Bernie Grundman Receives Innovation Award and 2026 Grammy
Mastering engineer Bernie Grundman recently received the George and Carolyn Counnas Innovation Award, presented by The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society (LAOCAS). In a busy season, Grundman also received the 2026 Grammy Award for mastering the Best Historical Album: “Joni Mitchell Archives – Volume 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980).”
Pictured (L-R) are Carolyn Counnas, George Counnas, and Bernie Grundman.
LAOCAS recognized Bernie Grundman as one of the world’s top Mastering Engineers and presented the 6th Annual George and Carolyn Counnas Innovation Award at the LAOCAS 32nd Annual Gala at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Buena Park, Orange County.
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. To date, Bernie has 1469 Mastering credits.
The full list of his credits is vast, encompassing hundreds of Gold and Platinum recordings over a career that spans decades. Some of the notable recording artists to have Bernie Grundman’s mastering credits include Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Van Halen, Prince, Joni Mitchell, The Carpenters, Steely Dan, Herb Alpert, Barbara Streisand, Jack Johnson, Mary J. Blige, Maroon 5, and Outkast.
Bernie in his cutting room. Photo by David Goggin.
Grundman was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, at the age of eight. As a teenager, he was a hi-fi enthusiast and worked part time as a drummer for various groups throughout the city. By the age of 19, he owned and operated a jazz club. In 1965, after serving in the Air Force Electronic Countermeasures Division, he started working for a small studio in Phoenix as a second engineer. In 1966, Grundman moved to Los Angeles where he became a mixer, mastering engineer and maintenance technician for the studios of the highly respected Contemporary Records label. In 1968, he started A&M’s mastering division, one of the top operations in the industry.
Mastering is described by Grundman as “basically post-production for the recording industry — the final creative step before delivery to the manufacturer for mass production.”
To accomplish his work, today’s top mastering engineer utilizes a specialized console with both analog and digital signal processors and a computer workstation for editing and sequencing. Grundman technology sets the digital streaming and CD standard today, but Bernie is still an expert with the LP cutting lathe.
Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood now operates seven studios, including a 5.1 mastering room. All processing devices can be completely bypassed, resulting in sonic quality that is unsurpassed in the mastering industry. Virtually all digital and analog formats are accepted for mastering, with the facility providing high-quality disk masters, sub-masters for CD, and digital streaming.
Grundman’s custom consoles are built in-house with all discrete electronics.
ABOUT BERNIE GRUNDMAN MASTERING
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. In 1997, Grundman opened his Tokyo mastering studios and in 1998 relocated to expanded facilities in Hollywood. Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood is a complex of seven studios, including dedicated 5.1 Surround and Lacquer Cutting rooms. Virtually any analog or digital format can be played back thanks to a deep inventory of modern and legacy equipment. The facility provides high quality vinyl masters, pre-masters for CD, and file masters for standard and high-resolution digital distribution and streaming. https://www.berniegrundmanmastering.com
