Creative & Technical Achievement Winners Announced at the 30th Annual NAMM TEC Awards

Slash Performs and Receives Prestigious Les Paul Award
Slash tribute band includes: Orianthi, Don Was, Alex Acuna, Kenny Aranoff   

ED CHERNEY AND NATHAN EAST INDUCTED INTO NAMM TEC AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Presenters for the evening included: Michael Braunstein (Executive Director, Les Paul Foundation), Don Was (Musician/Record Producer), Harry Shearer (Musician/Actor), Bernie Williams (New York Yankee/Guitarist), Orianthi (Singer-Songwriter), CJ Vanston (Film Composer), Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (Guitarist), Bob James (Jazz Pianist), Amy Burr (Studio Manager), Lenise Bent (Producer and Engineer), Young Guru (Audio Engineer/Record Producer), Dave Reitzas (Mixer/Recording Engineer), Brett Leonard (Director/Producer), Frank Serafine (Sound Effects Designer/Composer), Jack Douglas (Record Producer) and Al Schmitt (Recording Engineer/Record Producer)

Recording, audio and music industry professionals honor excellence in sound technology and creativity at the 30th Annual NAMM TEC AWARDS, held January 24 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 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.

“The people and products that were nominated at this year's TEC Awards, especially on this milestone 30th anniversary, deserve our respect and admiration,” said 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.”

Winners in the creative category include the production team behind the #1 hit song “Happy” from Pharrell Williams, audio production experts from the hit film Gravity and sound professionals in the tour/event category for Sting & Paul Simon: On Stage Tour, among others.

Everything from wireless technology to software and an earpiece technology company were recognized in the evening’s technical achievement categories. Native Instrument’s Razor 1.5 instrument software nabbed the top spot for Musical Instrument Software, while Shure’s GLXD6 Guitar Pedal Receiver with Tuner edged out competitors in Wireless Technology. Other winners in technical achievement include DPA Microphones’ d:screet Necklace, honored for Sound Reinforcement.

Comedian and musician Sinbad served as the evening’s host. Bassist Nathan East performed several songs after he and iconic music engineer Ed Cherney became the newest inductees to the NAMM TEC Awards Hall of Fame.

Iconic 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 Aranoff. 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. 

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, MA

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT
API 505 DI 500-Series DI Module

AUDIO APPS FOR SMARTPHONES & TABLETS
PreSonus Capture for iPad

HARDWARE / PERIPHERALS FOR SMARTPHONES & TABLETS
Apogee MiC 96k

MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS
Rupert Neve Designs Shelford 5052

STUDIO MONITORS
Genelec 8010

RECORDING DEVICES
Zoom H5 Handy Recorder

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AMPLIFICATION & EFFECTS
Line 6 POD HD Pro X

AMPLIFICATION HARDWARE - STUDIO & 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 1.5

SIGNAL PROCESSING HARDWARE
Dangerous Music The Dangerous Compressor

SIGNAL PROCESSING HARDWARE (500-Series modules)
Rupert Neve Designs 551 EQ

SIGNAL PROCESSING SOFTWARE
iZotope RX3 Audio Repair Suite

SOUND REINFORCEMENT LOUDSPEAKERS
Meyer Sound LYON

MICROPHONES - SOUND REINFORCEMENT
DPA Microphones d:screet Necklace

MICROPHONES – RECORDING
Neumann TLM 107

HEADPHONE / EARPIECE TECHNOLOGY
AKG K812 Headphones

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
Shure GLXD6 Guitar Pedal Receiver with Tuner

WORKSTATION TECHNOLOGY
Steinberg Cubase 7.5

SMALL FORMAT CONSOLE TECHNOLOGY
Solid State Logic Matrix 2

LARGE FORMAT CONSOLE TECHNOLOGY
API "The Box"

For more information, visit www.tecawards.org.

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About NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a non-profit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its 9,200 members around the world. The NAMM Foundation works to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit http://www.nammfoundation.org/, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

Media Contacts

Jeanne O’Keefe - The Lippin Group
Vice President | Phone:  323.960.1990
jokeefe@lippingroup.com

Photos from 2015 NAMM Show - 30th Anniversary TEC Awards
MMS: http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/gyipa_public?nav=pr259173541