Bob Ludwig

Bob Ludwig sitting behind a control panel
Ludwig pictured in his mastering studio in 2008.

Bob Ludwig (Robert C. Ludwig; born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Ocean, Bryan Ferry, Paul McCartney, Nirvana, Bruce Springsteen and Daft Punk[1] resulting in over 3000 credits.[2]

Biography

At the age of eight in South Salem, New York, Ludwig was so fascinated with his first tape recorder he used to make recordings of whatever was on the radio. Ludwig is a classical musician by training, having obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, New York, where he was also involved in the sound department and played principal trumpet with the Utica Symphony Orchestra.[3] Inspired by Phil Ramone when he came to the school to teach a summer recording workshop, he ended up working as his assistant. Afterwards, he was contacted again and offered work with Ramone at A&R Recording. Together, they did sessions on projects with The Band, Peter, Paul & Mary, Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra.

After a few years at A&R, Ludwig received an offer from Sterling Sound, where he eventually became a vice president. After seven years at Sterling, he moved to its larger direct competitor, Masterdisk, where he was vice president and chief engineer. In 1993, Ludwig decided to take control over his career by starting his own record mastering facility in Portland, Maine, named Gateway Mastering.

His mastering credits are extensive, and include albums for many major classic artists, such as the Kronos Quartet, and rock acts, including Jimi Hendrix, Phish, Megadeth, Metallica, Gloria Estefan, Nirvana, The Strokes, Queen, U2, Guns N' Roses, Richie Sambora, Tool, Simple Minds, Bryan Ferry, Tori Amos, Bonnie Raitt, Mark Knopfler, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, the Bee Gees, Madonna, Supertramp, Will Ackerman, Pet Shop Boys, Radiohead, Elton John and Daft Punk.

He has occasionally undertaken long projects, such as remastering the entire back catalogues of Rush, Dire Straits, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Rolling Stones,[4] Ludwig cites his most musically satisfying projects as: the CD reissue of Music From Big Pink (The Band), There's a Riot Goin' On (Sly and the Family Stone), Led Zeppelin II, Painted from Memory (Bacharach & Costello), Spirit (Jewel), Loreena McKennitt, and Ancient Voices of Children (George Crumb). Ludwig still actively influences the music industry. As a judge for The 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Annual Independent Music Awards, his contributions helped assist the careers of upcoming independent artists.[5]

Ludwig is active in the Audio Engineering Society and is a past chairman of the New York AES section. He is on the steering committee of the Producers and Engineer's section of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.[6]

Awards and recognition

TEC Awards

Ludwig has won many Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards.[7]

Since the inception of Gateway, Ludwig/Gateway have been regular winners of TEC Award for "Best Mastering Engineer" and "Best Mastering Facility", namely the following:

Grammy Awards

Year Nominee/work Award Result
2006 Brothers In Arms - 20th Anniversary Edition Best Surround Sound Album Won
2012 Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (Super Deluxe Edition) Won
Music Is Better Than Words Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Nominated
2013 Ashes & Fire Nominated
Love Is a Four Letter Word Nominated
Blunderbuss Album of the Year Nominated
Babel Won
2014 Random Access Memories Won
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Won
Annie Up Nominated
"Get Lucky" Record of the Year Won
Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965 Best Historical Album Won
2015 Bass & Mandolin Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Nominated
Beyoncé Best Surround Sound Album Won
G I R L Album of the Year Nominated
Morning Phase Won
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Won
2016 Sound & Color Won
Album of the Year Nominated

Latin Grammy Awards

2004: Album of the Year - No Es Lo Mismo, Alejandro Sanz

2013: Album of the Year - Vida, Draco Rosa

Cinema Audio Society

2005: Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Non-Fiction, Variety or Music-Series or Specials: - Hammersmith Odeon London 1975, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

APRS

2012: The Association of Professional Recording Services Sound Fellowship - received 27 October 2012

Audio Engineering Society

2015: AES Gold Medal[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Bob Ludwig". Gateway Mastering. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  2. ↑ "Bob Ludwig". All Music Guide. All Music Guide. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Anderman, Joan (2001-11-08). "Sound judgment - Music stars find a master's touch in Maine". Boston Globe. pp. D1. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2006-09-09.
  4. ↑ Murphy, Steve (December 2002). "Remastering the Rolling Stones" (PDF). Pro Audio Review. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
  5. ↑ PRLog
  6. ↑ "Recent Activities". McGill University. Archived from the original on 2006-08-23.
  7. ↑ "The TEC Awards". The Mix Foundation. Retrieved 2006-09-09.
  8. ↑ "AES Gold Medal Award » Bob Ludwig". Audio Engineering Society. Retrieved 2016-08-08.

External links

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