Bob Ludwig

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] 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 competitor, Masterdisk, where he was vice president and chief engineer. In December 1992, Ludwig left Masterdisk to start his own record mastering facility in Portland, Maine, named Gateway Mastering Studios, Inc.[5] He, along with Adam Ayan, are the two mastering engineers who work at Gateway Mastering.

Ludwig's mastering credits include albums for many major classic 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, 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,[6] Supertramp, Will Ackerman, Pet Shop Boys, Radiohead, Elton John, Daft Punk[2] and Alabama Shakes.[7]

He has occasionally undertaken larger projects, such as remastering the entire back catalogues of Rush, Dire Straits, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Rolling Stones.[8]

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 remains an active influence in the music industry. As a judge for the 8th and 10th-14th annual Independent Music Awards, his 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 his retirement and that he would be closing 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]

• Bob Ludwig discography at Discogs
• SoundStage! interview