favorite guitarist?

[robrules]

My three favorite are
1. Randy Rhoads
2. Slash
3. Hendrix

[zepo]

1.) Jimmy Page
2.) Jimi Hendrix
Quad Tie for third
3.) Nigel Tufnel (Spinal Tap's lead)
Kirk Hammet
Mr. Randy
Eric Clapton

[AtomicMassUnit]

bb king, roy nichols (merle haggard's guitarist), trey spruance (from mr bungle/faith no more), joe jack talcum (from dead milkmen), franche coma (from the original misfits with glen danzig), dean deleo, stevie ray (even though he rambles), and jonny greenwood (radiohead)

sortof leaning toward style rather than technical ability

Atomic

[BarryS]

This is such a difficult topic as there are so many excellent guitarists out there. I'll compile a short list of the guitarists who influence my playing the most. In random order:

Jimi Hendrix - this guy is the reason why I first picked up a guitar.

Carlos Santana

Alvin Lee

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Albert Collins

Buddy Guy - Greatest guitar player alive today (in my opinion)

Eric Clapton

Jimmy Page

Freddie King

Paul Simon - great acoustic fingerstyle playing

Albert King

Robbie Kreiger

George Harrison

B.B. King

Jorma Kaukonen

Keith Richards - If for nothing more than his playing on Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed, I had to include him.


I think that about does it.


[This message has been edited by BarryS (edited 07-10-2000).]

[KingB]

1. Alex Skolnick
2. Rocky George
3. Tony MacAlpine
4. Bruce ****burn
5. John Petrucci
6. Zakk Wylde

[ekstasis16]

Vai
Satch
Petrucci
Rhoads
Andre Andersen (Royal Hunt)

...cream of the crop...

[trendkillah]

In no particular order:

-Dimebag Darrel
-Dave Mustaine
-Marty Friedman
-Jason Becker
-Yngwie Malmsteen
-James Hetfield
-Joe Satriani
-Steve Vai
-John Petrucci
-Chuck Shuldiner

........

[Jimi Hendrix]

1. Magnus
2. Johan
3. That guy from Goo Goo Dolls

This list may change in a few days, since I am on drugs.

------------------
excuse me, but i must kiss the sky.

[Peter Pan]

1. Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi)
2. Steve Lukather
3. Slash
To Hell with Vai, Satch, Hammet and the rest; these guys rule

[ekstasis16]

Watch your step, Mr. Pan, or you may find yourself getting knocked back into never-neverland...

[James]

in no particular order

Slash
Randy Rhoads
SRV
Lenny Kravitz
Joe Perry
Paul Simon
Tom Morello (what the hell, he's innovative)
Satriani
Hendrix (sure what the hell... )

I suppose some of my choices based more upon songwriting ability, so it might not be entirely accurate.

[BarryS]

I'm starting to get the idea that I'm the only non-metalhead on this board.... sheesh... Is there a blues guitar forum around here somewheres?? j/k

[BadHorsie]

Although I have many favorite guitarists, there's really only one that sticks out the most. Vai, Vai, and Vai.

------------------
BadHorsie, holdin' it down like Gravity!

[LuigiCabrini]

No! You're not the only non-metalhead. I appreciate and really like the music of guys like satriani, johnson, and Vai, but I'd rather listen to people like Metheny, Mike Stern, Jimmy Bruno, John Mclaughlin, etc.
I've got no problem with metal musically except that I personally find that there tends to be less going on in a good metal band than in a good jazz combo.
The problem I have is the way that many of the fans (metallica fans come to mind) seem to think that because they like their favorite group/guitarrist/whatever, that this group/guitarrist is the best. I.E. Vai plays really fast and knows modes thus he is the most technically skilled and most knowledgable about theory. First of all, rock guitar players tend to ignore a lot of the less flashy points of theory. They tend to hurry up and get to the part about soloing, and thus I've never heard a rock guitarrist who was skilled at comping. Ask a rock guitarrist to play an F7 chord and he'll play you one of 2 clunky 6 string voicings. Does it ever occur to him that maybe a different voicing would work, maybe one without the root note, as it will only get in the way of the bassist if you play it? True, its not part of the rock style, but it an aspect of jazz that makes it more interesting (to me) to play jazz rythym than rock rythym. The fact that you can improvise different chord voicings even when you are reading them off a chart is something that I find adds a whole other dimension to accompanying, and gives you choices that you don't have in other styles where theres a set chord progression.
As for soloing, how many of the revered rock/metal guitar gods use passing tones well? No, I don't mean play long chromatic passages just like they did to the metronome, I mean connecting target notes and chord degrees with chromatic tones. It takes years to make this a part of one's improvising style that you don't even have to think about and can still sound good with. Most (most, i think petrucci is actually good at this) metal players I've heard are either playing in their minor scale of choice, or playing chromatic passages, but never seamlessly interspersing notes from the chromatic scale into their solos. Also, people who worship Vai/Yngwie/Petrucci always seem to think that there is nobody who practiced more than them ever, and that they play faster and more cleanly than anybody else ever. I'm sorry, but Pat Metheny played 10-13 hours a day too, either playing or studying harmony at the piano. If you want to hear an example of a very technical jazz guitarrist, listen to Jimmy Bruno. Unlike many metal guitarrists he won't be playing top speed for entire solos, he usually wont do it at all. When he does, (And this is on an archtop with 13 gague flatwound strings, not tuned down, much harder playing on an ibanez with 9 gagues,) if its not as fast as petrucci, you won't be able to tell the difference. I'm not saying he's better, I'm just saying that there's more to life than rock/metal, that there are also people who were inspired by wes montgomery, not Jimmy Page.
I've never seen a metal band where the musicians interact with each other in the way that they do in a good jazz band. It's pretty much impossible in a style with improvisation that is as limited as rock/metal. It's really impossible in a style where the improvisation is usually limited to one instrument-guitar-playing a solo in one given scale. (Again, while LTE may not be geniuses of tasteful improvisation, they're not afraid to go all out, so I respect them for that.)
If I came off as anti rock/metal, I didn't mean to. I am a fan of Satriani, Johnson, Vai, Zeppelin, Clapton, lots of non jazz musicians. My point was simply that by no means is the pinnacle of knowledge and skill with the guitar achieved in 80s metal. There is no such thing, and while there is lots of stuff that jazz guitarrists can do that metal guitarrists can't, in areas such as whammy bar technique, and creating sound effects a la EVH, metal guitarrists are more skilled. There are things that classical guitarrists can do that other guitarrists can't, such as play complex multiple lines simultaneously. Even the best classical guitarrists don't have the incredble rythymic skill in their right hands of the best flamenco guitarrists.
Finally, the point, there is no such thing as best guitarrist, and I suggest you all go out and buy some pat metheny, some jimmy bruno, some paco de lucia, and some allan holdsworth, and it will expand the horizons of those who previously only listened to metallica.

[Uncle Istvan]

Oy... I've been out for a week, but I'm back! I'd have to say my favorites are:

Vai
Satriani
Van Halen
Malmsteen
Cambell (from Dio)
Rhodes (the man who inspired me to pick up a guitar...)
Petrucci
Gambale

I decided recently that yeah... there is no best guitarist. Every guitar "god" is specialized in their own department. I used to live by the word of Vai and then realized that, hell, Gambale could kick Vai's ass in a different musical field without trying. But it's also the same the other way. Both are amazing players, but they are great in there own different ways.

[BarryS]

Hey guys, WAKE UP!! IT'S NOT THE 80'S ANYMORE!!!!

Just kidding.... You could say the same thing to me about the 60's....

Thanks for speaking up, Luigi. I was beginning to get a bit lonely. I see that you're quite a jazz fan. I'm surprised that you've mentioned nothing of the blues, however. Where the guitar be today if not for the blues? Long forgotten, probably. It was musicians like Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James, B.B. King, Albert King, and the like who helped to elevate the guitar to its status as the chief instrument of rock and roll and popular music in general. I admire the torchbearing jazz musicians very much as well, but one must give credit where credit is due.

And, I'm sorry, but Steve Vai deserves none.

Now allow me to duck out of here before a lynch mob starts after me......

[Uncle Istvan]

Yeah... i too forgot to mention blues, which is weird, because it's my favorite to play. Although, I don't listen to a whole lot of blues, I just play the stuff- just like Jazz and Reggae- I listen to very little, but it's what I play most. I listen to a whole lot of metal and punk, but only play that at band practice... go figure... and Vai is great.

[loner92]

Steve Vai
Kirk Hammet
Zakk Wylde
EVH
Jerry Cantrell

[This message has been edited by loner92 (edited 07-13-2000).]

[BarryS]

Okay, so Vai is great. He can play fast and loud like Eddie Van Halen. But does he put as much heart and soul into his playing as, say, Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix? Or does he simply try to wow fans with his technique and guitar wizardry without worrying about emotion. Just like Albert King says on the In Session disc, "A lot of guitar players out here. They play fast, but they don't concentrate on no soul."

[This message has been edited by BarryS (edited 07-11-2000).]

[ekstasis16]

Please don't get me started. If you've thouroughly sifted through vai.com and read every interview you could find, you'd know otherwise.

Thats' all I have to say.

[Fretmeister]

maybe i missed it but did anyone mention CARLOS SANTANA????

at any rate, here is my list of a few:

Carlos Santana
Slash
Tim Reynolds (Tours with DMB)
Tom Morello
Mike McCready
Randy Rhoades

I'm definitely not a 'metalhead'...

I also have to defend Tom Morello.. alot of people will claim that he just makes a lot of noise with his guitar. True, he does make noise, but the guy can FREAKIN SHRED TOO!! Tom has some of the most melodic solos i've heard, and he has some great rhythm parts, so please don't sell him short.

jason

[zepo]

still going with Jimmy Page here

[LuigiCabrini]

Trust me man i'm a big blues fan. I tend to like it more when you jazz it up a bit tho. Instead of just the 1 4 5, throwing in some kind of 6 2 5 1 somewhere, not that its not done in traditional blues, that's what the turnaround is in blues, but i mean playing it harmonically, not only in the form of turnaround riffs.
Thing is, blues and jazz are closely related. Try and find a great jazz musician who has never played some kind of blues form, and, well, you'll have to look pretty damn hard. In my jazz camp we're playing a coltrane tune tommorow, but its really a 12 bar, but with a few passing chords, and the soloing isn't only from the blues scale (I like to use a lot of dorian licks for this one, Mr. P.C.)
The reason i didn't talk about blues is because its harder to talk about blues in absolutes, and thus harder to make arguments with it. You and I can dig it, but we can never objectively say, "that guy plays with more feeling than that guy," its not a concrete thing. Dont get me wrong tho, I think SRV was great at what he did, and BB King is too. I do, however, tend to get tired of listening to too much straight 12 bar stuff, cause face it, it can get repetetitve. That's why its more intersting with chord substitutions, and soloing instruments other than the guitar, as well as having a piano to help out the guitar with comping.

[BarryS]

Yes, I mentioned Carlos Santana, Fretmeister. His latest album may be sort of a sell-out, but still it's great to see him getting the recognition that he deserves. What's unfortunate is that he should have won Grammies for Abraxas or Santana III thirty years ago instead of Supernatural.

Yes, Luigi, I know what you mean about 12 bar blues getting repetitive. I'm sure you can only hear "My baby done left me now I ain't got no one to love" so many times without getting bored. I don't get bored with it too easily though. There's almost always something in a blues tune to entertain and inspire. Whether it's the guitar playing, the lyrics (not very often), the harp playing, or just those amazing voices (Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters are two of my favorite blues voices). It's just amazing to listen to the music which spawned rock and roll as we know it. Have you heard B.B. King's Live At The Regal album? Probably a dumb question, but that's some very jazzy blues.

[This message has been edited by BarryS (edited 07-12-2000).]

[Unholy]

I´m new here, but the first thing i want to say is that the best guitarist i have heard are:
David Gilmour (pink floyd)
Ace Freheley (KISS)

[LuigiCabrini]

I think live at the regal is the quintisential blues album. In that style, I've heard nothing better. BB is interesting, and he makes good use of the major interval additions like the major third and major sixth (major sixth automatically gives it a jazzy dorian vibe.)
Thing is, I can't listen to too much stuff of that style straight. I like it, but its like anything, you get tired of it. That's why sometimes i'll like to listen to some bossa nova type stuff, sometimes maybe i'd like to hear some modal stuff like herbie han**** or miles davis.
Do me a favor and check out the coltrane song Mr. P.C. It's a blues form, but he does so much with it, and the solos are jazzy. I think you'll really like it, cause not only are the solos great, but the riff is one of the catchiest riffs I've heard. I'm not saying that this stuff is better than straight blues, i'm saying its a refreshing alternative.

[LuigiCabrini]

Ohmigod, that's so stupid. They put asterisks just cause I put the name Herbie Hancok (there should be a C between the o and the k, but they wont let you say ****, even if its in the middle of a word.) What if the jazz/fusion/funk master came on the board, and tried to say who he was--Herbie Han****--and nobody could know. They'd just think it was some guy named herb. Jon, is this your doing? Sure this is smart?
http://www.guitarforums.com/gtubb/frown.gif

[dumb00footer]

Ok, if you ask me these are the best guitarists that ever lived or live!
1)Billie Joe (Green Day)
2)Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails)

and finally a great man
3)Kurt Cobain (nirvana)

[BarryS]

dumb00footer, you're joking right? Tell me you're not serious, man....

I respect your opinions, I really do, but seriously if you think those guys are the greatest guitarists ever then you really need to be exposed to more music than what you see on MTV. There are guitar players out there who are so amazing, it will blow your mind. Check out my list of favorites to see who some of them are. Just trying to help you out, I don't mean to sound egotistical or anything.

[This message has been edited by BarryS (edited 07-14-2000).]

[loner92]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dumb00footer:
Ok, if you ask me these are the best guitarists that ever lived or live!
1)Billie Joe (Green Day)
2)Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails)

and finally a great man
3)Kurt Cobain (nirvana)

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

WTF?? Do you even play guitar? Those guys are terrible guitarists. You can learn their stuuf in less than a week (and that's assuming you've never picked up a guitar before). If you want to hear some real guitar music, turn off eMpTytV and go listen to some Metallica (...And Justice or All, in particuar), Steve Vai, Ozzy, ANY JAZZ OR BLUES PLAYER, etc.



[This message has been edited by loner92 (edited 07-15-2000).]

[LuigiCabrini]

I'm going to go on my same old rant. THERES MORE TO LIFE THAN METAL!!! If you wanna hear serious guitar playing, sure listen to vai, randy rhoads, but then listen to Pat Metheny, Allan Holdsworth, Mike Stern, Django Rheinhardt, JIMMY BRUNO, urgh, am I getting through to anybody?

[ekstasis16]

Assuming that dumb00footer was serious, you guys shouldn't trash what others like. Personally, I don't like their music either, but I don't hate it. Kurt Cobain was a great songwriter and brought forth a whole new style. He may not be a fantastic 'shredder', but making a new style popular is difficult.

I think BadHorsie once said that people sometimes quote their favorite ones as the best. Hell, I've been guilty of it. When stating your opinion on who is the best, are you really considering all the guitarists out there, or just the ones you like. I think it would do us a lot of good to explore some other styles than metal, even if it's just a little.

I'm not saying the guitarists posted here aren't great - just that there are others out there just as good that we've never heard of.

So at least show a little respect and try to find the good in all musicians.

(I hope this didn't sound too cheesy http://www.guitarforums.com/gtubb/tongue.gif )

[BarryS]

I don't think Cobain was that great of a songwriter. He did come up with some catchy tunes, but John Lennon he ain't. His songs consist mostly of absurdly grotesque images like eating cancer, references to fetuses, hymens, etc or just that annoying grunge whining. "We have the number one record in the world, we're making tons of money and have millions of adoring fans! And we're PISSED!!" Blah... I don't think much of Cobain or Nirvana, no. He was a moderately talented (at best) wannabe who was unjustly elevated to godly status just because he killed himself at the height of his popularity. Not trying to convince anyone, just voicing my opinion.

[ekstasis16]

I didn't mean to make him sound excellent, only as compared to the other stuff back in the day. He did have his share of problems.

[AtomicMassUnit]

Is there anyone on here who doesn't like shredders? I am into every style of music out there, and there are amazing musicians of every genre, but I am so sick to death of people like Steve Vai. And, before you go there, I was a shredder. I still have the technical ability to play picture perfect 32nd notes, or wank Aolian runs all night, but music is about melody and rhythm, it's about the hook, it's about the emotion.
I've been moved to tears by music, listen to a good ballad, a heartfelt country song, a decent classical piece, an emotive blues or jazz song. How many of you can say that shredding has ever made you feel anything other than an urge to play guitar really really fast and OOH and AAAH at someone's technique?
On the other hand, im not advocating these idiots who don't know how to play guitar and brandish their ignorance like it's a flag. What ever happened to cool riffs or licks that make you listen to them over and over? what happened to solos you could sing with your voice to learn them? I'm just so sick off all these shredders... Surely you guys know what i mean. I just wish more people made music with substance.

Atomic

[This message has been edited by AtomicMassUnit (edited 07-15-2000).]

[dumb00footer]

thanks ekstasis16 for defending me , and by the way yes i do play guitar! i have been exposed to alot of other music, i know that the stuff i like is not as complicated as others, but like i said in my opinion they are the best, and its becouse of there originality, each and every artist i mentioned has brought something to the industry that has either changed in a good way or a bad, but they are original, and i know several other artists have there own feel or there own originality. but again like i said it's my opinion!

ps...
i do not watch mtv, mtv is the impidemy of all evil, (thats for who ever said that i only like what i watch on mtv) and i don't mean its evil from any religious stand point. i mean its evil becouse they play "music" that shouldn't be considered music in any way shape or form! some, and i mean vary few times is there something worth even turning on the tv for, but that is vary rare.
-dumb00footer

[loner92]

I'll lisen to whatever stirs my emotions, shredding or otherwise.



[This message has been edited by loner92 (edited 07-16-2000).]

[LuigiCabrini]

"How many of you can say that shredding has ever made you feel anything other than an urge to play guitar really really fast and OOH and AAAH at someone's technique?"
So right man. When I talk to people who love to death people like Yngwie, Vai, Petrucci, they usually say stuff like "I like this song because its insane what he's doing over here," or "Can you believe he's playing sweep arpeggios THAT fast!"
As for having the technique, i think its useful, but only as one aspect out of many that makes up a good guitarrist. Most shredders I've met who have much better technique than I do would suck comping for a soloist because they never bothered to learn the sets of voicings up the fretboard. That's JUST AS IMPORTANT a technical skill on the guitar, to be able to switch betwen memorized chords and use voice leading over any progression. It's one thing to pick 32nd notes cleanly, but that's got a very, very limited application in tasteful good music. In guitar wank music you hear it all the time, but try to find somebody who's not a guitarrist who can listen to that stuff and say they think its fun to listen to, and you'll have quite a task on your hands.
In my opinion, if you have somebody who's primary audience is guitarrists, they're very likely not worth listening to. There's no point in listening to a guitarrist who's showing all the other guitarrists out there how fast he can play.
A. It's been done before.
B. There's nothing musical about it.

[Willdridge]

Bravo! My sentiments exactly!...I mean, yes, I'd love to be as fast, clean and accurate as Yngwie, Gamable, Vai...but to be perfectly honest, if I could make a song that would get people dancing, clapping, singing, smiling by simply using C F G every time, I'd prefer to do that (A little exaturated, but I think my points clear)...It's great that these guys can do this...but they never know when NOT to do it. I've listened the Yngwie "Odysey Rising Force" many a time and thought...man this isn't a bad song!...Oh, wait, solo....man, it's so f*ckin' predictable!"....Yeah, as a budding guitarist, I'm impressed, I'm awe-struck, I'm inspired to play fast...BUT THAT'S IT!...As a young and inexperienced musican, it doesn't do anything for me...Sure, that's a few good ideas, pedal notes, string skipping, dimished runs...but look at classical guitar studies, rock, country, you name...I'll find this stuff elsewhere!...I'm not saying that shredding is a waste of time, It's your opinion, if you can see a deep and beauty meaning hidden behind the 3000 notes, well done!...But, be aware that the typical guitarist and, more importantly, the typical music listener simply isn't "turned on" by it...
Just an opinion....Sorry!

[LuigiCabrini]

What the heck are you apologizing for? You're totally right man. Shredding for the sake of shredding is pointless. If you're playing something hard for the sole point that its hard, then you're not playing music you're playing excercises.
As for seeing interesting ideas such as pedal licks, string skipping, and diminished runs in yngwie's solos, those are techniques that can be applied in a musical manner, and in a non musical manner. When they are recited verbatim from clasical guitar etudes, that's a non musical manner.
I think that it's near impossible to construct an interesting solo consisting entirely of 16th and 32nd notes. You give the listener no chance to absorb, and there's no intensity in playing fast if you do it all the time. When all your solos are played constantly ultra fast, and always in the same cliched harmonic minor scale with the same predictable runs and licks, just because its tough as hell doesn't justify it musically.
Technique is not musical. It is a means to an end, and when it becomes the end, that corrupts the purpose of music.
Please nobody tell me I'm just jealous. I listen to lots of virtuosos, guitar and other instruments, but the best aren't just mechanical. They are sensitive to dynamics, phrasing, tone, everything.
It can be entertaining to listen to guitar acrobatics, but its entertaining in the same way that seeing micheal jordan do some impressive slam dunk is, not in the same way that being moved by a piece of music or a painting is. When people play guitar to impress other guitarrists, that's athletic, not musical.

[loner92]

Have't you evr heard "For the Love of God", "Fire Garden Suite", "Bad Horsie", or "Kill the Guy With the Ball" (to name a few) by Steve Vai? Those are all "shred" songs, but they all stir and invoke emotion.

[ekstasis16]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Let's end this now.

[iamthe_eggman]

loner92 and BarryS are totally right. only people who are complete experts on guitar and write songs that are impossible for other guitarists to play make good music. everyone else, especially freaks like kurt cobain who write twisted lyrics should be shot.

for the sarcasm-impaired, the above was meant to be sarcastic.

don't you guys think that the reason cobain wrote simple, loud music was because he was disgusted with people with similar opinions to yours, that only complex and difficult music and guitar work was worth listening to? and the attitude that comes along with it?

i'm also not going to qualify the above by saying "this is just my opinion", because obviously people who disagree will just write a flaming reply anyways.

------------------
ok, i'm not really the eggman

[BarryS]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>the reason cobain wrote simple, loud music<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No, it couldn't be because of mediocre talent, could it?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>only complex and difficult music and guitar work was worth listening to<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

When did I say that? I wasn't talking about complexity or difficulty. I was talking about good old heart and soul. Albert King wasn't the most complex guitarist who ever lived, in fact he was quite subtle. But every note he played was wringing with emotion and came from the heart.

I can respect what Nirvana did for the music scene. They got rid of the 'hair band' craze for one thing. But their music (in my opinion) just leaves much to be desired, artistically. Heck, I loved them when I was thirteen, but I grew out of that phase, thankfully. I discovered that there is much, much better music out there. And when you've tasted prime rib and sirloin, you're not eager to go back to hamburgers and hot dogs.

Again, just my opinion. Feel free to flame away.

[AtomicMassUnit]

To give you all the benfit of the doubt, i am listening to the Vai music you recommended. And how many artists do you know who have the power to write hooks, and the power to inspire people like Kurt Cobain had? Not that he was brilliant, but he made solid music in a time when it was badly needed. Shred still sucks. My opinion anyway. What do you guys see in it?

Atomic

[ekstasis16]

There's good shred and bad shred. There will always be good shred and bad shred as long as the guitar exists. Very few can make it worth listening to. The vast majority is a waste of time and energy.

[loner92]

I never said music has to be complicated to be good. Alice in Chains is one of my favorite bands, but Jerry Cantrell isn't what you'd call a "shredder". Nirvana is very overrated, it just isn't that good. The only reason they got so popular is because MTV played "Smells Like Teen Spirit" over and over and over and over. I don't see what's so inspiring about mumbling and screaming with an off time dissonant solo (I'm referring to SLTS here). I kind of like one or two Nirvana songs, but they aren't that great. What really bothers me is all the 13 year olds running around in flannels claiming Nirvana to be the best, most inspiring, most powerful. most skilfull and talented "metal" band ever whining about how Kurt killed himself. I'm also sick of MTV doing the same but now with punkish crap like Blink-182 and Green Day (the later of which I find to be one of the most annoying bands ever)). They don't seem to understand how sinple and un-creative it is to write a four barre chord song with the punk beat.

[iamthe_eggman]

loner, if you scroll up to your previous comment, you will see that you did say, or at least imply, that music needs to be complex to be good.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>WTF?? Do you even play guitar? Those guys are terrible guitarists. You can learn their stuuf in less than a week (and that's assuming you've never picked up a guitar before). If you want to hear some real guitar music...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

well, I think you've convinced me. i'll just go and throw out all my beatles records because i learned all their songs in a short period of time.
by the way, that (the quote which you see above) is the attitude i was referring to in my other post.

Barry, you call Cobain a moderately talented wannabe. who or what did he want to be? he copied no one, singlehandedly invented an entire genre of music which is imitated (unsuccessfully) to this day. and anyways, didn't you say that it didn't matter how much talent an artist has, as long as they have emotion? Cobain spoke to an entire generation in a language they understood, about things they cared about - not "i wanna hold your hand" garbage, but serious issues. How much more emotion did you want him to show? He lived the life we dream about - fame, fortune, family. But he still was so emotionally disturbed that he killed himself at the time when he should have been happiest.

I think erik said it best:

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>So at least show a little respect and try to find the good in all musicians.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

sorry for the huge post.


------------------
ok, i'm not really the eggman

[This message has been edited by iamthe_eggman (edited 07-18-2000).]

[loner92]

When I posted that I thought this was a "Best guitarist" (incorrectly assuming that people would list who they thought were the best guitarists as their favorites. Sorry.
Cobain wasn't the innovator you're claiming him to be other "Seattle bands" came out of the cracks before Nirvana (Soundgarden and AIC come to mind) with the same (general) attitude towards hair metal.
Also, I don't hear any soul in his playing. His "language" in which he "spoke" to the masses of teens who followed MTV was mostly mumbling (honestly, how many words in Smells Like Teen Spirit can you uderstand without a lyric sheet, and if you have one, how much sense does it make?).

[This message has been edited by loner92 (edited 07-18-2000).]

[BarryS]

Let me make this clear. I HATE alternative rock, grunge rock, modern rock, whatever you want to call it. Kurt Cobain did not create this genre of music, as you claim. This was done a decade earlier by bands like The Clash, R.E.M., The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Jane's Addiction, Husker Du, The Meat Puppets, etc. Cobain merely brought this music into the mainstream, which actually went against the whole point of being 'alternative'. It became mainstream music.

It is because of Kurt Cobain that we now have awful groups like Matchbox 20, Foo Fighters, Bush, Goo Goo Dolls, Creed, Sugar Ray, Third Eye Blind, Blink 182, etc who just make crap, crap, crap, crap. This is, I'm sure, part of the reason for my hostility against Cobain. I still don't believe that he was anywhere near as talented as people make him out to be. If you admire him and enjoy his music, that's okay by me. I disagree, but I respect your tastes.

[This message has been edited by BarryS (edited 07-18-2000).]

[loner92]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by BarryS:
Let me make this clear. I HATE alternative rock, grunge rock, modern rock, whatever you want to call it. Kurt Cobain did not create this genre of music, as you claim. This was done a decade earlier by bands like The Clash, R.E.M., The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Jane's Addiction, Husker Du, The Meat Puppets, etc. Cobain merely brought this music into the mainstream, which actually went against the whole point of being 'alternative'. It became mainstream music.

It is because of Kurt Cobain that we now have awful groups like Matchbox 20, Foo Fighters, Bush, Goo Goo Dolls, Creed, Sugar Ray, Third Eye Blind, Blink 182, etc who just make crap, crap, crap, crap. This is, I'm sure, part of the reason for my hostility against Cobain. I still don't believe that he was anywhere near as talented as people make him out to be. If you admire him and enjoy his music, that's okay by me. I disagree, but I respect your tastes.

[This message has been edited by BarryS (edited 07-18-2000).]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Ha! I agree.

[AtomicMassUnit]

That's an awful heresy to say that anyone is responsible for other musicians putting out terrible crap. I agree that the music that's coming out these days and force-fed to everyone by corporate radio is hideous and no one should be subjected to it. It seems like everything out there was sugarcoated in the same factory; from Limp Bizkit to Creed to boy bands and girl bands. I've not yet heard one good strong song from any of these people. If anything it's their own damn fault, though, not the fault of kurt cobain.

do any of you enjoy guitarists who do something unique? by that i mean artists like Jonny Greenwood, Larry Lalonde, John Frusciante, and Tom Morello. there are a lot of people out there doing clever things. I'd personally like to hear more of that, much more.

Atomic

[iamthe_eggman]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>When I posted that I thought this was a "Best guitarist" (incorrectly assuming that people would list who they thought were the best guitarists as their favorites. Sorry.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

There's some more of that attitude I was referring to. Just because a guitarist is the best, doesn't mean he is everyone's favourite, nor vice versa. Or else we would all love yngwie, wouldn't we?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Cobain wasn't the innovator you're claiming him to be other "Seattle bands" came out of the cracks before Nirvana (Soundgarden and AIC come to mind) with the same (general) attitude towards hair metal.
Also, I don't hear any soul in his playing. His "language" in which he "spoke" to the masses of teens who followed MTV was mostly mumbling (honestly, how many words in Smells Like Teen Spirit can you uderstand without a lyric sheet, and if you have one, how much sense does it make?). <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yup, just cause his lyrics don't make sense to you means that his guitar and music work suck. Also, "I am the Walrus" is a crappy song, according to that same standard. And how about "Radio Free Europe", or any other REM song, for that matter? Cobain's "mumbling" also translates to mean he has no soul, doesn't it?

And who ever declared you the supreme judge of quantifying "soul" in music? Just because you don't hear it, does that mean that none of the 5 billion other humans on earth will?

And Barry - The Clash, Husker Du, The Pixies, REM - they made totally different music from what nirvana made. Cobain may have drawn on them for inspiration, but his genre of music was definitely grunge, not punk or pop.

If cobain or nirvana was not as talented as everyone says they are, how could a three-piece band cause such an effect on modern music that they influence music to this day? no "untalented" bands that i can think of can make this claim.

Would you call a group like sonic youth "untalented" just because their guitar work was unskilled and unorthodox? remember too that they were also one of the first indie bands to "sell out" to a major label.

try to keep the big picture in mind and learn a little bit more about something before you form such a radical and unfounded opinion on something. you could turn out to be wrong.

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ok, i'm not really the eggman

[This message has been edited by iamthe_eggman (edited 07-20-2000).]

[BarryS]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>but his genre of music was definitely grunge, not punk or pop.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Grunge, schmunge. It's the same genre. Cobain just took what indie bands of the 80s were already doing and made it mainstream. Nothing revolutionary about that. And Nirvana's music was very much punk. What's the difference between punk and grunge anyway? Grunge rockers have long hair and punk rockers have mohawks? It's all semantics.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>If cobain or nirvana was not as talented as everyone says they are, how could a three-piece band cause such an effect on modern music that they influence music to this day? no "untalented" bands that i can think of can make this claim.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

What about Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, etc? Maybe not the same genre of music, but still the same situation. When something is monstrously successful, there are going to be tons of imitators trying to cash in on the success of it. It has little to do with talent, and more to do with marketability. Nirvana was a huge success in the early 90s, so naturally along came tons of imitators mimicking their style and attitude. Is that what you call being influential?

[LuigiCabrini]

"There's some more of that attitude I was referring to. Just because a guitarist is the best, doesn't mean he is everyone's favourite, nor vice versa. Or else we would all love yngwie, wouldn't we?"

Hmm, can't tell if that's sarcasm. But seriously, there is so much more that can be done on guitar than fast harmonic minor scales and sweep arpeggios. I suggest you check out Jimmy Bruno, he does some very technical stuff that yngwie couldn't dream of, but he never shows off. You will not find him shredding through an entire song, or even at all, in most songs. In addition to that, he uses beatiful chord voicings very well, making for great chord melody. Yngwie would probably thing that playing chords isn't flashy enough, but a good guitarrist knows his voicings and can use them in soloing and accompanying. Check out Allan Holdsworth for that too.

[Peter Pan]

I still think Mr. Sambora is the best. Just listen to dry county and you'll know why. Richie for president!!!! (By the way, I'm not so bad myself)

[Jon Broderick]

I always liked Joe Perry from Aerosmith.

I once saw Andy Gil from Gang of Four play (the guy that mixed the first chili peppers album) and he was incredible.

And Van Halen.

And B. B. King, cuz you can't steal his riffs, they are so recognizable people say, "Hey, that's a BB riff."

[Schaeffer LP]

I would have to say:
1. Eric Clapton
2. Peter Frampton (do you feel like I do?)
3. Mark Tremonte of Creed



------------------
"Reach down your hand in your pocket, and pull out some hope for me"- Rob Thomas "Long Day"

[panterawannab]

BY FAR THE BEST GUIATR PLAYER EVER IS
JOE EZELL OF BALL STOMP AND DIMEBAG.

[AtomicMassUnit]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by BarryS:
What about Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, etc? Maybe not the same genre of music, but still the same situation. When something is monstrously successful, there are going to be tons of imitators trying to cash in on the success of it. It has little to do with talent, and more to do with marketability. Nirvana was a huge success in the early 90s, so naturally along came tons of imitators mimicking their style and attitude. Is that what you call being influential? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Man, everyone's going to forget about people like that. They dont have nearly the influence or the impact that nirvana had. Youre totally blind if you cant see how influential nirvana was. I would have replied sooner but i hadnt read closely where this topic was going.

Damn
Atomic

[ilovebogner10]

Some of my favorites (in no particular order):

-Brent Mason (the guy plays things off the top of his head 10 times better than almost everyone I've ever heard!)
-Eric Johnson
-Joe Satriani
-Wes Montgomery
-Trey Anastasio (this guy gets nowhere near enough recognition... he is a top-notch player in my opinion)
-Tom Morello
-Mark Tremonti
-and of course, Mr. Yngwie J Malmsteen (if he improvised his solos, he'd be a lot better... i swear)

[LuigiCabrini]

Yngwie does improvise his solos. The reason it sounds like he doesn't is because they are all basically the same cliched harmonic minor wanking and sweep arpeggios. He's got good technique but dont get me started on the utter lack of musical taste this guy has, I mean his solos are guitar masturbation, not music.

[Luke]

I agree.
The first shredder I saw was Yngwie, and he blew my mind.

He was so frikkin fast and used All the fretboard, then I started to listen to Vai and others.

After listening to them for a while I listened to Yngwie again and your right, he does use alot of the same scales over and over again.

He's a good guitarist, he made alot of people take guitar playing seriously, but he isn't the best I've heard.

And that's not my OPINION, it's a fact.

There are to many guitarists out there to pick just one.

One has to hear them all in order to say who is the best.

But in terms of who I like as a guitarist(and I'm not saying their the best of the best), I got to go with
Vai
Allan Holdsworth
and Bireli Lagrene.

And you can go ahead and call me blind AtomicMassUnit, cause I can't see a thing about Nirvana that is influencing.

They used about four chords in every song, and don't even get me started on the "lyrics".

[This message has been edited by Luke (edited 08-07-2000).]

[LuigiCabrini]

Quite true. So What by Miles Davis has only 2 chords, and it's one of the all time masterpieces of jazz. As for stairway though, the intro section has more than three chords, even if some only last for a measure, but the end only has 3 chords. Whatever, its a cool song.
However, I also sometimes get tired of the same kind of three chord rock you hear so much. I listen mostly to jazz, which (in modal jazz) sometimes doesn't have many chords, but sometimes (in bebop) it does. I think having interesting harmony elevates solos to a new level, because notes can take on so many different meanings in relation to whatever chord you're playing, and stuff can sound so cool that wouldn't sound nearly as interesting without complex chords behind it.

[iamthe_eggman]

in reply to Luke regarding the number of chords in a song: most of the best songs ever recorded used only three chords. i've had many arguments with my friend, a classical pianist, on this very subject. he has set me back in my place when he broke down "Stairway to Heaven" and told me which three chords Page used. from a strict theory perspective, most songs use just a few chords, and the other chords are just "in between" or transition chords (they have some fancy italian name which i can't remember).

just cause a song or a band uses a small number of chords does not make them unimaginative or uncreative, and certainly does not make their music bad.

------------------
ok, i'm not really the eggman

[iamthe_eggman]

actually, luigi, my friend explained the coplex theory behind the intro to stairway. there was some italian term he used for some of the chords that are picked in the intro, which meant that these chords actually were not part of the progression other than to lead to another chord. they apparently do not qualify in the count of chords. perhaps some theory expert knows the term i am looking for.

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ok, i'm not really the eggman

[Luke]

I agree.
If a song has three chords in it, it doesn't make it bad.

I like music that takes a lot of talent to pulloff, you can't honestly say that a song that has three chords in it is a masterpiece.

THe melody of the vocals and music together might "sound good", but it hardly qualifies as something to be in awe of.

[LuigiCabrini]

It depends on how you want to look at it really. You could look at them as passing chords, but I dont think that's fair, since they are all treated equally in terms of duration. Harmonically it's one of their more complex songs, at least in my opinion. Some parts of it imply a harmonic minor sound (2nd chord has the maj7 of the A min scale) some imply dorian (the D/Gb chord has the major 6th of the A min scale,) and while you could look at these as passing chords, the very fact that the song is using passing chords makes it a bit more complex than a lot of their other songs (take straight up rock stuff like communication breakdown.) Whatever, it's not important, we agree on the main issue here, whichi s that stuff that lacks in complexity can be interesting.

[LuigiCabrini]

I dunno luke, I'm quite in Awe of Miles Davis' performance on So What, and that song only has two chords. Well, actually, we're both right. You're talking about composition, and So What isn't an awe inspiring composition. However, the solos on it, particularly Davis' are incredibly melodic and beautiful, in a way that not many people were doing at that time (it was all bop with lots of hip chord changes.) For that reason I'm in awe of the performance, if not the composition.

[RDJVanZantFan]

My favs are, in no real order
SRV-the reason I started playing, but my
first love is Southern Rock
Allen Collins
Gary Rossington
Steve Gaines
Don Barnes

[Zeppelin]

Well for me the best guitar players are

Blackmore
Page
Brian May
Young (the guy from acdc)
Tom Morrelo

[josh_underwood]

In No Perticular Order

Vai
Satch
Hammet
Srv
Mustiane
Freidman
Hetfield
The Guy From Motley Crue
Slash
Dimebag Darral
Randy Rhoades
Zakk Wylde
Alex From Rush
The Guy From Cinderilla
The Guy From Def Leppard

------------------
Life is Hard......
BUT ITS EVEN HARDER IF YOUR STUPID
-------------------------

A Tout Le Monde
A Tout Mes Amis
Je Vous Aime
Je Dois Partir
(To All The World)
(To All My Friends)
(I Love You All)
(I Must Leave)

[josh_underwood]

oh and

angus Young
Maclom Young
Yngwie


------------------
Life is Hard......
BUT ITS EVEN HARDER IF YOUR STUPID
-------------------------

A Tout Le Monde
A Tout Mes Amis
Je Vous Aime
Je Dois Partir
(To All The World)
(To All My Friends)
(I Love You All)
(I Must Leave)

[SJ]

ok here goes..

Adrian Belew
Bill frisell
Billy Gibbons
Vernon Reid
Jimi hendrix
Muddy waters
Mark Ribot
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Alex Lifeson
Frank Zappa
Jeff beck
Robert Fripp
Eddie VanHalen
Larry LaLoude
East Bay Ray
Ace Frehley - lead guitar!!!!!! sorry old KISS joke
Sonny Sharrock
Buckethead

I think that list covers about everyone I've tried to emulate/soundlike and failed miserabley http://www.guitarforums.com/gtubb/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by SJ (edited 08-29-2000).]

[This message has been edited by SJ (edited 08-30-2000).]

[guitar_chick]

how can any of you say that kurt cobain is not talented or isnt that great of a song writer. have you ever even listened to his music. (not just smells like teen spirt) just because his music is easy to play doesnt mean he's crap. stairway to heaven is very easy to play and thats not crap. every musician is talented. there is no other band, i think, that sounds like nirvana. kurt cobain is awesome. but anyways....

jimmy page (led zepp)
randy rhoads (ozzy osbourne)
jimi hendrix
david gilmour (pink floyd)

[LuigiCabrini]

Often shred fans ignore musical sensibility and focus more on technique and speed. I think that's what you're seeing here. I personally don't like much of Cobain's music, but not because its easy, just because its not the kind of stuff that speaks to me, but that doesn't mean I'm going to say its bad.
I'd rather listen to a good piece of music (I'm not specifying style) than a piece that requires a lot of speed and technique but really doesn't have much content in terms of melody. It's the equivalent of speaking very fast because you don't really have anything meaningful to say. This goes mostly for shred music, but theres some jazz and I suppose classical where this is the case also.

[Zeppelin]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by guitar_chick:
[B]how can any of you say that kurt cobain is not talented or isnt that great of a song writer. have you ever even listened to his music. (not just smells like teen spirt) just because his music is easy to play doesnt mean he's crap. stairway to heaven is very easy to play and thats not crap.

That is where you get it wrong:
stairway to heaven's solo is a perfect harmony altough it is a 3 chords song, while in grunge (and mainly in metal and funk metal) the main idea is just to turn the distortion on and make noise... pearl jam, nirvana, limp bizkit , korn - i know all this are different styles but to me it's the same - bunch of guitarists without even good technique and knowledge in theory turns on the distortion and plays something....

[Rat520]

the top few are,

Eric Clapton
Matt (Guitar) Murphy - Blue Brothers
Any solo jazz guitarists

[LuigiCabrini]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Zeppelin:


That is where you get it wrong:
stairway to heaven's solo is a perfect harmony altough it is a 3 chords song, while in grunge (and mainly in metal and funk metal) the main idea is just to turn the distortion on and make noise... pearl jam, nirvana, limp bizkit , korn - i know all this are different styles but to me it's the same - bunch of guitarists without even good technique and knowledge in theory turns on the distortion and plays something....[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You're just stating your opinion man. Imho, you just perfectly described page, he doesn't have good technique or good knowledge of theory and he plays with distortion. I like his music, but don't get on some high horse because you think the music you like is better than the music she likes. Nobody goes around calling people idiots for liking red instead of blue. Btw, what do you mean the stairway solo is a perfect harmony? First of all, the solo is a melody, not harmony. As far as I can remember there is no harmony during the solo except the chords being outlined by the bass, but I haven't listened to the song in awhile. Second of all, do you mean that you like it? That it is pretty? These may both be true, but they are not concrete as you seem to imply.
Wouldn't you be annoyed if I started telling you that you should listen to beethoven instead of your kiddie rock music? You'd say that I just don't understand, that I can't appreciate your music even though its not as complex. Well that's exactly the position you're putting guitar chick in. While I may not like the styles you put down (metal, funk metal, grunge) I don't say that they are just about distortion and noise, I live and let live, and everybody is happier that way.

[loner92]

I have heard almost all of Cobain's music, I just don't like it. That may have something to do with Nirvana being the most overrated band of all time (I got sick of hearing everyone talk about how "great" Nirvana was). The only credit I can give Cobain is that some of his meledy lines were decent (Heart Shaped box).

Anyways, my favorites list has changed a bit. My favorite guitarists are:
Dave Mustaine
Marty Friedman
Chris Polland
Jerry Cantrell
James Hetfield
Kirk Hammet (although Mustaine & Friedman are better than those two)
Bruce Kulick
and of course, Steve Vai

[LuigiCabrini]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Zeppelin:


That is where you get it wrong:
stairway to heaven's solo is a perfect harmony altough it is a 3 chords song, while in grunge (and mainly in metal and funk metal) the main idea is just to turn the distortion on and make noise... pearl jam, nirvana, limp bizkit , korn - i know all this are different styles but to me it's the same - bunch of guitarists without even good technique and knowledge in theory turns on the distortion and plays something....[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Don't get on your high horse man, that poor technique poor theory knowledge distortion playing applies as well to page as it does to anybody else. I like his music, I'm not insulting him, all I'm saying is that you shouldn't look at music like its a competition. There's no music olympics, let guitar chick listen to what she likes to. You'd be pissed off at me if I told you that you should quit listening to that kid's music and listen to bebop instead because its more complex and its better music, and I would be completely out of line if I said that. Likewise it isn't fair to oversimplify and generalize about entire genres just because you don't like them, and you shouldn't get on her case for liking cobain just because you don't like his stuff (hey, I dont either, but that's just my personal taste.)

[Zeppelin]

ofcourse it's only my opinion... music is not made of true and false...
ouh by the way when i said harmony i meant melody... harmony to me is how notes in music connect to each other.. at least in other languages i speak it called harmony, but never mind
so what i was trying to say is that you cant say "this is right" or "this is wrong" in music, but you can sure tell if someone is good player/ composer or not....
the fact that milions admire cobain doesnt make him better musician...it's not a fact it's just my opinion... but i know that cobain couldnt ever reach page or blackmore level, which are to me the best guitarists ever... this is not a fact just my opinion, supported by the fact that lots of people i know that started their passion to music with nirvana/ metallica/ any othe ****
are now listening to deep purple or led zeppelin...

[LuigiCabrini]

Ok, now we're in agreement zeppelin, I never personally liked Cobains music, its just that I know a lot of zeppelin die hards, ok just a few, who are unwilling to accept other music, but I see now that you're not one of those guys. Btw, check out guys like Pat Metheny, John Mclauhglin, Allan Holdsworth, it may broaden your definition of what a great guitarrist sounds like.

[Zeppelin]

it's not really into the topic but even now when i'm a guitarist i still prefer listening to bands with not instrumental song... you know bands where the guitar is the leading instrument but not the only thing you hear..
does anyone here agree with me??
cause i tryed to listen to solo guitarists like malmsteen and santana and i just dont get it... maybe i'm sick or something??

[LuigiCabrini]

Well most of the music i listen to doesn't have guitar as a leading instrument, but its all instrumental. I listen more to music where instruments like trumpet and sax, sometimes keyboards, are prominent. Malmsteen I can't dig, cause to me it feels like he's just missing the point of music. Santana is cool, I like his less popular stuff the most, the stuff he did with John Mclaughlin, his more fusiony stuff. It's all preference though, I also like listening to some vocal music. Check out Ella Fitzgerald, she blows me away.

[Zeppelin]

Ouh i guess you are rythm and blues guy http://www.guitarforums.com/gtubb/smile.gif
i like it http://www.guitarforums.com/gtubb/smile.gif
yeah.. i guess you can show malmsteen in a circus cause he has a great technique, but guitar is not only about speed and technique... listen to old song of status quo, like rock'n'roll all around the world and you will see that they got great sound, even if they are not as good as others

[LuigiCabrini]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Zeppelin:
Ouh i guess you are rythm and blues guy http://www.guitarforums.com/gtubb/smile.gif
i like it http://www.guitarforums.com/gtubb/smile.gif
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah I'm a blues fan. Mostly I like jazz though, well at least I can listen to jazz all day long, but often if I listen to too much traditional 12 bar blues straight, I just get bored, because there's no denying that every song has the same chord structure and that after a lot of continous listening you need something else to break up the predictability.
I like to think that my tastes are pretty wide. While the music I'm most into now is jazz, I know a lot of rock gutiarrists and can dig a lot of them, I listen to a good deal of classical (I'm not just saying that, at this point I listen to way more classical than rock,) I've recently been getting into celtic music, and indian music, but I don't know a lot about these yet.
Still, for now my bread and butter is jazz, so if you ever want a recomendation as to good jazzbos to listen to, I'm always here.

[Guitarsmurf]

My favorite guitarist?Me.Guitarist you guy's would have heard of?Eddie VanHalen

------------------
Life is a banquet,so eat me.

[iamthe_eggman]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Times, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I'd rather listen to a good piece of music (I'm not specifying style) than a piece that requires a lot of speed and technique but really doesn't have much content in terms of melody. It's the equivalent of speaking very fast because you don't really have anything meaningful to say.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Right on! If anything, i would call cobain a poet speaking for the masses who were sick of hearing garbage music from the awful eighties.

People will flame me for what they'll inevitably consider elevating cobain above what he actually was, but the truth remains, his impact is still felt to this day, almost a decade later, and will most assuredly continue on into the future. do you really think 'nsync or bsb or aguilera will have the same impact?

Whether you appreciate his music or not (or, for that matter, anyone else's music) should not dictate whether they were or are a "good" musician or make "good" music. Like the critic who told mozart his music would never fly, because he used "too many notes".

------------------
ok, i'm not really the eggman

[This message has been edited by iamthe_eggman (edited 10-12-2000).]

[This message has been edited by iamthe_eggman (edited 10-12-2000).]

[This message has been edited by iamthe_eggman (edited 10-12-2000).]

[Superfly]

You guys seem to be repeating the same guys over and over again. Listen to a Kravitz album, Craig Ross his guitarist is amazing (Are You Gonna Go My Way).

Spread your horizons!
Superfly

[James]

I've been following this topic since the beginning and I've heard tons of great points made.

As for my opinion on shred, well, as Luigi so eloquently put it, it should be a means to an end (where the end is a great peice of music). If it is just an end, like Yngwie hitting as many notes as he can in a second, then it seems the musical process has been slightly distorted. Can anyone honestly say that Yngwie has made a profound, powerfull and moving song? I'm talking about the type of song that is timeless, meaning that no matter how many years pass people still listen to it because it has all the makings of a great song. Granted I don't know that much of his stuff, but is his very style enough to inspire non-guitarists? Sure, I enjoy shred occassionally. I'm still young, and still aspire to achieve that kind of technical profiency, but the bottom line is, I started playing the guitar to be able to make beautiful music and move people. When I picture myself in 50 years, sitting under a tree playing the guitar- to my grandchildren perhaps, I picture myself playing something like blowin' in the wind, not some shred peice.

Now for my favorite guitarists (in no particular order). I
Hendrix
Slash
Rhoads
Al Di Meola (damn... this guy moves me)
Satch
Vai
EVH

That's about all I can think of now, I'm probably missing a few, and I definatly anticipated this list changing dramatically over the course of my life. I'd be damn frightened if it didn't.

[LuigiCabrini]

You got it James. There are reasons that Yngwie never was widely popular outside of guitarrist circles, his music only appeals to people who can appreciate the technical difficulty of it. Show it to a piano player, or a violinist, and they'd say whats the big deal (guitarrists, including yngwie, are slowpokes compared to good violinists, pianists, saxophone players, flutists, pretty much everybody, hehe.) Show it to a non musician, and they'd probably just get bored.
James, reading your favorite guitarrist list, sounds like you've got some good taste man. Can I make a few suggestions of other guys you might like? Well a guitarrist that I absolutely am in awe of is joe pass. If you hear the stuff he did unnacompanied, its just great, he was a great guitar player, and non guitarrists can definitely dig his stuff. While his stuff is very difficult, its not in the flashy malmsteen way, but rather in the ability to play bass lines and chords at the same time, (you really have to know your chord voicings to be loose with that) and the ability to improvise arrangements (that's basically what he was doing.) Just trust me and take a listen.
I'll also suggest Wes Montgomery, beautiful player, great improvisations, smooth, cool cat, nothing more to say.
Django Reinhardt, try not to get put off by the cornball sound. If you get his small band stuff, and can get past the bad recording quality and initial corniness of the sound, you'll notice a guitar player who was supremely gifted at improvising strong melodic phrases. Jeff Beck still thinks Django was without question the best ever. Well, those are the three I'm suggesting you check out, of course there are tons, but these guys come to mind for now,
Joe Pass
Wes Montgomery
Django Reinhardt

[Zeppelin]

James you are absolutley right!!!
i mean the beatles could barley play any chords at all when they started to perform but i think people will remmember them much longer then malmsteen...
i can understand why people like speedy guitarists than can play millions of notes in no time, but their music to me is feel-less... because all they do is just hitting the strings.... my favorite guitarist is angus young , who is much slower than malmsteen or that guy from metallica... as a matter of fact i think that almost anyone who learn guitar more then 2-2.5 years can play any song of ac/dc
but when you hear a song of ac/dc it's like big ball of energy explodes into you... when i fist time heard ac/dc i was about 10 years old, and the song was "you shook me all night long" and although i can play this song easily and i can't play most of malmsteen songs i think, to me ac/dc are much greater guitarists and to me one their song worths all yngwie music

[James]

Cool, I'll check out those artists Luigi, thanks.

[James]

I checked out some Wes Montgomery and Django Reinhard stuff,
it's great. Funny enough that we got talking about Django, 'cause at the club I was at yesterday there was a big mural painted on the wall with a lot of crazy imagery and the name "Django Reinhard" in bold print across the top. Apparently he played there way back when.

Oh btw, for those of you who haven't yet heard any of Paul Gilbert's stuff, this guy can shred. Yngwie can't touch this guy's speed, and what's more he shreds in an interesting and tasteful manner. In the song I'm listening to right now ("I Understand Completely"), his fastest shredding is done on an acoustic too.

[James]

Hey Luigi, every heard of Jim Ross? The guy's an awesome acoustic player. I read on the back of the CD that his "territory" is being able to merge percussion, rhythym, melody - everything - in his playing. He plays without any other backup instruments of any kind, just him and his guitar, and sounds great. Give him a try.

[LuigiCabrini]

Sounds cool I'll check him out, what kind of music is it?

[James]

Hard to describe really. He doesn't really put himself in any particular genre, although I suppose he'd best be classified as a folk player.

[PuppetMaster]

In no particular order:
Jimi Hendrix
Dimebag Darrell Abott
Kirk Hammett
Kerry King
Marty Freidman (before he sold out)
Steve Vai (Dr. Vai now, since he got his PhD in playing guitar)
Eddie Van Halen
Randy Rhodes
Tony Iommi
Carlos Santana
Gary Rossington
Ace Frehley
Angus Young
Joe Perry
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Slash

[RAC5150]

There are many, many excellent guitarists out there. This is an extremely touchy subject, but here goes.

1. Eddie van Halen
2. Jimmy Page
3. B.B. King
4. Kirk Hammett
5. Joe Satriani
6. Eric Clapton
7. Stevie Ray Vaughn
8. Jimi Hendrix
9. Slash (I loved his work on Slash's Snakepit - It's Five-o-clock somewhere!)
10. James Taylor

[Joshsjuststarting]

1.Kirk Hammet

2.James Hetfield

3.Kurt Cobain

4.That Deftones Dude....

[winghoong]

Paul Gilbert !!
STEVE VAI!!!!
and also..the late KURT COBAIN!

[howie50]

I could'nt believe that it was page 7 before anyone (RAC5150 I think) nominated Eric Clapton. Eric may have copped his tone and most of his licks from the great bluesmen, however, he is a great guitarist in his own right and in common with my other favorites can express a feeling with some simple licks and bends ans stuff. Great guitar playing does not have to be flashy or display a high level of technical skill. If the riff or solo hits the spot then the guitar player has done his job (right Luigi Cabrini). So here goes my top guitarists in no particular order:- Jimmy Page - SRV - Muddy Waters - Paul Kossoff - Dave Gilmour - Chuck Berry - Keith Richard

[Edited by howie50 on 12-03-2000 at 02:48 PM]

[LuigiCabrini]

I like your picks howie, so i'm curious, who is paul kossoff?
I could never choose a favorite guitarrist, let alone one who i think is best. However, some guys i like are Joe Pass, Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery, Scott Henderson, etc.

[howie50]

To Luigi - Paul Kossoff was the guitar player in Free you've probably heard their biggest hit 'All Right Now' they played blues based rock, sadly Paul committed suicide at the height of the band's fame in the early 70's. Free also featured one of rock's best vocalists in Paul Rodgers who went on to form Bad Company. Paul Kossoff I believe favoured a Les Paul and had tone to die for, a very expressive player with his own distinctive style. More of my favourites are (I was tired when I posted last) - The 3 Kings, BB,Freddie and Albert, Robert Cray, Pete Townshend and of course Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher also springs to mind but hey, I could go on forever. Like you I find it hard to pick out a favourite there are so many great players out there - I forgot Carlos Santana - There is no best guitarist it's all a matter of personal preference.

[Edited by howie50 on 12-04-2000 at 03:51 PM]

[LuigiCabrini]

Ah ok, yes I am familiar with free, yeah they had some tasty guitar playing. The world needs more people like you who realize that there exists no such thing as a best guitarrist, I hate it when I hear people declare that person X was the greatest and will actually argue if you try to refute them. Me I don't even listen to guitarrists all that much anymore, I mean I do, but the majority of stuff I listened to tends to be more horn based, at least half, there's lots of music out there and there's no reason to limit yourself.

[pram]

My Favourit guitar player is the unbelieveable, Mr Eric Jhonson and Mr Balawan from Bali, he's style is more like stanley jordan

[jonescrusher007]

Gary Moore
SRV
Eddie

[Bobby Hogan]

Some of my favorite players are:
Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Hands down one of the unknown greats! Born in 1935 his slashing licks are known to have jumped over genres to influence people like Etta James, Sly Stone, Jimi Hendrix, and Steavie Ray Vaughan. If you ever heard Space Guitar and you knew that he never used a pick on that track you would and could understand why his music had such an impact. Prince, George Clinton and Rick James each recognized Watson's towering influence. He was not only a great guitarist but a pianist and saxophonist. Never-the-less in the 528 pages of Shaw's text, subtitled The Golden Years Of Rythm And Blues, Johnny "Guitar" Watson's name was never mentioned, not even as a footnote.
"The writers don't know who the real cats are. Only other cats know that. They'll testify. They'll let you know you shaped their souls. Look, man, I came up at a time when, far as music goes, you couldn't **** around. You either knew how to play or not; you either could sing or not. There was no faking the ****. The people who heard me then, heard me good and loud. I made my impression, and no book can change that fact."
Johnny "Guitar" Watson

Others in no particular order;
B B King
Walter "Wolfman" Washington
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Smokin' Joe Kubek
Little Jimmy King
Barbara Lynn
Carlos Santana
Eric Clapton

[Apollo]

SRV
Slash
David Gilmour

[Guitonne]

Eddie Van Halen, hands down. :)

[Guitar_man_158]

OK I DO NOT HAVE A FAVORITE AND I NEVER HAD A FAV SINCE I PICKED UP THE GUITAR AT THE AGE OF 6 AND NOW IM 15. BUT I DO KNOW PLENTY OF PEOPLE THAT ARE GOOD AND AMAZING. STARTING FROM THE BEST TO THE LEAST IN MY OPINION SOME OF U HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS

1.STEVE VAI
2.JOE SATRIANI
3.EDDIE VAN HALEN OR RANDY RHOADS, EVEN THOUGH THEY BOTH HAD CLOSE TO THE SAME STYLE BOTH OF THEM COULD WIPP EACH OTHERS A^$# IN DIFFERENT PLAYING TECHNIQUES.
4.RED BEACH IS PRETTY AWESOME.
5.GOERGE LYNCH IS AWESOME.
6.ZAKK WHYLDE IS GOOD
7.PROBALEY LAST WOULD BE YNGWIE MALEMSTEIN I NEVER REALLY DID ADMIRE HIM THAT MUCH EVEN THOUGH HE IS ONE OF THE MANY MASTERS OF WRITING CLASSICAL MUSIC.

BUT THE PERSON THAT I CANNOT STAND IS KURT COBAIN HE GETS SO OVERRATED THAT IT MAKES ME SICK. HE HAS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST SLOPPIEST GUITAR PLAYERS I HAVE EVER HEARD ALONG WITH MICK MARS EVEN THOUGH MICK IS A MUCH BETTER SONG WRITTER.

[howie50]

I can appreciate that Vai, Malmsteen and others like them are technically profficient, even brilliant, however their music leaves me cold, there's nothing in it, I find it neither joyful nor sad, it just seems to be emotionless and machine like. Kurt Cobain and Nirvana on the other hand while maybe sloppy players have a sense of purpose. Their songs and playing express the feelings inside them, rage, frustration, boredom, hope and so on. Their rock really rocks, while the likes of Malmsteen prefer to show off their skills. This is not a put down, just a point of view. I prefer music to give me a slap round the face, to make me think, to sing in the shower, or just to make me feel good. I think Lou Reed once said two chords is rock and roll, any more and you're getting into jazz. Keith Richard said (something like) all you need to play rock and roll is 3 chords, 2 fingers and 1 a*&hole. Right Keef!

[Alex]

Slash
-
-
-
-
Buckethead
Morello

[john costa]

1) stanly jordan
2) paul gilbert
3) eric clapton
4) santana
5) that guy from steely dan

[zeews]

My favorites in order are:

Joe Perry
Brad Whitford
Angus Young
Slash
Stevie Ray Vaughan



[Edited by zeews on 02-01-2001 at 02:16 AM]

[LEEtheV]

Originally posted by john costa
.....5) that guy from steely dan

*Walter Becker :)

[RG Lloyd]

I don't believe any of you really play guitar and appreciate the instrument.
All the guitarists named all use massive Fx's, especially none other than the Virtuoso Mr Hendrix.
You probably have never heard the Hendrix stuff which made him popular.His earlier stuff was very blusey and somewhat even jazz, with very few effects.A bit of reverb and that was all.

My favourite guitarist was made know to me because of the period I grew up in.It's the lead man of Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler. The few people who know him do because
of songs like "money for nothin'". This was purely a commercialised song.Just like Hendrix with "Foxy Lady".No talent is shown in either song.

Slash on the other hand is a talented guitarist and he'll tell you he doesn't pretend to be anything other than a Glamourised American rock guitarist.(Although he comes from Stoke,England) So my message is..
THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE CHOOSING YOUR IDOL!!

[LEEtheV]

Originally posted by RG Lloyd
I don't believe any of you really play guitar and appreciate the instrument.


*Oh, Really........(I guess for the last 28 years I've been just foolin' myself..)....Get real, dude.....I don't know how old you are, but if you're holding Slash up on a mantle, than itz safe to say I was writing tunes on my first POS guitar through a borrowed amp while you were still drooling....THE important part is that musucians play music, WHATEVER QUALITY OR EFFECT USED....You younger guitar players today like to talk about how "awesome" Hendrix and Page, etc.. were in their day and what heroes they were....Yuk, yuk....Half the time, their axes were outa tune and amps were smokin' on stage all the time.....To them it was simply playing music...It's just that the crowds kept getting larger and the cults were created.....RULE #1: MUSICIANS KEEP PLAYING MUSIC !!! (Your opinion of what is and what is not is noted....But that doesn't make it true...) .....BTW, I CAN assure you that the royalty checks I recieve are for real and you know what talks and what walks (After all, this IS a business)....'nuff said...The V has spoken......LAST NOTE: I saw Frank Zappa play in a Castle court-yard in west Germany in '82......There AIN'T nothin' else after that !



[Edited by LEEtheV on 02-09-2001 at 11:19 PM]

[Zeppelin]

Yeah RG Lloyd, get reall man...
believe me ,that there are lots of guitarist that can blow knofler, or slash or even hendrix anytime...
ever heard the name brian may??
or richie blackmore???
believe me richie blackmore was 10 times better player then hendrix or slash....and even if your opinion different from mine, dont tell i dont apreciate the guitar man....
believe me slash and knofler are much more commercial musicians than blackmore ever was....

[James]

Originally posted by Zeppelin
Yeah RG Lloyd, get reall man...
believe me ,that there are lots of guitarist that can blow knofler, or slash or even hendrix anytime...
ever heard the name brian may??
or richie blackmore???
believe me richie blackmore was 10 times better player then hendrix or slash....and even if your opinion different from mine, dont tell i dont apreciate the guitar man....
believe me slash and knofler are much more commercial musicians than blackmore ever was....



Zeppelin don't go down that path man, you're sounding worse then Lloyd the way you're bashing guitarists and rating the "best". So lloyd thinks we don't appreciate the instrument- fine, leave him with his ignorance. Dont' go and say something more ignorant like "richie blackmore was 10 times better player then hendrix or slash". Am I saying Blackmore isn't good, possible great? Hell no, I don't even know his playing that well. But if there's one thing that I can't stand (which I had hoped was an issue that had been beaten into the ground on this board) is that on an instrument as versatile as the guitar, there can be no "best" guitarist. You have a right to a preference, that goes without saying. Your is blackmore. But don't go saying that "richie blackmore was 10 times better player then hendrix or slash".

Also, I don't know how you got the idea that Slash was commercial. Living with your band in a one-room roach infested apartment while struggling with the cut-throat L.A. club scene doesn't sound to commercial to me. And after GNR released Appetite for Destruction, it was about another 4 or 5 years until they released Use Your Illusion I.

[Bardsley]

Despite not being a huge Nirvana fan, I find it hard to understnd why they are being flamed so much. The problem is it seems is that everyone is judging Kurt Cobain as a guitarist, and therefore not very good. For great rock musicians, or any musicians, the music comes before the instruments. Hendrix was a great guitarist not because he was particularly skilled, but that he made his guitar speak for his soul. Cobain used his fairly limited skill to create music that has tapped into a generation of people. The Edge plays guitar in a minimal way that is there to create music, rather than display his talent. People should obviously strive to be the best they can be at their instruments (or anything in life), but at the same time they should learn to use what they have. Think of all the great music that has been created by people with not much technical ability, ie the Beatles. I think that maybe some people have their priorities wrong, they want to play guitar, and then they want to play some music. IMO, great music comes from people who have a desire to play music, with whatever instrument they can best use, and whatever most effectively gets their point across. I love the guitar, but I love music first, the guitar is for music, not the other way round.

[Zeppelin]

James- yeah u probably right on this one, offcorse you can't say who is the best guitarist , because there is no such a thing... it's only my opinion..
and RG Lloyd - you can have your opinion too..
just don't say we don't apreciate the guitar...

[Bardsley]

See, it would be easier if we simply thought of who our FAVOURITE guitarist is, rather than who is the best. Then it is clearly noting that you are simply saying who you like most, who has influenced you, who created that need for playing guitar in you, without suggesting that they are the BEST. In that case, I would have no trouble in listing
1. Jimi Hendrix: The man who inspires me with greats such as machinge gun, Hey Baby, Pali Gap, Hear My Train a coming. He is the biggest influence for me.
2. The Edge: I love U2, and The Edge's sound is great. An innovater rather than technically brilliant, I think a great example of making guitar fit into a musical context, and cmplementing the band rather than dominating.
3. John Fruiscante (spelling?): Some of the Chili peppers stuff is ultimate funk, I love it. Savior is a great example of great guitar sound.
4. Bob Dylan: Actually, I think he is a crap guitarist, but I love his music, and he is my biggest musical influence so I will include him anyway. Possibly shows what someone can do with limited technical ability, but a genius nonetheless.
5. Eric Clapton: no explanation needed.
6. Robert Johnson: I have put him here to stand for all the blues greats that I love, this guy had a SOUL (though he sold it).
7. Daniel Callabro (from The Grand Silent System): This guy is my guitar teacher, and he therefore has shaped a lot of my ideas on music. He plays anything from jazz to a cool kind of eastern rock. If you are ever in Melbourne Australia, look for them to see something different.

[Dr. Saturno]

These are the best (not necessary in order)

1. Joe Satriani: the great master
2. Brian May: he is the sweetest guitarist of all the times
3. Steve Vai: the most crazy of them all.

[LEEtheV]

*Yup, Brian May has showed ALOT of diversity in his music....Queen 2 is probably one of my favorites....Black Queen and Seven Seas of Rye....VERY KOOL !!!

[stratman42]

I have only read the first page of this (theres far too much) but Why the knickers has no-one voted for Hammet? Is it because he is still around? He knows many different styles, not just lightning solos. Listen to an early Metallica album and then one of their latest and unless you are deaf, biased or just plain thick you will see what i mean. Also Dave Murray and Adrian Smith from Iron maiden are good, as is Dave Guilmour (Pink Floyd).

[LEEtheV]

Originally posted by stratman42
I have only read the first page of this (theres far too much) but Why the knickers has no-one voted for Hammet? Is it because he is still around? He knows many different styles, not just lightning solos.Listen to an early Metallica album and then one of their latest and unless you are deaf, biased or just plain thick you will see what i mean.

*You have GOT to be kidding !!!!! He knows NOTHING but speed riffs....He lacks style AND originality !!! Hetfield plays MUCH more tastefully than Hammet....Of course, Gilmour is the master of style...His leads build and display character and man o' man, when he soars, he leaves Hammet in the dust.....One more 7 minute Metallica ballad (They ALL sound the same) and I'm gonna puke.....give me Master of Puppets again anyday.....

Also Dave Murray and Adrian Smith from Iron maiden are good,

*I FULLY agree :)...

as is Dave Guilmour (Pink Floyd).

*Re-watch S&M and tell me that Hammet shows his own style...NOT !!!! Blackmore shows SOOOOOO much more taste....Also, are you gonna say that Hammet is in the same league as was Rhodes ? NOT !!!! For THAT matter, SRV showed WAAAAAAAY more taste than Kirky-boy.....SCHIT, I like CC from Poisen FAR more than I do Ham-bone....



*Put it this way....If Hetfield drops dead tomorrow, Metallica is history, NO doubt about it....But if Kirk leaves, he will be EASILY replaced.....Joe (What's his name) from the last OZZFEST would be a good start....

*Just my 2 cents worth......:D

[stratman42]

Originally posted by LEEtheV
[/B]
*Put it this way....If Hetfield drops dead tomorrow, Metallica is history, NO doubt about it....But if Kirk leaves, he will be EASILY replaced.....Joe (What's his name) from the last OZZFEST would be a good start....

[/B][/QUOTE]

Actually, you do have a point, although for a different reason than i think youre trying to make out. If Hetfield did leave Metallica they would drop dead - not only is he a guitarist, he is also a brilliant singer and songwriter, and is pretty much the essence of Metallica. However, Kirks style is also a big part of Metallica, and although there are many other speed metal players out there, if Hammet left he would be pretty hard to replace, and the band might still be "history" anyway, as he has been with them for so long. Okay maybe his styles are not quite as diverse as i firstsaid, but he is not quite the same as any other speed metal player. The only man i think could replace him is Dave Murray, but he would never leave Maiden.

However, you have reworked my opinion, and that may or may not be a good thing. The whole world may have been kept together by the beleifs i had about hammet which you have just shattered. You don't know what you're messing with here...:D

[stratman42]

Has anyone heard any early manics?

James Dean Bradfield is in fact a damn good guitarist and he sings whilst doing lead. Talented guy...

[LEEtheV]

Originally posted by stratman42
[QUOTE] The whole world may have been kept together by the beleifs i had about hammet which you have just shattered. You don't know what you're messing with here...:D

*LOL :D .....You may be right (good point)and I don't want that "whole world thing" on MY shoulders !!! :D:D:D...I, therefore, (being of sound mind and body,,,,sort-of), recant my entire previous statement and "ain't goin' there" no more :).....

[BadHorsie]

Hammet? A great guitarist? Dude, I used to be a big Metallica fanatic until I stepped into the light. Seriously bro, not tryin to rain on your parade but Hammet is really hyped up. Learn your Pentatonic Scale and your Aeolian scale... play trills, hammer ons, and pull offs using sixteenth notes and you've mastered the art of Kirk Hammet. And that's the truth. Granted he has started to be more diverse lately, but he is still not doing as much as you think. When I listen to Stevie Ray, B.B., Vai, Satch, Rhodes, and even some Van Halen I hear them all speaking through their guitars. Almost as if they're sharing their feelings with me. When I hear Kirk... I hear noise.

[Dr. Saturno]

Another cool guys are...

1) Stevie Ray Vaughan
2) David Gilmour
3) Ritchie Blackmore
4) Jimmy Page
5) Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing
6) Eric Clapton
7) Kirk Hammet
8) Zakk Wylde
9) Paul Gilbert
10) Pat Metheny
11) Gary Moore
12) Eric Johnson

... and the list follows

[Ugly Toe]

I think theres a big mistake here. Everyone is basically saying.."he's the best..she's the best,etc." Doesn't the reply thread tell you something?

There simply is no "best" guitarist, we all are in a little way. The art of creation using a musical instrument is one of the most amazing human endeavors. Those that consider that the instrument is used as an extension of human communication are the ones who know what I mean. Those that can create a piece of music that moves someones emotion in a way that none of the other forms of communication can, can all claim to have achieved the goal. But to try to say that a particular guitarist is the best is pointless.

Theres simply too many "best" guitarists out there.

[Ugly Toe]

OK, so much for the philosophical point of view...things got from "favourite" guitarist to "best" guitarist in a quite subtle way. (You can't criticise people for their favourite guitarist)

well my faves are:

Jimi Hendrix..he's the reason I picked up a guitar
Andres Segovia
Joe Satriani
Paco De Lucia
Eddie Van Halen
John McGloughlin
Al Di Meola
Pat Matheney
Jeff Beck

Countless others who in one way or another inspired me.

[LEEtheV]

*Many people have never even heard of Al DiMeola....Man O' Man, THAT guy can play !!!!!!! :D (I saw some footage of him once doing some 5 to 7 fret spans on an acoustic !)...WOW !!!

[Ugly Toe]

Thought I'd get laughed at for the choices! Thanx LEEtheV.
By the way, I like the choice of your interests! (Scotland is a car journey away from me..ooh, you want to taste some of their REAL malts!! (The stuff that don't leave the country!)
I'll ship you some for a small fee!

[LEEtheV]

Originally posted by Ugly Toe
Thought I'd get laughed at for the choices! Thanx LEEtheV.

*If you're pickin' people like DiMeola, than you OBVIOUSLY got a STRONG and DIVERSE exposure to guitarists :D

By the way, I like the choice of your interests!

Thanx :D ....For my 40th b/day last week, I was given a bottle of 15 yr/old McCallun....SWEEEET :)

(Scotland is a car journey away from me..ooh, you want to taste some of their REAL malts!! (The stuff that don't leave the country!)
I'll ship you some for a small fee!

*LET ME KNOW HOW MUCH !!!!! E-MAIL ME AND LETZ DO IT !!!! :D:D:D...WAAAAAAY KOOOOOL !!!!!!!!

[stratman42]

Originally posted by Ugly Toe
There simply is no "best" guitarist, we all are in a little way. The art of creation using a musical instrument is one of the most amazing human endeavors. Those that consider that the instrument is used as an extension of human communication are the ones who know what I mean. Those that can create a piece of music that moves someones emotion in a way that none of the other forms of communication can, can all claim to have achieved the goal. But to try to say that a particular guitarist is the best is pointless.

Theres simply too many "best" guitarists out there.

I'm beginning to see the point about Hammet, and i think the above quote explains why. Hammet is a fairly decent player (IN MY OPINION! I'M NOT SAYING HE'S THE BEST!), but there are two sides to music - the performing and the writing. I think that you have made a good point UglyToe, creating music that moves someone can be seen as another goal besides the talent of actually playing the instrument. The point i am making is that Hammet is good on the performing side, but to my knowledge dosnt write much (if any) of Metallica's music (hetfield & Ulrich do it), and so all round cannot really be classed as the "best" guitarist, especially seeing as such claims have been rendered invalid.

[Christoph]

Well, I'd have to go with good old Vai, Satch, and Johnson.

What was the lead guitarist's name from Pink Floyd? . . . David something? Anyway, he was a great guitarist too. Nothing too fancy, just slow and melodic.

-Christoph

[Christoph]

Who said Kirk Hammet? You've gotta be kidding me. Most of his solos don't even sound like they're in the right key.

-Christoph

[stratman42]

Sod Kirk Hammet. I recently started listening to Led Zep again, and Jimmy Page is Brilliant!!! Anyone who says he is just a speedfreak is a complete arse who deserves to be hung, drawn and quartered, then have their entrails laminated and fed to vinny jones. Because he's not. Listen to a wide range of Led Zep, and if u still think that u are as dumb as.... A very dumb thing. Oh. And Dave Guilmor's brilliant too.

Has anyone heard any early Manics? James Dean Bradfield pretty decent too.

[LuigiCabrini]

Page a speed freak? Don't you have to be fast to be a speed freak? But kidding aside, I like page, but more as a composer than as a player.

[Dr. Saturno]

Some cool argentinian guys are:

1. Ricardo Mollo
2. Juan Antonio Ferreyra
3. Diego Mizrahi
4. ... and, of course, Dr. Saturno (hi hi hi)

[stratman42]

i've just realised that i have posted many seperate messages about many different guitarists, but now i'm just going to list pretty much all my faves (in no order):-

Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
Dave Murray (Iron Maiden)
Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden)
Kirk Hammet :eek: (Metallica)
Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
Jimi Hendrix
Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) (classically trained, like me):)
John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Slash (Guns 'n' Roses, Slash's Snakepit)
Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow, Deep Purple) (Not the best, but i like him)
Edward Van Halen (Van Halen)
James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers)
Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi)
Brian May (Queen)
Richard Marx :confused: (Ever heard of him? Not many people have)

[Zeppelin]

hey stratman
i'm glad you like blackmore.. and probably u didnt heard him enough.. he's better then most of the people u mentioned .. at least in my opinion :)

[Code_Monk]

Nice board. Have not been playing that much these days, but still like to pick up my Martin and eek out a few tunes.
Anyway...my favorite guitarists (in no particular order):

Andres Segovia...He was the master
Randy Rhoads...I used to have some bootlegs of his studio sessions. The best stuff never made it to the public.
Alex Lifeson...I prefer his early stuff.
SRV...such feeling.

I like Jimmy Page as well, but I don't think he is that great of a guitarist. He is good, but I think he is a much better composer.

Joe Perry...for Train Kept a Rollin.

[aeroslash]

1)Slash
2)Yngwie Malmsteen
3)Zakk Wylde

[Blues Legend]

Ok, Ive seen many Different (some good some bad) people here, and I thought I would give my list.

1. Hendrix
2. SRV
3. John Petrucci (Dream Theatre)
4. Brent Mason
5. Monte Montgomery (who is relatively unknown but I encourage you to searh for his music on
on Napster!!!)

This, of course is an extremely thin list, and many many others could be added.

[fon]

1. Daniel Morrow- local guy, as good as Vinnie Moore
1. Vinnie Moore- i can't believe nobody else put him
2. Yngwie- nuff said
3. Kirk Hammet- The reason i play guitar
4. Randy Rhoads- yet again....nuff said

[kirk5]

Originally posted by fon
1. Daniel Morrow- local guy, as good as Vinnie Moore
1. Vinnie Moore- i can't believe nobody else put him
2. Yngwie- nuff said
3. Kirk Hammet- The reason i play guitar
4. Randy Rhoads- yet again....nuff said


You think as i do.When i first heard nothing else matters,i decided to start playing guitar.Kirk Hammett rules,he is the best,there will be no one like him..

[stratman42]

I have to sa that i never realised God was Swedish, but the other day i downloaded an Yngwie Malmsteen track, and i have seen the light... :cool:

[Kaffeine 1]

I've been a huge Eric Johnson fan for over ten years but I've also enjoyed Julian Bream, John Williams, and Andreas Segovia. Lately I've been listening to quite a bit of Mike Stern and Wes Montgomery.
I've read through a lot of the other comments in this thread and I like listening to the other guitarists that are mentioned as well. They all seem to have something profound to offer the instrument.
I understand that this is a subjective choice but I find Eric Johnson's music to be almost spiritual.
Is anyone else out there with me?

[The Ferret]

OK, since I'm new here and missed all the fun, here are my favorite guitarists in no particular order:

Al Dimeola
Tommy Bolin
Ronnie Montrose
Rhino (aka Larry Rheinhart)
Larry Coryell
Eric Johnson
Steve Morse

[Dr. Saturno]

I don´t like Malmsteen, he seems like he only knows the minor harmonic scale. I prefer rocker guys like Vai and Satriani

[firstwardrocker]

my favorite guitarist would be Kirk Hammet.He inspired me to play hes my biggest influence he is & always will be the best!

[Edited by firstwardrocker on 04-19-2001 at 10:36 PM]

[Dr. Saturno]

Also I think that he is cold as ice.

[stratman42]

I've not heard any Vai or Satriani, but to me Malmsteen seems a very good guitarist. He is original and creative, and i like him. As for whether he's God or Devil, i don't really care. I use God in a metaphorical term saying he's good. And i've been accused of being the son of Satan myself...

[Dr. Saturno]

Stratman, it´s only a point of view. I want to make a diversity of opinions about a single guitarrist

[sleek102]

1). kirk hammet
2). slash
3). van halen
4). ritchie blackmore
5). mark knopfler

That about does it for me!

[donnie_k]

SRV,Malmsteen,Angus Young,Van Halen, each one has somthing that is helping me to develope my own style.It's hard to pick just any one as a favorite.

[stratman42]

Hey doc, i understand and respect that, and i'm not criticising you for it. thats why i put "i think" in front of my opinion on the last post. sorry if i offended you.

[GHarrisongrrl]

Okay. This is gonna be my first post. I'd say my three favs are...
1. Jimi Hendrix
2. George Harrison (I love him so much, but he's not as good as Jimi.)
3. Jimmy Page

[THE PHYRGIAN LORD]

ive been following this discussion with interest heres my favourites in no certain order

STEVE VAI
AL DI MOELA
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN
GARY MOORE
RICHIE BLACKMORE
ZAKK WYLDE
JOE SATRIANI
RORY GALLAGHER
STEVE MORSE
JOHN PETRUCCI
KIRK HAMMETT

[guitargod420]

u guys r all talking about how speed is not that great and its just a flurry of notes well your kinda right speed is not all that great speed is no substitute BUT there is no substitute for speed

i cant really remember if i posted a reply in this already but im glad to see all the kirk hammett fans out there kirk hammett is inspired me to play metallica is my all time favorite band kirk is probably the most original guitarist there is hell yea kirk but anyways heres my pics

Zakk Wylde: the mans a god
Kirk Hammett: original
Dimebag: words dont describe him
Yngwie Malmsteen: fast and very melodic

[Edited by guitargod420 on 09-14-2001 at 12:29 PM]

[fenderw1]

The best guitarist to ever live is without a doubt:
JERRY GARCIA followed by...
Eric Clapton
Jimmy Page
Jimi Hendrix
B.B. King

[stratgod]

Hank Marvin.British guitar greats like Clapton,Beck,Page, May,Gilmour,Knopfler,Townshend,to name a few have all admitted HM and The Shads were a big influence on them.It was Hank who made me pick up the guitar seven years ago with his echoey strat(and Burns) sound.

[Jennifer Batten]

Jennifer Batten
Steve Vai
Ynwie Malmsteen
Jhon Petrucci
Joe Satriani
Van Halen
Kirk Hammet
Marty Friedman...anythin' else?? let me remember...

[thomflash]

John Frusciante, J. Mascis, Tom Morello, John Coltrane

[jerk]

I specially love Blues n Glam Rock so my favorite guitarist is SLASH :)
I also like some other ones like
Yngwie Malmsteen
Van Halen
Vai
Paul Gilbert
Ace Freyley (or something like that)
Zak Wyld
CC Devill

[jerk]

I think the best HM guitar payer is Marty Friedman, Megadeth is nothing without this guy
n the best "creater" is Vai n Van Halen
the best in "melody" n little bit "strange" style is Paul Gilbert (n Richie Sambora too? perhaps)
n lastly best in HM-Progressive is Criss Oliva (i dont kno ecxactly the name but this guy's from Savatage)

[todd]

Watch the Garden concert of Springsteen that just came out on DVD. In particular, see "Youngstown" and there should be no doubt that Nils Lofgren is totally possessed! Who wouldn't make a deal with the devil to play like that?!
Other's include:
Hendrix (without a doubt, the best there was!)
Stevie Ray (who wasn't allowed the opportunity to show us how he would have progressed by now)
Little Steve VanZant (who is a good actor, but a REAL good guitarist!)

[Jennifer Batten]

Fav guitarrist...
1. Jason Becker/ John Petrucci
2. Paul Gilbert
3. Steve Vai
4. Marty Friedman
5. Malmsteen
6. J. Batten
7. M. Romeo
and... includin' satriani... I think .... ;)

[Locomotive breath]

There is no best.

[nasum_human]

paco de lucia
julian breem

those guys make the neoclassical bunch sound like hamfisted idiots....

trey azagthoth - pure shred
chuck schuldiner - pioneer
dimebag darrel - MVP
tony norman - style
mikael akerfeldt - creativity
daron malakian - innovator
Greg Ginn - orginal innovator
vai - pure class
satch - ditto
paul kossoff - tragic
pete townshend - songwriter
hendrix - everything!
James Hetfield - probably the greatest riff architecht the world has ever seen

[Led Zeppelin]

Originally posted by thomflash
John Frusciante, J. Mascis, Tom Morello, John Coltrane

Didnt John Coltrane play saxophone? I always thought he was a big jazz saxophonist. Im prbably wrong though

[Dave How]

Wow! this string was so long I just skipped through to the last page. Did anyone mention Ritchie Blackmore yet? He was the one that got me playing guitar and I still enjoy listening to Deep Purple.

Other favourites are Satch, Vai, Pat Metheny and Alvin Lee. Overall I think Dave Gilmour touches me the most though. His tone and phrasing just hit the spot for me.

[eric_montgomery]

Guitarist:

Steve Lukather
Frank Gambale
George Benson
Eddie van Halen

Bass players:

Abraham Laboriel
Mark King
Marcus Miller
Stu Hamm
Victor Wooten

Drummers:

Dave Weckl
Steve Gadd
Simon Philips
Dennis Chambers
Terry Bozzio
Mike Portnoy

[taylormarkow]

jimi hendrix and paul simon and taylormarkow are the best guitarists.

26 pages long! That has to be a record!

[metalisbest]

1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Jimmy Page
3. Guys from Lynyrd Skynyrd
4. Tim Mahoney
5. Max Calvalera

[Dr. Saturno]

I´ve listened to Jason Becker and I can say that he was the fastest guitarist I´ve ever heard.

[Zeppelin]

Originally posted by guitargod420


i cant really remember if i posted a reply in this already but im glad to see all the kirk hammett fans out there kirk hammett is inspired me to play metallica is my all time favorite band kirk is probably the most original guitarist there is hell yea kirk but anyways heres my pics



[Edited by guitargod420 on 09-14-2001 at 12:29 PM]

He cant be serious, can he?

[u10ajf]

Most original guitarist = Robert Fripp from King crimson.
Lots of metal players sound quite like Kirk Hammett.
Best guitarists? Probably Alex Lifeson from Rush (quality variable but try Exit.. stage left), Joe Satriani and David Gilmour (Division bell is awesome). My humble opinion.

[guitaristofwar14a]

the 10 greatest guitar players ever are:

1.Randy Rhoads
2.Jimi Hendrix
3.Tony Iommi (who really started the finger tapping craze, since u can hear him finger tappin in a recording from 69-70)
4.Zakk Wylde
5.Eddie Van Halen
6.Angus Young
7.Stevie Ray Vaughn
8.Malcolm Young
9.Joe Perry
10.Jimmy Page

[u10ajf]

Originally posted by Jennifer Batten
Jennifer Batten
Steve Vai
Ynwie Malmsteen
Jhon Petrucci
Joe Satriani
Van Halen
Kirk Hammet
Marty Friedman...anythin' else?? let me remember...

If you were really Jennifer Batten then your touring partner Jeff Beck would be in your list and Kirk wouldn't (after all you whip his ass). This noted I can say safely anw without the risk of inflating your head that Jennifer Batten is one of the best guitar players I've ever heard, far more interesting than Vai and comparably technical shredders. She's got this jazzy thing going on like Scott Henderson and (particularly) her use of the tremolo arm is very original.
As for best players I'd like to make the point that I would be surprised if I'd heard all the best players and my choices change all the time. Even my tastes aren't definitive! Lol.

[Twist of Fate]

Daniel Johns- Silverchair
Slash
Kurt Cobain
Buckethead
Jimi Hendrix
Zakk Wylde
Alex Lifeson

Does't matter what order.

[Josh Redstone]

I like;

Steve Vai
Eddie Van Halen
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Jimi Hendrix
Pete Townshend
Eric Clapton
David Gilmore
Malcom and Angus Young
Kim Mitchell (he's faster than he looks!)
And the guys from Iron Maiden. I cant remember their names for some reason.
Theres probably more but I cant think of em right now.

[Just_Me]

1. Jimmy Page (Who else can play guitar with a violin bow?)
2. Jimi Hendrix
3. Chuck Berry
4. Ritchie Blackmore
The next 2 will probably be surprise entries.
5. Steve Morse (his performance live at the albert hall in '99 in sometimes i feel like screaming.)
6. Steve Morris (he seems to play without trying)
7. Eric Clapton
8. Joe Satriani
9. Steve Vai
10.B.B. King

[Dejan Sajinovic]

Playe´rs who influenced me most are:

Ace Frehley (KISS)
Slash (GN´R)
Kirk Hammett (Metallica)
Murray/Smith (Iron Maiden)
John Petrucci (Dream Theater)
Zakk Wylde (Ozzy), Jason Becker, Paul Gilbert and Yngwie Mamlsteen.