On 09/09/09 (probably in the spirit of John Lennon’s “Revolution 9”), a new remastering of the entire Beatles catalog (on both stereo and mono versions!) will be released (along with an excellent multi-platform Beatles Rock Band game). Whoa!

Some intricate mastering details have been posted here by the Abbey Road engineers themselves. It’s very interesting to note how they approached this project, starting from the analog reels some of which are more than 40 years old, and how the latest digital technology was used during the process. It reportedly took four years to complete this undertaking!

I personally own original vinyl pressings of *all* the stereo albums (this was from the 1980’s and I was still in high school back then!), and this I consider some of my most prized possessions. The sound of these albums simply cannot be matched in my opinion. I have the original CD releases as well, but they just sound trebly thin and lifeless by comparison. Later on, I got hold of some remasters (some Japanese premaster of Abbey Road, and all the Dr. Ebbetts remasters on FLAC), but as far as my ears can remember, the vinyl still blows them away. Nope, I don’t want to join in that CD vs. vinyl debate anymore!

Let’s just hope these new versions will turn out to be the best listening experiences we can ever have of these works of art, in any format for that matter. I really share the sentiment of Mr. Guttenberg as he expressed in his CNET blog.

I have high hopes though, primarily since I think only recently has the converter technology began to mature enough such that analog to digital conversion is now as transparent as can be, compared to even a decade ago or less. (Mastering engineer Bob Ludwig used to complain about this so much in the past!) But the $8,000 Prism box Abbey Road allegedly used is the current flagship of the company, and while I have never heard any Prism ADC’s yet (I used to use Lavry’s in the U.S.), it still is way up there, at the very high-end of things. Combine this with an excellent analog front-end, and some intelligent use of digital processing (especially noise reduction and final limiting), and the infinite knowledge and wisdom of the Abbey road engineers and hopefully we have a winner. Can’t wait to hear them!

One of the great musical figures of our time passed away recently. Les Paul was a master guitarist, and as an artist (together with his wife Mary Ford), he ruled the American charts in the 1950’s with hits like “How High the Moon”, “Mockin’ Bird Hill”, and “Vaya Con Dios”. I dusted off an old CD of his a week ago, and boy was I floored by his playing style, his tone and his consummate taste.

He was the pioneer of the solid-body guitar, and invented *the* guitar used by legions of greats, from Jimmy Page and Billy Gibbons to Slash. (No kiddo, Les Paul was actually the *inventor* of the guitar you’re holding!)

As an engineer and inventor, Les was also responsible for many ground-breaking innovations in the recording studio, such as multi-tracking, overdubbing (recording sound on top of sound), and various tape-based effects such as delay and phasing. After his introduction of multi-tracking, recording as we know it would never be the same again…

Goodbye and thank you Les!

And here is the link to the Jazz.com article… http://www.jazz.com/features-and-interviews/2009/8/13/guitarist-and-inventor-les-paul-passes-away-at-94

Just after I posted the Rolling Stones list, here I found Time magazine’s version…

Here’s that list:

1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Slash
3. B.B. King
4. Keith Richards
5. Eric Clapton
6. Jimmy Page
7. Chuck Berry
8. Les Paul
9. Yngwie Malmsteen
10. Prince

And while were at it, Gibson.com posted an addendum of some sort…

8 Great Electric-Guitar Players Time.com Overlooked

And here’s that list:

1. Jeff Beck
2. Duane Allman
3. Eddie Van Halen
4. George Harrison
5. Steve Howe
6. David Gilmour
7. T-Bone Walker
8. Pete Townshend

Notable mentions: Buddy Guy, Ritchie Blackmore, Tony Iommi, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, Bo Diddley, Brian May, Robert Fripp, Randy Rhoads, Mick Ronson, Joe Perry, Angus Young

Don’t you just love (or just downright hate!) these Top Ten lists…

The master of the seven-string has spoken. And here is his list, those rare moments where “the voice of God” was heard speaking through the guitar (and otherwise).

1. Santana: “Europa (Earth’s Cry Heaven Smile)”
2. Jeff Beck: “’Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers”
3. Jimi Hendrix: “Midnight”
4. Joe Satriani: “Is There Love In Space”
5. Mahavishnu Orchestra: “Meeting of the Spirits”
6. Frank Zappa: “Black Napkins”
7. Allan Holdsworth: “Devil Take The Hindmost”
8. Stevie Ray Vaughan: “Lenny”
9. Yngwie Malmsteen: “Black Star”
10. The Champs: “Tequila”

Here’s the link to the original post… http://www.aolradioblog.com/2009/08/21/steve-vai-unveils-his-10-favorite-instrumentals/

The guitar music scene has certainly changed. When I was starting out, the guitar gods of my time set a very high mark. We’ve got master technicians like Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Jason Becker, Shawn Lane, Joe Satriani, Marty Friedman, Steve Morse, John Petrucci, Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Gambale and so many others. Perhaps a generation before that we had Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Jimmy Page, Al di Meola, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour and John McLaughlin. To learn guitar that time was like climbing Mount Everest, you’ve got to *really* practice and *know* your stuff. And it’s not just the monkey mechanical thingy, but the music theory as well. I guess ultimately it made the guitarists of my generation better and more disciplined players.

Since then (well, in fact, since Kurt Cobain!), things have cooled down a bit. Now we’ve got the guitar “torch” passed on to the young guns like John Mayer, John 5 and Jack White who, while making things technically simpler, put into the instrument more musicality, and further cemented the guitar’s role as a key instrument supporting the song. There would still be occasional flashes of intensity and virtuosity, but they are now there only to enhance the song. It’s not a guitar solo played for its own sake anymore. I guess it’s a wake up call of some sorts.

And so with this, I’d like to share with you a fresh article from Rolling Stone magazine titled “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. Though it’s too bad one of my favorite idols ever wasn’t included in the list. Well, he’s not mainstream so it’s just wishful thinking on my part really… And why the hell is EVH down there at #70? WTF!?!??

Incidentally, while we’re at it, there’s one more link right there, this time, it’s “The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time”. Enjoy!