Stephen Marcussen

Biography

Stephen Marcussen has been mastering music for over thirty-five years (1979–present).

Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at the age of nineteen, he was offered a janitor position at Studio 55, record producer Richard Perry's Los Angeles recording studio. At Studio 55, Marcussen received an education in all facets of music recording and sound production. By the end of his Studio 55 tenure, Marcussen had earned his first album credits as an assistant engineer, working on The Manhattan Transfer's "Pastiche," Boz Scaggs's "Middle Man," and The Pointer Sisters's "Special Things."

Marcussen began his mastering career in 1979 at a newly opened mastering facility, Precision Lacquer (later renamed "Precision Mastering"), in Los Angeles. Marcussen spent almost twenty-years (1979 - February 19, 1999) at Precision Lacquer/Mastering mastering albums for a diverse and eclectic list of artists that included Stevie Wonder, R.E.M., Prince, The Rolling Stones, Warren Zevon, Cher, Rod Stewart, Nirvana, Roy Orbison, Dwight Yoakam, Frank Zappa, Beck, Barbra Streisand, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, B.B. King, Counting Crows and Ry Cooder, to name a few.

In 2000, Marcussen opened Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California. Since opening his facility, Marcussen has been recognized for his thorough knowledge of all current audio formats. His mastering credits have grown in the subsequent fifteen years to include albums by artists such as Miranda Lambert, Hozier, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Dawes, Shakira, Les Claypool, Jake Bugg, Kirk Whalum, The Decemberists, Gloria Trevi, Solomon Burke, Melissa Etheridge, Willie Nelson, Broken Bells, X Japan, Hillsong, Don Henley, k.d. lang, and Leonard Cohen.