David Vignola of Mixing Music Analog Goes Big with Flock Audio PATCH XT

Remote mix engineer and analog guru on re-embracing the creative experience with hardware

NEW HAVEN, CT, April 28, 2025 -- For more than 15 years, engineer David Vignola of Mixing Music Analog has been one of the leading lights in the industry championing the cause of bringing analog sound and hardware back into the music production experience. In addition to running a popular Youtube channel about his analog music production journey, he is also an in-demand remote mixer for corporate clients such as Disney, Hulu, Discovery, and Fox Sports as well as thousands of independent artists across the globe. His technique — which embraces the physical musicality and sound of classic analog production techniques — has pushed him to find innovative ways for both himself and his viewers to combine the hardware sound and vibe with the speed and seamless experience required by modern music production. To that end, he has recently made the Flock Audio PATCH XT digitally controlled, all-analog patchbay the new centerpiece of his rapidly growing hybrid workflow.

Chasing inspiration through the physical workflow
A dedicated studio rat since the mid-90s, Vignola had explored every variation of in-the-box production techniques before finding his true calling in analog. Although his initial explorations were inspired by the sound and vibe of older equipment, the real game-changer ultimately was the impact of easily accessible physical instrumentality on his workflow and creativity. “Obviously there’s a sonic difference between analog and digital — but that’s really a subjective thing based on your listening preferences,” he explains. “Neither is better or worse, but I definitely preferred the sound of analog going into it.”

“Working with a real console for the first time however was a huge difference for me. The ability to tweak the knobs or faders instinctually based on what I was hearing immediately felt more inspiring and interactive — a far cry from the ‘Excel Spreadsheet’ feel that some plugins can have! Ultimately, that sound and workflow felt right to me and it made sense to use that to anchor my work. People ultimately come to me for my ears and my taste, but the analog gear helps me feel more a part of the music and has become part of what I’m known for.”

Vignola’s experiences led him to totally embrace it as his workflow of choice and subsequently invest in a large array of modern and vintage analog hardware. All of this hardware was initially routed using a traditional patchbay, but as he took on more work, he found that he was spending more time than he wished finagling patch cables. Looking for a way to take advantage of all of that hardware within a more streamlined workflow led him to Flock Audio. “I’d known about Flock for a long time and was always intrigued by the concept — but the standard units never had enough inputs for my studio,” he states. “When the PATCH XT came out with its 192 patch points, I knew there was finally something big enough to work.”

“The impact on my workflow was immediate. Suddenly all the barriers were taken away in terms of being able to instantly A/B sounds or alternate signal chains. Minutes wasted patching and re-patching could now be spent creatively on experimenting with all of these sounds that were at my fingertips. I found myself knowing my gear even better than I had before and being more expressive with my sound and hardware choices. It really made an impact on the experience, and I can’t imagine not having it now.”

Educating the next generation of analog
A key part of Vignola’s analog journey has been sharing his knowledge through his platforms on YouTube. His MixingMusicAnalog channel — over 14,000 subscribers and growing — is a treasure trove of information about new and vintage analog equipment, workflow recommendations, and mixing advice. Fittingly, his initial experiences with PATCH XT were documented accordingly and shared with his viewers. “I wanted to share the experience of learning it in real-time on camera because it’s still a relatively new technology and I wanted people to get a fair, unbiased viewpoint of how integrating it into a studio setup would work,” he says. “I think what was most remarkable about it was once I had it installed - no small feat, with how many pieces of gear I have — how little I had to worry about it after the fact.”

“Ultimately it allowed me to easily focus on the things I value most: the physical experience of making music. That experience difference is why analog still matters now. The sound may be up for debate, but the sheer fun of turning a knob and hearing how it changes the sound can’t be matched in a DAW.”

For Vignola, that experience is one that he sees slowly regaining favor as younger engineers and musicians raised on DAWs find their way to hardware. He’s happy to play a role in introducing the new generation to analog, and the joys of a hardware-based workflow. “Yes, there’s a sonic difference to analog, but I think what’s far more important is that there is a real experience difference,” he explains. “There’s a real sweet spot to be had with a hybrid workflow because the tactile feel of analog will give you the impactful performance when doing a mix, and the ease of digital editing and control will help you do it quickly.”

“PATCH XT is a big part of that for me now. You really gotta try it. You won’t wanna send it back!”

For more information about Mixing Music Analog and to work with David Vignola, please visit:

https://www.mixingmusicanalog.com

https://www.homerecordingmadeeasy.com

https://www.youtube.com/mixingmusicanalog

https://www.youtube.com/homerecordingmadeeasy

About Flock Audio
Founded in 2017, Flock Audio Inc. is an innovative pro audio manufacturer based in Dallas-Fort Worth Texas. The company is best known for its PATCH System Series, which is a Digitally controlled, 100% Analog Patch bay routing solution for professional audio environments.

For more information on Flock Audio and its products, please visit the company website at http://www.flockaudio.com.