Recording, audio and music industry professionals gathered to honor excellence in sound technology and creativity at the 30th Annual NAMM TEC Awards, held on January 24, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. The professional audio and music production industry’s most prestigious awards celebrate excellence in 30 creative and technical achievement categories.
The awards are held annually during the Winter NAMM Show, the world’s leading global music industry trade event, which draws more than 95,000 members of the music products industry to Anaheim.
Comedian and musician Sinbad served as the evening’s host. Presenters for the evening included Michael Braunstein (executive director of the Les Paul Foundation); producer Don Was; musician and actor Harry Shearer; Bernie Williams (guitarist and former New York Yankee); singer/songwriter Orianthi; film composer CJ Vanston; guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter; pianist/composer Bob James; Larrabee Sound Studios manager Amy Burr; producer/engineer Lenise Bent; producer/engineer Young Guru; engineer Dave Reitzas; director/producer Brett Leonard; composer/sound effects designer Frank Serafine; producer Jack Douglas; and producer/engineer Al Schmitt.
Nathan East accepts his induction into the NAMM TEC Awards Hall of Fame. Photo: Courtesy of Getty Images for NAMM.
Bassist Nathan East performed several songs after he and engineer/producer Ed Cherney became the newest inductees to the NAMM TEC Awards Hall of Fame.
Guitarist Slash rocked the house with a performance after receiving the evening’s highest honor, the Les Paul Award, named for the revolutionary inventor and esteemed musician. A tribute band played along and included Orianthi, Don Was and Kenny Aronoff. The Les Paul award recognizes individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio and music technology.
“The people and products that were nominated at this year’s TEC Awards, especially on this milestone 30th anniversary, deserve our respect and admiration,” says Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM. “And those select few who have gone home with a coveted TEC Award have set a high bar for the industry. These are the tools and sounds that will shape the music we will be listening to for years to come.”
The winners of the 30th annual NAMM TEC Awards are as follows:
CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT
Record Production/Single or Track
“Happy,” Pharrell Williams
Record Production/Album
Lazaretto, Jack White
Tour/Event Sound Production
Sting & Paul Simon: On Stage Tour
Remote Production/Recording Or Broadcast
56th Annual Grammy Awards
Film Sound Production
Gravity
Television Sound Production
Game of Thrones
Interactive Entertainment Sound Production
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Studio Design Project
Berklee College of Music, 160 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Ancillary Equipment
API 505 DI 500-Series DI Module
Audio App for Smartphones and Tablets
PreSonus Capture for iPad
Hardware/Peripheralsfor Smartphones and Tablets
Apogee MiC 96k
Microphone Preamplifier
Rupert Neve Designs Shelford 5052
Studio Monitors
Genelec 8010
Recording Device
Zoom H5 Handy Recorder
Musical Instrument Amplification and Effects
Line 6 POD HD Pro X
AmplificationHardware: Studio and Sound Reinforcement
Grace Design m920 Monitoring System
Computer Audio Hardware
Universal Audio Apollo Twin
Musical Instrument Hardware
Nord Lead A1
Musical Instrument Software
Native Instruments Razor Version 1.5
Signal ProcessingHardware
Dangerous Music The Dangerous Compressor
Signal ProcessingHardware(500-Series Modules)
Rupert Neve Designs 551 EQ
Signal ProcessingSoftware
iZotope RX3 Audio Repair Suite
Sound ReinforcementLoudspeakers
Meyer Sound LYON
Microphone:Sound Reinforcement
DPA Microphones d:screet Necklace
Microphone:Recording
Neumann TLM 107
Headphone/Earpiece Technology
AKG K812 Headphones
WirelessTechnology
Shure GLXD6 Guitar Pedal Receiver with Tuner
WorkstationTechnology
Steinberg Cubase Version 7.5
Small Format Console Technology
Solid State Logic Matrix 2
LargeFormat Console Technology
API “The Box”
Mix magazine congratulates all of the winners and nominees.
For more information, visit www.tecawards.org.
View the 2015 inductees into the the TECnology Hall of Fame, presented by the NAMM Museum of Making Music: www.tecawards.org/tecnology-hall-of-fame.