Greatest guitarist of all time??

[TheGreek]

Interesting article...

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/why-prince-is-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/

[JottoSW1]

Allan Holdsworth is my personal favourite, closely followed by John McLaughlin and Shawn Lane.

Prince was evidently very good indeed and also pretty good on Bass. Then again he could also call on people like Mononeon for Bass duties.

[Lozz196]

There’s no doubt that Prince was a great guitarist but my fave is Slash. His tone and style have great feeling, it’s pretty easy to identify it’s him that’s playing even if you don’t know the material, and some of his riffs are world famous.

[goingdownslow]

Ah but, is this in the whole wide world tho'?

[Dad3353]

Ana Vidovic is quite good. 

[PaulWarning]

Hendrix for me, never got into Prince, like some of his songs performed by other artists, IMO Clapton is well overrated

[KiOgon]

Hendrix for me too, maybe it's age related, saw him a few times live, long before anybody had even heard of Prince 😎

Playing 1983 a merman I should turn to be just a few minutes ago 🎸

[tauzero]

Jan Akkerman.

Prince? Don't make me laugh. Capable multi-instrumentalist, yes, greatest anything, no.

[ezbass]

There can be no one greatest of all time IMO. However, there can be those who are great because they changed the guitar playing landscape. For me these would be: Les Paul, Jimi Hendrix & Eddie Van Halen. This is not to say that others weren’t doing what they did before them, or did it better. But it’s these guys who influenced a bigger majority, altering the way the instrument was played and/or perceived on the wider stage.

That said, if the greatest guitar player of all time (to date) was someone who could play in all styles and could leave you slack jawed, I’d have to say it’s Guthrie Govan. Obviously, he’s not a household name, even amongst those who play, but he is truly amazing in his technique and wide ranging abilities in so many styles.

[Guest]

I love Prince's guitar playing, but .... but he's a Fisher Price Chris Poland, no?

[pst62]

Michael Schenker during the 70's definitely turned the heads of the established elite like Page and Blackmore!

These days I'd say Buckethead. Forget the bucket and the mask gimmick, the lad can play anything and with great aplomb.

 

[chris_b]

It's a crowded field, but I've vote for Peter Green. In the early days he could make time stand still.

[PaulWarning]

let's not forget the Granddaddy of them all Chuck Berry

[Barking Spiders]

What irks me about articles like these  and  'who's the greatest' polls is they assume there's no other music genre of note apart from rock. I could name scores of steel string acoustic, jazz, country, Flamenco and classical players off the top of my noggin who could've  played the @r$3 off Prince, Hendrix or pretty much most other rock players. For starters let's go with  Segovia, Paco de Lucia, Tommy Emmanuel, Albert Lee, Danny Gatton and Joe Pass.

Edited April 24, 2021 by Barking Spiders

[Dad3353]

5 minutes ago, Barking Spiders said:

What irks me about articles like these  and  'who's the greatest' polls is they assume there's no other music genre of note apart from rock. I could name scores of steel string acoustic, jazz and classical players off the top of my noggin who could've  played the @r$3 off Prince, Hendrix or pretty much most other rock players. For starters let's go with  Segovia, Paco de Lucia, Tommy Emmanuel and Joe Pass.

Ana Vidovic is quite good. 

[chris_b]

We can all reel off names of our favourite players, but who were the guitarists who actually changed guitar playing, rather than just being very good.

My list would include Les Paul, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Robert Johnson, Jimmy Page.

Any more?

[Lozz196]

Eddie Van Halen? 

[PaulWarning]

10 minutes ago, Barking Spiders said:

What irks me about articles like these  and  'who's the greatest' polls is they assume there's no other music genre of note apart from rock. I could name scores of steel string acoustic, jazz, country, Flamenco and classical players off the top of my noggin who could've  played the @r$3 off Prince, Hendrix or pretty much most other rock players. For starters let's go with  Segovia, Paco de Lucia, Tommy Emmanuel, Albert Lee, Danny Gatton and Joe Pass.

the article does mention rock 'n' roll, you have a good point, but you can't really compare guitarists across genres, but they meant rock guitarist although it wasn't in the title

[madshadows]

There have been so many great guitar players but Mick Ronson has a special place in my heart for his work with Ian Hunter and Bowie, he always played for the song, much loved and missed  

John 😎 

[TheGreek]

Interesting comments...Even though I think Prince was an absolute "genius" and that there were few as prolific, original and pushed the boundaries of music as he did - I don't believe anybody, not anybody, is the greatest ever.

There are, have been and will be many great musicians. What I prefer may not be what you do, who I think was great you may not. What we can all agree on, hopefully, is that there are musicians who made massive contributions to the field of Music and comparison is meaningless.

Music has benefitted from so many great musicians and long may it continue!!

[Barking Spiders]

4 minutes ago, chris_b said:

We can all reel off names of our favourite players, but who were the guitarists who actually changed guitar playing, rather than just being very good.

My list would include Les Paul, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Robert Johnson, Jimmy Page.

Any more?

Well Prince certainly didn't.  These guys may've been game changers in rock and blues but there's several other genres to consider. Just because these are not as popular as rock doesn't make them any less valid

[Peejay]

Not necessarily the 'greatest' but faves are:

Joe Walsh, Nils Lofgren, Kirby Gregory (formerly of Curved Air and Stretch - check out 'You can't beat your brain for entertainment',  Chris Rea - amazing slide player, Clapton, Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd), etc.

Prince was a great player and had his own distinctive sound. 

Lots of brilliant players who aren't household names. Guess it all depends what you like and what you don't.

[Daz39]

Prince was a polymath and was great at anything musical he tried.

I dunno; it’s all subjective innit. I listen to John Petrucci play and think “woah,” but I get the same feeling from David Gilmour (the reason I nagged my parents for a guitar at 18.)

 

 

[Mykesbass]

Sport has a greatest (Ali of course). Music doesn't, and more importantly, doesn't need one.

[oldslapper]

20 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

Sport has a greatest (Ali of course). Music doesn't, and more importantly, doesn't need one.

No such thing in any sphere. Ludicrous notion. 
Individual favourites, yes. 

Oh hold on....news just in...my wife is the greatest wife of all time.