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, Jan. 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 60th 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
59th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Studio Design Project
The Barn
Television Sound Production
Game of Thrones
Tour Event Sound Production
Bruno Mars 24K – Magic World Tour
