Mar 14, 2008 6:57 PM, By George Petersen

In keeping with the "Music Unites the World" theme of this year's Musikmesse show, Mix, Electronic Musician and Remix joined the editors of other music and audio magazines worldwide to vote for the best products of 2007-08 at MIPA, the 9th annual Musikmesse International Press Awards. Chosen from three finalists in each of 40 categories, the winners were announced at a packed awards ceremony held March 13, 2008 during this year's Musikmesse/Pro Light+Sound show in Frankfurt, Germany.

In all, more than 300 international representatives of manufacturers and distributors of musical instruments and audio equipment have joined for the 9th MIPA Awards Show, including guests from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, Poland, Great Britain, Italy, France, Greece, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland and Germany.

Highlights of this year's MIPA ceremony included the presentation of the MIPA Lifetime Achievement Award to Jim D'Addario. The coveted "Best Innovative Product" award went to Gibson's revolutionary auto-tuning Robot Guitar.

AND THE WINNER IS...
The following lists the 2008 MIPA winners, as chosen by more than 100 music/audio journalists from dozens of countries worldwide.

Recording
Studio Monitor/Near-field: Genelec 8240A DSP
Recording Software: Apple Logic Studio
Recording Hardware: Euphonix Artist Series Controllers
Mixing Desk (Project Studio): Mackie Onyx 1640
Recording Effects/Hardware: Universal Audio UAD-Xpander
Recording Effects/Software: Waves GTR3
Studio Microphone: Neumann U87 Anniversary Set

Live Sound
Live Microphone: Sennheiser MKH 8000
Drum Microphone: Beyerdynamic Opus Series
Sound System Technologies: Aviom Pro 64
Live Mixing Desk: Yamaha LS9
Portable Sound: JBL VRX932LAP
P.A. System: L-Acoustics KIVA

Electronic Instruments
Hardware Synthesizer: Dave Smith Prophet 08
E-Drums: Roland TD-9KS Set
Keyboard Workstation: Korg M3
Sampler: Native Instruments Kontakt 3
Software Instruments: Cakewalk Rapture 1.1
Sound Libraries: EastWest FabFour
Organ/Portable Keyboard: Clavia Nord C1
Stage Piano: Clavia Nord Stage

Guitar
Electric Guitar: Fender American Standard Stratocaster
Acoustic Guitar: Taylor DN4
Guitar Combo Amp: Vox AC15 Heritage Collection
Guitar Amp Top: Marshall JVM410H
Guitar Effects: Boss RE-20 Space Echo
Pickups: Seymour Duncan Blackouts
Acoustic Guitar Amp: LR Baggs Acoustic Reference Amp
Guitar Strings: D'Addario XL

Bass
Electric Bass: Warwick Streamer $$
Bass Amp: Warwick Hellborg Amp System
Bass Cabinet: Hartke Professional Series 4200

Drums
Acoustic Drums: DW X-ply Series
Cymbals: Zildjian Armand Series
Drum Hardware: Yamaha Hexrack
Drumheads: Evans EC Resonant Heads
Drumsticks: Vic Firth Signature Series
Percussion Instruments: Meinl Foot Cabasa

For more information about the MIPA Awards, visit www.mipa-award.de.

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