing
	I Remember You	Brian McKnight	Engineer
	Out of the Blu	Blu	Producer, Synthesizer, Drum Programming
	Reflections	After 7	Mixing
	We Got It	Immature	Mixing
1994	Blankman		Mixing
	For You	London Jones	Mixing
	Hot & Ready	Raja-Nee	Mixing
	Sugar Hill	Producer, Engineer,	Mixing
	Time	Atlantic Starr	Mixing
	Treat U Right	Blackgirl	Mixing
1993	Afro-Plane	Afro-Plane	Engineer
	Five XI	Five XI	Mixing
	It's Real	The Real Seduction	Composer
	Love's Alright	Eddie Murphy	Mixing
	The Meteor Man		Mixing
	Whole New Head	One II 3	Engineer, Mixing, Mixing Engineer
1992	Countess	Countess Vaughn Producer, Mixing,	Remixing
	Crazy Coolin'	The Barrio Boyzz	Mixing
	On Our Worst Behavior	Immature	Producer, Mixing, Production Technician
	White Men Can't Jump		Producer, Engineer, Composer
1991	Freezin' 'Em	Level III	Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Vocal Engineer, Composer
	Live Your Life Be Free	Belinda Carlisle	Remixing
	Livin' It Up [Cassette Single]	Trent Dean	Mixing
	Ricca	Ricca	Mixing
	Spellbound	Paula Abdul	Engineer
	WBBD - Bootcity! The Remix Album	Bell Biv DeVoe	Remixing
	What Comes Naturally	Sheena Easton	Engineer
1990	Notes of a Native Son	Laquan	Mixing
	Ralph Tresvant	Ralph Tresvant	Mixing
	Tommy Boy's Greatest Hits		Mixing
1988	Too Tuff	Brick	Engineer
	Breakdance Party		Mixing

Alumni

Some successful audio engineers & producers that have assisted for Dave Pensado in the past include Sylvia Massy, Jaycen Joshua, Manny Marroquin, Dylan "3-D" Dresdow, Ariel Chobaz, Ethan Willoughby, Nico Hamui, and Rafael Fadul.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Tingen, Paul (January 2007). "Secrets Of The Mix Engineers - Dave Pensado". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
^ "Pensado's Place". Pensadosplace.tv. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
^ "Backbeat: Pensado's Place Web Series and Vintage King Audio Launch Gear Expo 2013 in L.A." Billboard. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
^ "Past Winners Search". Grammy.com. The Recording Academy. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
^ NAMM. "Dave Pensado and Herb Trawick Named as Recipients of The TEC Hall of Fame Award". namm.org.
^ "Dave Pensado - Credits & Awards". allmusic.com. Retrieved February 13, 2020.

External links

Dave Pensado on Discogs
Pensado's Place
Dave Pensado NAMM Oral History Program Interview (2015)

[sound_on_sound-1] Tingen, Paul (January 2007). "Secrets Of The Mix Engineers - Dave Pensado". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 3 August 2013.

[2] "Pensado's Place". Pensadosplace.tv. Retrieved 2015-12-23.

[pensado_gear_expo-3] "Backbeat: Pensado's Place Web Series and Vintage King Audio Launch Gear Expo 2013 in L.A." Billboard. Retrieved 22 July 2013.

[grammy-4] "Past Winners Search". Grammy.com. The Recording Academy. Retrieved 3 August 2013.

[5] NAMM. "Dave Pensado and Herb Trawick Named as Recipients of The TEC Hall of Fame Award". namm.org.

[6] "Dave Pensado - Credits & Awards". allmusic.com. Retrieved February 13, 2020.

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