2018 NAMM TEC Awards Roundup

( The 2018 NAMM Show – 33rd Annual TEC Awards / Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images Getty Images for NAMM)

The 33rd annual NAMM Technical Achievement Winners were another elite class this year, showcasing the best of breed technological advances in everything from hardware and software to film, game and live concert production. This is the rare chance for the cream of the crop to take home some hardware that they didn’t lug to the show!

Two of the categories that really caught our eye were the winners of Musical Instrument Software and Signal Processing Software (Effects). As was surmised by many – Spectrasonics scored the software win for their groundbreaking Keyscape. Built and sampled over a ten year period, Keyscape contains one of the largest collections of acoustic and electric pianos and keyboards including some amazing rarities. All of these have been delivered in the same STEAM engine that integrates seamlessly with Omnisphere 2 giving you nearly unlimited sound design possibilities.

Soundtoys won for best effect with Echoboy Jr, Soundtoys have slowly been releasing slimmed-down versions of their flagship products, in this case, the Echoboy, but with many of the same high-quality features and emulations found in their bigger siblings. Echoboy Jr, features the classic Roland RE-201 space echo as well as six other emulations from Bucket Brigade to Echoplex.

Of note in some of the other categories, iZotope won Audio Apps & Hardware for Smartphones and Tablets for the new Spire, a new mobile 8 track recorder that can be used to record, mix and share your compositions on iOS or Android devices. Billed as a zero setup one touch recorder to capture your music anywhere.

If you are a fan of UAD and their DSP technology and need extra processing power check out the winner of the winner of Computer Audio Hardware, the new Apollo Twin MKII QUAD which features 4 SHARC processors to support even the most demanding studio needs. Not surprisingly Genelec won the Studio Monitors category for the new 8331/8441 monitors.

For a complete list of all of the winners, see the full press release below.

CREATIVE & TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT THE 33rd ANNUAL NAMM TEC AWARDS PRESTIGIOUS LES PAUL INNOVATION AWARD PRESENTED TO JACKSON BROWNE WHO JAMS LIVE WITH NAMM TEC HALL OF FAME RECIPIENTS THE SECTION

Comedian Demetri Martin Hosted

Presenters included Steve Lukather, Herb Trawick and Dave Pensado, Kerry Brown and Linda Perry, Chris Lord-Alge, Kenny Aronoff and Others

 _{Anaheim, Calif., (Jan. 28, 2018) – Winners in 31 technical and creative achievement categories were announced at the 33rd Annual NAMM TEC AWARDS presented annually by the NAMM Foundation and held Saturday, January 27 in Anaheim, CA. The annual event recognizes the individuals, companies and technical innovations behind the sound of recordings, live performances, films, television, video games and multi-media. Comedian and multi-instrumentalist Demetri Martin hosted.}

_{Several companies scored dual wins for Outstanding Technical Achievement.  Sennheiser picked up two awards for the HD 200 PRO (Headphone/Earpiece Technology) and the company’s Pro Talk Series (Audio Education Technology). QSC celebrated just as many wins for their QSC K.2 Series (Sound Reinforcement Loudspeakers) and QSC Q-SYS Core 510i (Signal Processing Hardware).}

_{Many additional awards were given in variety of categories that ranged from Studio Design Project to Wireless Technology and also included honors to JBL for their Intonato and AKG for their C636, in the categories of Amplification Hardware/Studio & Sound Reinforcement and Microphones respectively.}

 _{One night before ‘music’s biggest night,’ voters chose The 59th Annual GRAMMY® Awards for best Remote Production/Recording or Broadcast in the Outstanding Creative Achievement category. Before Bruno Mars heads to the The 60}^th _{Annual GRAMMY Awards, where he’s also nominated, several of his projects won the night in the creative category for Record Production/Album, Record Production/Single or Track and Tour Sound Production, all for “24K Magic.”}

_{Jackson Browne, one of music’s most iconic artists and executives, received the evening’s highest honor, the Les Paul Innovation Award, which is presented annually to remarkably-distinguished and accomplished individuals from the music industry. Michael Braunstein, President of the Les Paul Foundation, introduced Jackson before he hit the stage with the evening’s NAMM TEC Hall of Fame inductees, The Section, for a finale that included Jackson’s signature “Running on Empty” single.}

_{Jackson remarked, “Thank you for this incredible honor. It means so much to be honored by you because I’ve relied on the kindness of engineers and their knowledge in the studio and equipment my whole life. These people know everything I don’t know but they put their technical expertise at the service of the music – at the service of the song. I am indebted to them and I’m indebted to you all who make the gear.”}

_{The NAMM TEC Awards were held during The NAMM Show, the global crossroads of the music products, pro audio and sound, and event technology industries, January 25-28.}  

_{In total, winners in the 31 categories were selected from 182 nominees. Title sponsors for the show included Harman (a Samsung Company), The Les Paul Foundation and D’Angelico New York. A full list of sponsors can be found here. Many of the evening’s winning products and technologies are available at music and pro audio retailers worldwide both online and in stores.}

_{A complete list of Technical and Creative Achievement winners can be found below and here.}

_{TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT}

_{Amplification Hardware/studio & Sound Reinforcement}

_{JBL Intonato}

_{Audio Apps & Hardware/Peripherals for Smartphones & Tablets}

_{iZotope Spire: Multitrack Music Recorder}

_{Audio Education Technology}

_{Sennheiser Pro Talk Series}

_{Computer Audio Hardware}

_{Universal Audio Apollo Twin MkII QUAD}

_{DJ Production Technology (Hardware/Software)}

_{Akai Professional MPC Live}

_{Headphone/Earpiece Technology}

_{Sennheiser HD 200 PRO}

_{Large Format Console Technology}

_{Solid State Logic AWS Delta V2}

_{Microphone Preamplifiers}

_{Rupert Neve Designs Shelford Channel}

_{Microphones – Recording}

_{Audio Technica AT5047}

 _{Microphones – Sound Reinforcement}

_{AKG C636}

_{Musical Instrument Amplification & Effects}

_{Line 6 Helix LT}

_{Musical Instrument Hardware}

_{Nord Stage 3}

_{Musical Instrument Software}

_{Spectrasonics Keyscape}

_{Production Essentials}

_{PreSonus FaderPort 8}

_{Signal Processing Hardware}

_{QSC Q-SYS Core 510i}

_{Signal Processing Hardware (500 Series Modules)}

_{Elysia pressor 500}

_{Signal Processing Software (Dynamics / EQ / Utilities)}

_{Universal Audio SSL 4000 E Channel Strip Plugin}

_{Signal Processing Software (Effects)}

_{Soundtoys EchoBoy Jr.}

_{Small Format Console Technology}

_{Solid State Logic Nucleus 2}

_{Sound Reinforcement Loudspeakers}

_{QSC K.2 Series}

_{Studio Monitors}

_{Genelec 8331 | 8341 The Ones}

_{Wireless Technology}

_{Shure Axient Digitals Wireless System}

_{Workstation Technology/Recording Devices}

_{Avid Pro Tools12.8}

_{CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT}

_{Film Sound Production}

_{Rogue One: A Star Wars Story}

_{Interactive Entertainment Sound Production}

_{Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare}

_{Record Production/Album}

_{24K Magic – Bruno Mars}

_{Record Production/Single or Track}

_{24K Magic – Bruno Mars}

_{Remote Production/Recording or Broadcasting}

₅₉^th _{Annual GRAMMY Awards} 

_{Studio Design Project}

_{The Barn}

_{Television Sound Production}

_{Game of Thrones}

_{Tour Event Sound Production}

_{Bruno Mars 24K – Magic World Tour}

_{For more information about NAMM TEC, visit www.tecawards.org. For more information about The Les Paul Foundation, visit https://www.lespaulfoundation.org.}