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, Audio Engineering Associates
http://www.wesdooley.com
It’s so nice to meet folks at the show with whom you’ve only had e-mail exchanges. Renee and Steve have been so friendly and supportive of our efforts at microphone shootouts and reviews for podcasts. It was their first time in their own booth at the NAMM show. I wonder how these people have the stamina to do it for four days. I know Steve was exhausted by this point in the show and he was nice enough to spend some time talking about the new RPQ mic preamp. Very impressive stuff from these guys. Always a pleasure to see what’s going on with AEA.

Wes Dooley, AEA
Kevin Peckham, GearCast from Full Compass Systems
http://www.fullcompass.com/gearcast
I’ve been a listener to GearCast from Full Compass Systems for quite some time now and would recognize Kevin Peckham’s rich voice anywhere. So, I was immediately distracted while interviewing Steve at the AEA booth when I heard that unmistakable voice behind me, interviewing the one-and-only Wes Dooley of AEA. I took a moment to introduce myself and chat a bit after Kevin finished his interview. I was later horrified to hear Kevin’s interview with Wes on GearCast where all I could hear in the background was my loud voice speaking with Steve. (Sorry Kevin). Anyway, I’ve been a long-time customer of Full Compass and especially GearCast. keep up the great work!

Michael Chiriac, Cascade Microphones
http://www.cascademicrophones.com
I can’t tell you what a big fan I am of Cascade Microphones. I’ve always said that, in my opinion, the best bang-for-the-buck ribbon microphone is the Fat Head. Yes, there are plenty of budget ribbon mics out there but, all things considered, Cascade offers the highest quality at the lowest price and their customer service is unbeatable. I own a bunch of their products and I’m consistently impressed with each new model. Their latest C-77 is truly a marvelous ribbon mic and sure to spend more time on the boom stand than in the mic closet. I can’t wait to see the new tube ribbon coming down the pike…

Also at the show, but not in the interviews:

Joe Bosso from the Music Radar podcast
http://www.musicradar.com
George and I were sitting at the bar at the Marriott across from the convention center when I heard someone next to me mention something about a podcast. Well, that certainly caught my ear and I inquired about his podcast. well, this led to several more beers, a delayed dinner and a new feed to enter into iTunes.

Nick Batt, Sonic talk podcast
http://www.sonicstate.com
I’ve been a listener to the Sonic Talk podcast since day one and was looking forward to meeting up with Nick Batt and Dave Spears from G-Force. We did finally catch them at the M-Audio booth on Saturday and made vague plans but it didn’t work out, unfortunately. Oh well, maybe next time…

Stay tuned for a talk about the show outside the convention center with the inimitable George Hrab on the next episode of Sessions With Slau coming soon!

http://www.sessionswithslau.com