32nd Annual NAMM TEC Awards Nominees Showcase the Best in Pro Audio and Sound Production

The NAMM Foundation has announced  nominees for its 32nd Annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards in the categories of Outstanding Technical and Creative Achievement. Stand-up comedian and actor Sinbad will return for his third straight year as host. The NAMM TEC Awards are bestowed annually in celebration of the pro audio community by recognizing the individuals, companies and technical innovations behind today’s sound recordings, live sound, films, television, and video games.

More than 900 products and projects were considered during the highly-competitive nomination process. This year’s Outstanding Technical Achievement Nominees were chosen across twenty-three categories and include selections in two new categories: Audio Education Technology and DJ Production Technology - Hardware/Software.

Represented in many of the nominations for the 2017 show are the creators of more compact and mobile products that reflect the demands of an increasing number of independent and home studio musicians.

Examples in the DJ world include American Audio’s VMS5 Controller, which is both portable and compact with an all-in-one Midi Controller (DJ Production Technology - Hardware/Software); double-nominee Moog Music for their Model 15 App - a bonus for on-the-road creativity as the first Moog modular synthesizer and synthesis educational tool created exclusively for iPad and other Apple® devices (Audio Apps & Hardware/Peripherals for Smartphones/Tablets); Blue Microphones’ Bottle Mic Locker that offers studio musicians the flexibility and option of layering tracks with different capsules to find the right sound (Microphones – Recording); the Korg Minilogue (Music Instrument Hardware), which is a 37 slim-key fully programmable analog polyphonic synthesizer, reflecting yet another innovative product that helps fuel the19.9% growth in total unit volume among analog synths in the last five years. Nominees will be recognized in an additional nineteen categories that range from Wireless Technology to Musical Instrument Amplification & Effects, Computer Audio Hardware and beyond.

“What makes all of the TEC Award nominees so special to us at NAMM is the fact that these results represent the voice of the professionals who are out in the field interfacing with the gear on a daily basis,” said Joe Lamond, President & CEO of NAMM. “And before we know it, we’ll all be together at the NAMM Show, where the TEC Awards represent the annual ‘family reunion’ of the world’s most technically-intuitive audio and recording inventors and developers. The incredible energy and passion these talented teams bring to our industry and to the world of music- making is simply priceless and it is gratifying to honor them for their contributions.”

Eight categories for Outstanding Creative Achievement represent household artists and projects that have long been embraced by the culture at large. They include multi-Platinum recordings by artists Adele (Adele Live 2016 for Tour & Event Sound Production) and Paul McCartney for the One on One Tour in the same category. “Downton Abbey” and “Game of Thrones” and others will battle it out for a Television Sound Production award. Geeks go head-to-head in the Film & Sound Production category, which includes the perennial hits “Star Trek Beyond” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” films, among three other nominated projects that fully immerse the listener in realistic sound effects. Singles Recording Production, Interactive Entertainment (a growing sector), Remote Production and Sound Design categories will also be awarded.

Prior to the show, a Les Paul honoree and Hall of Fame inductee will also be announced and will include musical luminaries who have exhibited excellence in the creative and technical music recording fields.

Voting will begin in November. In total, winners from 31 categories will be selected from the 179 nominees by industry professionals across major music, sound and game audio associations, along with pro audio-focused media groups.

The Saturday, January 21 event begins with a VIP-only reception at 6PM, followed by the awards ceremony at 7PM, held in the Hilton Anaheim Hotel’s Pacific Ballroom. Tickets can be purchased on site or in advance here for $50 (General Admission) or $175 (VIP). The show will be available via a live event web stream during the NAMM Show.

Access previous TEC Award highlights here and contact NAMM@lippingroup.com for hi-res artwork.

A full list of nominees and categories are listed below.

ABOUT THE TEC AWARDS
Presented annually by the NAMM Foundation during The NAMM Show, The NAMM TEC Awards recognizes the individuals, companies and technical innovations behind the sound of recordings, live performances, films, television, video games and other media in 23 Technical and 8 Creative Achievement Categories. The Les Paul Award is given at the event in tribute to musical artists and others whose work has exemplified the creative application of audio technology. Through its Hall of Fame, The TEC Awards also honors the pioneers of audio technology and the music industry’s most accomplished producers and audio technicians. The NAMM Foundation’s TECnology Hall of Fame celebrates innovations and ground breaking technical achievements of the past. For more information, visit www.tecawards.org

Outstanding Technical Achievement

Amplification Hardware – Studio & Sound Reinforcement: Crown - XLS DriveCore 2, d&b Audiotechnik – 30D, dbx - DriveRack VENU360 Series, JBL - M-Patch, Lab.gruppen - E Series, Powersoft - Deva HD

Ancillary Equipment: Antelope Audio - OCX HD, Antelope Audio - 10MX, Dangerous Music - 2-BUS+, Little Labs – Monotor, Radial Engineering - DiNET TX & RX Dante direct boxes, Rupert Neve Designs - RNHP: Precision Headphone Amplifer

Audio Apps & Hardware/Peripherals for Smartphones/Tablets: Antelope Audio - Satori Remote, Avid - Pro Tools | Dock, iConnectivity - iConnectAUDIO2+, Moog Music - Model 15 App, Radial Engineering - BT-Pro, Sennheiser - Wireless System Remote

Audio Education Technology: EarMaster - Pro 6, Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group - Recording Unhinged, iZotope - Pro Audio Essentials , JBL - SpeakerPro, Neumann - Neumann in the Home Studio, NYU Music Experience Design Lab - Groove Pizza

Computer Audio Hardware: Antelope Audio - Orion32+, Apogee - Symphony I/O Mk II, Prism Sound – Callia, Focusrite - Red 4Pre, PreSonus - Studio 192 26x32 USB Interface, Universal Audio - Apollo Twin USB Interface

DJ Production Technology - Hardware/Software: American Audio – VM55 Controller, Denon - DJ MCX8000, Native Instruments - TRAKTOR Kontrol S5 controller, Numark - CDmix USB, Rane - MP2014 mixer, Reloop - Mixtour 2 mixer/controller

Headphone / Earpiece Technology: AKG - K182, Audio-Technica - ATH-M50xMG, Sennheiser - HD 25 Plus, Shure - KSE1500 Electrostatic Earphone System, Ultimate Ears Pro - UE Pro Reference Remastered, Waves - Nx Virtual Mix Room Plugin

Large Format Console Technology: Allen & Heath - dLive Series, AMS Neve - Neve 88RS, Avid - S6L, DiGiCo - Stealth Core2 , Solid State Logic - System T, Yamaha - Rivage PM10

Microphone Preamplifiers: AMS Neve - Neve 1073DPX, Antelope Audio - MP8D, Chandler Limited - TG Microphone Cassette, Grace, Design - m108 remote mic preamp / ADC, Kush Audio - Omega, Radial Engineering - Jensen Twin-Servo 500

Microphones – Recording: Aston - Spirit, Blue Microphones - Bottle Mic Locker, Bock Audio - U195, Lauten Audio - LA-320, Luke Audio - AL-X767, Mojave Audio - MA-1000 Signature Series, Schoeps - ORTF-3D

Microphones - Sound Reinforcement: AKG - C7, Audio-Technica - ATM230, Countryman - A3 podium mic, DPA Microphones - d:facto 4018VL, Electro-Voice - ND Series, Shure - KSM8 Dualdyne

Musical Instrument Amplification & Effects: Antelope Audio - Zen Tour, Blackstar - Artist Series, Line 6 - Firehawk 1500, Radial Engineering - JDX Direct-Drive, Softube - Marshall JMP 2203, Tech 21 - Bass Fly Rig

Musical Instrument Hardware: Casio - GP-400, Dave Smith Instruments - OB-6 Synthesizer, Korg - Minilogue, Line 6 - Helix / Helix Rack, Moog Music - Mother-32, Novation - Circuit Synthesizer / Drum Machine

Musical Instrument Software: IK Multimedia - Miroslav Philharmonik 2, Output - Exhale, PPG - Phonem, PreSonus - Notion 6 Music Notation Software, Softube - Marshall Bluesbreaker 1962, Tracktion - BioTek Organic Synthesizer

Signal Processing Hardware: A Designs - Hammer 2, Antelope Audio - Goliath, Chandler Limited - RS124 Compressor, Manley - Nu Mu, Warm Audio - WA-2A Tube Opto Compressor, CEDAR Audio Ltd - CEDAR DNS 2 Dialogue Noise Suppressor

Signal Processing Hardware (500 Series Modules): API - 512V, BAE - 1066DL, Bettermaker - C502V, dbx - 555, elysia - karacter 500, Phoenix Audio - Tilt Tone Channel/500

Signal Processing Software (Dynamics / EQ / Utilities): Empirical Labs - Arousor, iZotope - Ozone 7 Advanced, iZotope - RX 5 Audio Editor, McDSP - 6050 Ultimate Channel Strip, SPL - Transient Designer Plus, Waves - Greg Wells Signature Series

Signal Processing Software (Effects): Eventide - Tverb, iZotope - VocalSynth, Melodyne - Studio 4, Softube - Fix Flanger and Doubler, Soundtoys - 5, Universal Audio - Fender '55 Tweed Deluxe Plug-In

Small Format Console Technology: Allen & Heath - Chrome Qu Series, Lawo - Sapphire Compact, Mackie - AXIS Mixing System, Solid State Logic - Sigma Delta, Waves - LV1 Live Mixer, Yamaha - CL/QL V4.0

Sound Reinforcement Loudspeakers: Bose Professional - F1 Flexible Array, EAW - Anna, JBL - EON ONE, Meyer Sound - MJF-208 Stage Monitor, PreSonus - ULT Series , VUE Audiotechnik - al-12

Studio Monitors: Augspurger - Solo12MF, Dynaudio - LYD Series, Focal - Trio6 Be, Genelec - 8430A IP SAM, JBL - LSR7 Series, Ocean Way Audio - HR4

Wireless Technology: Audio-Technica - ATW-T1006 Boundary Mic Transmitter , Lectrosonics - Venue 2 Receiver System, MIPRO - ACT 2400 Series, Neutrik - Xirium Pro, Sennheiser - Evolution Wireless G3 A-1 Band, Line 6 - Relay G10

Workstation Technology / Recording Devices: Avid - Pro Tools 12.3, Celemony - Melodyne Studio 4, MOTU - Digital Performer 9.1, PreSonus - Studio One 3.2 Professional , Steinberg - Cubase 8.5, Tracktion - T7

Outstanding Creative Achievement
Film Sound Production: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, Bridge of Spies, Star Trek Beyond, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Martian

Interactive Entertainment Sound Production: Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, Star Wars: Battlefront, Uncharted 4  A Thief's End, World of Warcraft: Legion

Record Production – Album: Blackstar, David Bowie, A Head Full of Dreams, Coldplay, Culcha Vulcha, Snarky Puppy, Crosseyed Heart, Keith Richards, Hamilton, An American Musical, various artists

Record Production – Single: Blackstar, David Bowie, Can't Stop the Feeling!  Justin Timberlake, Empty, Garbage, Hello, Adele, Stare, Prince

Remote Production - Recording or Broadcast: 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, 58th GRAMMY Awards, 70th Annual Tony Awards, 88th Academy Awards, Superbowl halftime with Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars

Studio Design Project:
Boston Symphony Orchestra Control Room, Deadmau5 Mau5trap, Man Made Music, Valenzo Studios, VSL Synchron Stage

Television Sound Production:
Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Mr. Robot, The Walking Dead, Vikings

Tour/Event Sound Production:
Adele Live 2016, Dave Matthews Band 2016 Summer Tour, One on One Tour - Paul McCartney, Radiohead 2016 World Tour, Rock Paper Scissors North American Tour - Sting and Peter Gabriel