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Press Release

Les Paul and Digidesign to Receive Technical Grammy Awards

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Dec. 19, 2000--Les Paul and Digidesign (Pro Tools) have been named as recipients of the Recording Academy's 2001 Technical GRAMMY Award, it was announced today by Michael Greene, Academy president/CEO.

Formal acknowledgment of the awards will be made on Feb. 20 in conjunction with the 43rd Annual GRAMMY® Awards ceremony -- held at Los Angeles' STAPLES Center on Wednesday, Feb. 21. The show will be a prime-time television special on the CBS Television Network.

Technical GRAMMY Award recipients are determined by vote of the National Trustees to individuals and/or companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.

``The technical and creative innovations and contributions of Les Paul and the inventiveness of Digidesign's Pro Tools system are the towering achievements of true visionaries,'' said Greene. ``The products of their inspiration and dedication to their craft have revolutionized the recording industry.

``From the foundations of multitrack recording laid by Les, to the cutting-edge technology designed by Digidesign, these giants continue to enable generations of artists, engineers and producers to expand the creative boundaries of recorded music.''

Les Paul has had a profound influence on the way American popular music sounds today. Paul initially made his name as a brilliant guitarist with a very distinct style. As an inventor, Paul is credited with pioneering the electronic reverb effect, overdubbing and multitrack tape recording. He made the first eight-track recorder in the late 1940s by stacking eight Ampex tape machines and synchronizing them.

In 1952, Paul was not only the most popular guitar player in America, he was also a leading innovator in guitar and electronics design. Paul is known as the father of the solid-body electric guitar. The Les Paul model, as it was originally called, is the product of Paul's groundbreaking concepts and Gibson Guitar's superior design.

The Les Paul model has changed little since its debut in `52, and it has been the driving force behind many changes in popular music. It powered the blues rock sound of the late `60s, the Southern rock of the late `70s and still provides signature sounds for every genre of rock, from alternative to metal, in the new century.

Digidesign's Pro Tools evolved from a four-track computer recording and editing system in 1991 to today's premier multitrack digital audio workstation for professionals. Designed by and for musicians, Pro Tools has forever changed the art of making music, and is now at the forefront of the industry's top recording studios.

Pro Tools provides the professional music, film, video, multimedia and broadcast radio industries with CD-quality digital recording, random access editing, advanced signal processing and digital audio mixing applications.

Digidesign's innovations -- including Time Division Multiplexing, the Real-Time Audio Suite, DirectConnect and more -- have revolutionized the industry and paved the way for widespread use of digital audio workstations (DAWs).

Pro Tools was used extensively in the production of Carlos Santana's multi-GRAMMY-winning ``Supernatural,'' as well as in recent recordings by Ricky Martin, David Bowie, Mariah Carey, TLC, Nine Inch Nails, Garbage, Beck, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Everclear and Wynton Marsalis, to name just a few.

Pro Tools has also figured prominently in the post-production of many motion pictures, including ``Titanic,'' ``Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace'' and ``American Beauty.''

The first Technical GRAMMY was awarded in 1994. Past winners include Dr. Thomas Stockham Jr., Ray Dolby, Rupert Neve, George Massenburg, Sony/Philips, Georg Neumann GmbH, Bill Putnam and AMS Neve plc.

     The Recording Academy, Santa Monica
     Heather Miller, 310/392-3777
       or
     Rogers & Cowan, Los Angeles
     Maureen O'Connor, 310/201-8816