From left: Ron Fair, Rose Mann-Cherney (TEC Awards Hall of Fame), and Slash
© Le Studio
Mix magazine congratulates the nominees and winners at the 28th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, held Friday, January 25, at the 2013 Winter NAMM show. This year’s award winners include the design teams responsible for the past year’s groundbreaking audio production tools, as well as the sound engineers, editors, producers and other audio professionals behind the recording, film and live sound mega hits of 2012.
In all, 20 awards were presented for Outstanding Technical Achievement, including double wins for Avid, Moog, Rupert Neve and Universal Audio. Among the eight projects awarded for Outstanding Creative Achievement were Foo Fighters’ Wasting Light album and tour, and Gotye’s hit single “Somebody that I Used To Know”.
Pete Townshend accepts the Les Paul Award
© Le Studio
Record Plant President Rose Mann-Cherney was inducted into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame by recording executive Ron Fair and Slash. Renowned recording artist and composer Pete Townshend was honored with the Les Paul Award, presented by film producer and humorist Martin Lewis and Jeff Salmon, representing The Les Paul Foundation.
Upon receiving the award, Townshend described using his first tape recorders purchased as a teen to write music, and expressed his deep appreciation for the professional audio and music products community.
“In every hope that I ever had for a device that would do something that I wanted to do, you fabulous people made it for me,” Townshend said. “I’m so hip to what you guys do, hip to the amount of time that you spend, and as a musician and as a composer, I sincerely want to thank you!”
The ceremony was hosted by singer/songwriter John Sebastian, who opened the show with “I’m Satisfied”. Larry Batiste and the 2Cold ChiliBone TEC Band carried the night’s music, which included a song dedicated to Mann-Cherney sung by the Rosettes, and climaxed with performances of Townshend’s hits featuring Eric Burdon, Tal Wilkenfeld, Narada Michael Walden, Julia Fordham, David Pack, Phil Chen, Laurence Juber and, lastly, Pete Townshend. Celebrity presenters included Suzanne Ciani, Melora Hardin, Orianthi, and producers Niko Bolas and Csaba Petocz.
The following pages present the list of the 28th Annual TEC Awards winners for Outstanding Technical Achievement and Outstanding Creative Achievement.
© Le Studio
The 28th Annual TEC Awards winners are as follows:
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Ancillary Equipment
Waves Audio WLM Loudness Meter
Audio Apps Technology for Smartphones & Tablets
Moog Animoog
Microphone Preamplifier Technology
Apogee Electronics 8-Channel Mic-pre Module for Symphony I/O
Studio Monitor Technology
ADAM Audio A77x
Recording Devices
Zoom H2n Handy Recorder
Musical Instrument Amplification & Effects Technology
Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Processor/Amp Simulator
Amplification Hardware/Studio & Sound Reinforcement
Dangerous Music “Dangerous Source” USB Monitor Controller
Computer Audio Hardware
Universal Audio Apollo High Resolution Audio Interface
Musical Instrument Technology (Hardware)
Moog Minitaur
Musical Instrument Technology (Software)
Native Instruments Kontakt 5
Signal Processing Technology (Hardware)
Rupert Neve Designs Portico II: Master Buss Processor
Signal Processing Technology (Software)
Universal Audio Ampex ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder Plug-In
Sound Reinforcement Loudspeaker Technology
Meyer Sound CAL Column Array Loudspeaker
Microphone Technology/Sound Reinforcement
Telefunken Elektroakustik M81
Microphone Technology/Recording
Blue Microphones Spark Digital
Headphone/Earpiece Technology
Sennheiser HD700 Headphones
Wireless Technology
Shure Axient Wireless
Workstation Technology
Avid Pro Tools 10
Sound Reinforcement Console Technology
Avid VENUE SC48 Remote
Small Format Console Technology
Rupert Neve Designs 5059 Satellite Mixer
From left: Eric Burdon, Pete Townshend, David Pack, Larry Batiste, and Phil Chen, along with the 2Cold ChiliBone TEC Band, perform Townshend’s hit songs at the 28th Annual TEC Awards in Anaheim, Calif.
© Le Studio
Outstanding Creative Achievement
Record Production/Single
“Somebody That I Used To Know”, Gotye
Record Production/Album
Wasting Light, Foo Fighters
Tour Sound Production
Foo Fighters “Wasting Light” Tour, Delicate Productions
Remote Production/Recording or Broadcast
54th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS
Film Sound Production
The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros.
Television Sound Production
Breaking Bad, AMC
Interactive Entertainment Sound Production
Journey, Sony Computer Entertainment
Studio Design Project
Dreamworks Animation Studios, Glendale, Calif.
Visit the TEC Foundation at www.tecfoundation.com.