Mr. Bonzai Hosts Bernie Grundman, Gavin Lurssen, Stephen Marsh & Doug Sax

The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) has announced that the H.O.T. Zone will present “Mastering Engineers on Optimizing for Multiple Release Formats.” Hosted by Mr. Bonzai, the panelists are Bernie Grundman, Gavin Lurssen, Stephen Marsh & Doug Sax. The event takes place at 12:30pm on January 20 in Room 203 of the Anaheim Convention Center.

Mastering is described by panelist Bernie Grundman as “basically post-production for the recording industry — the final creative step before delivery to the public as physical vinyl, CD, or any of the various digital formats.”

The name Bernie Grundman is synonymous with Mastering. His world renowned facilities, responsible for a consistently large percentage of chart recordings, were launched in 1984, following Grundman’s 15-year tenure with A&M Studios. In 1997, Grundman opened his Tokyo mastering studios and in 1998 relocated to expanded facilities in Hollywood.

Gavin Lurssen established himself in 1991 as a prominent mastering engineer in the industry, and has earned three Grammy Awards and a Latin Grammy Award. Lurssen’s work has been recognized with two TEC awards in 2008 for Mastering and for Outstanding Facility as well as with a Berklee College of Music Distinguished Alumni Award.

A native New Yorker, Stephen Marsh came west at 19 to take a job at Sony’s West Coast Mastering operation, working under David Mitson. Having now spent half his life behind the mastering console, he has been fortunate enough to count Grammy(r) nominees and winners, multiple Gold and Platinum albums and numerous chart successes among the releases to his credit.

Doug Sax opened the doors to The Mastering Lab Hollywood in 1967, founding one of the first independent facilities in the world, as well as the most recognizable name in mastering. Now located in Ojai, California, The Mastering Lab remains a revolutionary, state-of-the-art company, utilizing unique signal flow concepts and unequaled electronics pioneered by Doug’s brother, Sherwood Sax.

“Providing relevant and high-value education programs to the thousands of pro-audio and live sound members of NAMM is one of our key objectives,” said Joe Lamond, president and CEO, NAMM. “The role of technology continues to expand and we believe that this unique educational opportunity at the 2012 NAMM Show makes attendance a must for anyone working in this important segment.”

The H.O.T. Zone is a feature of the 2012 NAMM Show, which will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, Jan. 19-22, 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2012