Bob Ludwig

Bob Ludwig

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bob Ludwig (b. circa 1945) is an American mastering engineer.

He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry.[1] His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards.

Throughout his career, he has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects for many artists such as AC/DC, Rush, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Radiohead, Def Leppard, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Supertramp, The Who and Dire Straits [2] as well as for more than 1300 other artists .[3]

Biography

As an 8-year-old child 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 degree 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.[4] Inspired by Phil Ramone when he came to the school to teach a summer recording workshop, he ended up working as his assistant. Afterward, 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 rose to become 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 classical artists, such as the Kronos Quartet, and rock acts, including Jimi Hendrix, Megadeth, Metallica, Gloria Estefan, Nirvana, The Strokes, Queen, U2, Guns N' Roses, Richie Sambora, Tool , Simple Minds, Bryan Ferry, Tori Amos, Bonnie Raitt, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, the Bee Gees, Madonna, Supertramp, Will Ackerman, Pet Shop Boys and Radiohead.

He has occasionally undertaken long projects, such as remastering the entire back catalogues of Rush, Dire Straits, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Rolling Stones,[5] 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, Ancient Voices of Children (George Crumb) (Augie Alexander.)

Ludwig still actively influences the music industry. As a judge for the 8th and 10th annual Independent Music Awards, his contributions helped assist the careers of upcoming independent artists.[6] [7]

Ludwig is active in the Audio Engineering Society and was a past Chairman of the NY section. He is on the advisory board of the Producers and Engineers section of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.[8]

Awards and recognition

TEC Awards

Ludwig has won many Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards.[9]

  • First winner of the Les Paul Award 1991 from the Mix Foundation created to honor individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of recording technology.
  • 1986, 1987,1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000 TEC Award OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT - Mastering Engineer
  • 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 OUTSTANDING INSTITUTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT - Mastering Facility

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

  • 2001 TEC Award OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT Record Production/Album: - Riding With the King, B.B. King & Eric Clapton
  • 2002 TEC Award OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT Record Production/Single or Track: - The Space Between Everyday, Dave Matthews Band
  • 2004 TEC Award OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT Record Production/Album - Hail to the Thief, Radiohead
  • 2006 TEC Award: OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT Surround Sound Recording - Brothers in Arms-20th Anniversary Edition, Dire Straits
  • 2009 TEC Award: OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT Record Production/Single or Track - "Viva La Vida", Coldplay
  • 2009 TEC Award: OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT Record Production/Album - Viva La Vida, Coldplay

Grammy Awards

2006: Best Surround Sound Album: - Brothers In Arms - 20th Anniversary Edition, Dire Straits.[10]

Latin Grammy Awards

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

Quotes about Ludwig

"No mastering engineer has mastered more music that has been enjoyed by more people ever than Bob. I can't think of anyone else that might be true of. So there's a start. Simple fact" - Mark Parsons.[11]

References

  1. Brown, Mark, Fogerty's CCR classics in 'respectful' hands, Rock Mountain News, 2006-08-24. URL accessed on 2006-09-09.
  2. Ludwig, Bob. Client list. Gateway Mastering. Archived from the original on 2006-08-10. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  3. Bob Ludwig - Worked with 1307 Artists. Album Credits. Retrieved on 2010-12-28.
  4. Anderman, Joan, Sound judgment - Music stars find a master's touch in Maine, Boston Globe, 2001-11-08, pp. D1. URL accessed on 2006-09-09.
  5. Murphy, Steve. Remastering the Rolling Stones. Pro Audio Review. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  6. PRLog
  7. Independent Music Awards - 8th Annual IMA Judges
  8. Audio Engineering Society. Recent Activities. McGill University. Archived from the original on 2006-08-23. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  9. The TEC Awards. The Mix Foundation. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  10. The Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  11. Parsons, Mark. An interview with Bob Ludwig (from Expo98). Parsons Audio. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.

External links

This page was last modified 06.01.2012 22:37:45

This article uses material from the article Bob Ludwig from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.