The TEC Awards committee and the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) are pleased to announce and celebrate the nominees across the 22 Technical Achievement and seven Creative Achievement TEC Award categories. The annual TEC Awards recognizes and celebrates the individuals, companies and technical innovations behind the sound of recordings, live performances, films, television, video games, and multi-media.

Over 1,000 products and projects were nominated, and final nominees represent those that, in the opinion of the nominating panel, represent superior accomplishment in their respective fields. Nominees include products and technologies from the likes of well-established brands, including Avid, JBL, Native Instruments, Pioneer, Roland, Yamaha and others, and emerging companies, Spitfire Audio, Soyuz Microphones, and United Studio Tech, making the list.

"Often disruption is a catalyst for innovation and inspiration, and while no one could have predicted the challenges of this year, each of the nominees has contributed new advancements to the industry which continues to raise the bar for audio and sound production," said Joe Lamond, NAMM President, and CEO.

Presented annually as a part of The NAMM Show, this year, the TEC Awards will join Believe in Music Week, held the week of January 18, 2021, where the winners of each category will be announced and honored. Other notable changes include the discontinuation of the Audio Education Technology category, with entries moving to either the Audio Application or Software categories, and a temporary pause to nominations for the Tour Event Sound Production category until live touring can resume.

The TEC Awards will also honor two individuals for their contributions to music and recording. Soon to be announced, an honoree who embodies the creative, innovative, and enterprising spirit of Les Paul will be honored with the Les Paul Innovation Award. Past Les Paul recipients include Joni Mitchell, Peter Frampton, Joe Perry (Aerosmith, Hollywood Vampires), Slash (Guns N' Roses), Don Was (Was, Not Was), Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), Pete Townsend, Stevie Wonder, Todd Rundgren, and others. The NAMM TEC Hall of Fame, which was created nearly 30 years ago to honor the industry's most pioneering producers and audio recording professionals, will again induct an industry luminary to its list of honorees. Past recipients include Herb Trawick and Dave Pensado, Leslie Ann Jones (Skywalker Sound), Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, Miles Davis), Skunk Baxter (Steely Dan, Elton John), Ed Cherney (Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan), and others.

Voting for the 36th TEC Awards will begin November 19, 2020. Additional information can be found at TECAwards.org

 

Congratulations to the 36th TEC Award nominees:

 

Amplification Hardware/Studio & Sound Reinforcement

JBL - DSi 2.0

L-Acoustics - LA-RAK II AVB

LEA Professional - Connect Series

NEXO - NXAMP4X4MK2

Powersoft - Quattrocanali 8804 DSP+D (install)

QSC - CX-Q Series

Yamaha - PC Series Amplifiers

 

Audio Apps & Hardware/Peripherals for Smartphones & Tablets

Eventide - Blackhole

IK Multimedia - iRig Stream

JBL - Compact Connect App

Positive Grid - BIAS FX 2 Mobile

Sonarworks - SoundID

Steinberg - Cubasis 3.0

Waves - MyMon Personal Monitor Mixing App

 

Computer Audio Hardware

Antelope Audio - Zen Tour Synergy Core

Apogee - Symphony Desktop

Focusrite - Scarlett 3rd Gen USB Interfaces

Hotone Audio - JOGG

PreSonus - Quantum 2626

Solid State Logic - SSL 2+

Universal Audio - Apollo Twin X

Universal Audio - Apollo x4

 

DJ Production Technology

Akai - MPC Live 2

Denon - SC6000M

Native Instruments - TRAKTOR KONTROL S3

Novation - Launchpad Pro [MK3]

Numark - DJ2GO2 Touch

Pioneer DJ - XDJ-XZ

Roland - DJ-707M DJ Controller

 

Headphone/Earpiece Technology

AKG - K300 Series

Audeze - LCD-1 Open Back

Audio-Technica - ATH-WP900

Austrian Audio - Hi-X55

PreSonus - Eris HD10BT

Sennheiser - HD 25 Limited Edition

Shure - Aonic 50

 

Large Format Console Technology

Avid - VENUE | S6L-48D

DiGiCo - Quantum 338

Lawo - mc296 Xtra Fader Version

Neve - 8424

Solid State Logic - ORIGIN

Stage Tec - Avatus IP

Yamaha - RIVAGE PM5

 

Microphone Preamplifiers

sFocusrite - ISA828 MkII

Grace Design - M201 MKII

Neumann - V 402

Neve® - 1073OPX

sE Electronics - DM1

Soyuz - The Launcher

Thermionic Culture - Snow Petrel

 

Microphones - Recording

AEA - R88A Blumlein Stereo Microphone

AKG - Lyra

Austrian Audio - OC818

Earthworks Audio - DK3 DrumKit System

Josephson Engineering - C705

Townsend Labs - Sphere L22 v1.4

United Studio Technologies - UT Fet47

 

Microphones - Sound Reinforcement

Avantone - Pro Kick

Countryman - A3 Podium Mic

DPA Microphones - 2028 Vocal Microphone

DPA Microphones - 4097 Shotgun Microphone

Earthworks - SR3314/SR5314

PreSonus - PM-2

sE Electronics - V Series for Drums

 

Musical Instrument Amplification & Effects

Ampeg - Heritage 50th Anniversary SVT

Kemper - Profiler Kabinet

Kemper - Profiler Stage

Line 6 - POD Go

Softube - Amp Room

Softube - Kerry King Signature

Strymon - Iridium

Yamaha - THR30II WL

 

Musical Instrument Hardware

Cre8audio - NiftyBUNDLE

Korg - Volca Sample 2

Moog - Matriarch

Roland - FANTOM 8

Sequential - Pro 3 / Pro 3 SE

Yamaha - YC61

 

Musical Instrument Software

Celemony - Melodyne 5

EastWest Sounds - Hollywood Backup Singers

Sound Magic - Neo Erhu

Spitfire Audio - ALBION NEO

Spitfire Audio - BBC Symphony Orchestra

Universal Audio - Moog Minimoog LUNA Instrument

Vienna Symphonic Library - Big Bang Orchestra Series

 

Production Essentials

Audinate AVIO Dante Adapters

Audio-Technica - Wireless Manager

GeerFab Audio - D.BOB (Digital BreakOut Box)

IsoAcoustics - ISO-PUCK 76

Radial Engineering - HDI High-Definition Studio DI

Ultimate Support - MDS Series Modular Device Stands

Wes Lachot Design Group - Hexaffusor 2-D Diffusor

 

Signal Processing Hardware

WesAudio - ngBusComp

API - 2500+ Stereo Bus Compressor

Bettermaker - Bus Compressor

Black Lion Audio - Bluey

Little Labs - LL2A Compressor Limiter

McDSP - APB-16 Analog Processing Box

Pulse Techniques - Pultec EQM-1S Mastering Equalizer

 

Signal Processing Hardware - 500 Series Modules

AMS Neve - RMX16

API - 312

BAE Audio - 73EQL

Cranborne Audio - 500ADAT

Heritage Audio - OST-10 V2.0

Meris - Hedra

Retro Instruments - 500PRE

 

Signal Processing Software - Dynamics/EQ/Utilities

Leapwing Audio - DynOne 3

oeksound Ltd - soothe2

Softube - Chandler Limited Germanium Compressor

Softube - Weiss EQ1

Solid State Logic - SSL Native

Sound Magic - Neo EQ Grand Collection

Universal Audio - Neve 1084 Preamp & EQ Plug-In

 

Signal Processing Software - Effects

Brainworx - bx_console SSL 9000 J

FabFilter - Saturn 2

iZotope - Stutter Edit 2

Kazrog - True Dynamics

PreSonus - Ampire

Sound Magic - Neo Reverb

Waves - Abbey Road Saturator

 

Small Format Console Technology

Allen & Heath - Avantis

Mackie - ProFXv3 Series

PreSonus - StudioLive ARc Series

Softube - Console 1 Fader

TASCAM - Model 12

Waves - LV1 Proton

Zoom Corporation - LiveTrak L-8

 

Sound Reinforcement Loudspeakers

d&b audiotechnik - A-Series

Electro-Voice - EVOLVE 30M

JBL - EON ONE Compact

L-Acoustics - Kara II

Meyer Sound - UPQ-D3

Yamaha - STAGEPAS 1K

 

Studio Monitors

Avantone Pro - CLA10A

Barefoot Sound - Footprint02

Dynaudio - Core Series

Genelec - W371A Adaptive Woofer System

JBL - 104-BT

Ocean Way Audio - HR5

PreSonus - Eris E7 XT

 

Wireless Technology

Audio-Technica - 3000 Series with Network Control and Monitoring

Clear-Com - FreeSpeak Edge wireless intercom

Hooke Audio - Verse 3D Audio Wireless Recording System - V2 Software

Lectrosonics - DPR Digital Plug-on Transmitter

Sennheiser - XS Wireless Digital Pedalboard Set

Shure - Axient Digital AD3 plug-on wireless transmitter

Yamaha - THR30II WL

 

Workstation Technology/Recording Devices

Merging Technologies - Pyramix 25th Anniversary Edition

Neve® - GenesysControl Plug In

PreSonus - Studio One Professional 5.0

Steinberg - Cubase Pro 10.5

Tracktion Corporation - Waveform Free

Universal Audio - LUNA Recording System

Zoom North America - F6 Field Recorder

 

Studio Design Project

AMA Recording - Wes Lachot Design Group

Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU – FM Design

Coast Mastering - Michael Romanowski

Reaction Vessel - Carl Tatz

Studio 21A - WSDG

The Scoring Lab - nonzero/architecture

 

Film Sound Production

“1917,” Universal Pictures / DreamWorks Pictures / Entertainment One

“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” Netflix

“Ford v Ferrari,” 20th Century Fox / Chernin Entertainment

“Frozen II,” Walt Disney Pictures / Walt Disney Animation Studios

“Joker,” Warner Bros. Pictures / Village Roadshow Pictures / DC Films

 

Interactive Entertainment Sound Production

“Animal Crossing - New Horizons,” Nintendo

“Borderlands 3,” Gearbox software

“Call of Duty - Modern Warfare,” Infinity Ward

“Death Stranding,” Sony Interactive Entertainment

“Star Wars Jedi - Fallen Order,” Respawn Entertainment

“The Last of Us Part II,” Sony Interactive Entertainment

 

Record Production / Album

After Hours, The Weeknd, XO and Republic Records

American Standard, James Taylor, Fantasy Records

Care Package, Drake, OVO Sound and Republic Records

Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa, Warner Records

Hot Pink, Doja Cat, Kemosabe & RCA

Hyperspace, Beck, Capitol Records

 

Record Production / Single or Track

Adore You, Harry Styles, Erskine and Columbia Records

Allergic, Post Malone, Republic

Blinding Lights, The Weeknd, XO Republic

Fear Inoculum, Tool, Tool Dissectional and Volcano and RCA

Together, For King and Country, with Tori Kelly and Kirk Franklin, Word Entertainment

 

Remote Production / Recording or Broadcast

53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards, CMT, Viacom

92nd Academy Awards, ABC

Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince, CBS

Kennedy Center Honors 2019, CBS

62nd Annual GRAMMY™ Awards, CBS

 

Television Sound Production

“Saturday Night Live,” NBCUniversal

“The Mandalorian” (Season 1),Disney+

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” (Season 3), Amazon Prime Video

“Watchmen,” HBO

“Westworld,” (Season 3), HBO

Chalise Zolezzi

  

NAMM

Director of PR and Social Media

Phone: (760) 438-8001

Email: Chalise Zolezzi

About NAMM

The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is the not-for-profit association with a mission to strengthen the $17 billion music products industry. NAMM is comprised of approximately 10,300 members located in 104 countries and regions. NAMM events and members fund The NAMM Foundation's efforts to promote the pleasures and benefits of music, and advance active participation in music making across the lifespan. For more information about NAMM, please visit www.namm.org, call 800.767.NAMM (6266) or follow the organization on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.