Whos The Greatest Guitarist?

boroff89 wrote:

Thanks, that about covers it. I love the assumpions people on this board make. Whenever you don't react to something in the same way they do, they assume you haven't listened to enough of it.

In terms of living guitarists, the ones that speak to me most are Mike McCready, Lindsey Buckingham (horribly, horrible underrated), Nels Cline, David Gilmour, and Mike Einziger.

Actually I think it is a perfectly valid response w/ regards to Satriani. Most people think of him as still stuck in the "Surfing With The Alien" pure shred stuff. He has a ton of really good albums since then, most are very well done and not as flashy. He makes really good music but, in my experience, MANY people just write him off as soulless and gimmicky. I'm saying that a lot of other guitarists are that way, but not him. I find a lot of people group him in with the shred/solo guitarist genre, but the man has soul more than most people know.

"You haven't heard much" is a valid response. How many times have people told you they loved PJ when Ten came out but that everything after sucks...when really all they know is Daughter and Betterman? Without knowing you, I am only assuming you do not know a lot of his music. I may be wrong, but with MOST people that is the case.

Give these an honest listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFS9NBztaXw
Down, Down, Down (from my favorite album)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2fExyjlG7Q
Cool #9 (from the same album)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vVRaAtKQAE
Chords Of Life

Here's the second greatest guitarist of all time, in my view. One note from this man wipes out whole universes of shredders. This, my friends, is tone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSZHT2XvoLM

Mike_Muse_Rage wrote:

I think the issue is more that Satch is lumped in as a "shredder" along with Vai, Malmsteen, Petrucci et all. Joe isn't as technically proficient as any of these or similar guitarists and writes songs with meaning. They aren't endless runs of fast notes, they mean something. For me he isn't really comparable to any other guitarists; no other instrumental artists can affect me the way Satch can and that makes him unique. I hate for him to be stereotyped.

Vai does the "slow, meaningful" songs just as well as Satriani does. They're both very talented guitarists. Thing is, this thing that their fans say about them doing slow, meaningful songs is not really a strong argument as to why they are a cut above the other shredders. The slower songs are generally over-produced cheesefests that are the lead guitar equivalent of a Michael Bolton ballad.

Where's the fucking danger in this music?

BinFrog wrote:

Actually I think it is a perfectly valid response w/ regards to Satriani. Most people think of him as still stuck in the "Surfing With The Alien" pure shred stuff. He has a ton of really good albums since then, most are very well done and not as flashy. He makes really good music but, in my experience, MANY people just write him off as soulless and gimmicky. I'm saying that a lot of other guitarists are that way, but not him. I find a lot of people group him in with the shred/solo guitarist genre, but the man has soul more than most people know.

"You haven't heard much" is a valid response. How many times have people told you they loved PJ when Ten came out but that everything after sucks...when really all they know is Daughter and Betterman? Without knowing you, I am only assuming you do not know a lot of his music. I may be wrong, but with MOST people that is the case.

Give these an honest listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFS9NBztaXw
Down, Down, Down (from my favorite album)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2fExyjlG7Q
Cool #9 (from the same album)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vVRaAtKQAE
Chords Of Life

NICE....choices and her's another that started it all with Satriani...called Hordes Of Locusts. I heard by accident at Circuit City listening room for speakers way back when and man I cranked it up till the walls were shaking. I've been hooked ever since.

Peace

Any fool who doesn't agree that Jimi is clearly the best is... well.. a fool!

SRV comes close, there's a host of others though... Pat Metheny, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, BB King, Paco De Luca etc etc, you could go on forever and ever but in terms of playing the blues, playing rock, playing rhtyhm, playing lead, improvisation, innovation with effects, the artisitic and musical use of noise and feedback etc etc Jimi wins hands down on all those accounts. No one else comes close.

To argue that Jimi is overrated or to say he is clearly the best is a cliche is a very silly argument.

JIMI HENDRIX

Joe2TheRevenge wrote:

"hi, i'm jimi hendrix, i can play novice blues songs through a wah peddle. call me the greatest ever"

"hi, i'm john frusciante. i take the less-is-more approach because i am too inferior to even play more than i do"

"hi, i'm stevie ray vaughn. i graduated from the jimi hendrix school of guitar playing. when i bend one note for 87 seconds, people think i have soul"

in case you haven't figured it out, i think every one of these guys is a fucking joke.

Well, you're entitled to your opinion, I guess. Even though you're clearly wrong on at least two counts.

Joe2TheRevenge wrote:

"hi, i'm jimi hendrix, i can play novice blues songs through a wah peddle. call me the greatest ever"

"hi, i'm john frusciante. i take the less-is-more approach because i am too inferior to even play more than i do"

"hi, i'm stevie ray vaughn. i graduated from the jimi hendrix school of guitar playing. when i bend one note for 87 seconds, people think i have soul"

in case you haven't figured it out, i think every one of these guys is a fucking joke.

Do you watch Buckethead videos with the sound muted? I can see his appeal, then.

Mike_Muse_Rage wrote:

Call me crazy but I don't remember mentioning the word "slow" in any of my posts. Flying In A Blue Dream and Made Of Tears are two of my favourite Satch songs because they convey such emotion. Neither are slow, they are both uptempo with a driving rhythm. Satch has evolved with the times, as has Vai to an extent. If you think the old stuff is too cheesy just listen to the new stuff; the majority of it is very contemporary.

"They aren't endless runs of fast notes, they mean something."

I looked to the deeper meaning of the sentence. I didn't mean to misquote you. I was referring to other people in the thread as well though, not just you.

I guess it's all a matter of taste. I don't see anything in Flying in a Blue Dream but a shallow attempt at "soulful" playing but it's entirely your right to think otherwise. I guess with these types of guitarists, they are TOO technically able for me, to the extent where they sound far too clinical and perfect, even when not playing a demanding piece. I'm not opposed to guitar virtuosity at all, I'm a jazz fanatic and people like John McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock could easily give Satch and Vai a run for their money. I guess it's just that the style of music that Satriani and players of his ilk traffic in isn't for me. It doesn't get under my skin, doesn't provoke any feelings in me.

The most awesome and original sounds I've heard for a while. Also check out their version of Stairway to Heaven.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGQ6imfUrSs&feature=related