Underrated AND Overrated guitarists

:).. nice to know you have a sense of humour...
seriously though.. what do you do for a living etc etc?
I find insparation musically, ironically, by taking a break from music.. sometime you get bogged down...

Lyrically, um i kinda get political... and yes I do read A LOT of books (yes, it's very teenage, you know to read stuff instead of experiencing it), but insipiration is a really dificult thing to look for..

This is what I do:

http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=3210

Write in and tell us all a bit about yourself!

I thought it best to start a new thread since this one's supposed to be about underated/overated guitarists.

See you there!

I'm new here but I don't see any posts either for or against Steve Howe. I've been a big Yes fan for some time and just started playing which has no baring on this post but I think he is a very underrated guitarist!! Just listen to any of the Yes stuff through the years and its incredible stuff. Like Yes or not his stuff is clean, complex and usually very fresh. I realized how versatile he was by listening to Tales from Topographic Oceans the first time!!! WOW! Any thoughts?

Originally posted by chris mood
a lot of people may hate me for this but Eric Clapton is definetly way over rated.

I think you're right . . . IF you're talking about his electric playing. On the electric, he's pretty mediocre, but on the acoustic, he has a touch like no other. Every song and solo on the "Unplugged" album is brilliant.

Overrated: Kirk Cobain
Underrated: Michael Schenker (UFO)

over: Kirk Hammett
(His solos of the earlier Metallica albums are not really genius, and I must only shook my head when I see the transcriptions in their songbooks..)
under: Michael Romeo (Symphony X)

Originally posted by Thomas Schellhous
I have been severely threatened for voicing this opinion before, but I honestly think that Jimi Hendrix wasn't that good. However, I haven't heard everything from him.
Also, other overrated guitarists include: Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen (most overrated guitarist ever), Ace Frehley, Angus Young, and Kurt Cobain (I like Nirvana, but come on, he was no guitar whiz)

Underrated: Randy Rhoads, James Hetfield, Dimebag Darrel, Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman, and (on a less heavy side) Jesse Cook, whose amazing accuracy and mastery of technique along with his style variety ranging from flamenco to classical amazes me.
Rhoads was a great musician, Hetfield is the driving musical force of Metallica and a great player who is sometimes overshadowed by Kirk Hammett's popuarity, and Pantera and Slayer may not be the most musical bands in the traditional sense, but they still have talent.

you´re totally right... and you know what ?

i love you

underrated:

Doug Boyle
Jon Schaffer
George Lynch
David Chastain
Mick Mars
the hellecasters guys
Vernon Reid
Dino Cazares
Nuno Bettencourt
Tom Morello
Keb mo

Overrated:

Malmsteen
Richie Sambora
Ace Frehley
The Edge
Randy Rhoads
Keith Richards
eric Clapton

another underrated:

Uli Jon Roth

To be honest I don't think any successfull guitar player is over rated or under. I feel it is what you bring to the table that sets you apart and to each his own. But the most briliant guitar players I have ever heard are little known and some are local guys. To say who have impressed me the most and are famous, and who hasn't, that is a different subject. Impressed: Jimi (of course) Dicky Betts,Duane Allman, Derek Trucks, Warren Hanes, Steve Morse, Albert King (and all the king bros for that matter hehe) Walter Becker, Larry Carlton, Jango Reinhardt,Steve Morse, Johnny Winter, Chet Atkins, Mark Knopler, Alvin Lee, Steve Ray, Carlos, Los Idios Tabaharas, George Harrison just to name a few off the top of my head...(this list can get extremely long)And Unimpressed by most of the now guitar players that don't extend their instrument beyond noise, tho I do respect the athletisism it takes to play some of those rythems =)

overrated: eddie van halen, kirk hammett, john williams(classical), dave mustaine, kurt cobain, billy corgan, kim thayil.... some of these guys made it to the 100 greatest solos of all time in guitar world. duh??? whats the deal here??

underrated: nuno bettencourt, dimebag darrell, scot henderson, shawn lane, paco de lucia (and friends), jennifer batten, kevin eubanks.... some guitarists don't even know they exist.

Overrated: Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnston, Hammet, all those guys who forget that the song is the most important thing.

Underrated: Pete Townsend, Paul Weller, Bernard Butler, Rory Gallagher (maybe not underrated as such, but certainly deserves more acclaim), Slash, The Edge, Keith Richards, Steve Marriott, Steve Craddock, Steve Cropper, George Benson, I could go on...

Maybe great songs are just so much bigger than the musicians who play them. If so, terrific, because they should be. Maybe if the Beatles hadn't written such excellent songs, we would only remeber George Harrison's superb if understated playing. Better than average playing gets noticed in a lousy song. Great musicianship in a crap song is like salt and vinegar with no chips!!!!!

Here endeth the outburst

Finally someone who sees things the way I do :)

The last time I posted on a 'greatest guitarists every' board i was the only one who came up with Lifeson. Nice to know i'm not alone in the guitarist-universe.

Overated:
Ace Frehly
Tom Delonge
Avril Lavigne
Dave Mustaine
and so much more....

Underrated:
Frank Zappa
Alex Lifeson
Dave Grohl
Jerry Garcia
Jeff Beck
Johny Mac
The Edge

the list goes on.....

Overrated: All shredders. SHredding is not at all that difficult and a lot of kids get a WOW(God, I hate that expression) when the hear someone playin with 200 kmph. Personaly, I dont' find it musicala at all.
Underrated: Guys who dont shred for some reason. Lately, however it appears that more and more of guitarists whom I have thought of as nonshredders, as guys who were never able to play fast solos, turn out that they can doit. Examples, Mike Einziger(Incubus) solos his ass off in one song of Incubus' 1st album. The same goes with Tool's guitarplayer -- in one song in the 1st album he goes running up and down the fretboard.
I don't want to start again the epic war between the shredders and the nonshredders but I had to make this point.

Overated: Hammett (i love metallica but he aint the special one), Hendrix (sorry he was good, influential and original at the time but I haven't heard anything that I've wanted to buy yet)

Underated: Dimebag, Rocky George (ex suicidal tendencies)

Originally posted by Evo
Hendrix sorry he was good, influential and original at the time but I haven't heard anything that I've wanted to buy yet

Then you havent heard anything....:)

I think that B.B. King is underrated as is john fruciante of RHCP.
Overrated:Kirk Hammett(I really really love Metallica and kirk hammett is good but he gets too overrated, he's not the best.

****, that thread is back from the grave :)
Talking about the Red Hots, their last song that gets played on the radio, With the funky intro.... Wooohoooo, that's some groovy ****...
BBking is totally inderrated, that's true, I own the DVD that came out with the 3 tapes he made, and dude, he can rip through the changes of a jazz tune like any jazz cat.. Some say that BB is a big belly, a bent note and funny faces... well, there's more to it...

THE SLUG!!! THE SLUG!!! IT'S BAAACCCKKK!!!!!

AHHHHH!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES (err, walk) !!!!!