Winter NAMM 2009

I had the pleasure of meeting up with many friends and acquaintances at this year's winter NAMM show. Here are a bunch of interviews with some of them. In order of appearance: Bob Heil, Heil Sound http://www.heilsound.com Bob is an absolute legend in the audio business. What an incredibly passionate and dedicated man. He has a ton of great stories to tell and I could just listen all day. He was very generous with his time and I cut a bunch of stuff out of the interview just to make it a little shorter. Extremely nice new drum mic kits from Heil. Check 'em out. Lonya Nenashev, fDW Worldwide (Nievaton) http://www.nevaton-microphones.com I finally had a chance to meet Lonya Nenashev (formerly of Red Square Audio) in person and check out some of the offerings from Nevaton, a Russian microphone manufacturer. This is one of those cases where I wish I had a quiet room in which to audition these impressive looking large diaphragm condensers. I've always been intrigued by Russian-made microphones and these look enticing. They're not very well known in the States... yet. Jed, DPA Microphones http://www.dpamicrophones.com Not surprisingly, DPA wasn't showing their excellent line of studio microphones but rather their new series of mics designed primarily for live instrument miking at a considerably more affordable price point. Doc, Avant Electronics http://www.avantelectronics.com There's something about Avant products that I really like. Everything that I've seen from them so far has been really nice. I just recently purchased a pair of Mix Cubes for the studio and find them to be quite nice. Doc talks about some soon-to-be-released microphone offerings. What kind of a name is Doc? Well, he got that nickname because he was a medic in the Navy. Cool! Dusty Wakeman, Mojave Audio http://www.mojaveaudio.com As a big fan of the Mojave MA-200, I was excited to see a prototype for a stereo version of the LDC called the Ma-202ST which should be out in the next couple of months. For years, I've been trying to track down an earlier LDC tube mic designed by David Royer known as the 747. I've told Dusty that, if Mojave were to put out a new multi-pattern, large diaphragm  condenser, I'd probably buy it sight unseen or, well, unheard. David Royer, Mojave/Royer Labs David seems to me like a cross between a hippie and a scientist. He apparently has a sketchbook filled with ideas and designs. Oh, how I'd love to take a little peek... John Jennings, Royer Labs http://www.royerlabs.com John showed me Royer's new SF-24V stereo tube ribbon mic. Man, if I only had an extra $7,000 laying around. Hmm... Well, for now, I grabbed their much more affordable (actually, free) new demo CD which features clips from multitrack sessions featuring Royer ribbons -- right up my alley! Can't wait to sit down and give a close listen. Paul Erlandson, Lynx Studio Technology, Inc. http://www.lynxstudio.com Paul and I have been missing each other at a few NAMM and AES shows. Well, we finally did catch up and I was really impressed with their interfaces. Maybe we'll manage to get one into the studio to shoot out against some other converters. Gary, Audio-Technica http://www.audio-technica.com I've always been a fan of Audio-Technica microphones, especially the 4033/sE. They were showing their new stereo mics and headphones. Again, one of those situations where I would've loved to have a quiet room on the show floor in which to have a close listen. Oh well, it's a trade show... Tony O'Keefe, CAD Professional Microphones http://www.cadmics.com I've loved CAD microphones for years, especially their early models. Although Tony showed me a bunch of new and interesting products at the booth, I was truly excited to hear that they're going to be manufacturing their higher-end microphones in the States again. Wow, you'd better believe I'll be hounding Tony to send me some review units in the future! Steve Trunnell & Renee,