Who is the great guitarist?

Well, for all these years, I've been playing guitar, I keep wondering... what makes a great guitarist, great? Is it uniqueness? speed? the tones? the chords? the so called 'touch' or 'feeling' of their sound? can play around with scales? or whatever it is... tell us what you think. See what the whole community of guitartricks.com can think of and how great are they in spreading ideas on being a great guitarist no matter from which root are you.

I think it's a combination of all of these BUT a great guitars IMHO must be creative and spontaneous. I think somebody mentioned it before, it's great to be wild in the studio but can you do it live? A lot of bands lack that power, that stage presence. I think that is what immortalizes a musician.
*shrug*

I think that it's also a lot of luck!!! Great guitarists are all over the place, but they are unknown, so people will never see them as great guitarists...

A have to agree with LalimaceFolle.

We all have to make choices in life and some of them push us to put priorities. The greatest guitarist may be working in a bodyshop somewhere but we'll never know cause he didn't get that record deal.

On the other hand, I don't think it's possible to label someone as being the BEST guitar player. For someone who likes blues, Buddy Guy may be the best guitarist. For someone who likes metal, Kirk Hammet may be the best.

But can you compare Buddy Guy to Kirk Hammet? I know I can't

good point!

Hmmm... yup that is of course I agree. But do you answer what am I asking here? No matter who u you are, a professional musician, or amateur, as long you are a great guitarist... what makes u become one of the great guitarist? The recipe? Even if you are not there yet, just assume or imagine what makes you so great or the others the great.

The great guitarist is one who causes you to think "I want to learn to play like that."

The guy who spends his days fixing cars in a body-shop may be a great guitarist without being widely known for it.

The only difference between the unknown great guitarist and the world-famous great guitarist is the number of people who recognise the greatness!

But do you answer what am I asking here?
-emmanuel79


I think a guitarist as become a great guitarist when he his accepted by some of his peers. I know it's impossible to be accepted by everyone but when other guitarists respect your talent, you are a great guitarist.

Let's be totaly honest here. Everyone of us as played off key in the middle of a solo in front of a crowd once in our lifetime. How many people knew you were off key? The ones who knew were probably musicians. I mean would you really ask who is the best guitarist to your average joe on the street.

I think you can say someone is a great guitar player when you know something about guitar. And as guitarist we are much more demanding on performance.

The best recipe would be, for me, a good mix of precision, diversity but most important soul. I hate hearing someone play a solo with no emotions. I love Yngwie Malmsteen but sometimes find that he lacks emotion and goes into a fast empty solo. I mean the guy is great but there's a limit where speed becomes too much. I Hope I make some sense.

Do you remember the film "Amadeus"? Salieri, (who was a very widely known and popular composer at the time), described Mozart's music as "the voice of God". That's the sort of thing I mean.

A guitarist who leaves you slack-jawed, and yearning to play as they do... that is greatness!

About the "Guy who repairs cars but is a great guitarist" i think true great guitarists ( at least alot of them ) dont have jobs, other than something to do with guitar or music. They prioritized themselves right ( in my opinion ) and didnt get drawn to money. A great guitarist can leave it all behind and jump in the big pool. How often did Jerry Garcia have money before 1964? (when he was 22) not much! fact, he was livin in a CAR, sleepin in a car, for a few years ( if i remember right ). and i believe thats one of the main things a great guitarist must be able to do, put his priorities straight and have determination to do what he wants to do and not what others want him to do. If you look back in history, there are more great guitar players who are from middle class families than rich-snaubby families. Bob Weir came from a rich family, but hey, i mean He had a great deal of luck.

What im trying to say, is, to sum it up, is that you must be able to commit yourself to the instrument. If not, its just a hobby!

So, no matter how good a person can play the guitar, but if it's just a hobby, still consider not a good guitarist? Is it something to do with the 'recognition' thing?

The best player I've ever met has never been a full-time professional musician. He was just a guy who happened to love playing blues guitar. In the last 30 years I haven't heard anyone who consistently played better!

And I've got a pretty large collection of music on tape, vinyl, and CD.

Originally posted by Incidents Happen
What im trying to say, is, to sum it up, is that you must be able to commit yourself to the instrument. If not, its just a hobby!

I think this is a good point... If you truly are talented, you CAN have some kind of job revolving around the guitar or music, such as being a store clerk, a teacher, or playing sessions, making an internet site about music... I don't have a lot of talent (I would know by now) but the dedication I gave my instrument pays off everyday, and also at the end of the month... I see truly talented guys, but who do not have the proper attitude to play music profesionnaly, since they haven't got dedication (they think music is not a job)