Greatest Guitar Player Tournament (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Satriani]

Hendrix was good for his time, he was original back in the day. I appreciate him, but c'mon there are more original technical guitar players out there that are WAY better than him. Satch, Petrucci, Vai are all more technical and better than him IMO.

 

[DonaldB]

technical = [deleted] automaton

 

[Reginald Trent]

It takes more than great technique to be a great guitarist. And if you want to talk about great technique I'll vote for Allan Holdsworth over the latest Johnny come latelys.

 

[Jan H]

Say what you will about technical proficiency (and Holdsworth is excellent), but Joe Satriani is hardly a Johnny(HYPHEN)come(HYPHEN)lately. He is a solid songwriting craftsman. Vai, Petrucci and the other Johnny(HYPHEN)come(HYPHEN)lately's may or may not deserve your pejorative label. The fact is, that only a handful of guitarists who have ever lived can do the things that these three players can do. Hendrix clones are a dime(HYPHEN)a(HYPHEN)dozen.

 

[Tom Ryan]

Since the vast majority of guitar players (and politicians, writers, actors, etc.) that people hear about (at least in the USA) are Christians

[Office Space] Uhmmm, yeahh...I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of...disagree with you on that one [/Office Space]

I've read many, many guitar magazines and countless interviews with guitarists, and I doubt I could think of more than one or two who claim to be Christians at all, outside of actual "Christian" bands. Popular music is indeed VERY secular, not much of a place for Christians.

-Tom

 

[AndyDL]

SRV
Clapton
Brian Setzer

 

[Tom Ryan]

Oh, and the thing about Jimi Hendrix saying Phil Keaggy was the best guitar player he had ever heard is an urban legend, I believe. I've also heard the same story with Eric Clapton substituted for Jimi.

-Tom

 

[JonZ]

Jimmy Page
Jimi Hendrix
Chuck Schuldiner (Bows down after saying the Masters name RIP)
Toni Iommi
Randy Rhodes
Steve Ray Vaughn
Wolf Hoffmann
Dave Navarro
Dave Mustaine
Eddie Van Halen
John Fahey
Glenn Tipton & KK Downing
Dave Murray & Adrian Smith
Angus Young

Very underrated:
Alex Lifeson
George Harrison
Paul Stanley



"Hendix was good for his time, he was original back in the day. I appreciate him, but c'mon there are more original
technical guitar players out there that are WAY better than him. Satch, Petrucci, Vai are all more technical and better than him IMO."

Fisrt of all, I just want to say I do play guitar.For about 14 years. I only say this so that you dont think Im saying what Im about to say with no understanding of the instrument.I do have some knowledge of the guitar a appreciation for all the hard work it takes to become good at it.
Having said that, I cant possibely disagree with the above quote enough.

As a matter of fact, I would rate Angus Young and even Paul Stanley above the guys you mentioned. Angus and Paul turned out great song after great song for years - the guys you mentioned havent. They are fancier, flashier - they are more proficient at what THEY DO, but they arent better. Have any of the guys you named written any really great,memorable songs? One that rivals Page,Van Halen,Old Kiss,Randy and Jimi?
I dont think so.
A friend of mine was talking to me about a Mamlsteen concert he'd seen years ago - he said the solos were awesome and it was cool when he threw his guitar in the air and caught it, but they didnt play one decent song. "Amazing the way he flies up and down the neck,but the guy cant write a song" was his response.

Thats IMHO of course.

 

[MartinTeller]

28 posts and not one mention of the late great Eddie Hazel. Sad.

 

[Jeremiah]

I actually think Jimi saying Keaggy was the best is a myth, b/c Jimi knew he was the best and if you listened to his stuff enough you could tell by the little inputs he would say after a riff.
Jimi Hendrix is without a doubt the baddest mutha to ever pick up a musical instrument and nobody was even close to his greatness. He was so awesome and on a completely different level it was obscene.
Who has Jimi Hendrix's War Heros CD? "Midnight" and "Tax Free" are so awesome and just raw guitar playing.

 

[Jeremiah]

Hendix was good for his time, he was original back in the day. I appreciate him, but c'mon there are more original technical guitar players out there that are WAY better than him. Satch, Petrucci, Vai are all more technical and better than him IMO.

I have no idea what to say about this but you don't know much about Jimi Hendrix than.
1983....Is untouchable by anyone.
Castles Made Of Sand.....at the end he makes it sound like someone tugged on an Angels' wing as he trys to fly away.
Come On(let the good times roll) I would bet can not be played my anyone.
Are You Experienced
Little Wing
Bold As Love
Voodoo Chile(15 minutes od sick blues)
House Is Burning Down.....you want to know what fire sounds like this is the song.
There are many more but I don't want to right it all out.
I would suggest listening to Electric Ladyland, Axis: Bold As Love and all his other stuff.

 

[Ike]

Technical proficiency does not make a good guitar player. The school of playing that Vai, Satriani, Petrucci, and Malmsteen subscribe to is wholly uninteresting. It sounds like someone who has mastered the guitar out of a school textbook, and we get to listen to a technical demo of how good they are. I'll take sloppy and passionate better than cold and technical every day. I don't know if Hendrix is the best guitar player ever, (apples to oranges) but, he is not great because of how fast he is, or how complex his playing is.

Again, not saying that Hendrix is the greatest, just that he is better, in my opinon, than the one's mentioned earlier.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

My favorite is David Gilmour!

 

[Tom Ryan]

Rob, I love Gilmour. He may be my favorite soloist...he's so utterly melodic, restrained, and heartbreaking with every note he plays .
-Tom

 

[Heinz W]

Way to go guys! Gilmour has always been underrated to me. Very soulful, emotional solos that soar!

I'll take sloppy and passionate better than cold and technical every day.

I heartily agree with this! A million notes per minute does not a great guitarist make. Eddie Van Halen is technically WAY better at playing than Jimmy Page, but Pagey sends VH limping home with his songwriting/arranging/producing abilities, IMO.

 

[Jan H]

I think there may be some confusion about the term "greatest." Do "better" and "greater" mean the same thing? For example, Barry Bonds is a "better" baseball player than Joe DiMaggio was. He can do more things on a field, hit for greater power and average, is as outstanding defensively, and is more athletic. But most baseball and casual fans would agree that DiMaggio is the "greater" player, due to the legacy and reputation that has endured for over 50 years. Is this not then, a question of semantics? For example, Hendrix was a pioneer and a singular talent on the guitar who set the stage for all of the showy axemen to come. Did he have the ability to play the way Vai plays? Hell, no. On the other hand, Vai could probably play every solo Hendrix recorded note-for-note from memory. So, who's "better" or "greater"? In my book, Vai is better because he is more technically advanced, but Hendrix is the "greater" musician.

 

[Reginald Trent]

Jimi Hendrix is the ONLY guitarist that makes his guitar transcend musical notes giving it the human quality of speech. As was said earlier listen to "Midnight" from Jimi's War Heroes CD/Album. I also agree with IKE, most speedfreak guitarist sound as if they are performing musical masturbation with their instrument.

 

[Trevor H]

36 posts and no one has mentioned Zakk Wylde yet, not only is he the best guitar player alive he also writes good songs (remember a song isn't just one long pointless guitar solo) and he doesn't rely on all kinds of tech shit to make his playing sound good, just a Les Paul Custom, a couple of pedals (Boss & Dunlop) & Marshall JCM 800's & Marshall TVB Cabs. I'll put that up against all these whammy-bar masturbators any day.
Pick up some Black Label Society CD's and you will hear what I mean (and I shouldn't even have to mention his work with Ozzy)
"Bleed Black Label"
Trevor Harder - SDMF

 

[JonZ]

Trevor,
Youre right - I think Zakk is freaking amazing.And I do admire Gilmour as well.

"Vai is better because he is more technically advanced,
but Hendrix is the "greater" musician"

Heres where opinions vary.Its like comparing a boxer from the 60s to one of the 90s.These guys also use techniques and equiptment that werent around back in Hendrixs time.If I can play every Led Zeppelin song note for note does that mean Im as good as Jimmy Page?
Sorry but no.
Creativity,passion,arrangement and emotion count for alot IMHO and no one had more than Hendrix in those departments.

You could say it like this - Vai is the best guitarist when it comes to technique and theory while Jimi Hendrix was the greatest rock guitarist ever.To me there are about 20 guys I would put above Satch, Vai becuase theyre more "complete". Someone mentioned Pages arrangement ability - whats the point of being about to play up and down the neck like no one has ever seen, if you cant write a song?
For the record Id dont dislike the Vais and Satches - I have alot of admiration for them - theyre ability and make no mistake,its god given talent, but Hendrix,Page,Iommi,Van Halen were innovators, and untouchable in my opinion.

 

[DanaA]

Hendrix had vision and soul. His inner emotions exploded out of his instrument. I simply cannot listen at length to a "technical" guitarist, because I listen to music for the emotionality and feelings being expressed by the musician. As far as other guitarists that appeal to me, but I haven't seen listed here (I might have missed their names as I didn't read every post), I'd like to mention Jeff Beck ,whose stellar work with the Yardbirds and as a solo artist thereafter not only demonstrate a technical mastery of his instrument, but an innovative sense of how to stretch the instrument's boundaries, and Duane Allman, whose fiery playing was pure emotion.