thebanishedone said:

I agree about his rhythm work..the most of guitarists play one chord just in two ways (open chord position and power chord), but Jimi could play one chord in so many positions just by using his thumb.. (Little Wing and Castles Made Of Sand are great examples). This is what the most of people tend to overlook.

JesusFreak said:

This is a good list - but I would rate SRV higher than Hendrix and would add David Gilmour.

zaza said:

what no Prince at all in your top ten?...im only judging by ear as i am not a guitarist so not up on the technical side of it, but P's sound is brilliant..would choose it over half those in the list, but thats just my opinion

Some good comments here and some I actually agree. But it does highlight the simple glaring fact that what we are all expressing is personal preference. I think Prince is an awesome player and would love to be able to have my own style yet I still don't think he'd appear in my Top Ten. When there are people like Brian May, Joe Satriani, Johnny Marr, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, Angus Young, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Gibbons, Jeff Beck, John Squire, the list goes on (nice mention of Robert Smith by the way).

Shall we break it down into genres or discipline even? How about fingerstyle compared to flatpick guitarists? Flamenco? Or bluegrass players, they're fairly awesome you know? How about classically trained guitarists, Baroque to contemporary? Or shall we just stick with those that never learnt past the two pentatonics? How about those that influenced popular music as opposed to those with a skill that goes far beyond the simplistic music that we, the masses, listen to?

jonty1975 said:

Of course P would be in my Top 10 But this list is much better than the one with Robert Smith in it

My 12 favourite guitarists (each one has different qualities):
SRV
Hendrix
Prince
David Gilmour
Jimmy Page
Slash
Billy Corgan
Stevie Vai
Dimebag Darrell
Johnny Greenwood
James Dean Bradfield
Tom Morello

I'm not saying they're greatest - just my favourite

zaza said:

Nearly every single one of the above bases their playing on the blues scale. Funny that

iloveannie said:

Great mentions of those two great brit-pop guitarists! "This Charming Man" is great example of Marr's guitar playing and Stone Roses debut cd is one of the greatest - you can listen to it all over again as Purple Rain album

iloveannie said:

Damn, you're right! Blues scale is one of the most "popular" and easy to learn..since you know how to play blues scale, it's easy to play the others. And I forget to add to my list J.Mascis - he's stunning live

randy rhoads
terry kath

zaza said:

Johnny Marr was saying in Guitarist magazine the other month how he purposefully chose the Fender Jag as it changes the way you play and that he consciously steers clear as much as possible from the blues as it is so common and requires so little thought on behalf of the player. Basically he was saying that (in standard tuning) the guitar lends itself to easily to the pentatonics and it is too easy to find yourself not trying to play anything else.

Wise words. Prince take note. Oh, it's too late, you're already cliched like the rest of us

iloveannie said:

That's sooo true

Hi, this is my team:

1.Steve Vai
2.Prince
3.Pete Townshend
4.james honeyman-scott
5.Jake E. Lee
6.Jimmy Page
7.Robert Fripp
8.Adrian Belew
9.Randy Rhoads
10.Ritchie Blackmoore

Slds!

In no particular order:

1. Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention, with Linda Thompson, solo)
Probably my favourite all-time guitarist. Both acoustic and electric he is a genious.

2. Prince
Prince tends to overindulgence himself with his live-solo's, but on the occasions he hits it good he hits it really good. Also the most versatile guitarist on album from my list.

3. David Hidalgo (Los Lobos)
Simple, understated, but always classy and soulfull.

4. Nick Drake
When this would be an acoustic guitarist-list alone, Nick would be the undisputable nr. 1. Great technique and creativity combined.

5. Ty Tabor (King's X, The Jellyjam, solo)
Especially for his low-tuned monster-riffs. As a soloist he isnt bad either, with touches of Brian May and Hendrix.

6. Peter Buck (REM, different hobby-bands)
Peter is technically quite limited and he is mostly a crappy soloist, but his his jangly 'folk-rock' riffs outshine those of Roger McQuin.

7. Tres Manos (Urban Dance Squad / The Yearlings)
This guy is so versatile, and good in every style he plays: wether its funky Tom Morello-like riffs and wild soloing on the albums of Urban Dance Squad, or his jangle-riffs and pedal steel work on the albums of the Yearlings.

8. Gary Louris (The Jayhawks)
My favourite guitarist in the country-rock field.

9. Joni Mitchell
For her acoustic work (Live, the Blue album)

10.Karl Wallinger (Waterboys, Worldparty)
He doesnt show it often live, and he is a bit of a 'copycat', but a very good one at least.

nah not technically but definately more interestingly in my book tech skills mean nothing ... rob smith is more of a sonic sound than a shred sound and his guitar work is by far more interesting than prince who generally is non melodic in his guitar playing

nyse said:

zaza said:

when i first was teaching myself guitar 20 years ago i learned the master of puppets album note for note ... nowadays mmm i've kindof forgetten it but yeah kirk kinda wanks alot i usually wonder what he was thinkin it sounds like hes just putting together something fast a lot of the time ... there are a few good moments but fairly typical runs that these shredders throw into songs

thebanishedone said:

get it up is from what ... i must not have heard that one
ive always loved imagination but for the song and his singing i will go relisten
west was a bore
joy is a favorite but again just a minor scale he throws in all his tunes
same with place of your man ... great song!!! solo is pretty simple and ok 3 of 5 i will have to dig out my vinyl for that other tune ... i really liked my gentle guitar not for his typical high notes that he throws in but for some of the harmonic lower runs and those pull offs he thru in ... the rest is strait up cut and paste prince guitar solo

zaza said:

i like tom morello too ,... he does some pretty cool stuff at times as does billy corgan ... pushes it

TrevorAyer said:

Ah, Tom and the Digitech Whammy. But how well was it used by Gilmour on The Blue It just didn't sound like it! Cracking use of it if you ask me.

TrevorAyer said:

I have to agree that nowadays his solos are just the same, but in 80's when Metallica was that big trashmetal creature, his playing was very inspirational and he laid "blueprint" for trashmetal solos (Dimebag took it to another level with his Van Halen influence). And he will be always far more interesting than Kerry "I'm so evil but boring" King.

zaza said:

I miss you in General Discussion



Get back in there

TrevorAyer said:

He "keeps it interesting" in the times when all those G3 shredders were just playing as fast as you can (Malmsteen, you know I'm talking 'bout you ). And Corgan's use of effects..ahh, just listen to his solo in "Starla"

Imago said:

I'll be back!

zaza said:

Imago said:

Oh my GAWD! That's what I call shredding!

Trvor get it up is on the time first album

zaza said:

I was debating whether to put Prince in there or not.. but when I individually evaluated each player's calibre to Prince's... he simply can not stand up to them. Clapton's the only player whom I think Prince might have an edge over, due to technicality.. but in terms of the influence those player's have had on society... Prince can't hold a candle to em!

I chose my list based on the influence, innovation, and impact they've had.

Angus Young loves his pentatonic blues scale- heck that's all he infamously plays! Sure Prince would totally school him with his knowledge in theory. Yet in the long run Angus's simple riffs and solos are more prominent than P's in history.

But if Prince's playing touches you more, than i'll respect that. Everyone's built differently.

---
I wouldn't have put SRV over Hendrix cause Hendrix had twice the range/sounds and complete *out of the box* licks and riffs compared to him.

JesusFreak said:[quote]

zaza said:

That's true Ok, we will agree that both of them were amazing talents

1. Les Paul
2. Hendrix
3. Jeff Beck
4. Eddie Van Halen
5. Frampton
6. Brian May
7. Prince
8. Jimmy Page
9. Joe Perry
10.Eric Clapton


Al Di Meola .. Reeves Gabrels .Steve Vai . Steve Stevens Earl Slick .. Edge ...Adrian Belew ... Rodolph Shenker . Tony Iommi..Carlos Alomar .. Ron Wood . Tom Morello Dave Navarro .Satriani . Sambora .. Hammett ... the list is endless.
[Edited 12/22/09 10:35am]

Holy crap I forgot about Peter Frampton. He's a deffiniant notable mention!

JesusFreak said:

In bold is the big statement. That's the one that keeps Prince and countless others from being in the "Top Ten Lists".

If you wanna be a guitar hero you have to forsake all else for that instrument.