Joe Visciano (Lil Nas X, Action Bronson, and Foy Vance)

Joe Visciano is a Grammy-winning mixing and audio engineer based in Brooklyn. He got his start at Electric Lady Studios as a mix assistant to Tom Elmhirst between 2012 and 2016 working on albums for Adele, David Bowie, Arcade Fire, and Jamie XX. Visciano has also engineered albums for artists such as Beck, The Arcs, Mark Ronson, and Frank Ocean. More recently, he has mixed tracks for Lil Nas X, Action Bronson, and Foy Vance.

Tell us about your current studio set-up (what desk/DAW, monitors, analog equipment, do you have any go-to plugins you use regularly?)

I'm working out of The Bunker Studios in Brooklyn, New York, right now. The room was designed by Northward Acoustics and has soffit mounted ATC SCM45's. I'm also currently monitoring with a pair of Auratone 5c's and a pair of Yamaha HS7's. And I have a pair of Sennheiser 650s for checking in the studio or mixing on the go.

Most of the time, I'm keeping everything in the box. For me, the convenience of being able to travel with a mix outweighs any sonic subtleties. Plugins like Aberrant Sketch Cassette 2, DDMF MagicDeathEye and ValhallaDelay are giving hardware outboard a run for its money.

That being said, I'll use an outboard mix buss if a song really calls for it. Or I have some select outboard FX that I might use as a hardware insert or as a print.

What do you enjoy most about working with independent artists?

True innovation comes usually comes from independent artists. They generally have less to lose and more to gain. That freedom and hustle excite me.

I've heard independent artists put out amazing songs and I've heard major label artists put out truly awful songs. I try to follow the songs.

For me, it doesn't matter if an artist is releasing independently or through a major... if the song is great and I believe in the artist, I want to work with them! I treat independent artists exactly the same as major label artists. I treat every independent song the same as a major label song.