In July 2008 Guitar World and the NPS (Notes Per Second) Clocking Project rated Todd Duane as the 3rd fastest player in the world. This project was not based purely on speed. They used the same criteria that Eliot Spitzer uses to evaluate hookers: cleanliness, accuracy and fluency in advanced positions.
Click on the image to the left, or continue reading to read the whole story.
BLINDED BY SCIENCE ~ Chris Gill
JULY 2008 ~ Guitar World Magazine
Who’s The Fastest of Them All? The NPS Clocking Project has the answer.
Until guitar playing is designated as an Olympic event, we may never know who truly is the fastest guitar player in the world.
However, Willie Jordan, who goes by the name Willjay on the Michael Angelo Batio forum, has made an attempt to scientifically determine who is the fastest player with what he calls the NPS Clocking Project (with NPS meaning Notes Per Second, not Nerdy Pointless Shredding). Using one-second audio clips and painstakingly counting each note, Jordan came up withhis own list of the 50 fastest players and posted them on the MAB forum in 2006, although he focused only on alternate picking and not other speed techniques like sweep picking or tapping.
So who is the fastest? According to Willjay it’s Shawn Lane, who he clocked at 18 notes per second. But what if you want to count what willjay calls “Spasmodic Arm Vibration” (which he criticizes as a sloppy technique), it’s some random dude from Barcelona named Odracir, who posted a clip on the MAB forum of himself playing at 28 notes per second. The NPS Clocking Project is not all about speed for the sake of speed, however; Willjay also judges players by the same criteria that Eliot Spitzer uses to evaluate hookers: cleanliness, accuracy and fluency in advanced positions.
Unfortunately, the discussion shifted away from know players you’d actually want to listen to as the thread overflowed with requests from from kids who asked Willjay to clock them (isn’t that illegal in the Bible Belt?). Wven so, the NPS Clocking Project is and admirable attempt to provide a scientific answer to a burning question.
NPS CLOCKING PROJECT SCORES (notes per second)
Shawn Lane……………………18
Danny Joe Carter……………..17
Todd Duane……………..17-16.5
Marcus Paus………………17-16
Rusty Cooley…………………..16
Michael Angelo Batio……….16
John McLaughlin……………16
Joel Rivard…………………….16
Tony MacAlpine……………..16
Guthrie Govan………………..16
Rick Graham………………….16
Theodore Ziras……………….16
Chris Impelliteri……………..16
John Petrucci…………………15
Conrad Simon………………..15
Yngwie Malmsteen………….15
Paul Gilbert…………………..15
Al di Meola…………………..15
Jorge Strunz…………………15
Jason Becker………………..15
Vinnie Moore……………….15
John Norum………………..15
Michael Romeo…………….15
Ron Thal…………………….15
Jeremy Barnes……………..15
John Sykes………………….15
Mario Parga………………..15
Paco de Lucia…………..15-14
Kee Marcello……………….14
Milan Polak………………..14
Bob Zabek…………………..14
Matthew Mills……………..14
Nunu Bettencourt………….14
George Bellas……………….14
Stephan Forte………………14
Toshi Iseda…………………14
Mark Tremonti…………….14
German Schauss…………..14
Steve Vai…………………14-13
Buckethead……………….13.5
Jeff Loomis……………….13.5
Randy Rhoads………………13
Tony Smotherman…………13
Neil Zaza…………………….13
Joe Stump……………………13
Greg Howe………………….13
Steve Morse…………………13
Zakk Wylde…………………13
The Great Kat………………13
Joey Taffola………………..12
