Hey Limace, how long you been playing? 15 years? Sounds like at leaast that long - probably 20+. Nice stuff. I've got catching up to do in sheer speed/neo-classical, but I'm more jazz oriented, and I don't really think I'll go full tilt in the direction of learning neo-licks - I'll go with jazz/rock/fusion licks and maybe get them going at a pretty good pace. I heard one or two very brief jazz licks in your playing - I "suggest" you get (more) hardcore into jazz, it can only add color to your palette, and you can always use a short burst of speed between totally random jazzy bits. I highly reccomend Herbie Hancock's tunes - especially the pretty straightforward, simple funk ones where you have the freedom to change keyds/scales constantly and randomly meld it/let it meld itself into something that when you listen to it, it's totally different than it sounded when you first recorded it. Just a thought...plus I have one or two alright improvs of my own saved (playing over existing works of jazz greats)...not quite there with the speed, but getting alright at the jazz thing - I sound like a jazz sax I guess - main inspiration with that style is McLaughlin, and a tad Metheny (meaning I sound like them basically, but of course my own sound a bit), with of course the fast parts being probably closest to Satriani, who I know isn't really the best shredder, (if he can really be called a true shredder at all), but I like him the best overall of the fastest guys 'cause he's the most listenable (songwriting is cometimes great too for moods it puts you in), although he's still almost too fast compared with the Guitar Trio, which in my opinion can't be touched - they are the overlords of guitar. Their slower later songwriting is awesome...it really showcases where else to go other than just sheer speed - plus shows other places to use speed - (like tons of McLaughlin's stuff), where "1/2 pace" is the maximum possible speed when playing strange random ****, although there's that Scott Mishoe to sort of negate that "rule of thumb", but that's almost banjo/hillbilly sounding licks, however I didn't think I'd see someone sweep the floor with Victor Wooten (Bela Fleck & the Flecktones), but now it seems there are probably tons of bassists/bass-style slap guitarists much faster than Wooten. Still, in terms of "true jazz/fusion" sounding licks, there really aren't any very fast guitarists in the idiom - I think I'll concentrate there - there seems to be ample room for braking ground :)
Anyhow, I'm not really "voting" for anyone, but hey I'm sure as hell surprised to hear that strange noise from Marcus Paus. He's the fastest, no question. Then probably Gilbert and yourself (Limace), with the host of other guys like Michael Angelo and Yngwie, etc. following suit.
Anyhow, any other McLaughlin/DiMeola/de Lucia fans? I'd probably say these guys are the best (of course not nearly the fastest), and these guys are also the most important, next to Hendrix and the forerunners, like Tal Farlow, Django Reinhardt, and, of course, Charlie Christian.
For those that might not know, there is a pretty simple lineage to guitarists :
(Robert Johnson), Charlile Christian, Django Reindardt, Tal Farlow, then I'm not sure for the next while, but of course after that there's Jimi Hendrix, John Mclaughlin, Paco de Lucia, Al DiMeola (started the real speed in guitar), then of course Yngwie (maximized speed), and Vai and EVH and Satriani and the rest, but if you want a history of speed guitar, it's only two guys - DiMeola and Malmsteen, and that's a fact. Everything else is basically following Yngwie's lead, as he's the guy who took it to the next level, and he even told Al that he was the inspirtation to become the fastest guitarist in the world, since Al had done that just before him.
If anyone else knows any tidbits about the "early-mid lineage" of guitar's most prominent figures, give us a nice in-depth review.
Well it's nie to find a place devoted to aspiring guitarists, and I think I've found a source of great information. Well, off to bed, it's 4:20am.
Cya
