Pyramid Of Guitarists

[Motown Marvel]

^^^can't necessarily disagree with that.

 

[jimmy]

Unless you include Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, Dimebag Darrell, Rusty Cooley, Michael Romeo, Jeff Loomis, Michael Amott, and Eric Johnson on the top of that pyramid, then you can change the title of this thread to "Pyramid of popular, totally overrated guitarists".

 

[Addendum]

The reason I place Robert Johnson and Leadbelly at the top is because they basically influenced every person who picked up a guitar, who then influenced others who picked up a guitar and so on.

They're essentially the beginning.

 

[jimmy]

But, thing is, are we talking about influence of technical ability?

I doubt seriously that Robert Johnson and Leadbelly played guitars with humbuckers and floyd rose termolo systems through amps with 5+ gain stages.

 

[Addendum]

But, thing is, are we talking about influence of technical ability?

I doubt seriously that Robert Johnson and Leadbelly played guitars with humbuckers and floyd rose termolo systems through amps with 5+ gain stages.

Doesn't matter. They influenced tons of musicians with their acoustic guitar playing the blues.

That matters a helluva lot more than their "gear"

 

[jimmy]

Okay, so you're talking about influence.

Tell me, then, did they also employ 6 string arpeggios, string skipping, tapped harmonics, or two-handed tapping? Likely, they didn't know what any of this ment, because most, if not all, of it would not have been made popular until the 1980's; and so on a technical level, guitarists like Rusty Cooley, guitarists who use all of the aforesaid techniques in their playing, have Robert Johnson and Leadbelly beat, I daresay.

Now, on the other hand, Rusty Cooley probably isn't going to inspire as many people to pick up a guitar and play it like Robery Johnson and Leadbelly did, but only a handful of players are on the same level with Rusty in terms of technical ability.

With all of this jibber-jabber in mind, it's important to differentiate between TECHNIQUE and INFLUENCE.

 

[Addendum]

Each guitarist develops their own techinque to enhance their sound.

When God, i.e. Eric Clapton, considers Robert Johnson "the most important musician who ever lived" and "the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice", when Keith Richards says upon first hearing Robert Johnson for the first time "Who is the other guitarist playing with him" when it was all one person playing one guitar, and when one musician, Leadbelly, has been covered by Johnny Cash, Gene Autry, Led Zeppelin, The Animals, The Beach Boys, Jerry Garcia, Nirvana, and countless others...

I think that matters more than "did they use 6 string arpeggios"

But hey, if you want to think that guitarists from today are better than those who came before them, because they play electric guitars and make some killer riffs, to each their ****ing own. Although it wouldn't hurt to actually listen to some of the music of the past before you fluff it off

 

[jimmy]

I'm not fluffing anything. I respect all guitarists because I think they all have something unique to contribute to the thing.

However, guitar playing, over the last 50+ years, has changed.

I think that comparing guitarists like Yngwie Malmsteen and Jimmy Page is moronic. They are completly different players who contributed their own techniques to guitar playing.

Each generation of guitarists, on a technical level, are very different. An example: during the popular shred era (roughly 80's - early 90's), three-note-per string scales were popular; to-day, they are a thing of the past and most current shredders use 6, 7, or 8 note-per-string scales.

Guitar playing is a totally subjective thing. What someone thinks is the best thing around, probably isn't worth a listen to someone else. A joke. How many guitarists does it take to screw in a light-bulb? 1, and about a million others who will critique them.

In the end, I really don't think there is "one" GREAT guitarist; Not because of technique or influence, but because there is always going to be, in someone else's mind, someone who is "better".

 

[Addendum]

But don't settle with that person who is "better"

I always get a kick out of discovering the bands that influenced my favorite bands/artists to see what got them to start playing

 

[jimmy]

Yes, things get interesting when you start to trace your bands idols, then their idols.

 

[Fried Gold]

Yes, things get interesting when you start to trace your bands idols, then their idols.

That's why this should've been a guitarists family tree, who influenced who type of deal, as opposed to another thinly veiled 'JIMI HENDRIX IS GHOD!!!1LOL!!!ZZ' thread.

 

[Cyrusbales]

The thread is about technical ability, Yes chuck berry is highly influential, but as guitarist skills go, he's not in the same league as the likes of Alvin Lee!

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

This thread is ridiculous but I must take the time to say, You may like some of the music, the songs that Carlos Santana has written/been involved with, but by no stretch should he be....he's a terrible guitarist. Alright, passable at best. His style is so stilted, confined, square and cardboard that I......erh....leaving thread.

 

[Cyrusbales]

This thread is ridiculous but I must take the time to say, You may like some of the music, the songs that Carlos Santana has written/been involved with, but by no stretch should he be....he's a terrible guitarist. Alright, passable at best. His style is so stilted, confined, square and cardboard that I......erh....leaving thread.

Technical ability, he is great, he makes sounds that other can't, and any piece of his music is instantly recognisable. And another guitarist who should be up there, Richie Havens.

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

*sigh*
Omg, I'm going to have a stroke.

Let's get Steve Vai to play a note-for-note CS solo, and then get Carlos to play a note-for-note Vai solo.

X 1,000

If you want to say you admire feel, emotion, soul or whatever, fine. But "technical ability" is the one place where it is not a matter of opinion. He sucks.

Also, those "sounds" he supposedly gets, that no one else can? The distinctive "sound".
That's just because he's one of the only name guitarists dumb enough to play a Paul Reed Smith.

I prefer a Gibson Les Paul, but years ago we had one song that required a tremolo bar, so I'd borrow a friend's PRS and I had to stop, because no matter what you played, it sounded like Carlos Santana.
BleeEEECH!

 

[Cyrusbales]

*sigh*
Omg, I'm going to have a stroke.

Let's get Steve Vai to play a note-for-note CS solo, and then get Carlos to play a note-for-note Vai solo.

X 1,000

If you want to say you admire feel, emotion, soul or whatever, fine. But "technical ability" is the one place where it is not a matter of opinion. He sucks.

Also, those "sounds" he supposedly gets, that no one else can? The distinctive "sound".
That's just because he's one of the only name guitarists dumb enough to play a Paul Reed Smith.

I prefer a Gibson Les Paul, but years ago we had one song that required a tremolo bar, so I'd borrow a friend's PRS and I had to stop, because no matter what you played, it sounded like Carlos Santana.
BleeEEECH!

The sheer high quality of material on the albums SANTANA and ABRAXA's are undeniable!

 

[maxwell's demon]

Robert Johnson.

Leadbelly.

Then everyone else

thank you.


i will also put in John Fahey and Django Reinhardt

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

The sheer high quality of material on the albums SANTANA and ABRAXA's are undeniable!

Yes, I already acknowledged that you may love his composition...the "quality of the material".
I freaking love the first 3 White Stripes albums and would much rather be Jack White than Steve Vai.
But it's just a simple fact that if you're talking TECHNICALLY, Vai is better than White (who has atrocious TECHNIQUE (unless you're going to count his ability to get intentionally bad/raw sounds and mimic sausage-fingered players as "technique")) and Santana is reknowned as a feel player, not a technical player.

 

[maxwell's demon]

Yes, I already acknowledged that you may love his composition...the "quality of the material".
I freaking love the first 3 White Stripes albums and would much rather be Jack White than Steve Vai.
But it's just a simple fact that if you're talking TECHNICALLY, Vai is better than White (who has atrocious TECHNIQUE (unless you're going to count his ability to get intentionally bad/raw sounds and mimic sausage-fingered players as "technique")) and Santana is reknowned as a feel player, not a technical player.

i jsut read through this post WAY too quick and thought you said you loved the first three White Snake albums.







and i dont even know if they HAVE three albums.

 

[Cyrusbales]

Yes, I already acknowledged that you may love his composition...the "quality of the material".
I freaking love the first 3 White Stripes albums and would much rather be Jack White than Steve Vai.
But it's just a simple fact that if you're talking TECHNICALLY, Vai is better than White (who has atrocious TECHNIQUE (unless you're going to count his ability to get intentionally bad/raw sounds and mimic sausage-fingered players as "technique")) and Santana is reknowned as a feel player, not a technical player.

I'm with you on White stripes early stuff, But Sanatana developed his technique through feeling, which makes his tecnique unique and unimatatable, It's obvious we can't agree on this.

But I presume you agree about hendrix and gallagher though?

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

Santana is too stiff and has a terrible tone and I can perfectly imitate him with no effort. I've done it at practice sessions to get huge laughs. I also do a funny B.B. King.


But yes, Hendrix is the undeniable one.
I don't even think of him as a guitarist. More like a conduit for cosmic energy who rips your skull open and sprays gold, purple, black, red and blinding white tendrils into your brain that hook into your neurons and drag you to a strange realm like Oz or Narnia, only a more wicked, sexy colossal space samurai-succubus realm....though.

 

[Cyrusbales]

Santana is too stiff and has a terrible tone and I can perfectly imitate him with no effort. I've done it at practice sessions to get huge laughs. I also do a funny B.B. King.


But yes, Hendrix is the undeniable one.
I don't even think of him as a guitarist. More like a conduit for cosmic energy who rips your skull open and sprays gold, purple, black, red and blinding white tendrils into your brain that hook into your neurons and drag you to a strange realm like Oz or Narnia, only a more wicked, sexy colossal space samurai-succubus realm....though.

Agree to disagree on santana, and just plug into hendrix altho i been listening to gallagher a lot more lately, best live albums ever....(****)

 

[Green Lantern]

The reason I place Robert Johnson and Leadbelly at the top is because they basically influenced every person who picked up a guitar, who then influenced others who picked up a guitar and so on.

They're essentially the beginning.

Don't forget other notable blues men... Muddy Waters? Son House?

i jsut read through this post WAY too quick and thought you said you loved the first three White Snake albums.







and i dont even know if they HAVE three albums.

Actually Whitesnake's first few albums ARE good. The hard blues rock sound that Coverdale had with Deep Purple continued. Its a shame that he sold the band out to be a pop giant. The original version of "Here I Go Again" (On 1982's "Saints & Sinners" rereleased all popped up on 1987's "1987") was pretty kickass.

 

[jaguarr]

Don't forget other notable blues men... Muddy Waters? Son House?

Howlin' Wolf, baby! Albert King, baby!

At any rate, SRV's on the top of my list. He played some amazing stuff and he did it all on some HEAVY ASS GAUGE FREAKIN' STRINGS! I remember an interview with Jeff Beck where he said he picked up one of SRV's guitars once and could hardly even play the damn thing at all because the strings were so damn heavy. He could barely get any action out of them. SRV had some strong-ass fingers.

jag

 

[Whirlysplat]

What a subjective thread

- Whirly