Leonardo Nerini on SoundBetter

Streaming-ready mixing and mastering, 10+ experience, quick turnaround.

I started recording and mixing band demos in 2012 in my hometown Trento, moved to Berlin and completed a B.A. in Audio Production in 2016 and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering in 2023.

I've been working as a recording and mixing engineer since 2016 and as a quality engineer at Neumann since 2023. Records I've recorded and mixed span different music genres, such as jazz, heavy metal, rock, reggae, electronic, techno, and much more.

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Interview with Leonardo Nerini

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I have recorded and mixed the Hormigueo record "Too quiet for outside". I particularly enjoyed it, because there was never a moment of doubt regarding the direction of it, and it all happened spontaneously, as it was meant to be like that.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I am mixing a Techno EP and a Ska/Rock record that I have personally produced and recorded this year.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Analog for recording, to impart its character, digital for music for full flowing flexibility.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: This is your music, and I will never do something to it that you would never want done to it.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The chance of reacting to music, and letting the flow of it decide where the mix is going to go.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: It is really hard to fix something in the mix. I can make it sound better, clearer, louder, but if the soul is not there beforehand, there is not much that can be done about that.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What do you want the listener to feel like while listening to your work?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: I look for work relationships where both parties can speak openly in the service of music being worked on. The process is not straightforward
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: - Reference headphones, if I cannot hear I cannot mix. - A parametric equalizer - A variable saturation circuit - A colorful compressor - A set of faders There are a lot of situations where you will not have the exact gear you want. I prefer to see gear as simple tools that fulfill different functions that allow me to work and do conscious changes on a piece of music.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I have started recording bands in my hometown 10 years ago, then moved to Berlin after high school to study Audio Production and Electrical Engineering. Have been working freelance ever since.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Adding clarity where it is unintentionally cloudy, adding character where it is unintentionally dull. It is my goal to improve what is already there and add what is missing.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I would love to either work with Snarky Puppy or Knower, as they have different approaches to jazz that I find extremely inspiring.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Mixing is arrangement. Arrangement is mixing.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: I come from a family of classically-trained musicians, I started working in indie rock and heavy metal (especially metalcore), then moved to Berlin and started recording jazz and mixing electronic music. I believe that the emotions that music provokes are above a categorization.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Small additions to an existing body of work, that can help clear and refocus the final result.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I bring a fresh perspective, experience that span multiple genres, and a particular attention to storytelling with musical elements.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I will get a set of tracks to mix, together with ideas and direction from the artist. I will listen to its raw sum to get an idea where everything was left off. During that first listening session a vision will form, which I will then proceed to work on until I am happy with the work and send it over to the client.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a bass managed stereo system (Neumann KH750 + KH120) which is calibrated in a room-in-a-room studio, for maximum fidelity. I also work with Neumann NDH30, as I am happy with the mixes that I can make with them. I have plugins for ages, but do not use any analog processing during mixing, only during recording.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I get inspired by Tchad Blake and his approach to mixing, it is a constant reminder to explore sonic possibilities within a mix.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I will get a set of multitrack or stems, where the artists and producer have worked on until they feel like it's time to give it a final polish, and that's where I come in.