Def Leppard rocker Joe Elliott has paid tribute to Grammy Award-winning studio engineer and producer Mike Shipley following his death.

Shipley was best known for his work with 1980s hard rock and heavy metal bands like Aerosmith, Van Halen, Scorpions, Ratt, Winger, Whitesnake and Def Leppard, and made a name for himself by mixing and producing anthologies and greatest hits albums for the likes of The Cars, Starship and Cheap Trick.

No further details about his death were available as Wenn went to press, but Def Leppard frontman Elliott was among the first to pay tribute, saying in a statement, "I'm devastated to hear of the passing of Mike Shipley. He was a fantastic engineer and a good guy. Nothing got past him if it wasn't up to scratch, hence Leppard's nick name for him, 'bat ears'. From the High & Dry album in 1981 to the last thing we did together, 1993's Two Steps Behind he was a joy to work with. RIP Shippers."

Winger frontman Kip Winger adds in a post on Facebook.com, "He was a dear friend. Mike was a kind, generous, funny, supremely talented and skilled person. He taught me how to really make a record... This is a tragic loss to the world to say the least. I'll miss you Mike."

Thomas Dolby, who worked with Shipley on his 1984 album The Flat Earth, took to Twitter.com on Friday (26Jul13) to write, "Very shocked and sad to hear that Mike Shipley, mix engineer on The Flat Earth and Steve MCQueen was found dead yesterday."

Other stars to offer up tributes to Shipley include Lisa Loeb and Michelle Branch, who called him "a nice guy and great talent".

Shipley received a Grammy Award for his work on Alison Krauss & Union Station's 2011 album Paper Airplane.