Audio Engineers
Right IconThis ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.
An audio engineer is involved in the use of any kind of equipment or machinery that is related to the field of recording music, synchronizing sound and creating different types of sound effects. On the whole an audio engineer is trained in the fields of reproduction and manipulation of sound technology. Audio engineers may work in the field of radio, television, film making or even in the field of gaming. It is very important for an audio engineer to continuously invent new techniques and technologies in the field of audio technology in order to keep up with the market demand and upcoming trends. A sound engineer needs to have a sense of creativity along with efficient knowledge of the technical aspects of sound technology, which includes speech and music technology. The different fields that come under the category of audio engineering include audio signal processing, architectural acoustics, musical acoustics, psychoacoustics, sound reinforcement systems and sound broadcasting. An audio engineer may also be referred to as a sound engineer and is involved the development of new technologies in the field of audio engineering. Here is a compilation of the famous audio engineers get to know more fascinating and intriguing about them with their biographies that include trivia, interesting facts, timeline and life history.
Vote for Your Favourite Audio Engineers
Birthdate: November 2, 1929
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: July 12, 2013
Amar Bose was an American academic, entrepreneur, sound engineer, and electrical engineer. Bose served as a professor at MIT for more than 45 years. He is also credited with founding a manufacturing company called Bose Corporation where he served as the chairman. In 2008, Amar Bose was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
2
Steven Wilson
(Engineer, Guitarist, Audio engineer, Singer, Songwriter, Record producer)
Birthdate: November 3, 1967
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Hemel Hempstead
3
Steve Albini
(Record producer, Singer, Engineer, Audio engineer, Singer-songwriter, Guitarist, Journalist, Music journalist)
Birthdate: July 22, 1962
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Pasadena
4
Pi'erre Bourne
(Best known for producing the singles 'Magnolia' by Playboi Carti and 'Gummo' by 6ix9ine)
Birthdate: September 19, 1993
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Fort Riley, Kansas, United States
5
Stephanie Sheh
(Voice actress known for notable voice roles include Hinata Hyuga in the Naruto franchise, Orihime Inoue in Bleach)
Birthdate: April 10, 1977
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
6
Scotty Moore
(Guitarist, Audio engineer)
Birthdate: December 27, 1931
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Gadsden
Died: June 28, 2016
7
Owsley Stanley
(Audio Engineer and Key Figure in the San Francisco Bay Area 'Hippie Movement' During the 1960s)
Birthdate: January 19, 1935
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kentucky, United States
Died: March 12, 2011
Owsley Stanley was an American clandestine chemist and audio engineer. During the 1960s Stanley played an important role in the Bay Area hippie movement and the counterculture of the decade. As the sound engineer of the Grateful Dead, Stanley developed the band's famous Wall of Sound, one of the largest transportable public address systems ever built.
8
Bob Rock
(Record producer well known as a producer for heavy metal bands such as Metallica and Mötley Crüe)
Birthdate: April 19, 1954
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Winnipeg, Canada
Grammy Award-winning Canadian sound engineer and music producer Robert Jens Rock, or Bob Rock, has not just worked with bands such as Metallica and Aerosmith, but has also composed for films such as Mission: Impossible II and St. Elmo's Fire. He is part of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
9
Ben Burtt
(Sound designer)
Birthdate: July 12, 1948
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Jamesville, New York, United States
10
Eugene Chaplin
(Recording Engineer)
Birthdate: August 23, 1953
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Swiss
11
Martin Birch
(Sound Engineer)
Birthdate: December 27, 1948
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: United Kingdom
Initially an audio engineer, Martin Birch, known as a master of hard rock, later produced 10 Iron Maiden albums. He also worked with artists such as Fleetwood Mac and Deep Purple. Interestingly, the cause of his death, at age 71, was not disclosed to the public.
12
Eddie Kramer
(engineer, audio engineer, record producer, composer)
Birthdate: April 19, 1942
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Cape Town
Born to anti-Apartheid parents in South Africa, Eddie Kramer later moved to London with his family. An expert in classical piano, he later deviated to jazz and soon became one of the greatest rock producers/engineers of the world. His collaborators included The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and The Rolling Stones.
13
Phil Ramone
(Recording engineer, Record producer, Composer, Violinist)
Birthdate: January 5, 1934
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: South Africa
Died: March 30, 2013
Phil Ramone was a South African-born American record producer, recording engineer, violinist, and composer. He is credited with co-founding A & R Recording Inc., which went on to become a major independent studio recording company in the United States of America. He is also credited with introducing optical surround sound for films. Ramone won 14 Grammy Awards during his career.
14
Geoff Emerick
(Sound Engineer and Record Producer Who Worked With the Beatles)
Birthdate: December 5, 1945
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: London, England
Died: October 2, 2018
15
Roy Thomas Baker
(Record producer, Audio engineer, Songwriter)
Birthdate: November 10, 1946
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Hampstead
16
Walter Murch
(Film editor, Sound design, Sound designer)
Birthdate: July 12, 1943
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: New York City
17
Anna Murphy
(Musician and audio engineer)
Birthdate: August 10, 1989
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lucerne, Switzerland
While she gained recognition with the folk metal band Eluveitie, which she joined at age 16, Swiss musician Anna Murphy later also led the 3-member folk rock band Cellar Darling. Born to opera singer parents, she was never a stranger to music. Proficient in hurdy-gurdy, she also plays the flute at times.
18
Rudy Van Gelder
(Recording engineer)
Birthdate: November 2, 1924
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
Died: August 25, 2016
19
Bill Stevenson
(Musician, Record producer)
Birthdate: September 10, 1963
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Torrance, California, United States
20
Arif Mardin
(Music Producer)
Birthdate: March 15, 1932
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: İstanbul, Turkey
Died: June 25, 2006
21
Robin Guthrie
(Record producer, Composer, Audio engineer, Songwriter)
Birthdate: January 4, 1962
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Grangemouth
Part of the Scottish band Cocteau Twins, Robin Guthrie and his guitar made serious waves in the alternate music scene of the 1980s. He also performed as part of Violet Indiana and has often collaborated with American pianist Harold Budd. He later also stepped into music production.
22
Terry Date
(Record producer, Engineer, Audio engineer, Composer)
Birthdate: January 31, 1956
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Lansing
23
Bruce Fairbairn
(Musician, Engineer, Audio engineer, Trumpeter, Record producer, Composer)
Birthdate: December 30, 1949
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Vancouver
Died: May 17, 1999
Bruce Fairbairn was a Canadian musician and international record producer whose style was notable for introducing dynamic horn arrangements into rock music productions. A classically trained trumpet player, Fairbairn gave many hits like Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet, Big Ones, Loverboy’s albums among others. He also established Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver.
24
Ken Scott
(Record producer, Audio engineer, Composer)
Birthdate: April 20, 1947
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: London
Fed on pop and rock and roll since his childhood, Ken Scott first decided to become a recording engineer when he watched a television program featuring Carol Deenes' recording session. Beginning his career at Abbey Road Studios at the age of sixteen, he eventually became a successful engineer, working with scores of well-known musicians, including the Beatles and Elton John.
25
Ray Dolby
(American Engineer, Inventor of the Noise Reduction System and Founder of 'Dolby Laboratories')
Birthdate: January 18, 1933
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Portland, Oregon, United States
Died: September 12, 2013
A Stanford engineer and a Cambridge PhD, Ray Dolby had first experimented with electronic gadgets while working part-time for Ampex in his teenage years. The Dolby Laboratories founder later pioneered the surround sound technology in movies and the noise-reduction system in tapes. His honors include an Emmy and two Academy Awards.
26
Rupert Neve
(Engineer, Audio engineer)
Birthdate: July 31, 1926
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Newton Abbot
A pioneer in the design of audio recording equipments, Arthur Rupert Neve began his career designing public address systems, recording speakers and singers on lacquer discs. He later started his own business, designing analog recording and audio mixing equipments, .establishing Neve Electronics, Focusrite, AMS Neve, and finally Rupert Neve Designs. Many of his long-discontinued products are now considered collectors' items.
27
Sidney Harman
(American Engineer, Businessman and Former Chairman Emeritus of 'Harman International Industries, Inc')
Birthdate: August 4, 1918
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Montreal, Canada
Died: April 12, 2011
Sidney Harman was an engineer and businessman who also served as the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce in 1977-1978. The Canadian-born American engineer was the publisher of Newsweek after purchasing the magazine for one dollar in 2010. He began the high-fidelity industry with the founding of Harman/Kardon, Inc. in 1952 and is known for the Quality of Working Life programs.
28
Jon Hiseman
(Drummer, Engineer)
Birthdate: June 21, 1944
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Woolwich, London, England
Died: June 12, 2018
29
John Leckie
(Audio engineer, Record producer)
Birthdate: October 23, 1949
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Paddington, London, England, United Kingdom
30
Andy Johns
(Engineer, Audio engineer, Record producer, Composer)
Birthdate: January 1, 1950
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Epsom, Surrey, England
Died: April 7, 2013
31
Resul Pookutty
(Sound designer, sound editor and audio mixer)
Birthdate: May 30, 1971
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Vilakkupara, Kerala, India
Resul Pookutty is an Indian film sound editor, sound designer, and audio mixer. He is best known for his work in the 2008 British drama film Slumdog Millionaire for which he received the Academy Award under the Best Sound Mixing category. He has also won other prestigious awards, such as the National Film Award for Best Audiography and Padma Shri.
32
Fritz Hilpert
(Musician, Audio engineer, Record producer)
Birthdate: May 31, 1956
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Amberg
33
David Rohl
(Egyptologist, Archaeologist, Engineer, Historian, Audio engineer, Musician)
Birthdate: September 12, 1950
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Manchester
34
Alan Blumlein
(Engineer, Audio engineer)
Birthdate: June 29, 1903
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: London
Died: June 7, 1942
Best known as the inventor of stereo sound, electronic engineer Alan Blumlein had 128 patents in his kitty. He died at age 38, when the Halifax bomber carrying him and his colleagues crashed during World War II. He was apparently part of a secret radar experiment back then.
35
Karlheinz Brandenburg
(Inventor, Engineer, Audio engineer, University teacher)
Birthdate: June 20, 1954
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Erlangen
36
Ken Nightingall
(Audio engineer)
Birthdate: 1928 AD
Birthplace: London, England, UK
Died: May 19, 2020
Academy Award-winning sound engineer Ken Nightingall became popular as the Pink Shorts Boom Guy after an image of him holding a boom mike while wearing pink shorts on the sets of Star Wars in 1976 became viral on the internet in 2015. His movie credits included four James Bond films
37
George Marino
(Audio engineer)
Birthdate: April 15, 1947
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Bronx, New York, United States
Died: June 4, 2012
38
Henning Schmitz
(Audio engineer)
Birthdate: December 26, 1953
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Germany, Germany
39
Farhad Humayun
(Singer-songwriter and Drummer)
Birthdate: October 5, 1978
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Jersey, United Kingdom
Died: June 8, 2021
40
Valgeir Sigurðsson
(Icelandic Recording Producer Who Owns Greenhouse Studios and the Label Bedroom Community)
Birthdate: 1971 AD
Birthplace: Reykjavík, Iceland
Icelandic record producer and composer Valgeir Sigurðsson owns the label Bedroom Community and the recording facility Greenhouse Studios. He began his musical journey at age 16, when he joined a recording studio for the first time. His creations often include experimental, electronic, and alternative music.
41
Charles Sumner Tainter
(Inventor)
Birthdate: April 25, 1854
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Watertown, Massachusetts
Died: April 20, 1940
42
Stefan Kudelski
(Audio engineer)
Birthdate: February 27, 1929
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Warsaw, Poland
Died: January 26, 2013
Birthplace: Texas, United States
44
Dan Horton(American Monitor Engineer, Consulting and Audio Engineering)
Birthdate: 1970 AD
Birthplace: Nashville, Tennessee, United States