Your favorite guitarists [Archive]

Anonymous

04-04-2002, 11:51 PM

I'm taking a study break... That's the motivation for the question.

Who are your favorite 1) Classical, 2) Rock, 3) Jazz, and 4) Country guitarists?

1) Andres Segovia, and Christopher Parkening
2) Steve Vai, Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler
3) Stanley Jordan,
4) Chet Atkins -- My favorite guitarist altogether

Possum 2

04-05-2002, 07:38 AM

Although quite the plank-spanker, Stanley Jordan is a bassist.

Lee Mellon

04-05-2002, 07:52 AM

Alvin Lee, Jorma Kaukonen
Django Reinhardt

Pseudolus

04-05-2002, 08:44 AM

3) Charlie Christian. Tuck Andress is OK when I'm in the right mood, but he's a bit fluffy.

The Mister

04-05-2002, 09:14 AM

Who are your favorite 1) Classical, 2) Rock, 3) Jazz, and 4) Country guitarists?

1) Classical: dunno, though my wife and I have seen Christopher Parkening in concert. He seemed a bit full of himself... ("Look @ me! I knew Segovia!" Too much talk, not enough geetar.)
2) RAWK: Steve Howe, sometimes Robert Fripp
3) Jazz: ?
4) Country: Don't know much country, but I've seen what's-his-name, the guy who married Amy Grunt, do some nice pickin'. Not too much jumping around, from what I saw. I don't like when people dance around a lot with their geetars.

General Kenobi (ret.)

04-05-2002, 09:17 AM

Vince Gill is who you're thinking of, and by all reports, he's a top-notch guitarman.

So is Phil Keaggy, and he's missing some fingers.

Traina

04-05-2002, 12:50 PM

(2) Jimi Hendrix, Steve Vai, Slash

CDC

04-05-2002, 02:55 PM

Eddy VanHalen

8)

Franchise

04-05-2002, 03:02 PM

2) Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eddie Van Halen

4) I'll agree with Vince Gill. That's some darn fine pickin'.

Anonymous

04-05-2002, 03:14 PM

Possum, do not argue. Stanley Jordan is well known for his two handed tapping technique.

Possum 2

04-05-2002, 03:22 PM

PQD - The Possum concedes your point & will return to hanging from a tree limb by his tail.

Possum 2

04-05-2002, 03:25 PM

The Possum apologizes to all - I was thinking of Stanley Clarke. I will avoid replying to posts before I'm fully awake.

Quasi

04-05-2002, 08:45 PM

2) has to be Jimmy Page

vito

04-06-2002, 09:19 AM

Rock: Adrian Belew, Donald (Buck Dharma) Roeser, Mick Taylor

Anonymous

04-06-2002, 04:28 PM

No one has mentioned ZakkWylde, Randy Roads (or any Ozzy guitar player. I forgot the other two he had after B.S. The 1st one after Randy Roads was actually in the band Night Ranger, the other after he left Ozzy formed the band Badlands. Then came Zakk.), Kirk Hammet (sp?), Ted Nugent, or Ynwie Malmasteen.
I saw Slash. But he really went downhill after G & R. I bought both of the Slash's Snakepit CDs and was disappointed twice. Izzy Stradlin's two solo CDs are much better.

Traina

04-07-2002, 12:28 PM

The Badlands guy was Jake E. Lee. Yeah, Yngwie Malmsteen, just legendary.

Anonymous

04-07-2002, 08:07 PM

I forgot George Lynch. That pretty much rounds out the 80s guitar players.

From the 70's, there was no mention of Richie (sp?) Blackmore of Deep Purple and Rainbow. Joe Walsh during James Gang years. Tom Schultz of Boston. Brian May from Queen. I already mentioned Mark Knopfler.

I would mention Jerry Garcia b/c the Greatful Dead had some 70s hits and J.G. was a great player, but I can't stand the Greatful Dead. I just don't have any tolerance for it. So no matter what happens, don't forget that J.G. wasn't mentioned here.

In Jazz during the 70s there was Al Di Meola, and John McLoughlin.

As far as country goes this is when Jerry Reed became known for his finger picking technique.

Healey

04-09-2002, 07:57 PM

None of the people listed above can pick Tony Rice's nose. No doubt the greatest flatpicker who ever lived. All of the above guitarists use electric guitars, multiple picks (which enable them to sound flashy -- it's just fluff), and sound effects. Tony uses nothing but a flatpick, an acoustic guitar with steel strings, and his unbelievable technique and tone. Since he plays bluegrass and an odd form of jazz he calls "spacegrass", he is not well-known even though he's been around for 25 years. This is REAL guitar playing, not just noise-making. Vince Gill?! Please. He, like all other guitarists in the know, admit that Tony is the man and is the standard for which they all strive.

Anonymous

04-09-2002, 09:29 PM

Dudeman Healey, you didn't read the initial post. Now let's talk guitar. You totally ignored Chet Atkins, Andre Segovia, and Stanley Jordan. None of these guys uses a pick at all. Let me take that back... Chet uses a thumbpick at sometimes. Yes Steve Vai use a pick, but the man is good enough to use whatever he wants.

I think you would like Stanley Jordan though. He plays the thing like a piano. You seem to like Jazz. As far as bluegrass and country guitar go, Chet invented them. Actually Merle Travis did, but Chet was way more sophisticated. Btw. Chet died last year. If your new to good country, as opposed to new young hot country, try Chet Atkins Mark Knopfler Neck and Neck. For those of you not familiar with Mark Knopfler, he is the guitar player for Dire Straights.

Tony is not the standard. Listen look at Tony's influences... I bet Chet is on there. Especially if he's into bluegrass.

But anyway I really enjoy fingerstyle guitar... Always looking for a good recommendation. Especially in this day and age. There aren't very many good musicians, especially in rock, under 30.

Anonymous

04-10-2002, 12:43 AM

I went to www.tonyrice.com... Seems that he's pals with Ricky Skaggs... Another hard act to follow. Anyway, Tony Rice is on the Rounder record label, which means he can't be all that bad. Rounder is well known for roots music.

Now I have to plug Steve Vai again. Steve Vai played for Frank Zappa for a number of years. You really don't think Zappa would have had bad musicians do you?

Anonymous

04-10-2002, 12:44 AM

Oops. www.tonyrice.com

Happy Extinction

04-11-2002, 11:24 PM

Not a lead guitarist, but considered by many to be the best bassist. He's also the coolest dude on the planet

http://www.victorwooten.com/

Healey

04-12-2002, 09:35 PM

I'm very familiar with the work of Chet, Vai, Stanley Jordan, et al. but I stand by my statement. We're disagreeing on tastes, which is fine. My point about Tony using a flatpick is that he uses ONLY a flatpick. Using only the flatpick, he can produce as many notes as many fingerpickers. Check out "Unit of Measure". Tony counts among his influences Clarence White and Django Reinhardt. Vince Gill (and all other bluegrassers) worship Tony's technique and particularly his tone, unparalleled on an acoustic dreadnaught guitar -- completely unamplified. All of the others (but the classicals) listed use electronic chicanery so there is no way to tell what their real sound is. Another complaint I have about the electrics is that a lot of them do the "turn the dial to 11 and play with your left hand" routine. Jordan's made a career out of this and Van Halen and his ilk use the technique extensively because they can't move their right hands fast enough or that cleanly. The classical guys play nylon strings. Please. Seriously, give Tony a listen. Even if you don't understand bluegrass (to those who don't "like" bluegrass: there's no not "liking", it's all a matter of raising your consciousness and eliminating your ignorance) you can't help but be impressed by the way the man can play.

Victor Wooten is the baddest bass player ever. Saw him last fall and could not believe what he was doing. He was the best musician on the stage, which was shared with Bela Fleck. That's saying something.

Healey

04-12-2002, 09:39 PM

Phantom, don't take my advice just yet. I forgot you were studying. Wait until mid-May to go to your local record store. Good luck on the exam. Which one are you up for?

Anonymous

04-13-2002, 12:39 AM

Studying for C6.

Btw. I actually looked for Tony Rice at Tower Records tonight in the Country section... Couldn't find him... So I bought Essential Beethoven. I have been on a solo guitar kick forever.

Anyway about this time last year it started to appear as if I was building a Miles Davis/Chet Atkins research library. It was one or the other. So long Miles. I let up a bit on Chet, and it became the library of great guitar music.

But I've liked classical too although the collection is growing at a much slower pace. Recent classical purchases include

1) Camina Burana by Carl Orff
2) Psycho by Bernard Herman, adapted by Danny Elfman
3) Aaron Copeland
4) Vladimir Horowitz the Indespensible
5) Segovia & Williams Guitar Virtuosos
6) Symphonie Fanastique by Berlioz

The only one of the above that was a mistake was Symphonie Fanastique. I bought it b/c it had the March to the Scaffold and the Dream of the Witches' Sabbath, but the rest of it didn't trip my trigger.

My favorite is the Carmina Burana. Pretty much everyone is familiar with O Fortuna as it was the music used for the movie Excalibur and various other movies. But it truly is a unique piece of work.

Anyway I keep this stuff at my desk and work/study to it.

Healey

04-13-2002, 11:15 AM

Good luck on 6 -- don't forget about put-call parity.

If you're into classical and guitar, you may enjoy a CD called "Uncommon Ritual". It's on the Sony Classical label, but is not really classical. It features Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, and Mike Marshall playing mostly originals. They do tackle one of the fugues from Bach's "Art of Fugue". The interesting part is that they do it with bass, mandolin, and banjo. There is some astounding playing on this one.

Dick the Bruiser

04-14-2002, 09:55 PM

[color=red]Jimmy Page
Jimi Hendrix
Neil Young

:evil:

Anonymous

04-14-2002, 10:17 PM

You may like Neil Young but are you sure that he's your favorite as a guitarist?

Come on now....

Admit it...

There are other guitarists out there that you enjoy more based on their capabilities as guitarists. You gotta cut through the hype.

Do you really think he's a good guitar player? Harmonica? Sing? If you answered yes to any of the above you've got to get rid of all of your bad habits and influences, including your friends, move out of the smoking section and start living a healthy lifestyle. After you've done all of these things I think you will start to realize that Niel Young really isn't good at anything.

GoingForIt

04-21-2002, 10:07 PM

As a huge fan of Neil Young, I must take exception that someone might try to say he isn't good at anything?!?!?! He did CS&N a favor by quadrupling their talent by joining them but his solo/Crazy Horse work was when he was at his best. I saw him during the Rust Never Sleeps tour (and coming to within 10 feet of him when we rushed the stage) and it was the best concert I've ever seen. His driving guitar and vocals are absolutely great!

Having defended Neil, I must admit my favorite rock guitarist is actually another one who was already (amazingly) mentioned - Mick Taylor. His years with the Stones was when they were truly "The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band In The World".

Back to the books.

Han Solo

04-22-2002, 12:18 PM

No one's mentioned Alex Lifeson of Rush yet

WWSituation

04-22-2002, 01:37 PM

I'm a little late on this one, but here goes:

Favorite Guitarist:
Jimi Hendrix
Trey Anastasio
Jerry Garcia
Mark Knopfler
Chuck Garvey
Frank Zappa
Joe Satriani
Kirk Hammett
Max Verna
John Mclaughlin
Eddie Van Halen

Favorite Bassist
VICTOR!!!!!!!!!
Mike Gordon
Les Claypool
Oteil Burbidge
Rob Derhak

On Neil Young, I think he is one of the most kick a$$ musicians/songwriters on the planet. I also think his personality and musicianship helped fuel all of what went on in the 60s and 70s. I personally love his music, but as a pure guitar player, I wouldn't put him in the class with the list above.

DW Simpson

04-22-2002, 01:55 PM

Wes Montgomery (http://www.duke.edu/~mjs4/wes/)
Bill Frisell (http://www.themodernword.com/gabo/gabo_music_frisell.html)

Mopus

04-22-2002, 08:16 PM

You can drop by almost any guitar shop and find some guy who will blow your mind with his technical prowess, yet couldn't write a decent tune to save his life. Neil Young OTOH is an outstanding writer who can play competently. If that makes him a fave guitarist, cool.

To add a couple of players who probably aren't among the world's greatest technical wailers, but who are optimally creative with the skills they have, there's Curt Kirkwood and J Mascis. Tho I don't like much Smiths stuff, Johnny Marr was pretty interesting.

Less known, I really liked the dueling guitars of Thalia Zedek and Chris Brokaw of Come, and the hillbilly pickin'/screachin' of Evan Johns.

Anonymous

04-23-2002, 01:18 AM

I agree songwriting is important. Pretty much everyone listed except for Neil Young are great songwriters and are masters of their instrument.

Why are you guys stuck on Neil Young? The guy sounds like an old lady singing for the Ladies Aid Choir at some nursing home.

Is he really even a good songwriter? Let's compare.

(The following is a list of great songwriters only. The author of this anti-Neil Young study note does not advocate any of the following on the basis of their musicianship alone except for Jim Croce.)

Johnny Cash Vs Neil Young
Jimmy Page Vs Neil Young
Rolling Stones Vs Neil Young
Beatles Vs Neil Young
Jim Croce Vs Neil Young
Neil Diamond Vs Neil Young
Hank Williams Vs Neil Young
Bob Dylan Vs Neil Young
(I can't stand it when Bob Dylan plays his own stuff, but when other people play Bob Dylan his songs really come to life. I guess I like Subterranean (sp?) Homesick Blues)

I guess Neil's outclassed. I'll have to go easier on him. Let me try again.

Backstreet Boyz vs Neil Young
N Sync vs Neil Young
Puff Daddy vs Neil Young
Linkin Park vs Neil Young
The Monkees vs Neil Young

So I guess Neil Young is better than some other recording artists out there. I've provided the proof. But you only have a limited number of dollars to spend. Maximize your utility by not buying Neil Young. Instead buy any one of the awesome musicians listed prior to Neil Young in this thread.

The Mister

04-23-2002, 09:07 AM

Why are you guys stuck on Neil Young? ... Is he really even a good songwriter? Let's compare.

(The following is a list of great songwriters only....)

[snip]
Rolling Stones Vs Neil Young
[snip]
Make that, the Rolling Stones are great song-STEALERS. Much of their stuff, though credited to Jagger/Richards, is simply stolen from someone else. They typically take advantage of (a) naive songwriters and (b) loopholes in copyright enforcement.

Granted, this is just what I've heard, and I don't actually have any evidence, so my source (my mom) could be completely wrong. :-)

GoingForIt

04-23-2002, 11:46 AM

Of that list posted, I would say only the Beatles and the Stones write better songs than Neil Young (Neil Diamond and Johnny Cash?!?! Give me a break!). Granted, the Stones did have some disagreements about songs that the Glimmer Twins took credit for such as not credited Robert Johnson for "Love in Vain" properly, Mick Taylor writing "Angie" and Billy Preston writing the bass beat for "Miss You" but the vast majority of their songs were written by Mick and Keith.

Okay having said that, other favorite guitarists: Rock: The trio of chaps that used to play for the Yardbirds (I don't think anyone has mentioned the other two only Jimmy Page), Hendrix, Joe Walsh (with the James Gang, of course), Pete Townsend (as "Chairman of the Chord"), George Thorogood and Johnny Winter. Jazz: Al Di Meola is the only one I can really name and was by the way amazing when I saw him with Chick Corea's quartet (RTF). Classical: Does Mason Williams count? He's the only one I could name off the top of my head. And Country: Chet Atkins and for lack of another specific category Les Paul (I put him here because of the great albums he did with Chet such as "Guitar Monsters").

Anonymous

04-23-2002, 01:20 PM

I put Johnny Cash in there b/c the man knows how to convey the blues through country music like no other. Not only that... The guy isn't a sissy like Neil Young. Gotta respect that.

Neil Diamond might be a sissy, but were looking at songwriting here. Neil Diamond is (at least in the 60s and 70s) in what he's saying, and says it in a creative way. Neil Young isn't always so clear.

I don't care if you don't like Neil Diamond, but you've got to admit that he's got better songs.

Pete Townsend is no doubt a rock legend, but he doesn't belong among guitar legends. All guitarists play chords. Oh I know...

The Who vs Neil Young

Neil Young loses again.

Btw. I was listening to Guitar Monsters last night while studying.

GoingForIt

04-23-2002, 08:31 PM

I am impressed that someone else has heard of Guitar Monsters, it's too bad your other taste in music is so screwed up. Just because Neil Young didn't do time in the slammer like Johnny Cash sure doesn't make him a sissy. If you're using that criteria then Gary Glitter must be a true rocker for you. I guess I missed the part where someone said that a favorite guitarist must be technically great, sorry if I missed that but I'd still take Pete Townsend over a noise making like Eddie Van Halen (yes he can play a thousand notes a second but it still doesn't sound good).

Anonymous

04-23-2002, 09:56 PM

You are entitled to your opinion. If you think that Neil Young is one of the best among your favorite guitarists then that is just dandy. I guess I was looking for favorite great guitarists. That is you enjoy them almost solely for their ability with respect to the guitar. If you think you could be dazzled and inspired by Neil Young's creative and technical prowess on guitar you need to raise your standards.

I like Pete Townsend too. He's just not someone I would look up to as a guitar player.

With respect to Eddie Van Halen. Look through the guitar magazines over the years. He comes up a lot. Pete comes up sometimes too. Kinda like George Harrison. Was George Harrison an astonishing guitar player? No. Was he as great songwriter? Definitely.

As far as my standards go... See the 1st post in this thread. I guess I don't know about Gary Glitter. Who's that?

GoingForIt

04-24-2002, 10:23 AM

No, I wasn't saying that Neil Young was a great technical guitarist and one of my favorite, I was just refuting your criticism of him - I'm willing to agree to disagree if you are. BTW, Gary Glitter was the one hit British wonder that wrote one of those obnoxious songs played in stadiums/arenas who was imprisoned for having sex with minors. In my prior list, I amost forgot one of the truly great rock guitarists that I've heard - Duane Allman. Back to the books...

The Mister

04-24-2002, 04:33 PM

BTW, Gary Glitter was the one hit British wonder that wrote one of those obnoxious songs played in stadiums/arenas who was imprisoned for having sex with minors.Hmmm... I thought it was possession of child porn. (still close, though)

GoingForIt

04-25-2002, 11:41 AM

Mister,

You're right it was kiddie porn. My bad.

Healey

04-26-2002, 08:40 PM

I can't believe I forgot Duane Allman. The man was amazing.

Anonymous

04-27-2002, 08:53 PM

Duane Allman vs Neil Young

Neil Young loses again.

Gerry Garcia vs Neil Young

Not again. I can't stand Gerry Garcia either but I have to admit he's better than Neil Young.

Carlos Santana Vs Neil Young

Lynard Skynard Vs Neil Young

"I hope Neil Young will remember a southern man don't need him round anyhow."

I wouldn't buy a Neil Young CD if he was the only musician on earth. I'm sure he's a nice guy though.

Anyway I did buy LA Guitar Quartet today. They have a killer version of Bach's Little Fugue, and a kind of style medley version of The Pachelbel "Loose" Canon. What I mean by style medley is that they play the piece part classical, part funk, part bluegrass, etc...
I don't know if they play the chords with as much feeling as Neil Young though. After all they are technically better. Maybe I would come to appreciate Neil's crappy playing if I experimented with elicit drugs.

GoingForIt

04-28-2002, 05:35 PM

Phant,

What is with your obsession to compare everyone to Neil Young? I think you need to get some help about that. By the way, I missed the part in the survey where you declared that you would determine whether or not someone is allowed to have a certain guitarist as their favorite based on your taste (or lack there of) or what a magazine says.

Anonymous

04-28-2002, 08:23 PM

Phantom QueryDef Vs Neil Young

What can I say? I win.

You are allowed to have any favorite guitarist that you want to have. I'm just shocked. It's like if Gallup did a survey and asked for favorite cars and responses like Yugo, Pinto, and Gremlin came back as popular cars. Gallup is supposed to be independent so they can't help the surveyee. "Don't buy that Pinto, because it's a piece of junk."

This is not a scientific poll. I believe in altruism. "Don't buy Neil Young, because he's a piece of junk."

GoingForIt

04-29-2002, 11:17 AM

One of my earlier thoughts after reading the babble spewed here: "Don't pay any attention to Phantom QueryDef, he has no idea what he's talking about". Later.

Anonymous

04-29-2002, 05:57 PM

Don't confuse "no idea" with an "opinion." I'm trying to help you out. Expand past the same old burned out chord progressions. It's time to quit drinking bud, and start with sth. like Sam Adams. Get some taste man.

Don't listen to me then. Buy Neil Young listen to it. Tell your friends how great it is. You'll be the life of the party. Maybe go do a globalization protest somewhere.

Or buy LA guitar quartet. Listen over and over and over... Why? Because they're that good at just playing guitar, that's all.