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Doug Lionel Sax
Doug Sax.jpg
Sax in 2014
Background information
Birth name Douglas Sax
Born (1936-04-26)April 26, 1936
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died April 2, 2015(2015-04-02) (aged 78)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s) Mastering engineer
Associated acts Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Leonard Cohen, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa

Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including The Wall; Ray Charles' multiple-Grammy winner Genius Loves Company in 2004, and Bob Dylan's 36th studio album Shadows in the Night in 2015.

Early life

Sax was born in Los Angeles on April 26, 1936, to Mildred and Remy Sax. While attending Fairfax High School in West Los Angeles, Sax played the trumpet alongside trumpeter Herb Alpert. Upon graduation, Sax attended University of California, Los Angeles and then was drafted into the Army where he played trumpet in the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra from 1959 to 1961.

Career

Doug Sax with 4 Lathes
Doug Sax with 4 Lathes

From an early age, Sax was interested in recorded sound, and although he had established a career as a symphonic trumpeter, on December 27, 1967, along with Lincoln Mayorga, a friend from junior high who had become a music arranger and pianist for Capitol Records, and Sax's older brother Sherwood (Bert), an engineer, he opened The Mastering Lab. One of the first big albums Sax mastered at The Mastering Lab was The Doors' debut album which was inducted into the Library of Congress on March 25, 2015.

The Mastering Lab uses equipment designed by Sherwood, which features handcrafted electronics, from the tape machines to the equalizers, compressors / limiters, A/D - D/A converters, and monitoring amplifiers. That, combined with his ears and expertise, helped Sax forge a long and successful career at The Mastering Lab. In 1970, Sax and Mayorga founded Sheffield Lab Recordings, an audiophile label which produced direct-to-disc classical and jazz albums.

In the 1970s, he helped establish the audiophile record company Sheffield Lab, with his friend Lincoln Mayorga. Known for their Direct-To-Disk and Live to 2-track recordings, they recorded such artists as Dave Grusin, Thelma Houston, Harry James, James Newton Howard, Michael Ruff, Pat Coil, and Clair Marlo.

By 1972, Sax was mastering 20% of the top 100 chart in Billboard magazine. Albums mastered by Sax and released in 1971 included such titles as The Who's Who's Next, Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Schmilsson, The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers and the Eagles' debut album. During his career, Sax cut thousands of LP masters with his custom designed, all-tube signal path including Pink Floyd's The Wall (and all subsequent Pink Floyd releases up to 2014's The Endless River), the reissue of the Slayer thrash metal group's Vinyl Conflict box set and Pantera vinyl reissues, the Eagles' Greatest Hits, and Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin.

Death

Sax died in Los Angeles on April 2, 2015, aged 78, from cancer.

Awards

Grammy Awards

  • 2004 - Technical Grammy Award
  • 2005 - Grammy Award for Best 5.1 Surround Sound Album for Genius Loves Company
  • 2005 - Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Genius Loves Company
  • 2005 - Grammy Award for Record of the Year for Genius Loves Company

TEC Awards Sax has been nominated seven times for the Mix Foundation TEC Awards for Creative Achievement, winning twice for:

  • 2002 - Record Production/Album - Look of Love, Diana Krall
  • 2005 - Record Production/Album - Genius Loves Company, Ray Charles

AES (Audio Engineer Society) Lifetime Honorary Membership Award

Selected works

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