On Friday, January 24, 2014, the NAMM Foundation presented the 29th annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards in the Hilton Pacific Ballroom in Anaheim, Calif. The evening also included a presentation of the Les Paul Award to recording artist and producer Todd Rundgren, as well as the TEC Hall of Fame induction of audio technology pioneer John Meyer and renowned session drummer Hal Blaine of The Wrecking Crew.
On Saturday, January 25, as part of the NAMM H.O.T. Zone, 10 historic 20th-century musical and sound inventions were inducted to the ninth TECnology Hall of Fame: the Western Electric audio amplifier (1915), Bell Labs’ bass-reflex loudspeaker patent (1930), Mike Battle’s Echoplex tape delay (1959), the Mellotron tape-loop keyboard instrument (1963), Studer J37 4-track recorder (1964), Klark Teknik DN360 graphic equalizer (1984), Yamaha SPX90 digital multi-effects processor (1986), Akai MPC60 sequencer/drum machine (1988), Genelec 1031A active studio monitor (1991), and Royer Labs R-121 ribbon microphone (1998).
The Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards were founded in 1985 by Mix magazine and the then-newly established Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio, with the express purpose of recognizing and honoring quality in audio technology and sound production. A few years ago, the Mix Foundation was renamed the TEC Foundation, which re-established the event at the annual NAMM Show in Anaheim. Mix is proud to be a sponsor once again of the TEC Foundation, and we are equally pleased to reach out through our sister publications Pro Sound News and Pro Audio Review and our parent company, NewBay Media.
Once again, MIx magazine thanks all the sponsors and supporters of the TEC Foundation. They make the event possible. And it’s good to know that they share the same commitment to excellence.
The 29th Annual TEC Awards for Outstanding Technical Achievement
John Meyer, president and CEO of Meyer SoundLaboratories, Inc., was inducted into the TEC Hall of Fame at the 29th Annual TEC Awards
Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM
Listed below are the winners in 22 categories of Outstanding Technical Achievement as selected by the 2013 TEC Awards Nominating Panel.
ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT
iZotope Insight Metering Suite
AUDIO APPS FOR SMARTPHONES & TABLETS
Yamaha CL StageMix
HARDWARE/PERIPHERALS FOR SMARTPHONES & TABLETS
Apogee Quartet
MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIER TECHNOLOGY
Rupert Neve Designs Portico 511
STUDIO MONITOR TECHNOLOGY
Genelec M Series
RECORDING DEVICES
Zoom H6
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AMPLIFICATION & EFFECTS TECHNOLOGY
Eventide H9 Harmonizer Stompbox
AMPLIFICATION HARDWARE/STUDIO & SOUND REINFORCEMENT
Sennheiser HDVD 800 Headphone Amplifier/DAC
COMPUTER AUDIO HARDWARE
Universal Audio Apollo 16
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT TECHNOLOGY/HARDWARE
Dave Smith Instruments Prophet 12
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT TECHNOLOGY/SOFTWARE
Native Instruments KOMPLETE 9
SIGNAL PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY/HARDWARE
Solid State Logic 500 Series Buss Compressor
SIGNAL PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY/SOFTWARE
Universal Audio Teletronix LA-2A Classic Leveler Collection
SOUND REINFORCEMENT LOUDSPEAKER TECHNOLOGY
JBL Professional PRX700 Series
MICROPHONE TECHNOLOGY/SOUND REINFORCEMENT
Telefunken Elektroakustik M82
MICROPHONE TECHNOLOGY/RECORDING
Royer Labs SF-2
HEADPHONE/EARPIECE TECHNOLOGY
AKG K712 Pro Headphones
WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
Sennheiser Digital 9000
WORKSTATION TECHNOLOGY
Avid Pro Tools 11
SOUND REINFORCEMENT CONSOLE TECHNOLOGY
Solid State Logic Live
SMALL FORMAT CONSOLE TECHNOLOGY
Rupert Neve Designs 5060 Centerpiece
LARGE FORMAT CONSOLE TECHNOLOGY
Solid State Logic Duality Pro-Station
Recording artist, guitarist and producer Todd Rundgren, pictured at at the 29th Annual TEC Awards in Anaheim, Calif., on January 24, 2014, received the Les Paul Award
Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM
The 29th Annual TEC Awards for Outstanding Creative Achievement
Listed below are the winners in eight categories of Outstanding Creative Achievement and the nominees for Studio Design Project as selected by the 2013 TEC Awards Nominating Panel.
RECORD PRODUCTION/SINGLE OR TRACK
“Skyfall,” Adele (XL Recordings, Columbia)
Recording Engineer: Matt Wiggins
Mixing Engineer: Tom Elmhirst
Mixing Facility: Electric Lady Studios
Producer: Paul Epworth
Recording Studio: Abbey Road Studios, London
Mastering Engineer: Tom Coyne
Mastering Facility: Sterling Sound
RECORD PRODUCTION/ALBUM
Random Access Memories, Daft Punk (Daft Life, Columbia)
Recording Engineers: Peter Franco, Mick Guzauski, Florian Lagatta, Alana Da Fonseca, Phil Joly
Mixing Engineer: Mick Guzauski
Mixing Facility: Conway Studios
Producers: Thomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Recording Studios: Gang Recording Studio, Paris; Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood; Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood; Electric Lady Studios, NYC; Capitol Studios, Hollywood
Mastering Engineers: Bob Ludwig, Chab
Mastering Facilities: Gateway Mastering, Translab
TOUR/EVENT SOUND PRODUCTION
Peter Gabriel—Back to Front
Sound Company: Firehouse Productions
FOH Engineer: Ben Findlay
Monitor Engineers: Richard Chappell, Damon Miller
Session drummer Hal Blaine (pictured at podium on the right), who performed on more than 350 Top 10 singles, including more than 40 that went to Number One, was inducted into the TEC Hall of Fame on January 24, 2014 at the Anaheim Hilton; Mr. Blaine shared the stage with drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chickenfoot).
Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM
REMOTE PRODUCTION/RECORDING OR BROADCAST
55th Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)
Remote Engineers: Hugh Healy, Joel Singer, Mark Linett
Production Mixers: Tom Holmes
Music Mixers: John Harris, Eric Schilling
Remote Facilities: NEP Denali, Music Mix Mobile (M3)
FILM SOUND PRODUCTION
Skyfall (Sony)
Supervising Sound Editors: Karen Baker Landers, Per Halberg
Sound Designers: Christopher Assells, Dino Dimuro, Peter Staubli
Re-Recording Mixer: Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell
Production Mixer: Stuart Wilson
Score Mixer: Simon Rhodes
Recording Studios: Abbey Road Studios, Sphere Studios, London
Audio Post Facility: Soundelux, Technicolor at Paramount
TELEVISION SOUND PRODUCTION
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Supervising Sound Editor: Tim Kimmel
Re-Recording Mixers: Onnalee Blank, CAS, Mathew Waters
Production Mixers: Ronan Hill, CAS, Richard Dyer
Audio Post Facility: Todd-AO
INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT SOUND PRODUCTION
Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft)
Audio Director: Sotaro Tojima
Sound Designers: Kyle Fraser, Chase Thompson, Robbie Elias, Charles Sinex, Zachary Thomas, Noa Lothian, Ken Kato, Mary Olson, Kira Anderson, Daniel Raimo
Sound & Music Integrators: Patrick Dugan, David Liu, Kazuma Jinnouchi
Audio Programmers: Terry Jones, Robert Ridihalgh
Audio Post Facilities: Technicolor at Paramount, Technicolor Sound
STUDIO DESIGN PROJECT
Vintage King Nashville, Nashville, Tenn.
Architect or Studio Designer: Carl Tatz Design
Acoustician: Carl Tatz
Owners: Andrew Nehra, Mike Nehra
Visit the NAMM Foundation at www.nammfoundation.org and the TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio at www.tecfoundation.com.
