Bay Area Audio Engineer Up For His 2nd Grammy Award
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- Monday is music's night to shine, with the 58th annual Grammy Awards, and among the Bay Area artists nominated is an audio engineering legend.
Keith O. Johnson is a true audio geek.
He loves recording sound.
"It's a magnificent experience," Johnson said.
Ever since he was a kid, Johnson has made his own audio gear From microphones to recorders, he just builds them better.
"In the process of all this, I learned people were not measuring the right things when they were designing equipment," Johnson said.
The high end audio community calls him "the professor."
Recently, Johnson received a huge box from the estate of Steve Jobs. Inside - some high end audio equipment that Johnson recognized. He didn't own them, "But I designed them," he said.
Johnson has an uncanny ability to understand how we hear music.
"You have an amazing network of stuff going on in the brain and man, I tell you right now, it's one of the things that you really want to protect," Johnson said.
The professor holds countless patents.
Now he may get to hold another Grammy.
The professor is up for his second Grammy award, this time with his son Sean. The pair are nominated for Best Engineered Album - Classical.
"I got pretty close to what I was hoping for with it. It maybe helps to go a little bit into the cutting edge of music and more seriousness of music, the more meditative. The more ethereal sound of listening and hearing," Johnson said.
"It's a justification of what I'm trying to do - that's s a very satisfying thing," Johnson said.
The professor hopes to keep recording for years to come.