11/11/2025
The Only Mastering Engineer with Golden Records on Earth — and in Space
In 1977, while working at CBS Records, Vlado Meller was asked to master and cut the original lacquer that would become one of humanity’s most extraordinary creations, the Voyager Golden Record.
Working alongside Carl Sagan’s team, Vlado prepared the lacquer master that NASA would use to press the gold plated record now traveling billions of miles away aboard Voyager 1. It contains greetings in 55 languages, sounds of nature, and music from across Earth’s cultures, a message of who we are sent to the cosmos.
Before the disc was finished, Vlado added a personal touch. He hand etched the now famous inscription into the record’s runout groove:
“To the makers of music, all worlds, all times.”
Today, as Voyager 1 reaches the distance of one light day from Earth, more than fifteen billion miles away, it carries with it a piece of Vlado’s artistry and human craftsmanship. There is only one mastering engineer whose work exists both on Earth and in the depths of interstellar space.
From the studio to the stars, connect with Vlado Meller today.
