Greatest guitarist of all time??

[DawnPatroller]

34 minutes ago, Nail Soup said:

I’ve dropped this one a few times at band rehearsal and gigs. Never won any arguments though😃!

Maybe you're not doing it right?

Did you ever try just chucking it down on the floor right in the middle of a band argument, just to see what happens?

[DawnPatroller]

36 minutes ago, Nicko said:

And without the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck Slash would be a different player. 

Would music as we know it have reached where it is without GnR a simple throwback to stadium heavy rock featuring pentatonic blues licks?  Probably.  Has Slash really done anything that pushed the boundaries of guitar music.  No.  Is Slash any good? Undoubtedly but he ain't no virtuoso.

Way to side step the question, Mr Mambo 2021!

But yeah, I agree with the rest. A tenuous 10/10 for you 😉

[EBS_freak]

1 hour ago, Nail Soup said:

I’ve dropped this one a few times at band rehearsal and gigs. Never won any arguments though😃!

Next time try dropping it on their heads.

[Nicko]

28 minutes ago, MHMSWC#03 said:

Way to side step the question, Mr Mambo 2021!

But yeah, I agree with the rest. A tenuous 10/10 for you 😉

Wow.  I was expecting a B-.

[Bassassin]

This is one of those one of those nonsensical questions to which I normally respond by pointing out it's art, not a bloody competition.

Prince was without question an incredibly talented, versatile, gifted & prolific musician but my personal issue is that I don't happen to particularly like anything I've ever heard by him - which given his success over a long career is quite a lot.

I'd say someone's greatness as a musician has to be proportionate to the impact they've had on music as a whole, which broadly means how they've influenced & changed the playing of those musicians who come after them. I think you'd be hard-pushed to point to a current guitar 'great' & go - that's a clear Prince influence right there. There are probably a lot more composers & songwriters directly influenced by him but that can't qualify him as 'greatest guitar player'.

The whole 'best guitarist' thing always seems terribly reductive, it seldom amounts to any more than who somebody's decided is best at going  widdly-widdly-weeee with a guitar. And so it is with this guy's Prince article - if you doubt he's the GREATEST EVAAR, just listen to him playing a solo, written by someone else.

There are guitar players who've been the catalyst for & shaped the sound of entire genres of music - for example there's not a metal band on Earth which doesn't owe a debt, directly or indirectly, to Tony Iommi. Not sure he's on many 'greatest ever' lists - but plenty he's influenced will be.

 

[Nicko]

23 minutes ago, Bassassin said:

The whole 'best guitarist' thing always seems terribly reductive, it seldom amounts to any more than who somebody's decided is best at going  widdly-widdly-weeee with a guitar. And so it is with this guy's Prince article - if you doubt he's the GREATEST EVAAR, just listen to him playing a solo, written by someone else.

Technical ability is a funny thing.  There are few guitarists who have written anything that a thousand MIT type student guitarists cannot play note for note.  Those guitarists may be considered technically as good as the artist that played the original because they possess the relevant technique to replicate it  Whether many of them can come up with something groundbreaking of their own is a completely different issue.

[tegs07]

1 minute ago, Nicko said:

Technical ability is a funny thing.  There are few guitarists who have written anything that a thousand MIT type student guitarists cannot play note for note.  Those guitarists may be considered technically as good as the artist that played the original because they possess the relevant technique to replicate it  Whether many of them can come up with something groundbreaking of their own is a completely different issue.

I have seen some very technical and accomplished guitarists live. Some bored the pants off me. I would prefer a few bum notes occasionally and a whole heap of soul any day alongside the fundamental ability to pen a decent tune.

[Count Bassy]

10 hours ago, pst62 said:

This for a long time has been regarded as an urban myth. Hendrix was supposed to have said it in an interview, after the Isle of Wight festival in 1970, even the type of interview is in question, some say it was audio, others swear blind it was a written article. The great man himself (Rory) didn't believe Jimi had said it. No one has ever been able to find the interview.

I'd fallen for the myth, so thanks for putting me right.

 

[peteb]

1 hour ago, Bassassin said:

for example there's not a metal band on Earth which doesn't owe a debt, directly or indirectly, to Tony Iommi.

Very true. 

If we are taking about influential (rather than the greatest player), then why has no one mentioned The Edge?? 

[Geek99]

34 minutes ago, peteb said:

Very true. 

If we are taking about influential (rather than the greatest player), then why has no one mentioned The Edge?? 

Because he’s not actually amazingly talented ? He’s good at creating soundscapes, and has deep musical knowledge, but I don’t think he’s an amazing guitarist which is what the question actually is. 

[peteb]

7 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Because he’s not actually amazingly talented ? He’s good at creating soundscapes, and has deep musical knowledge, but I don’t think he’s an amazing guitarist which is what the question actually is. 

He may not be 'amazingly talented' technically as a guitar player, but as you say, he is very talented at using the guitar to create 'soundscapes' and has extended the possibilities of the electric guitar, just like Chuck, Eddie and Hendrix did! According to ace LA session player Tim Pierce, his go-to whenever he is asked to do something a little different on a track is to channel something that The Edge might have come up with...! 

Edited April 25, 2021 by peteb

[seashell]

Back in the 70's, people used to write in to the Melody Maker letters page to argue over who was the best out of Eric Clapton or Tony McPhee. Amazing to remember a time when you actually had to get out a biro and some Basildon Bond to make your point!

Anyway, judging by this thread, nobody remembers Tony McPhee now. Interesting how opinions change over the decades, and new talents emerge.

[Bassassin]

1 hour ago, Geek99 said:

Because he’s not actually amazingly talented ? He’s good at creating soundscapes, and has deep musical knowledge, but I don’t think he’s an amazing guitarist which is what the question actually is. 

I've always found it interesting that people seem to assume that the reason players such as Dave Edge don't play 'proper' solos all over songs is because they can't.

From my own perspective as a composer, I don't dislike traditional solos but more often than not they're little more than gap-fillers, & I prefer to do something that is (to me at least) more interesting or creative. The guitarist in my last band (who had no interest in actually contributing to songwriting) occasionally expressed frustration that our songs didn't give him more opportunities to solo - but if a song doesn't need a solo then it doesn't get a solo!

[leftybassman392]

So, erm, have we reached a consesus as to what 'greatest' means yet? I mean, that is what the OP asked, isn't it?

 

Asking for a friend...

Edited April 25, 2021 by leftybassman392

[Bassassin]

8 minutes ago, leftybassman392 said:

So, erm, have we reached a consesus as to what 'greatest' means yet? I mean, that is what the OP asked, isn't it?

 

Asking for a friend...

Yeah. It really is who can go widdly-widdly-weeee the fastest. I think we already knew that anyway.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

As mentioned numerous times in this thread, there is no correct answer, but....

I never get bored of watching Stevie Ray Vaughan, despite multiple visits to the same concert footage, I continue to be in awe of his talent and will forever be saddened by his loss.

Jimmy Page is phenomenal as was Frank Zappa.

A couple that I don't think have been mentioned are Guthrie Govan and Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal. Technically brilliant and nice guys to boot.

 

[mike f]

In terms of the shear number of people around the world listening to a guitar, or guitar solo and going “Yes!” (in their respective language) whilst making their fingers go widdlely widdlely, and thusly considering that guitarist to be the greatest...., Angus! 

[Chris2112]

On 24/04/2021 at 11:58, JottoSW1 said:

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.

Yes, Shawn Lane is my favourite. 

[Munurmunuh]

11 hours ago, peteb said:

If we are talking about influential

Johnny Ramone 😬

[casapete]

I really don’t like fast ’widdly’ playing on any instrument, especially in rock and blues guitar. That’s why I enjoy T Bone Walker, BB/Albert/Freddie King, most of Eric Clapton’s stuff etc. In a world of overdistorted ‘rawk’ excursions, I admire players who you can instantly recognise too, such as Mark Knopfler, The Edge, SRV and many more, where a clean (ish) sound allows for more expression and style to stand out.

One of the best electric players I’ve ever seen is Mike Campbell, currently with Fleetwood Mac but for years the guitarist with Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers. Absolute full control and mastery of his instrument, minimum effects and playing for the song every time. 

[tegs07]

10 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

Johnny Ramone 😬

Yep. For me great guitarist doesn’t equal boring widdle machine that doesn’t know when to stop.

Its like Santana, some of the stuff is great but I frequently wish someone would take Carlos’s  guitar and stick it someplace alongside Dylan’s harmonica!

Edited April 26, 2021 by tegs07

[Munurmunuh]

18 minutes ago, casapete said:

In a world of overdistorted ‘rawk’ excursions, I admire players who you can instantly recognise too, such as Mark Knopfler, The Edge, SRV and many more, where a clean (ish) sound allows for more expression and style to stand out.

Within that "world of overdistorted rawk", my real admiration is for the guitarists who are able to exploit that sound to expand the expressive possibilities of tone and articulation.

For, example, what's going on here in the phrase between 2'18" and 2'25" is quite beyond my understanding of how you get sounds out of an electric guitar, and he's still in total control, it's real mastery and musicianship.

 

[Supernaut]

John Frusciante. 

[peteb]

There is a tradition of soloists playing featured sections within a musical piece going back centuries. So if you don't like guitar solos, then commenting on a thread on the 'Greatest guitarist of all time??' is probably not for you.

After all, people still debate the influence of Niccolò Paganini, rather than that of the third violin in the orchestra in Vienna in 1828. 

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by peteb

[cetera]

I'd say Terry Kath (of Chicago) IMHO.

Hendrix was blown away by him too. Had he been in a power trio (like Cream/ Mountain / Experience etc) everybody would be praising his name. However, as an ensemble player in a 7 piece band with a 3 piece brass section his amazing talents have always been underrated (except for by those in the know (Hendrix, Lukather, Walsh, Lynne etc etc).