"What a celebration of white-hot, burning guitar!" said Guitar Player Editor in Chief Michael Molenda. "All ten contestants were simply awesome -- on fire, in fact � and the crowd was devouring every run, riff, and lick. It was great to see such enthusiasm over transcendent guitar playing, as you certainly don't hear these styles very much on radio or television these days."

"Ladd Smith took the GH07 championship because his 'Outrun the Train' was a thrill ride of furious note barrages, clean-toned spank, and country melodicism," continued Molenda. "It's incredibly difficult to play fast runs so pristinely � without a little help from distortion or sustain from the amp � and the judges acknowledged this in their decision." - Ladd Smith's site

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