Greatest guitarist of all time??

[Barking Spiders]

1 minute ago, oldslapper said:

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. 

Agree viz sport but I've yet to see any ' greatest fish of all time'   or 'molluscs, worst to best'. Think these would be more interesting than firkin 'greatest guitar player' , 'greatest album evah' bollix.

By the way I can't argue, your wife is the greatest. My first and second definitely weren't 😁.

[oldslapper]

19 minutes ago, Barking Spiders said:

 

By the way I can't argue, your wife is the greatest. My first and second definitely weren't 😁.

Best I don’t argue either 😊

[louisthebass]

2 hours 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?

This fella:

Along with Scotty Moore, Cliff Gallup, Chet Atkins, and Chuck Berry, one of the most influential guitar players of the 20th Century. George Harrison and Jimi Hendrix were fans of Cochran's music and his playing. Cochran was one of the first musicians to realise the power of overdubs in recording studios. He was also one of the first guitar players in Rock & Roll to really embrace the Blues (check out "Eddie's Blues" and the live version of "Milk Cow Blues") in his playing.

Edited April 24, 2021 by louisthebass
Grammar

[Bassman Sam]

Hank Marvin, must go and cook dinner now.

[Dan Dare]

Nobody.

[Cato]

I'd happily give the award to Prince.

Not only was he technically superbly proficient he was also a top class songwriter which, for me, tends to be the area where most 'guitar heros' are weakest.

In a nutshell Prince had the talent and he used it to make music that large numbers of people actually wanted to listen to.

[Marvin]

Hendrix. He was an innovator, broke new ground, he did things others didn't even think of at the time. To claim, as the article does, that because he died at 27 that we'll never know whether he would have got better or something is beyond bizarre. I'm not that big a fan of Hendrix, but for guitar he was truly a cut above.

I actually haven't met a guitarist who cites Prince as an influence when it comes to their guitar playing. It's only been since Clapton mentioned him, it seems, that every journalist has jumped on that bandwagon. 

[Nail Soup]

I'd say that while Prince was extremely good on all of the main rock/soul instruments, his primary influences on music were his style/production/arrangements such as use of space and fusing of rock/R&B. Not as a guitarist.

So the prize would go to someone else.... can't think who though!

[Nail Soup]

Talking of Prince, he made it into a clue in the Times Latin crossword ( yes, it has a Latin crossword!) this week.

Perhaps one of you BCers could solve it🤔?

(the Prince clue, not the whole thing... )

 

Edited April 24, 2021 by Nail Soup

[JapanAxe]

5 across: viva 

7 across: limen

1 down: pulchrisima

Sorry, 45 years since I did Latin...

[Nail Soup]

1 minute ago, JapanAxe said:

5 across: viva 

7 across: limen

1 down: pulchrisima

Sorry, 45 years since I did Latin...

That was quick! could 5 down be "Via"?

[peteb]

6 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Eddie Van Halen? 

For me Eddie Van Halen was the GOAT rock and roll guitar player. One of the great innovators of the electric guitar, he had the lot - technique, flash, power, musicality and above all, feel (a great rhythm player - no one swings like the King). As far as I'm concerned, his real peers were Hendrix (another of the great innovators who reimagined what the electric guitar could do) and SRV (not innovative at all, but a truly jaw-dropping guitar player). 

Prince was a great musician, writer, multi-instrumentalist and guitar player - but nowhere near the the GOAT guitarist... 

Edited April 24, 2021 by peteb

[Killed_by_Death]

 

Most who've met J.P. think he's a great guy:

https://www.pattayamail.com/features/great-night-out-at-jesters-gala-party-30575

 

[bearhart74]

Andres Segovia, Django Reinhardt,  Wes Montgomery, Chet Atkins, Larry Carlton and Steve Howe

Edited April 24, 2021 by bearhart74

[SH73]

Adrian Smith 

Dave Murray

Gary Moore 

Jeff Waters 

Steve Vai 

Jimmy Hendrix 

and a friend of mine

 

 

 

 

 

 

[peteb]

9 minutes ago, SH73 said:

Adrian Smith 

Dave Murray

Gary Moore 

Jeff Waters 

Steve Vai 

Jimmy Hendrix 

and a friend of mine

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave Murray - Greatest guitarist of all time??

Not sure about that one mate... 

[funkypenguin]

One of the greatest songwriters and musicians? Yes. Greatest guitarist? Never. I can't think of any Prince guitar part that would even crack a guitar players top 10. You will never convince me he's greater than players like Vai, Slash or Hendrix.

Ben

[steantval]

Best of, too many different genres to pick just one.

Heres a couple I would suggest -

Paul Kossoff

Stevie Ray Vaughan 

[Hellzero]

Bill Frisell alongside Wes Montgomery.

Biréli Lagrène alongside Django Reinhardt.

Ulf Wakenius alongside Marc Ducret.

Steven Wilson alongside Prince.

Now, we are talking guitar.

[peteb]

4 minutes ago, steantval said:

Best of, too many different genres to pick just one.

Heres a couple I would suggest -

Paul Kossoff

Stevie Ray Vaughan 

I loved Koss, not sure that I could make a case for GOAT but a unique player.  Along with EVH, I reckon that SRV might be the best guitar player I've ever heard, but not innovative like Hendrix (for example). 

I know a lot of people won't like this, but if you ignore songwriting ability and his annoying personality, then Yngwie is one of the very best there has ever been. Obviously a great technical player, but also very musical (much more than people would like to give him credit for) and generally astounding. It's a shame that his original records are so cr*p, but great on the various covers he has recorded! 

[Count Bassy]

For those who say Hendrix, and I don't dis-agree, he famously reckoned that it was Rory Gallagher.

 

 

[Count Bassy]

On 24/04/2021 at 16:54, Cato said:

I'd happily give the award to Prince.

Not only was he technically superbly proficient he was also a top class songwriter which, for me, tends to be the area where most 'guitar heros' are weakest.

In a nutshell Prince had the talent and he used it to make music that large numbers of people actually wanted to listen to.

But that's not the question. The question is "best guitar player".

If we're taking song writing into account then Richard Thompson must be up there in the top ranks.

choose files... Click to choose files

Edited April 25, 2021 by Count Bassy

[Kiwi]

Prince was phenomenally versatile.  I am a huge fan of his improvised live jams.  His guitar didn't really inspire me though. 

Alan Murphy on the other hand...

[Steve Browning]

Of course it's an impossible answer. There may have been players from a time before recorded music (wasn't Paganini a guitarist, too?). There is the development of light strings and the plain 3rd. All sorts of innovations that previous exponents didn't have available.

I have different players for different styles. Peter Green, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Mick Green, Zal Cleminson to name a handful who were distinctive and phenomenal in ways each other wasn't.

[Chezz55]

Django Reinhardt or Robert Johnson