Manny Nieto (los Lobos, The Breeders, Circle Jerks)

As the leader of the bands The Chavez Ravine and Distortion Felix, Manny Nieto has gone on to have a long career recording and producing bands such as The Breeders, Los Lobos, Health, and David Kilgour. He’s currently featured regularly on Produce Like A Pro hosted by Warren Huart and is a featured artist at Earthquaker Devices, amongst other brands. Credits include Chokebore, The Breeders, Vaz, Health, Trash Talk, Los Lobos, Circle Jerks, and Mean Reds.

Tell us about your current studio setup.

Currently, I use a Protools HD Rig. The front-end is mostly all the standard microphones you’d find at world-class studios and a good amount of 50s, 60s, and 70s vintage microphones. My monitor system is Yamaha NS-10s and ATCs.

Having worked on so many songs over the past few years, how do you stay fresh and excited about making music these days?

I get music sent to me weekly from all over the US and internationally, so it’s the pulse I enjoy of being ahead of the curve. The music you hear on Spotify is already a year old, so it feels good to be making music as it’s happening.  

Lastly, being featured regularly on Produce Like A Pro, I get to learn as well, trying new mixing techniques and recording exciting artists regularly, as well as mixing and mastering them, too.

How do you typically approach the mixing of a song.I love mixing the most musical things up front or the most interesting. Hooks and original music make me happy.

I love mixing the most musical - or the most interesting - things upfront. Hooks and original music make me happy. I’ve been lucky that my studio monitoring system tells me 100% what’s there and takes into consideration the styles of music and its approach. I also use Audio Technica headphones and iPhone earbuds as well as mixes right off the speakers of my cell phone. A true test!