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Doug Lionel Sax | |
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 Sax in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Douglas Sax (1936-04-26)April 26, 1936 |
| Died | April 2, 2015(2015-04-02) (aged 78) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Mastering engineer |
Doug Sax (April 26, 1936[citation needed] – April 2, 2015) was an Americanmastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three ofThe Doors' albums, including their1967 debut; sixPink Floyd's albums, includingThe Wall;Ray Charles' multiple-Grammy winnerGenius Loves Company in 2004, andBob Dylan's 36th studio albumShadows in the Night in 2015.
Sax was born in Los Angeles on April 26, 1936, to Mildred and Remy Sax.[citation needed] While attendingFairfax High School in West Los Angeles, Sax played the trumpet alongside trumpeterHerb Alpert. Upon graduation, Sax attendedUniversity of California, Los Angeles and then was drafted into the Army where he played trumpet in theSeventh Army Symphony Orchestra from 1959 to 1961.[1]
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 withLincoln 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 wasThe Doors' debut album which was inducted into the Library of Congress on March 25, 2015.[2]
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.[3] That, combined with his ears and expertise, helped Sax forge a long and successful career at The Mastering Lab.[4] In 1970, Sax and Mayorga founded Sheffield Lab Recordings, an audiophile label which produced direct-to-disc classical and jazz albums.[5][6]
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 Tower of Power,Dave Grusin, Thelma Houston,Harry James,James Newton Howard, Michael Ruff, Pat Coil, andClair Marlo.
By 1972, Sax was mastering 20% of the top 100 chart inBillboard magazine. Albums mastered by Sax and released in 1971 included such titles asThe Who'sWho's Next,Harry Nilsson'sNilsson Schmilsson,The Rolling Stones'Sticky Fingers and theEagles'self-titled debut album. During his career, Sax cut thousands of LP masters with his custom designed, all-tube signal path includingPink Floyd'sThe Wall (and all subsequent Pink Floyd releases up to 2014'sThe Endless River), the reissue of theSlayer thrash metal group'sVinyl Conflict box set andPantera vinyl reissues, theEagles'Greatest Hits, andBrian WilsonReimagines Gershwin.
Sax died in Los Angeles on April 2, 2015, aged 78, from cancer.[7]
Recording engineer and producerAl Schmitt released a statement on Sax's death:
Sorry to say but one of my dearest friends and in my opinion the greatest mastering engineer in the world passed away this morning. He mastered all of my recordings and I don't know what I will do without him. He taught me so many things. I will miss his silly jokes and the great lunches we had whenever I was mastering with him. I love you Doug Sax, mastering in heaven just got a lot better.[8]
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TEC AwardsSax has been nominated seven times for the Mix Foundation TEC Awards for Creative Achievement, winning twice for:
AES (Audio Engineer Society) Lifetime Honorary Membership Award[13]
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