Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He 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, Lou Reed,^[1] Metallica, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, Bryan Ferry, Paul McCartney, Nirvana, Bruce Springsteen and Daft Punk,^{[2][unreliable source?]} with more than 3,000 credits.^[3] He is the recipient of numerous Grammy and other awards. Ludwig retired in 2023.

Biography

At the age of eight in South Salem, New York, Ludwig was so fascinated with his first tape recorder, that 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 in New York. He was also involved in the sound department at Eastman, as well as being principal trumpet of the Utica Symphony Orchestra.^[4] Inspired by Phil Ramone when he came to Eastman to teach a summer recording workshop, Ludwig ended up working as his assistant. Afterwards, he was contacted and offered work with Ramone at A&R Recording.^[5]

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 competitor, Masterdisk, where he was vice president and chief engineer. In December 1992, Ludwig left Masterdisk to start his own record mastering facility, Gateway Mastering Studios, in Portland, Maine.^[5]

Work

Ludwig's mastering credits include albums for classical artists such as the Kronos Quartet, and rock acts, including Jimi Hendrix, Phish, Rush, Mötley Crüe, Megadeth, Metallica, Gloria Estefan, Nirvana, the Strokes, Queen, U2, Sting, the Police, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Beck,^[6] 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, Richard Wood,^[7] Supertramp, Will Ackerman, Pet Shop Boys, Radiohead, Elton John, Daft Punk^[2] and Alabama Shakes.^[6] Ludwig occasionally undertook larger projects, such as remastering the back catalogues of Rush, Dire Straits, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Rolling Stones.^[8]

As a judge for the 8th and 10th-14th annual Independent Music Awards, Ludwig's contributions helped assist the careers of upcoming independent artists.^[9] Ludwig is active in the Audio Engineering Society and is a past chairman of the New York AES section. He was co-chair of the Producers and Engineers Wing for 5 years and is presently on the Advisory Council of the P&E Wing of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.^[10]

On July 2, 2023, Ludwig announced that he had retired and had closed Gateway Mastering: "Music has always been my love. I’ll miss you and the whole music community with whom I’ve worked. I wake up every day enjoying what I do, which has been such a blessing. It’s been an extraordinary experience to work with you all these years."^[11]

Awards and recognition

Grammy Awards

APRS

2012: Association of Professional Recording Services Sound Fellowship - received 27 October 2012^[13]

Audio Engineering Society

2015: AES Gold Medal^[14]