Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Brian Gardner

Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and dance-pop. He is known for his work on hip hop albums, including collaborations with Dr. Dre, who gave him the nickname "Big Bass".

Last revised
Jul 17, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
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270 w
Citations
7
Source
Brian Gardner
Also known as
  • Big Bass
  • Big Boss
Born
Brian Knapp Gardner
OriginIdaho, U.S.
Genres
OccupationMastering engineer
Websitebigbassbrian.com

Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner,1 is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and dance-pop.2 He is known for his work on hip hop albums, including collaborations with Dr. Dre, who gave him the nickname "Big Bass".3

He was last employed at Bernie Grundman Mastering, a mastering house founded and run by Bernie Grundman, and is now independent.

Discography

Gardner has over 750 credits, including:4

Approach

Gardner's style is to compress music to the point of distortion, in order to make it sound louder.4

He has been nominated eight times for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year award, winning it once for the Outkast album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.56

References

References

  1. Discogs - Brian Knapp Gardner profile and discography
  2. Credits, Allmusic.com
  3. Brian Garder Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Mixonline.com, March 1, 2002. Accessed October 3, 2007.
  4. https://www.mixonline.com/recording/brian-gardner-365144
  5. "Winners". Grammy.com. The Recording Academy. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  6. "Brian "Big Bass" Gardner". Brian Gardner Grammy nominations. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
External links