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Bob Ludwig
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Bob Ludwig (b. circa 1945) is an American mastering engineer.
He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry[1]. Ludwig's craftsmanship is appreciated widely within the music profession, as testified by his extensive credits and demand for his work. His name is ubiquitously credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards over the years.
Throughout his career, he has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects for many important artists such as U2, Tool, Madonna, Nirvana, and Bruce Springsteen[2].
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As an 8-year-old child, Ludwig was so fascinated with his first tape recorder he used to make recordings of whatever was on the radio in South Salem, New York. Ludwig is a classical musician by training, having obtained his Bachelor's and Master's degree from the Eastman School of Music, 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 teach a summer recording workshop, he worked as his assistant. Afterward, he was contacted again offered work with Ramon at A&R Recording. Together, they did sessions on projects with The Band, Peter, Paul & Mary, Neil Diamond, 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 classical artists and rock bands alike, for example, he has worked with Jimi Hendrix, The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Philip Glass, John Zorn, Naked City, Laurie Anderson, Frank Zappa, the Kronos Quartet, Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, Bonnie Raitt, Spiritualized, Radiohead, Tool, Rush, the Bee Gees, Metallica, Green Day, Dave Matthews, Guided by Voices, and Will Ackerman.
Although he is sometimes involved in long projects, such as remastering the entire back catalogues of Rush 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, Ancient Voices of Children ( George Crumb).
Ludwig has won many Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards[5].
- 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
In the 48th Annual GRAMMY Awards in 2005, he won an award for the Best Surround Sound Album: - Brothers In Arms - 20th Anniversary Edition, Dire Straits[6].
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 Engineer’s section of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences[7].
"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[8].
- ^ Brown, Mark. "Fogerty's CCR classics in 'respectful' hands", Rock Mountain News, August 24, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
- ^ Ludwig, Bob. Client list. Gateway Mastering. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
- ^ Anderman, Joan. "Sound judgment - Music stars find a master's touch in Maine", Boston Globe, November 8, 2001, pp. D1. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
- ^ Murphy, Steve. Remastering the Rolling Stones. Pro Audio Review. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
- ^ The TEC Awards. The Mix Foundation. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
- ^ The Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
- ^ Audio Engineering Society. Recent Activities. McGill University. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
- ^ Parsons, Mark. An interview with Bob Ludwig (from Expo98). Parsons Audio. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.