Favorite guitarists...

What are some of your favorite guitarists...

As I get older, I'm finding I am enjoying more of the old school players. They were "rock n roll" players. It was about playing with feeling, as opposed to technical chops. I like a lot of technical players like Yngwie, Uli, Satriani, etc. but I've found that my favorites are guys like:

Ted Nugent
Ace Frehley
Angus Young
Punky Meadows
Steve Howe
Ricky Medlocke
Scott Gorham & Brian Robertson
Glenn Tipton & KK Downing
Dave Hlubek, Duane Roland, Steve Holland
Frank Marino

Tony Iommi (BLACK SABBATH)
Victor Griffin (PENTAGRAM/PLACE OF SKULLS)
Ace Frehley (KISS)
Michael Schenker (UFO/MSG)
Frank Zappa
Brian Tatler (DIAMOND HEAD)

pete blakk
andy larocque
buddy holly
chuck berry
brian setzer
tony iommi
Zappa
steve vai
doyle (misfits)
john christ

I was thinking of this other day actually LOL

Randy Rhoads (A#1)
Adrian Smith
Dave Mustaine
Paul Gilbert
Mathias Jabs
Rudy Schenker
Glenn Tipton
Tony Iommi
Jake E. Lee
Yngwie Malmsteen

zombiewalkin wrote:

Randy Rhoads (A#1)

ZOIKS! I totally forgot Mr. Rhoads!

I totally forgot TONY IOMMI and JIMI HENDRIX!

Ult Im surprised ya didnt mention Joe Perry

Heres mine

Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
Slash (GNR/Velvet Revolver)
John Lennon
Buddy Guy
BB King
Eric Clapton
Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters)
Jimmy P Brown II

Ya know I like Joe but I still think Brad Whitford might be a better player....possibly they are both on the same playing field but Brad did a lot of recording during those toxic years taking up Joes slack due to drug use.....or so I have read.

I'm with you Ult, I'm far more impressed by "feel" than "chops" any day of the week.

Some of my favorites/biggest influences:

Jimi Hendrix, Tony Iommi, Robin Trower, Robert Fripp, David Gilmour, Ty Tabor, Carlos Santana, Alvin Lee, Richie Blackmore, Steve Morse, Stephen Stills, Kenny Burrell (jazz), Grant Green (jazz).

*edit* - Need to add a couple of my current favorites, so as not to appear completely over the hill. Both guys are not your typical "guitar hero" types, but that's why I like them. Josh Homme (the guy is a genius of understatement) and Matt Pike...who seems to be the bastard child spawn of Tony Iommi & Lemmy.

I totally agree with feel over technical playing. When I first started playing bass I was given the standard list of players, mostly fusion jazz, that I HAD to listen to. I did and honestly I found that these guys really wowed me with what they did but their stuff never resonated with me. I didn't walk around with all the shredheads stuff running through my mind (except Satch's Surfing with the Alien and more BLUESy moments).

When you start to play people get all snoopy and some will look down on you if you admit to liking guys like Tom Petty. But guess what? The Beatles Twist and Shout was not rocket science but none of those shred heads had the power to make so many people jump around the room and air guitar the way the 'simpletons' do. Much of music's power is in its ability to move people in my books. And so many of the guys that are all into being a GIT/classical shredder ... talk to them! They have no passion for music. They are like aliens, they are like engineers trying to build the best soap box racer and never knowing the joy of riding one downhill with abandon.

It's all about passion for me

lately my list of fave guitarists has been.....

ZAPPA, ZAPPA, ZAPPA.

Popergeist wrote:

lately my list of fave guitarists has been.....

ZAPPA, ZAPPA, ZAPPA.

I can see that...I remember the first time I heard Black Napkins...I thought I was either having a spiritual experience or I was losing my mind.

Probably a bit of both.

detuned wrote:

I'm with you Ult, I'm far more impressed by "feel" than "chops" any day of the week.

I'm on the same page as well, that's probably why we all love doom so much ey?

Anyhowzz ... I tink my favorite guitarrists list goes as such:

#1 - Joe Satriani - I think this guy is viewed as a "technical" player
too much and his sense of feeling, melody, and soul is far underrated.
He's the next Hendrix after Hendrix and IMO he's the best living
guitar player from San Francisco ... I mean the world!!

others off the top of my head and in no particular order:

HENDRIX OF COURSE!!
good ol' Iommi
Glenn Tipton & KK Downing!!
Angus & Malcolm Young
Randy Rhoads
Duane Allman
Richard Blackmore
Jimmy Page
Alex Lifeson
Scott Weinrich
Victor Griffin
Robert Johnson
Eric Clapton
Steve Vai (sometimes, when I'm in the mood...)
Vinnie Moore (another "shred" artist whose sense of style is overlooked IMO)
Nocturno Culto
Trey Azagthoth
Quorthon
Varg
David Gilmour (sp?)

and the dood from Disturbed ...errrrr ... nevermind ...

Great feckin' thread! Order is not necessarily the rank...

Ty Tabor
Nuno Bettencourt
Tony Iommi
James Hetfield
Yngwie Malmsteen
Kirk Hammett
Alex Skolnik
Rory Gallagher
John Sykes
Criss Oliva
Zakk Wylde
Jimmy Page
Eric Clapton
Eddie Van Halen
Jeff Loomis
Vinnie Moore
Leo Kottke
Eric Johnson
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Peter Buck
Vince Gill
Brad Paisley
Mick Mars
Phil Campbell
Jeff Hanneman
Kerry King
K.K. Downing
Glenn Tipton
Dave Murray
Adrian Smith
Roy Z.
Dweezil Zappa
Frank Zappa
Rex Carroll
Stu Heiss
Monte Montgomery
Sonny Landreth
Ricky Scaggs
Chet Atkins
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Jimi Hendrix
Dave Grohl
Jim Root
George Lynch
Vivian Campbell (particularly the Dio years)
Craig Goldy
Ace Frehley
Bruce Kulick
Danny Kortchmar
James "Doc" Hollihan
Dave Evans aka the Edge
Richard Drummie
Danny Gatton
Keith Urban (I know, I know)
Oz Fox
Dann Huff
Jesper Stromblad
Bjorn Gellotte
Alex Lifeson
Joe Perry
Michael Lee Firkins
Angus Young
Gary Moore
Pat McManus
Gary Hoey
John Norum
Mattias Ehklund
Neal Schon
Brian May
Ken Tamplin
Dave Menketti
Vinnie Vincent
Gordon Kennedy
Brian Wooten
Dan Tyminski
Tom Morello
Ritchie Sambora
Chris Whitley
Edwin McCain
Johnny Rzenik
Pete Lesperance


BUT definitely NOT....

James Taylor!

I have a saying,it was Hendrix that caused me to pick up a guitar after hearing "Star Spangled Banner" but it was Iommi that made and still makes me(when I have time)want to play.For me,its like there is just this unexplainable connection there.Wheel Of Confusion is the strongest example I would say as to what I am talking about ,though there are many others,for the Dio era it would probably be Falling Off The Edge Of The World.Both those songs in particular speak to the very essence of my being,most of the lyric,the mood ,and above all the churning wheel of riffage,every melancholic note.........its just awesome !

I'm with you on Iommi, he's my biggest guitar playing influence...though more in feel than content.

Hendrix wasn't even of this earth, to me his guitar playing was the spiritual continuation of the search John Coltrane started on the tenor sax. I know, it's an odd opinion, but one that I've felt for a long time.

What is really cool about the Cave is that you can express that opinion, without harsh disagreement or someone trying to kind of anal(lyze) it,like they do on SOME boards.I guess I am kind of a rare breed,but because of Tonys playing,I like at least some of every "era" of Sabbath.The Gillian stuff is overall IMO the weakest,but Zero The Hero is a great song and Iommi's solo's bordered on psychotic(for the time)just pure energy,but the lyrics left a lot to be desired....

SabbSteve wrote:

What is really cool about the Cave is that you can express that opinion, without harsh disagreement or someone trying to kind of anal(lyze) it,like they do on SOME boards.I guess I am kind of a rare breed,but because of Tonys playing,I like at least some of every "era" of Sabbath.The Gillian stuff is overall IMO the weakest,but Zero The Hero is a great song and Iommi's solo's bordered on psychotic(for the time)just pure energy,but the lyrics left a lot to be desired....

I actually love Born Again, but I'm a huge Ian Gillan/Deep Purple fan so it's not all that surprising. They lyrics on that album are (I think) intentionally ridiculous. The band was assembled by Warner Brothers to fulfill contract obligations, they were all friends so it was no big deal, but none of them had any illusions that it was a perfect fit. So there's a good bit of "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" to the lyrics on that album.

Tony plays great (I especially like his solo on the track Born Again) and Zero The Hero does indeed contain one of the coolest riffs of all time.

There's an unreleased song from the sessions floating around the internet called The Fallen, it's actually one of the better tracks but didn't really fit stylistically with the rest of the album. It's worth searching out.

Born Again

I agree SabbSteve, the CMR is particularly bad about that. Some of those weiners are barely into their twenties and think they have a relevant opinion. What gets me is the twats that play in "bands" that are horrible but harshly critique others music.

You mean like the way you continually shit on JT? You flaming Urbanite!

TrogDawn wrote:

flaming Urbanite!

man what iis it with you guys and your two word descriptions....dang I'm gonna have to start a list of these great heartfelt zingers...Clueless pylon is at the top of it LOL

today I have been on a Brian Setzer kick....that dood can play some mean arse git-fiddle.

detuned wrote:

Hendrix wasn't even of this earth, to me his guitar playing was the spiritual continuation of the search John Coltrane started on the tenor sax. I know, it's an odd opinion, but one that I've felt for a long time.

Actually, that's a pretty good comparison. I can actually see that.

detuned wrote:

SabbSteve wrote:

What is really cool about the Cave is that you can express that opinion, without harsh disagreement or someone trying to kind of anal(lyze) it,like they do on SOME boards.I guess I am kind of a rare breed,but because of Tonys playing,I like at least some of every "era" of Sabbath.The Gillian stuff is overall IMO the weakest,but Zero The Hero is a great song and Iommi's solo's bordered on psychotic(for the time)just pure energy,but the lyrics left a lot to be desired....

I actually love Born Again, but I'm a huge Ian Gillan/Deep Purple fan so it's not all that surprising. They lyrics on that album are (I think) intentionally ridiculous. The band was assembled by Warner Brothers to fulfill contract obligations, they were all friends so it was no big deal, but none of them had any illusions that it was a perfect fit. So there's a good bit of "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" to the lyrics on that album.

Tony plays great (I especially like his solo on the track Born Again) and Zero The Hero does indeed contain one of the coolest riffs of all time.

There's an unreleased song from the sessions floating around the internet called The Fallen, it's actually one of the better tracks but didn't really fit stylistically with the rest of the album. It's worth searching out.

Oh man,you are killing me,another good song from that era,yeah I really wanted it to be better because I too like Gillans voice but lyricwise,it was just really dark in places.Its one of those that if I could get the MP3's or find it cheap I would listen again,really want ZTH again.It is another one that probably should have been called something else name-wise.I think that is what bugged me about it.It was kind of like Tony went to a Hollywood party with a bunch of drunken witches and then sat down to write the album.I do have to admit that DB is one of the few songs with the word "bitch" in it that I like,Disturbing The Priest was interesting lyrically and was right on the edge IMO of being too dark but Born Again seemed to cross over in tone.Hot Line and Keep It Warm were just sillly,way below what you expect from Sabbath IMO,the sound was excellent though....... Not real high praise but it was definitely better than Forbidden,albumwise that is the bottom of the scale IMO.

SabbSteve wrote:

I too like Gillans voice but lyricwise,it was just really dark in places.Its one of those that if I could get the MP3's or find it cheap I would listen again,really want ZTH again.

I have the entire Black Sabbath discography on my puter.

Jeffdls wrote:

detuned wrote:

Hendrix wasn't even of this earth, to
me his guitar playing was the spiritual continuation of the search John
Coltrane started on the tenor sax. I know, it's an odd opinion, but one
that I've felt for a long time.

Actually, that's a pretty good comparison. I can actually see that.

quite an interesting thought, detuned, that really puts a unique
perspective on Hendrix's playing that I had not considered before.

It was really around the time that all the unreleased Hendrix material started coming out that the idea started to form. In particular the Hendrix Experience box set. I was listening to some of the instrumental tracks (particularly Axis Bold As Love) and the amount of emotion that was being poured out through his guitar was almost staggering. The kind of thing where it sounded like he was "channeling" something bigger than himself, you can hear this huge wellspring in the background, so much music waiting to come out...but unfortunately it was cut short.

Same thing happened with Coltrane, he was another player who sounded larger than life and played things in a way that nobody before or since has been able to re-capture. Sure, people learn the licks and practice the scales...but the essence is missing. There are moments in Trane's solos that come about as close to giving you the musical equivalent of experiencing the divine as anything I've ever come across. And like Hendrix, Coltrane was cut down in his prime (although is career was longer) leaving us to wonder at what vistas he could have unleashed.

To me, I don't consider either of them when comparing other players on the same instruments. It's pointless, because there's something greater than just a man and a musical instrument at work with both Hendrix and Coltrane. There was a gateway to something...I'm not sure what, but it's intriguing to think about and repeated listening continues to enhance the discovery.

Other great ones that kind of have to be spoken of in the same breath because they are musically inseperable are Tipton/Downing and Murray/Smith,though they kind of got lost with Turbo,the Judas Priest tandem has been consistently great IMO,not all the lyrics have been dazzling, but most of the music has.Maiden,well how many superlatives can you use, up until Fear,Death has some great songs equal to the classic stuff IMO,I have not heard their latest one......