Accepting the award will be Craigie Zildjian, CEO of the Avedis Zildjian Company; Debbie Zildjian, Zildjian’s Vice President of Human Resource; and John Roderick, Vice President of New Business Development/Gen16.

For 20 years, the Editors’ Choice Awards have recognized the best new production tools in the industry for musicians.

This year, the editors of Electronic Musician along with a select group of contributors, will honor the top 30 technical innovations in music at a special ceremony during the 2012 Winter NAMM Show on Wednesday, January 18. Craigie Zildjian says:

"We are deeply honored to be recognized with an Editors’ Choice Award from an industry thought leader like Electronic Musician. It is especially meaningful when the commendation is for ground-breaking new technology like Gen16. This award reaffirms our goal as a company to be at the forefront of new technologies in music performance, production, and recording. Gen16 represents our investment in the Zildjian Company’s digital future."

The Gen16 Acoustic Electric Cymbal System represents a paradigm shift in electronic percussion. A major departure from current electronic cymbal technology that employs MIDI trigger pads and sampled sounds, Zildjian’s revolutionary new cymbal system includes low-volume, acoustic metal cymbals; a pickup that utilizes a patent-pending, dual-head mini microphone design; and a Digital Cymbal Processor designed to produce customizable cymbal sounds.

Furthermore, the Gen16 AE Cymbal System retains many of the desirable qualities of acoustic cymbals in terms of its overall feel and responsiveness, providing musicians with an authentic drumming experience.