BAE Audio, manufacturer of audio equipment faithful to vintage design specifications, has announced that its new Hot Fuzz guitar pedal and G10 equalizer have been nominated for the 33rd Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards. The nomination of the Hot Fuzz represents BAE Audio’s first appearance in the Musical Instrument Amplification & Effects category and is the company’s first guitar pedal. The nomination of the G10 meantime marks the third consecutive year that BAE Audio has received a nomination in the Signal Processing Hardware – 500 Series category, following nominations for the 1073MPL in 2015 and the 1066DL in 2016.
-Dave Stewart
Presented by the NAMM Foundation, the TEC Awards are the pro audio and musical instrument industries’ most prestigious awards, celebrating the spirit of innovation and honoring best-in-class products in the pro audio community. Following a two-month call for entries, a panel comprised of leaders in audio and production carefully evaluated each entry before selecting the Hot Fuzz and G10. Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony at the NAMM Show on January 27st.
From purr to scream
The Hot Fuzz is a tone-rich 2-in-1 guitar pedal that combines a classic top boost with a beloved ’70s fuzz circuit for a versatile dirt box that can quickly go from purr to scream. Pouring through a wealth of vintage fuzz circuits in search of the perfect sound, BAE Audio CEO Mark Loughman finally settled on a fuzz design that met his exacting standards. With dual footswitches, players can easily dial in a great fuzz tone for rhythm sections, then kick on the top boost for a searing lead, or use the boost on its own to push a vintage amp into an articulate crunch. For guitar players already familiar with BAE Audio’s premium DIs, preamps, and other studio gear, the Hot Fuzz provides a first opportunity to bring BAE quality directly to their pedalboards, while for others it will be a point of entry into the world of BAE’s premium analog circuitry.
Sound sculptor
The G10 equalizer brings BAE Audio’s mastery of classic analog design to the versatile studio-favorite 10-band graphic EQ. With a transformer-balanced signal path and 2520-style op-amps, the G10 brings musical analog character to a signal even without adjusting its bands. But tweaking the 10 carefully selected bands, each offering up to 12 dB of boost or cut each, unlocks the ability to use the G10 to sculpt any sound source to perfection. High and low pass filters at 80 Hz and 12kHz respectively offer even further options for ensuring your tracks fit in the mix. Joining the ranks of BAE Audio’s ever-growing selection of 500 series offerings, the G10 provides powerful equalization possibilities from tracking to mixing to mastering.
“We are pleased that the G10 has found a home in numerous studios around the world since its release and has proven itself a valuable tool for shaping signals of all kinds,” says BAE Audio CEO Mark Loughman. “We look forward to continuing to develop our ecosystem of BAE Audio products for the 500 series format. While our bonafides in crafting uncompromising studio gear are well established, the Hot Fuzz represents both a very personal design on my part and an exciting new branch of BAE Audio’s product line. We are excited to delve into the world of guitar effects while maintaining our commitment to quality.”
Master of the analog universe
BAE Audio has been building hardware to the exact specifications of their classic predecessors for over 15 years, consecutively longer than any company in history. While it continues to grow its 500 series offerings alongside its selections of coveted rack preamplifiers, equalizers, and compressors, BAE Audio has applied its capacity for adapting coveted vintage circuit designs into new formats to deliver its first ever guitar pedal in 2017. With exciting new possibilities on the horizon, BAE Audio maintains its commitment to hand wiring and assembling each of its products in California to the company’s exacting quality and authenticity standards.
For more information on the TEC Awards please visit https://www.tecawards.org.
For more information on the Hot Fuzz and G10, please visit http://www.baeaudio.com.
About BAE Audio
BAE Audio is a U.S.-based manufacturer of high-end microphone preamp and equalizers, all of which are faithful to vintage designs of the seventies and before. The company is committed to the vintage philosophy of hand wiring and hand soldering all of its components to achieve a high quality and authentically vintage sound. For more information on BAE Audio, please visit our website at www.baeaudio.com.
Photo / Video : Bae Audio