Time to fly to California for the NAMM show. What’s this year’s event got to offer?
THE NATIONAL Association of Music Merchants’ annual
launchfest is later than usual this year (24-27 January), and nearly overlaps with the ISE show (see preview on p46). But if you’re smart with your scheduling and your jetlag planning, you can get to see both comfortably. That’s what we hope, anyway. The NAMM H.O.T. Zone
(for Hands-On Training) is hotter than ever this year, with a number of sessions with enticing titles. Immediately grabbing the attention are ‘Getting Killer Drum Sounds in the Studio’ with Beatles engineer Ken Scott and ‘Deconstructing Classic Rock Hits: Secrets Revealed from Classic Multi-tracks’ (both Thursday); ‘Recording Studio Designers Panel: Creative Acoustics for Modern Music Makers on Friday’; ‘Artist Panel: New School + Old School: Melody Still Rules’, with Rooney’s Robert Schwartzman & Ambrosia’s David Pack on Saturday; and
‘Lighting Control for Sound Guys’ on Sunday. A session at 5pm on Friday sounds irresistible: ‘Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours – The Producer’s Inside View’. For the first time, Ken Caillat, the album’s co- producer, tells the full story of what really went into making Rumours – from the endless partying and relationship merry- go-round to the creative struggles to write and record Don’t Stop, Go Your Own Way, The Chain, and other timeless tracks. Then on Sunday there’s an
exclusive screening of The Wrecking Crew, a film about the session players behind hit records for superstars including The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, The Mamas & The Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds… and Elvis himself. It’s described as a “labour of love” by director Denny Tedesco, and a love letter to the legacy of his late father, Tommy Tedesco, and his musician friends in the Crew. The Annual TEC Awards will be held on Friday 25 January during NAMM. Appropriately
Awards Hall of Fame. Ticket prices start at $65 (€49). So to the showfloor. EVE
Audio (see news report, p18) will be appearing at the show with newly-appointed North American distributor TruNorth. “We’re very much looking forward to rolling the brand out in the US and Canada,” says EVE’s Kerstin Mischke. “We will be demoing all two-way and three-way systems there: SC204, SC205, SC207, SC208, SC305 and SC307. Our SC4xx and subs will become available in April.” IsoAcoustics of Canada will
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unveil the ISO-L8R130 for small speakers at the show. These speaker stands, specifically designed for speakers with a weight of not more than 9kg, will be commercially available for professionals and consumers as of this month.
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enough for this, the TEC’s 28th outing, there will be 28 awards given for the year’s finest in audio technology and sound production. Singer-songwriter John Sebastian, founder of
The Lovin’ Spoonful, is this year’s host; Pete Townshend will receive the much-coveted Les Paul Award; and Record Plant president Rose Mann Cherney will be inducted into the TEC
The ISO-L8R130 stands share all the features found in the ISO-L8R155 and ISO-L8R200, including 14 variations in height and tilt, and patented ‘floating’ architecture for audio image stabilising that “have won it numerous fans in markets around the world”, says the company. “They offer a perfect solution to position speakers at ear level