Best Guitar Players of All Time

[Taso]

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Yes, obviously I don't shred like Satriani - I have no interest in being able to do that. And, anywho, I still consider Clapton fast, and think that those who don't probably havn't heard enough Clapton.

I've never heard anyone sing the way Malmsteen plays. If I did, I think we'd end up putting him/her on ritalin(sp) and that'd be the end of it. You get the, "OMG ERUPTION - BEST SONG EVER", oh? hum a line for me? "...."

Shredding can be accomplished over time by just about anyone; it's just muscle memory eventually. Making the guitar sing, making it sound like a human, making it scream so when you open your mouth the audience isn't sure if you are screaming or you're just playing the guitar ( a la Hendrix) is not muscle memory, its comes down to the player.

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This is clearly written by an non-musician. You CANNOT over time become as good as Malmsteen.

muscle memory.

LMAO

fyc

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QFT

Some people can't play knockin on heavens door after showing it to them 100 times. Believe me!

I consider myself a very good guitarist. I can improvise pretty well and jam for hours and have great texture for rhythm etc...but I can't shred, nor would I be able to if I dedicated the rest of my life to it.

What you're saying is sort of akin to "so-and-so is a great pitcher but all he throws is fastballs. Anyone can throw a baseball 100 mph if they practice enough."

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Okay, so you think the best baseball pitcher of all time only throws fastballs?

Now, I'll admit, I'm not a big sports fan, but I've always considered Clemens to be one of the best in the game (7 cy youngs, right?) Does he throw just a fastball? Nope, he throws that, a splitter, a slider, and maybe even a few other things that I don't remember. (Again, my knowledge here is limited, I'm trying to go with your analogy, but genreally, Clemens is respected as a pitcher, yes?)

As for me not being a musician, this is not true. I've put my music on this forum before. Like you, I improvise and jam. Unlike you, I don't hold "shredding" at a godly level. I also don't consider myself a very good guitarist, "half decent" at best.

Do you realize you sound a LOT like people who first start guitar and want to improvise, "not in my life could I ever play like that" and then 3 years later, they're improvising and jamming along. It's the same thing with shredding, I'd bet you havn't put more than 50 hours into it to see if you couldn't actually do it. (50 is an extremly high number, I'd figure it's more like 10?)

[MitchL]

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I've been playing/studying guitar for virtually my entire life (27). The #1 guitar player of all time (if there is such a thing) is Django Reinhardt .

LOL at John Mayer. In Austin, TX (where he is from) he would get kicked off the stage at any number of SRV-obsessed blues clubs. He is an average (at best) guitar player.

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John Mayer's biggest problem is he has just really started to showcase his guitar skill in his most recent album. He has stated publicly that he originally made poppy albums to appeal to the mainstream and guarantee his success. But, his most recent two albums and especially the most recent start to show off his guitar chops. Anyone who has seen his recent live stuff, or his work with the John Mayer Trio knows that he is a legitamite guitar player. I have no doubt that he will be mentioned alongside Clapton in 30 years.

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Pls, tell me this is a joke?

[Austiger]

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Okay, so you think the best baseball pitcher of all time only throws fastballs?

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That's clearly not what I said.

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Now, I'll admit, I'm not a big sports fan, but I've always considered Clemens to be one of the best in the game (7 cy youngs, right?) Does he throw just a fastball? Nope, he throws that, a splitter, a slider, and maybe even a few other things that I don't remember. (Again, my knowledge here is limited, I'm trying to go with your analogy, but genreally, Clemens is respected as a pitcher, yes?)


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But that doesn't change the fact that I couldn't throw a 100mph fastball or shred like Malmstein no matter how often we practice. It's a lot more than muscle memory. You have to have dexterity. I was just pointing that out.

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Unlike you, I don't hold "shredding" at a godly level.

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Again, I never said that. I don't even like it. I just know that it's something that not just anybody can learn.

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Do you realize you sound a LOT like people who first start guitar and want to improvise, "not in my life could I ever play like that" and then 3 years later, they're improvising and jamming along.

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Not sure about this...I never felt that way. I always felt I could do a lot of stuff and eventually I learned how. What I felt was out of my reach were the really fast solos, which I still can't play.

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It's the same thing with shredding, I'd bet you havn't put more than 50 hours into it to see if you couldn't actually do it. (50 is an extremly high number, I'd figure it's more like 10?)

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I've practiced the Steve Vai solo from Crossroads for at least 50 hours. (No, I still can't play it.)

Okay maybe I haven't dedicated a ton of time to trying to be a shredder. But I think you are really short-changing what they do. Not as an art form, which I think we're on the same page about...but just as a physical feat. It's just not that easy to move your fingers around that fast on a fretboard accurately and coordinate it with the pick hand on the strings. It's incredibly difficult and not something that "about anybody can learn."

[adsman]

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No love for Jimmy Page?

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I love Jimmy Page, learnt to play most of his songs. But for a guitarist who is outstanding in every aspect of playing the guitar I simply must say, Herb Ellis. Check out his 'Nothing but the Blues' album if you don't believe me.

[Taso]

Austiger, we just have a very different fundemental understanding of the guitar. I don't think anything on the guitar is completly out of anyone's reach. I thought the same thing about shredding, as I did about improvising, and when I actually put the effort in I could shred, just like when I put the effort in to improvise I learned that.

You say you need dexterity, dexterity is not just genetics. You can work on your dexterity, on the guitar you can do finger exercises and scales, etc, etc.

As far as not being sure about people saying "I wouldn't ever be able to play like that." It's flat out true, I've taught guitar for a while now, and I hear that with every student. A guitar forum I've been a member at for four years, I read that in a post almost everyday. Two years later, they're improvising/shredding/doing whatever they said they couldn't ever do.

[theblackkeys]

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No love for Jimmy Page?

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If I could play guitar I'd be Jimmy PAGE!
THe girlies I like, are underAGE!

[PITTM]

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Okay, so you think the best baseball pitcher of all time only throws fastballs?

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you cant be serious.

[loveinvain]

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No love for Jimmy Page?

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I said that I would find room for him in my top five. The DVD's of Zeppelin live released a few years back are amazing, a must have for any page Page fan.

If anyone wants to see some really amazing guitar playing though, the most passionate playing I have ever seen is on the DVD "Stevia Ray Vaughan Live At The El Mocambo."

Seriously, the first time I saw this I sat still for the whole thing, couldn't even bring myself to take a one minute break to grab a beer refill. I have watched it countless times since then and I still get a chill down my spine every time. Often in concert, the performers start off in a slow gear and warm up to the point where the last set is more passionate and energetic than the first one but this preformance ... high gear from the first song. It's like SRV doesn't even know how to play any other way.

[gusmahler]

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Yes, obviously I don't shred like Satriani - I have no interest in being able to do that. And, anywho, I still consider Clapton fast, and think that those who don't probably havn't heard enough Clapton.

I've never heard anyone sing the way Malmsteen plays. If I did, I think we'd end up putting him/her on ritalin(sp) and that'd be the end of it. You get the, "OMG ERUPTION - BEST SONG EVER", oh? hum a line for me? "...."

Shredding can be accomplished over time by just about anyone; it's just muscle memory eventually. Making the guitar sing, making it sound like a human, making it scream so when you open your mouth the audience isn't sure if you are screaming or you're just playing the guitar ( a la Hendrix) is not muscle memory, its comes down to the player.

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This is clearly written by an non-musician. You CANNOT over time become as good as Malmsteen.

muscle memory.

LMAO

fyc

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QFT

Some people can't play knockin on heavens door after showing it to them 100 times. Believe me!

I consider myself a very good guitarist. I can improvise pretty well and jam for hours and have great texture for rhythm etc...but I can't shred, nor would I be able to if I dedicated the rest of my life to it.

What you're saying is sort of akin to "so-and-so is a great pitcher but all he throws is fastballs. Anyone can throw a baseball 100 mph if they practice enough."

[/ QUOTE ]

Okay, so you think the best baseball pitcher of all time only throws fastballs?

Now, I'll admit, I'm not a big sports fan, but I've always considered Clemens to be one of the best in the game (7 cy youngs, right?) Does he throw just a fastball? Nope, he throws that, a splitter, a slider, and maybe even a few other things that I don't remember. (Again, my knowledge here is limited, I'm trying to go with your analogy, but genreally, Clemens is respected as a pitcher, yes?)


[/ QUOTE ]To take this analogy further, you seem to be completely discounting one ability (e.g., the fastball or the shredding ability).

Satriani is capable of playing the blues. Check out Slow Blues Jam from his 1995 self-titled album. He is capable of playing slow ballads (e.g., Love Thing from Crystal Planet). But he usually plays faster. But, to you (and most others in this thread) he can never be considered the greatest because his preference is a style you don't respect, despite the fact that he's a very versatile, influential guitarist.

[sirtimo]

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Randy is legendary....trained by andres segovia... Randy was way more than 1000 note a second kind of guitarist.

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hate to say it but that's just not true. RR never studied with Segovia.