orange_kush86

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Alright, I think its time we had a little debate- Breaking all music up into genres, tell me who's the best guitarist of the genre and why you think so. . . you need to back up your argument with good stuff or else this gets nowhere. And when I say best, I mean taking into account: style, live performance, knowledge (of the guitar), and overall ability. And don't try and claim anyone to be the aight?

-word

MINE: modern rock: Trey Anastazio (from the former band Phish)-you won't find anyone as musically gifted on the guitar as Trey. Despite his drug addiction problems you can't deny his talent; he blends classical arpeggios with shredding rock to create a great sound. It helps to be in a band centered around one guitar.

classic rock: toss-up: Jimmy Page, absolutely rips the guitar to pieces, incredible showmanship and flair (one of the faster players in his time)-Jimi Hendrix, an innately musically gifted soul, foundation for blues and an incredible knack for figuring out the best chord combinations (lead and rhythm) on the guitar; Jerry Garcia, what can I say, a legend, a guitar scholar (played all types, e.g. Jerry plays pedal steel on CSNY's 1971 "Teach Your Children") knew so much about links between scales and played wuith only 4 fingers on strumming hand.. hard to choose

new-age jazz: John scofield, WOW, this man can play funk, jazz, groove, rock, even indian-influenced music (sitars, etc.); Jimmy Herring (formerly of Jazz is Dead, now with The Dead), one of the faster progressive jazz guitarists I've ever seen perform. Sick on the solo, even better playing along with his old group, Jazz is Dead. any others?


keep postin' em!....................

Jimi

Trey is awesome, I think Tim Reynolds is better.

Axenos1

Best Modern Rock Guitarist is either John Petrucci of Dream Theater or Steve Vai. Pinnacle of technical ability. Originality. Insanely tight live. Petrucci especially plays complex pieces in unusual time signatures as per the Progressive Metal Genre and is faster than hell and flawless. Haven't heard of Dream Theater? Do yourself a huge favor and find some. If necessary contact me and I can try to hook you up. Honorable mentions in this category include: Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Steve Morse, Michael Romeo of Symphony X, among others.

Classic Rock: It's certainly hard to argue with Page and Hendrix as far as live antics and even flair if you wanna call it that. But as far as technical ability, one cannot forget about Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, and an even worse omission Eric Clapton. Page and Hendrix were showmen, but they were no where near as technically sound as Knopfler and Clapton. Also take into consideration Clapton's additional flair for the blues, and Knopfler's very difficult signature finger picking. Honorable Mentions: Steve Howe of Yes, Alex Lifeson of Rush, and Richard Williams of Kansas

New Age/Jazz: No idea. Don't listen to it. Sorry.

Also, I'm not quite sure these categories are sufficient but it's your thread, so whatever.

orange_kush86

I agree with your nomionation of Petrucci and especially Vai. You're right about talent and flair, and also about composition. Dream Theater has a very unusual but extremely complex style.
I saw that you said that Clapton was overlooked, though. And I have to say, Clapton, although a songwriting and composing genius, was not in my mind a very innovative guitarist. He did write some wonderful songs, but he never experimented as much as I would have liked him too, at least not as much as the others in his prime. But as for blues, he was a breakthrough artist (especially beause he was white in such an african-american dominated genre) and no one can deny his knowledge of the guitar.


Oh yeah, you all can post any guitarist from any genre, not just the ones I specified. I didn't make it that clear, my bad. And keep postin' fools!

Stupac

I'll probably get alot of shit for this, but I personally don't think Trey is as good as Jake Cinninger (Umphrey's McGee). He rocks my face with the melty styles, whereas Trey bores the hell out of me with the one note solos and phase shifter antics. I think Buckethead can really shred too.

orange_kush86

Actually thats a fair argument. And I understand where you're going with Trey boring you with his style; he often overuses effects when playing live with Phish, he gets too into the zone ( from whatever drug he's on) and I admit sometimes he gets boring. But there's no denying that he is a master of the guitar. I say that the best way to tell if someone has talent is to put them on the acoustic... and if you've ever heard Trey play acoustic it's amazing. Although I don't know much about the individual members of Umphrey's I have seen them a couple of times in Atlanta and I agree that Cininger has a very involving style, meaning that he gets everyone (the crowd, the band, etc) into what he's playing. So you have a good point Stupac :rock:

Jimi

As I said, I think Tim is better than Trey, but Dave Matthews is my favorite. His guitar style isn't only tough, it unique. It's also fun to play, but you can say that about any guitarist.

YaMon

Okay, I know this will probably be debated because of his fame, but John Frusciante with the Chili Peppers has a freak like and prodigious mastery of the guitar. Check out the DVD "Funky Monks" which is basically a documentary of the making of Blood Sugar Sex Magic, and really John's first real contribution to a Peppers recording (Mother's Milk was still dominated by Hillel Slovak's contributions before he passed away). John has all of Hillel's funk and freak, Hendrix's experimentation and his own personal refinement and soul. Check out the album "One Hot Minute" where Frusciante went into junky MIA and Dave Navarro stepped in. The soul was NOT there. Move on to Californication and By the Way and you can tell the Peppers only really fire on all cylinders when Slovak or Frusciante are mapping the way. Dave Navarro is a good guitarist in his own right. It's just that nobody can build off of Hillel's vision and the Peppers' heart and soul like Frusciante.

In case somebody comes up with a "Best Bass Guitar" thread, I'd like to throw my hat into the ring with Less Claypool. Say what you want about whether or not you care for the style that Primus or any of Claypool's side projects drives. The boy is the Jimmy Hendrix of the Bass.

koЯnut

Some of my favorites:
Eric Clapton
Joe Satriani
BB King
Tom Morelo
Carlos Santana
Jimmy Page
and I can't wait to hear the wrath of this one but.....Kyle Gass.

greatbrownhype

Posts: n/a/0

Threads:

Funk: Robert Randolph

I saw him in concert at the Pheonix in Toronto. Amazing is the only way to describe him. Get ahold of some of his stuff, you'll be impressed.

Jimi

Robert Randolph kicks ass!