Dana Nielsen

Dana Nielsen is a Grammy-nominated mixer, engineer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist known for his work with Rihanna, Adele, The Smashing Pumpkins, Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer, The Avett Brothers, Bob Dylan and Kanye West. Nielsen also frequently works with music for picture, producing, recording, and mixing a growing number of film scores and soundtracks, such as Kristen Wiig's Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar, Will Ferrell’s Anchorman 2 and Casa De Mi Padre, as well as the Sam Rockwell / Olivia Wilde dark comedy Better Living Through Chemistry.

Based in Los Angeles, Nielsen has amassed credits that run the stylistic gamut from Neil Diamond to Slayer and just about every style in between. Nielsen’s work can be heard on albums by a diverse roster of artists. He worked as an engineer on Kanye West’s Yeezus and Rihanna’s Loud, recorded Bob Dylan’s Tempest, and recorded Neil Young and Crazy Horse for their album Colorado.

As a composer, saxophonist, singer and programmer, Nielsen’s own music and/or voice can be heard on countless TV commercials, as well as hit shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, America’s Next Top Model, and the Duplass brothers’ HBO series Room 104.

Throughout his career, legendary producer Rick Rubin has frequently tapped Nielsen’s skills for various projects including Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Stadium Arcadium, and The Smashing Pumpkins' Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1 (Napalm), which Nielsen
recorded and mixed. In 2008 he mixed Neil Diamond’s #1 selling album Home Before Dark, and in 2013 Nielsen worked as an engineer on Black Sabbath’s Rick Rubin-produced 13, the band’s first album to top the UK charts in 43 years. Nielsen has also recently recorded and mixed albums for Santana and The Avett Brothers.

Nielsen can be seen on screen working as an engineer alongside Rick Rubin and David Letterman in episode 4 (feat. Jay Z) of Letterman’s Netflix series “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.” Nielsen is also featured in the Judd Apatow / Michael Bonfiglio HBO documentary, “May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers.”

Dana Nielsen and FabFilter

"I first heard about the outstanding FabFilter Pro-L limiter from my brother-from-another-mother, acclaimed producer/engineer/mixer, Ryan Hewitt. I fell in love with the Pro-L right away with it's incredible sound and intuitive interface. Then, when I dove deeper into the "advanced" settings, it was case closed. I thought: "who is this company and what else do they make?!"

"I bought the Total Bundle right away and these days I use FabFilter plug-ins on every session I do."

"FabFilter Pro-MB is hands down the most versatile multi-band dynamics processor ever. I love it. FabFilter Pro-Q 2 is super flexible and sounds fantastic. It's so liberating to not have any fixed frequency or bandwidth limitations on the Pro-Q 2 and Pro-MB. I also use Saturn a lot (love!), Pro-C 2 and Twin 2 as well. Thanks, FabFilter! Keep up the great work!"

Links

dananielsen.com

allmusic.com

Top-quality EQ plug-in with perfect analog modeling, dynamic and spectral EQ, linear phase processing, and a gorgeous interface with unrivalled ease of use.

→ Read more about FabFilter Pro-Q 4

Other featured artists

Robert L. Smith is an Oscar winning, Grammy and Emmy nominated producer/engineer/mixer spanning more than 30 years. "I started recording when I was 11 years old (still have the mics!), moved onto playing bass guitar and DJing. I'd like to especially thank my Mom, for not being mad as I...
→ Read more

Kevin Killen is a long time veteran of the music industry. During that time he has received eight Grammy awards, numerous nominations and the respect of his peers. His passion is making timeless records and has done so on occasion with the likes of U2, Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello, Dav...
→ Read more

Tony Maserati is a 20-year veteran of the music industry and one of the top mixing engineers today. He has worked with industry successes such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Jason Mraz, Mariah Carey, James Brown, Notorious BIG, Black Eyed Peas encompassing worldwide sales in excess of 100 millio...
→ Read more

Paula Tape is a Chilean artist known for her selection and her percussive sets, which broaden the gap between intricate rhythms and eclectic sounds. With her sophisticated selection, she never fails to amaze with blending her sound between balearic material and floor-filling main time...
→ Read more

John Hill, originally from Houston, Texas, is an LA-based producer and writer who first gained prominence by producing and co-writing Santigold’s debut album.His forward thinking, outside the box productions have led him to collaborate with a diverse array of artists, from MIA to Rih...
→ Read more

Matt Schaeffer was born and raised in LA. During high school he started interning in a studio after recording a demo there with his band. He went to Berklee College of Music where he did a dual major in film scoring/music production and engineering. He moved back to LA in 2012 and started...
→ Read more

Omar Hakim is a drummer, producer/engineer, composer, educator and entrepreneur. His work spans many genres of music, and he has worked with some wonderful artists throughout his career, like Daft Punk, David Bowie, Sting, Madonna, Foo Fighters, Marcus Miller, Miles Davis, Neal Schon...
→ Read more

Josh Rogosin is a renowned audio engineer, producer, and documentarian, famous for his pivotal role as the lead engineer for NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts for over 800 performances. Josh is known for capturing organic, live sound in unique spaces. He started his own YouTube show &...
→ Read more

Robbie Nelson is a Grammy and MPG award winning engineer/mixer. Notable work includes Beck (three Grammy's including best album), Birdy, Rumer, Amy Macdonald, Rae Morris, Sarah Brightman and Jarvis Cocker. After starting his career under legendary producer Mike Hedges at the equall...
→ Read more

Dana Nielsen and FabFilter

Links

Other featured artists

Artist overview