TEC Awards

Last updated

The TEC Awards is an annual program recognizing the achievements of audio professionals. The awards are given to honor technically innovative products as well as companies and individuals who have excelled in sound for television, film, recordings, and concerts. TEC is an acronym for Technical Excellence and Creativity.

Contents

History

The awards were founded in 1985 by Mix magazine, with awards events held annually at Audio Engineering Society conventions. In 1990, the TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, a 501(c)(3) (non-profit) public benefit organization that also offered scholarships and worked to mitigate noise-induced hearing loss, [1] assumed responsibility for the awards. In 2011, the TEC Awards program was held at the NAMM Show, [2] and in 2013 the TEC Foundation was merged with the NAMM Foundation, the educational and charitable arm of NAMM. [3]

Awards process

The TEC Awards list of nominations are compiled annually by the TEC Awards nominating panel, a committee of more than 100 industry professionals. The list of nominees is published on the Foundation's website. [4] The winners are announced and the awards presented at a ceremony held at the NAMM Show , one of the largest trade shows for the music products industry, held each January in Anaheim, California. [5]

Other honors

TEC Awards Hall of Fame

Similarly, a pioneering or innovative person is chosen annually for the honor of induction into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame. This special award was established in 1988 and the winner is selected by the TEC Awards nominating panel. [6]

Les Paul Award

In addition, through the Les Paul Award, the TEC Awards nominating panel and the board of directors of the TEC Foundation honor "individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio technology." Gibson Musical Instruments, maker of the Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, was a sponsor of the Les Paul Award. [7] This special award was established in 1991. [8] In 1997, Les Paul presented his namesake award to Stevie Wonder [9] and in 2003, jointly with Bob Ludwig, he announced that Bruce Springsteen, who was unable to attend the event, would receive that year's award. [10] [11] In 2007, at age 92, Les Paul presented the award to musician, songwriter, and producer Al Kooper. [12]

TECnology Hall of Fame

In 2004, the TEC Awards established the TECnology Hall of Fame "to honor and recognize audio products and innovations that have made a significant contribution to the advancement of audio technology." A product must be ten years old to receive the honor. [13] [14] [15] At the establishment of this award category at the AES Convention in San Francisco in October 2004, the initial 25 inductees included the venerable Edison cylinder (1877), Emile Berliner's flat disc recorder (1887), and Alan Dower Blumlein Stereo Patent (1931). [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

Solid State Logic Ltd. (SSL) is a British company based in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, England that designs and markets audio mixing consoles, signal processors, and other audio technologies for the post-production, video production, broadcast, sound reinforcement and music recording industries. SSL employs over 160 people worldwide and has regional offices in Los Angeles, Milan, New York City, Paris, and Tokyo, with additional support provided by an international network of distributors. Solid State Logic is part of the Audiotonix Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackie (company)</span> Brand of professional audio equipment

Mackie is an American professional audio products brand. Founded in Seattle in 1988 by Greg Mackie, a manufacturer of affordable and versatile compact pro audio mixers, Mackie is the primary product line of LOUD Technologies.

Shure Inc. is an audio products corporation headquartered in the USA. It was founded by Sidney N. Shure in Chicago, Illinois, in 1925 as a supplier of radio parts kits. The company became a consumer and professional audio-electronics manufacturer of microphones, wireless microphone systems, phonograph cartridges, discussion systems, mixers, and digital signal processing. The company also manufactures listening products, including headphones, high-end earphones, and personal monitor systems.

The NAMM Show is an annual trade show in the United States organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which describes it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology communities". It is typically held in January at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Smith (engineer)</span> American audio engineer and inventor (1950–2022)

David Joseph Smith was an American engineer and founder of the synthesizer company Sequential. Smith created the first polyphonic synthesizer with fully programmable memory, the Prophet-5, which had a major impact on the music industry. He also led the development of MIDI, a standard interface protocol for synchronizing electronic instruments and audio equipment.

Genelec Oy is a manufacturer of active loudspeaker systems based in Iisalmi, Finland. It designs and produces products for professional studio recording, mixing and mastering applications, broadcast, and movie production. The company was co-founded by the late Ilpo Martikainen (1947–2017) and Topi Partanen in 1978.

TASCAM is the professional audio division of TEAC Corporation, headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, California. TASCAM established the Home Recording phenomenon by creating the "Project Studio" and is credited as the inventor of the Portastudio, the first cassette-based multi-track home studio recorders. TASCAM also introduced the first low-cost mass-produced multitrack recorders with Simul-Sync designed for recording musicians, and manufactured reel-to-reel tape machines and audio mixers for home recordists from the early 1970s through the mid-1990s. Since the early 00's, TASCAM has been an early innovator in the field-recording and audio accompaniment to video with their DR-series recording platforms. TASCAM celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021.

Whirlwind USA is a manufacturer of audio interfacing equipment and custom audio interfacing, including digital products that employ the EtherSound standard. In addition, Whirlwind manufactures guitar effects pedals. Whirlwind was founded in 1975 by Michael Laiacona, and its headquarters are located in Rochester, New York.

The Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands is an annual music competition for amateur company-sponsored bands in the United States, Europe and Australia. Created in 2001, the contest's proceeds benefit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, which also serves as the location for the final round of the competition. The Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands is presented through a partnership with Fortune magazine and the Hall of Fame, and is sponsored by the NAMM Foundation, Gibson Guitars, Marshall Fridge and Fender Premium Audio.

George Y. Massenburg is a Grammy award-winning recording engineer and inventor. Working principally in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Macon, Georgia, Massenburg is widely known for submitting a paper to the Audio Engineering Society in 1972 regarding the parametric equalizer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automated Processes, Inc.</span> American audio equipment manufacturer

Automated Processes Inc. is an American company that designs, manufactures, and markets mixing consoles and signal processors, including modular signal processor units in the 500-series format standard that evolved from early API mixing consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meyer Sound Laboratories</span> American audio equipment manufacturer

Meyer Sound Laboratories is an American company based in Berkeley, California that manufactures self-powered loudspeakers, multichannel audio show control systems, electroacoustic architecture, and audio analysis tools for the professional sound reinforcement, fixed installation, and sound recording industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yamaha Pro Audio</span> Professional audio system manufacturer

Yamaha Pro Audio, Inc. is the Pro Audio Division division of Yamaha Corporation that offers a complete line of beginner professional audio products for the live sound and sound reinforcement markets. Their lineup includes a number of world-standard mixing consoles, signal processors incorporating industry-leading DSP technology, power amplifiers based on energy-efficient drive technology, and an extensive range of speakers used for live sound or commercial installations. It has a long history of introducing significant products for the professional audio market such as the PM-1000 modular mixing console, the REV1 and SPX90 digital signal processors, the NS-10 studio monitors, and the 01v, 02R, 03D, PM1D, PM5D, QL5, M7CL, CL5, and PM10/7 Rivage digital mixing consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RADAR (audio recorder)</span>

RADAR is a product line of professional digital multitrack recorders capable of recording and playing back twenty-four tracks of audio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Long (audio engineer)</span> Inventor of time alignment for loudspeakers

Edward M. Long was an audio engineer known for introducing the first near-field studio monitors and the first Time-Aligned loudspeaker crossover.

Dave Pensado is a Grammy Award-winning mix engineer. His career began in Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s doing live and studio sound engineering. He has lived in Los Angeles since 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D. B. Keele Jr.</span> American audio engineer

D. Broadus Keele Jr., also known simply as Don Keele or D. B. Keele Jr., is an American audio engineer and inventor who has helped shape and influence the professional and consumer loudspeaker industries since the early seventies. He is one of the developers of the constant directivity horn design with several patents of Bi-radial horns from companies like JBL, and Electrovoice.

Deane Jensen was the founder of Jensen Transformers, Inc, and the inventor of the 990 Operational Amplifier. He also developed the COMTRAN circuit analysis software.

Paul Wolff is an American electronics engineer and entrepreneur, who is a designer of professional audio recording equipment. He designs recording consoles including immersive and audio mixing equipment for professional recording. He has been associated with companies including Datatronix, API, Tonelux, and Fix Audio Designs. His customers include Jim Messina, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Startec Studios, among others.

AEA Ribbon Mics Inc is an American audio equipment manufacturing company that manufactures ribbon microphones, professional audio electronics, and accessories based in Pasadena, California. AEA was established by Wes Dooley in 1965 as a record label. Starting in 1976, AEA began repairing and servicing RCA 44BX ribbon microphones. AEA microphone models include R44, R84, R92, R88, N8, N13, N22, KU5a, and KU4. Electronics include TDI active direct box, TRP3 preamp, RPQ3 preamp, TRP500 and RPQ500. AEA's electronics are designed by circuit designer Fred Forssell. AEA services and repairs vintage ribbon microphones, Coles microphones, and vintage microphone accessories. They have been servicing RCA ribbons since the 70s and have many spare parts in stock and available for purchase.

References

  1. ↑ "About Us". tecfoundation.com. TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, Inc. Archived from the original on 2013-12-04.
  2. ↑ "26th Annual TEC Awards To Be Held at 2011 NAMM Show". Mix Online . 28 April 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  3. ↑ "TEC Foundation Joins NAMM". NAMM.org. NAMM. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "Voting". tecfoundation.com. TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, Inc. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19.
  5. ↑ "TEC Awards". tecfoundation.com. TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, Inc.
  6. ↑ "2008 TEC Awards Hall of Fame Inductee T Bone Burnett". tecfoundation.com. TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, Inc. 2008.
  7. ↑ "18th Annual TEC Awards Sponsors". DigitalContentProducer.com. August 8, 2002.
  8. ↑ "Les Paul Awards Winners". tecfoundation.com. TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, Inc.
  9. ↑ "103rd AES Convention coverage". sweetwater.com. Sweetwater Sound.
  10. ↑ "AKG wins TEC Award for K 271 Studio Professional Headphones". MusicGearReview.com. October 23, 2003.
  11. ↑ "TEC Award Winners Announced". ETNow.com. October 2003.
  12. ↑ "Grammys earn TEC Award". Grammy.com. October–December 2007.
  13. ↑ "2008 TECnology Hall of Fame inductees". tecfoundation.com. TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, Inc.
  14. ↑ "The TECnology Hall of Fame, Presented by the NAMM MUSEUM of Making Music". NAMM. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  15. ↑ Vdovin, Marsha. "George Petersen on the TECnology Hall of Fame". Universal Audio. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  16. ↑ "2004 TECnology Hall of Fame inductees". tecfoundation.com. TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, Inc. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.