-Hosted by NAMM’s Museum of Making Music, products span period from late 1800s to 2000s-
CARLSBAD, Calif. – December 15, 2017 – At the 33rd Annual
NAMM Technical Excellence and Creativity Awards
(TEC Awards), eight products and technologies
inspired by a series of global sound pioneers will find their place in
audio history when they are inducted into NAMM’s prestigious
TECnology Hall of Fame. The ceremony, and later the awards show, will take place Saturday, January 27, as part of The 2018 NAMM Show.
A
history lesson in breakthrough products in sound and production are
included on the list, which spans a world of innovation from the late
1800s to 2000s.
The honorees include:
The earliest known device for recording sound through transcribing soundwaves, the
Phonautograph (1857). Initially used in the study of acoustics,
the Phonautograph could be used as a visual study of soundwaves,
including the measurement of amplitude and wave forms of speech or other
sounds. While the Phonautograph had no playback
mechanism, the product, created by French scientist Édouard-Léon Scott
de Martinville, was considered the precursor to the phonograph.
The
Tape Echo Slap (1954): Developed by the legendary Sam Phillips of
Sun Studios, the tape echo slap offered previously-unheard echo and
delay effects on many of the studio’s recordings from the 1950s which
gave a new texture to popular music of the day.
When it launched 50 years ago in 1968, the
Shure Vocal Master PA was considered the “first complete portable
sound system.” Featuring a combination of control consoles, mixers,
amplifiers and microphones, multiple components and systems could be
combined to expand the system.
In 1971, Eventide introduced the
1745 digital delay which offered two channels of independent
delay from a single input. Initially designed for a Maryland-based
public broadcaster, the product would offer 0 to 200 million seconds of
delay through a hundred shift registers.
The invention gave birth to several other models including the 1745M, one of the first uses of RAM memory in an audio product.
The
Deane Jensen 990 Discrete Op-Amp redefined the op amp market in 1979. A discrete separate component,
the 990 quickly surpassed other amplifiers in terms of distortion, slew rate, stability, and output drive.
The
990 continues in production in its third generation 990C made by the
John Hardy Company, and today, Jensen Transformers are manufactured as a
subsidiary of Radial Engineering.
It wasn’t until
1992 when
L-Acoustics introduced the V-DOSC, the first line array loudspeakers, and changed the industry forever. Designed by founder Dr. Christian Heil and his team,
the system was based on the company’s
Wavefront Sculpture Technology (WST) theory, which offered the first
high-frequency device capable of creating a constant-phase planar
output.
In 1998, the
Line 6 POD revolutionized guitar
tones with its digital amp modeler, which quickly found its way into
personal and professional studios. The first of its kind, the POD was
easy to use and affordable, and would go on to
spawn multiple iterations, becoming a staple for guitarists in the
studio or at home.
In more recent years, the 2004 debut of the
Solid State Logic AWS900
forever
changed what a console could be. At just 56-inches in length, the
AWS900 studio console redefined the traditional console design.
Featuring a DAW controller and HUI-compatible
control surface interface, the AWS900 provided everything needed to
record, edit and mix professional audio in a revolutionary small desk
set-up.
“The
technological advancement that each represents was unparalleled at the
time of debut,” said Carolyn Grant, NAMM Museum of Making Music
Executive
Director and host of TECnology Hall of Fame. “Each product was
carefully selected based on a variety of factors, but one thing all the
products share is that each represented a shift culturally in the ways
by which many listened to and made music.”
The
Hall of Fame was established in 2004 to honor and recognize products
and innovations that have made a significant contribution
to the advancement of audio technology. This year’s eight products were
chosen by a panel of more than 50 recognized audio and sound production
experts, including authors, educators, engineers, facility owners and
other professionals. Products or innovations
must be at least 10 years old to be considered for induction. Previous
inductees include
some of the earliest expressions of audio production including the
cylinder recorder from Thomas Edison
(1877) to more recent inventions, including Pro Tools (2001), the
Neumann U67 (1960), the WahWah pedal (1966), the API Lunchbox 500 Series
module housing (1985) and others.
The
TECnology Hall of Fame event will take place on Saturday, January 27 at 4:00 p.m. inside the San Simeon Room at the Anaheim Hilton Hotel. The event will be moderated by
Front of House magazine Editor, George Petersen, and Audio Engineering Society President, David Scheirman.
Following the ceremony, the
NAMM TEC Awards will commence in celebration of companies and
technical innovations behind today’s sound recordings, live sound,
films, television and video games in two categories:
Outstanding Technical Achievement
and
Outstanding Creative Achievement. In addition to the products and projects,
a recipient of the The Les Paul Innovation Award will be
honored. The award is annually bestowed to individuals who have set the
highest standards of excellence in the creative application of recording
technology in the spirit of the famed audio pioneer,
inventor, and musician, Les Paul. The Les Paul Innovation Award has
been presented at the NAMM TEC Awards to remarkably-distinguished and
accomplished
individuals from the music industry, including such legends as
Sir Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen,
Pete Townshend, Slash and last year's recipient, Joe Perry.
Along
with the Les Paul Award, one individual will be inducted into the
NAMM TEC Hall of Fame. The NAMM TEC Hall of Fame award
was started in 1988 to honor pioneers of audio technology, as well as
the music industry’s most accomplished producers and audio technicians.
In 2017, legendary Aerosmith engineer and
producer Jack Douglas was inducted into the NAMM TEC Hall of Fame, and joined luminaries
Skunk Baxter, Ed Cherney, Hal Blaine, John Meyer and others
Tickets can be purchased on site or in advance
here for $65 (General Admission) or $195 (VIP). Recently
announced, the show will be hosted by musician and comedian, Demetri Martin.
For access to previous TEC Award highlights, media coverage opportunities, and hi-res artwork, please contact
NAMM@lippingroup.com.
Congratulations to the 2018 TECnology Hall of Fame Inductees
1857 Phonautograph - first audio recorder (Leon Scott)
1954 Tape Echo Slap (Sam Phillips, Sun Studios)
1968 Shure Vocal Master PA system
1971 Eventide Model 1745 Digital Delay
1979 Jensen 990 discrete op amp (Deane Jensen)
1992 L-Acoustics V-DOSC (first line array)
1998 Line 6 Pod guitar processor
2004 Solid State Logic AWS900 studio console
