Bernie Grundman
Bernie Grundman (born December 16, 1943) is an American audio engineer,[1] highly regarded in the industry[2] for his decades of mastering analog tape mixes for vinyl disk, later transitioning into the digital era. He is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Grundman served in the U.S. Air Force.[1] In 1966, he moved from Arizona to Hollywood and, with almost no experience, got hired by Lester Koenig at Contemporary Records.[1] After a couple of years on the job, Grundman was recruited by A&M Records' mastering department in Los Angeles, where he became much in demand,[1] later becoming the department head. In 1984, he launched his own business, Bernie Grundman Mastering (BGM) in Hollywood. In 1997, Grundman opened a second studio in Tokyo with engineer Yasuji Maeda.[3]
As of December 2025, Grundman had been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards and won 3.[4] The LA studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman,[5] Patricia Sullivan, Joe Bozzi, and Mike Bozzi, mastered 37 Grammy-nominated projects in 2005. Grundman and his studios have also won numerous TEC Awards, including Best Mastering Facility and several production awards.[6]
Select works
| Head to the Sky | 1973 | Earth, Wind & Fire |
|---|---|---|
| Horizon | 1974 | Carpenters |
| Band Wagon | 1975 | Shigeru Suzuki |
| Aja | 1977 | Steely Dan |
| Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture | 1978 | Various Artists |
| Shadows and Light | 1980 | Joni Mitchell |
| Dirty Mind | 1980 | Prince |
| Controversy | 1981 | Prince |
| Thriller | 1982 | Michael Jackson |
| Purple Rain | 1984 | Prince |
| Down Upbeat | 1984 | Casiopea |
| Soy Como Quiero Ser | 1987 | Luis Miguel |
| Lovesexy | 1988 | Prince |
| Flying in a Blue Dream | 1989 | Joe Satriani |
| 20 Años | 1990 | Luis Miguel |
| Moment of Truth | 1991 | Terri Nunn |
| The Chronic | 1992 | Dr. Dre |
| The Hunter | 1992 | Jennifer Warnes |
| Aries (album) | 1993 | Luis Miguel |
| Alien Love Secrets | 1995 | Steve Vai |
| Me Against the World | 1995 | Tupac Shakur |
| Rata Blanca VII | 1997 | Rata Blanca |
| Como te Recuerdo | 1998 | Los Temerarios |
| The Charlie Brown Suite & Other Favorites | 2003 | Vince Guaraldi |
| Speakerboxxx/The Love Below | 2003 | OutKast |
| Shadows Collide with People | 2004 | John Frusciante[7] |
| Private Corner | 2010 | Jacky Cheung |
| Inhibition | 2012 | Dot Hacker |
| How's Your Process? (Work) | 2014 | Dot Hacker |
| Breakaway | 2014 | Dark Horse Flyer |
| How's Your Process? (Play) | 2014 | Dot Hacker |
| Seven | 2014 | Lisa Stansfield |
| In My Room | 2016 | Jacob Collier[8] |
| Ultraelectromagneticpop! (25th Anniversary reissue) | 2018 | Eraserheads |
| The Empyrean (10th Anniversary Re-Issue) | 2019 | John Frusciante[9] |
| 1999 (2019 Remaster, Deluxe Edition, and Super Deluxe Edition) | 2019 | Prince[10] |
| Making a Door Less Open | 2020 | Car Seat Headrest |
| Neon Arrow / Rewire | 2021 | Dot Hacker |
| Unlimited Love | 2022 | Red Hot Chili Peppers |
| Chocolate and Cheese (Deluxe Edition) | 2024 | Ween[11] |
| Alvvays (10th Anniversary Edition) | 2024 | Alvvays[12] |
References
- ^ a b c d "Luxury vinyl? Legendary engineer Bernie Grundman on Craft's Small Batch series". South China Morning Post. 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ VHND (2012-08-17). "Interview with Van Halen's Mastering Engineer Bernie Grundman". Van Halen News Desk. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ^ Verna, Pauly (20 September 1997). "Gundman opens Tokyo studio". Billboard. p. 41. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ "Bernie Grundman | Artist | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ^ Goggin, David (2011-11-29). "Bernie Grundman Mastering's Chris Bellman and Brian Gardner are TEC Award Nominees". Mixonline. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ^ [1] Archived May 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Shadows Collide With People by John Frusciante". Genius. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
- ^ "Jacob Collier - In My Room - ginalovesjazz.com - the jazz magazine by matthias kirsch". 27 July 2016.
- ^ "John Frusciante 10th Anniversary of The Empyrean".
- ^ "Prince's '1999' Remastered and Re-Released with Dozens of Unheard Tracks". 11 September 2019.
- ^ "Chocolate And Cheese Back On Vinyl!". June 7, 2024.
- ^ "Remastered 10th Anniversary Edition Vinyl LP". alvvays.merchtable.com. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
External links