American mastering engineer, Bob Ludwig, who's 3,000+ credits include albums for Jimi Hendrix, Rush, Mötley Crüe, Megadeth, Metallica, Nirvana, Queen, Guns N' Roses, Richie Sambora, Tool, David Bowie, and many more, recently announced his retirement and that he would be closing Gateway Mastering.
Bob also won 13 Grammys from 34 nominations over the years. He occasionally took on larger projects, such as remastering the entire back catalogues of Rush, Dire Straits, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Rolling Stones.
According to his bio, 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. He, along with Adam Ayan, are the two mastering engineers who work at Gateway Mastering.
A message from Bob states: "I wanted to share with you that I won’t be taking on new mastering work as of June 30th. It will be a few months to make sure we are completing this 30-year journey at Gateway Mastering here in Portland Maine in the best way we know how.
We are committed to finishing projects that are still in the works with the help of Brian Lee and Bob Jackson.
Our company goal has always been to support musicians, music producers, engineers , and our own talented staff.
Gail and I will be responding to emails at staff@gatewaymastering.com and we still have our original phone number 207 828 9400.
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."
Adam Ayan adds: "I’m privileged to have spent 25 years at Gateway Mastering Studios, and I’m ready to transition forward under the new name and business, Ayan Mastering. I will be offering the same great mastering services that I have through my years at Gateway. I look forward to carrying on the legacy and high sonic standards of Gateway Mastering Studios and my mentor Bob Ludwig.”
Brian Lee and Bob Jackson state: “We have had the extreme pleasure of working here for many decades and cannot begin to thank Bob and Gail enough for all they have done for us. With the studio closing we have decided to put our decades of experience together and open our own studio, Waygate Mastering. Brian is Gateway's first employee. He helped wire the studio and has over 30 years of engineering and mastering studio experience. Jackson has been here for the last 20 years and has been Bob's assistant since 2006.”
