The Official Best Guitarist Thread (blues, metal, covers, solo)

[Kempson]

Originally Posted by antman188

F*uckin' ay, man. I mean, I like some fast playing in metal, like Hammet, but i like what sounds good more. Hammet can sound good while fast, don't get me wrong, but i'm talking about like songwriting - good combinations of notes, melodies, and rhythms and whatnot. I think lots of guitarists today just say "well, i'll play as fast as i can and as loud as i can and it'll sound good." Well...no it won't f**k-nut. Generally, fast and loud is not very good, IMO.

Does anyone remember years back when somebody said that art wasn't about how technical and detailed the artwork was, and now people are coming up with sh*t like this to put in art galleries...



Now put it into context, I can imagine the next Jimi Hendrix getting on stage, playing a powerchord and walking off to millions of fans going crazy.

Then again I might just be crazy.

[boo boo]

Originally Posted by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

well it depends who said that. I don't know who played last year. If that was Zak Wylde (or however you spell it) i think he's very good. if it was a second stage opener who wishes they were the deftones and korn, well then he's probably right.

I don't know if we should count songwriting though, that doesn't mean you play the guitar well.

I think this is why teh Grammys are a second rate bastardized Emmy's. The rate things that aren't technical, like best badn. If the grammys gave out awards like "best guitarist" then they'd have alot more credibility. It couldn't be based on marketing then (or if it was it would be alot more obvious)

point is in both of those statements, what you do on the guitar should speak for itself.

Im a proghead, so technical music isnt new to me, but people really overrate technical skill and its role in music. Sure advanced knowledge of theory is required if you want to be a classical composer or jazz musician, but unless the subgenre you specialize in is prog or metal, technical ability is not all that important in rock music. I mean sure you gotta know the basics, but rock music in its earliest carnation(back when it was Rock N Roll)was quite simple, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Buddy Holly were all great musicians, and were among the primary innovators of Rock N Roll, but this owed more to their songwriting than their ability on their respected instrument, they were not very technical players, but made great music none the less, because rock n roll was originaly founded as a simplistic style of music as a way of appealing to younger audiances. Then add the fact that some of the most important names in rock music were not technical gods either, namely The Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Kinks, The Ramones, Nirvana, U2 and The Beatles(paul and george were fairly above average in technical ability, but john and ringo were not), and to me, bands like AC/DC and The White Stripes who dispite their lack of technical ability are much closer to "true" Rock N Roll than any metal or prog band. Technical ability is only vital depending on the style or genre at hand, if you want to be in a neo classical swedish speed metal band, you will have to have some kind of formal training, however you could join a punk band as long you know 2 or 3 basic chords, alternative rock music and some forms of hard rock put little emphasis on technical ability, and instead favor songwriting over everything else, and it makes no difference in my mind, music is music, amazing technical skill wouldnt hurt, but it isnt always a bare essential to music making. For example, who do you think is the more well respected artist?, Bob Dylan or Mark Tremonti?

[boo boo]

Originally Posted by Kempson

Does anyone remember years back when somebody said that art wasn't about how technical and detailed the artwork was, and now people are coming up with sh*t like this to put in art galleries...


Now put it into context, I can imagine the next Jimi Hendrix getting on stage, playing a powerchord and walking off to millions of fans going crazy.

Then again I might just be crazy.

Im going to be as polite as humanly possible, every time i read one of your posts, i come closer to the suspicion that you are a idiot. Im still amazed simply at the idea that someone could be close minded enough to shun everyone from Miles Davis, John Cotrane and Stevie Ray Vaughan to Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, do you really think that metal is the only kind of good music?, and that everything else is just crap?, are you really that ignorant? The style of modern art you chose to put on display is abstraction, however the impact of abstraction isnt as great as that of other modern art styles such as expressionism and impressionism, which require a lot of creativity and uniqueness as opposed to just technical ability like early renaissance and baroque painting, in short, if you think that all forms of art that dosent require a crapload of skill sucks, you are sadly mistaken.

Edit:I removed your oversized picture for faster loading time and to save bandwidth.

[Kempson]

"Im still amazed simply at the idea that someone could be close minded enough to shun everyone from Miles Davis, John Cotrane and Stevie Ray Vaughan to Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, do you really think that metal is the only kind of good music?, and that everything else is just crap?,"

No, but although classic rock may have paved the way for the bands I like, bands such as Zeppelin and Pink Floyd (these two in particular) I find painfully boring to listen to. And I'm sorry, but I swear it's grammatically incorrect to put a comma straight after a question mark.

"if you think that all forms of art that dosent require a crapload of skill sucks, you are sadly mistaken."

When did I say that? I think quite the opposite, technical skill is important but then again, some of the best riffs, drum beats, bass lines whatever, have been simple. Technical ability doesn't have anything to do with whether or not I like the music, if I like the music, I like it, regardless of how technical it is. The point I was trying to put across is that bands are getting less and less technically capable by the week, and they may still be able to bang out decent songs, but eventually it's gonna hit rock bottom.

[Kashmir86]

your an idiot if you say that zeppelin is boring to listen to

[idowhatiamtold]

I am all about the ERIC CLAPTON vote.....

[boo boo]

Originally Posted by Kempson

When did I say that? I think quite the opposite, technical skill is important but then again, some of the best riffs, drum beats, bass lines whatever, have been simple. Technical ability doesn't have anything to do with whether or not I like the music, if I like the music, I like it, regardless of how technical it is. The point I was trying to put across is that bands are getting less and less technically capable by the week, and they may still be able to bang out decent songs, but eventually it's gonna hit rock bottom.

Theres still a lot of great technical music out there, and thats not even including your measly metal bands, try some Flower Kings, Spocks Beard, Porcupine Tree, Ozric Tentacles and Nightwish...There are many original and creative bands out there, Radiohead, Muse, Mars Volta, The Arcade Fire, Godspeed you! Black Emperor, Mostly Autumm, Coheed and Cambria, The Fall of Troy, Mastodon, Sigur Ros, SOAD, Incubus, Between the Buried and Me and more. As Bob Dylan once said, the times are a changing. Art is changing and music is becoming more experimental, its called progression, and music is suposed to progress, not stay at one level forever, if you are too close minded to appreciate that, too bad. But the modern music scene is a hell of a lot better than it was in the 80s.

[TheBig3]

Originally Posted by Kashmir86

your an idiot if you say that zeppelin is boring to listen to

A stupid comment from a nooblet zeppelin fan boi? ****ing remarkable!!!!

he's not an idiot, he just doesn't like them, your not learning fast enough to stay alive on these boards.

To Boo Boo: Im not refuting anyones song writing ability, but Vernon reid once said Kurt Cobain was a good guitarist, and they he had to be ebcause he wrote his songs on guitar and his songs were great. Thats not bad logic but I don't buy it.

If you plug in your guitar to an amp and play thats all the shouldn't count toward you being a good guitarist. Though I do see where your coming from, Joe Satriani couldn't give me one of his CD's, and hes probably really good but, mindless scale runs aren't good guitar playing.

I still don't think song writing should count though becuase then we can put up the shmuck from the Clash who didn't play that great and Pete Townshend who i do not think plays guitar well enough to be called the greatest.

Im sideing with Zappa on this one: "Shut up and play yer guitar."

[Kashmir86]

you need to chill out man. you take these forums waaay to seriously

[boo boo]

Originally Posted by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

To Boo Boo: Im not refuting anyones song writing ability, but Vernon reid once said Kurt Cobain was a good guitarist, and they he had to be ebcause he wrote his songs on guitar and his songs were great. Thats not bad logic but I don't buy it.

If you plug in your guitar to an amp and play thats all the shouldn't count toward you being a good guitarist. Though I do see where your coming from, Joe Satriani couldn't give me one of his CD's, and hes probably really good but, mindless scale runs aren't good guitar playing.

I still don't think song writing should count though becuase then we can put up the shmuck from the Clash who didn't play that great and Pete Townshend who i do not think plays guitar well enough to be called the greatest.

Im sideing with Zappa on this one: "Shut up and play yer guitar."

Townshends greatness dosent rely on his skill, it relys on his influence, innovations and overall importance to rock guitar...As far as influence is concerned, Townshend is second only to Hendrix, and maybe EVH. He may not be among the best, but hes certainly among the greatest.

In my eyes, a guitarist is a musician, and a good musician makes good music, its as simple as that.