Carlsbad, Calif. (January 15, 2015) – The NAMM Foundation has announced 10 historic musical and sound inventions ranging from 1947 through 2000 will be inducted to its10th annual TECnology Hall of Fame, Saturday, January 24 at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. The awards will be presented by the NAMM MUSEUM of Making Music and hosted by veteran pro-audio journalist George Petersen.

“The inductees for the NAMM TECnology Hall of Fame cover an exceedingly wide range of breakthrough inventions that date back 135 years, to the very roots of audio reproduction,” says George Petersen, NAMM TECnology Hall of Fame chairman. “Interestingly, most of the products selected for this year are still in active use and are even considered classics, which says a lot about the lasting power of these innovations.”

While products must be at least 10 years old to be considered for induction, many entries are still in use, decades after they were first produced, including the Electro-Voice RE20 from the 60s, a mic that has a diverse fan base among broadcasters and studio musicians alike.

(more…)

Trombone Shorty, George Clinton, Stanley Randolph headline musical performances and entertainment at annual

music industry trade event 

Carlsbad, Calif. (January 6, 2015) – Hundreds of artists from nearly every imaginable musical genre prepare to perform on five NAMM Show stages, as the 2015 NAMM Show returns to Anaheim January 22-25. Live music will set the soundtrack for product debuts from more than 5,000 music brands throughout the four-day music industry trade event. Star-studded awards shows, music-making opportunities, and live performances set the stage for a NAMM Show the industry will be talking about for years to come.

“NAMM is a great show to conduct business, but perhaps the soul of NAMM, and what makes it different from its competitors is the music,” said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM. “Seeing musical performances from some of the best artists in the world and having our musical heroes checking out the latest gear next to us in an exhibitor’s booth are the experiences that we’ll be telling everyone all about when we get home.”

Productive days on the show floor flow into evenings spent networking with friends, set to a musical soundtrack playing on the Hilton Lobby Stage, the Marriott Lobby Stage, CenterStage between convention center halls B and C, The Venue Stage presented by Pioneer DJ, and the NAMM GoPro Stage on the Grand Plaza. (more…)

Synthesizer sales soar, as sound “geeks” ride music’s latest wave

Carlsbad, Calif. (December 17, 2014) – Synthesizers powering today’s chart-topping hits prepare to take the 2015 NAMM Show by storm January 22-25 at the Anaheim Convention Center. With artists and producers such as Lorde, Bastille and Trent Reznor relying on custom synth sounds paired with a growing interest in analog sound, many in the business predict synths sales to soar into 2015 and beyond.

More than 130 brands that produce synthesizers and related equipment will exhibit at the upcoming global music products trade event. This represents a 20% increase in the segment’s NAMM Show brand presence compared to 2014. The synthesizer market has nearly doubled its show floor square footage since last year, making this one of the show’s fastest-growing segments.

Continued popularity of electronic dance music (EDM) and indie rock has enticed more musicians, DJs and producers to dive into the synth world. “EDM artists have noticeably re-energized the market,” said Tom Oberheim, president of Marion Systems Corp. and an audio engineer best known for designing effects processors, analog synthesizers and sequencers. “The boom is spilling over into other genres and once musicians get into synthesizers, they want to take them into other arenas, and create more sounds.”

Since 2009, retail sales of keyboard synthesizers have increased 15.9%, propelled by an increase of 13.5% in 2013 alone. The number of synthesizers sold annually is up more than 32% in the last decade. (more…)

Carlsbad, Calif. (December 4, 2014) – Iconic guitarist Slash will receive the prestigious Les Paul Award during the 30th Annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, to be held Saturday, January 24 in Anaheim, California. Comedian Sinbad will provide the laughs as the evening’s host. The NAMM TEC Awards honors individuals and companies across 30 categories, for outstanding achievement in professional audio technology and production.

The Les Paul Award named for the revolutionary inventor and esteemed musician, honors individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio and music technology. Instituted in 1991, the honor has been granted to luminaries including Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Todd Rundgren, and Peter Gabriel.  (more…)

StealthWireless_Angle_Web_LGWireless solution eliminates need for long cable runs, expandable to any size setup

Cumberland, RI (October 24, 2014)—Alto Professional (altoproaudio.com), the world’s leading innovator for live performance reinforcement products, today announced that their Stealth Wireless Modular Speaker System has been nominated for a 30th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Award. The prestigious TEC Awards were established in 1985 to honor outstanding achievement in professional audio production and product innovation.

The Alto Professional Stealth Wireless system adds wireless audio connectivity to any active loudspeaker, eliminating the need for long, complex cable runs, simplifying setup and teardown, saving time—all without any compromise in audio quality. (more…)