Best guitarrist?

[JaBlue]

Best being defined as a combination of ability, musical knowledge, experience, and diversity in the music that they play [to exclude the Zakk Wyldes]. Also, if you want to say it was someone primarily because they're so revolutionary (hint: please don't say Jimi Hendrix) then that's cool, but they should have the other qualifications too.

I'm going with Joe Pass.

[istewart]

Some of the best, various reasons I guess. Excluding Hendrix /images/graemlins/confused.gif

Page
Satriani
Clapton
Vai

Page is definitely my favorite, Petrucci a close second.

[JaBlue]

I excluded Hendrix for a couple of reasons:
1) his career was short
2) he gets way too much credit given that most of his sweet moves have been done before by Chuck Barry
3) He was almost always a horrible live musician

[istewart]

[ QUOTE ]
3) He was almost always a horrible live musician

[/ QUOTE ]

I do not think this can be said.

[jokerthief]

Page is the most overrated guitar player who ever lived. That's not to say he didn't make good music but anyone who has even a little musical aptitude and has been playing for a year should be able to learn anything he plays.

[KaneKungFu123]

john meyer

he is bad ass.

[istewart]

[ QUOTE ]
Page is the most overrated guitar player who ever lived. That's not to say he didn't make good music but anyone who has even a little musical aptitude and has been playing for a year should be able to learn anything he plays.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a gross exaggeration, but no, he wasn't a technical god. His songwriting is great though and he's very, very accessible.

[istewart]

[ QUOTE ]
john meyer

he is bad ass.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nice avatar, lol.

[JaBlue]

Given that he almost always performed drunk and high, it can very easily be said and is also true.

[KaneKungFu123]

the guy in led zep.

whats his name?

[wacki]

didn't we have this a month ago???

Vh gets my vote.

Vai, Yngwie, Edge, Roads, all good.

[JaBlue]

I purposefully put one of the qualifications for nomination as diversity to keep people like Steve Vai, Joe Satrianni, and Yngwie Malmsteen out. There are tons of guitar players that can shred like these guys.

[istewart]

[ QUOTE ]
Given that he almost always performed drunk and high, it can very easily be said and is also true.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see the correlation between being intoxicated and consistently giving poor live performances. Take Santana at Woodstack for example.

Hendrix had quite a few great live performances. Woodstock, Berkeley and Isle of Wight all come to mind ATM.

[BreakEvenPlayer]

Monty Montgomery
Al Di Meola
John Mayer

[JaBlue]

If your music can easily be played by someone who is drunk as [censored], you're not the world's best guitar player. Also, for Hendrix, he had a few great live performances sprinkled inbetween mediocrity.

Don't get me wrong, he's a legend. I love him, but he's still way overrated and doesn't even come close to best.

[JaBlue]

[ QUOTE ]


Monty Montgomery


[/ QUOTE ]

Do you mean Wes Montgomery? A case can certainly be made for him.

As for your other picks... I like Di Meola, but no way. John Mayer also doesn't come close.

[JaBlue]

Is there any doubt that it's Victor Wooten?

[private joker]

Peterr Buck
Jimi Hendrrix

[jokerthief]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Page is the most overrated guitar player who ever lived. That's not to say he didn't make good music but anyone who has even a little musical aptitude and has been playing for a year should be able to learn anything he plays.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a gross exaggeration, but no, he wasn't a technical god. His songwriting is great though and he's very, very accessible.

[/ QUOTE ]

The last part of your reply got me thinking. If by very accessible you mean that his songs are accessible for casual players to learn, then you would have a decent arguement for most influential player of all time. The best guitarist, however, needs to push both the technical and stylistic envelope in my opinion. My vote would be Tim Reynolds or Leo Kotke.

[BreakEvenPlayer]

No I mean Monty Montgomery. He's been voted the best guitarist in the state of Texas the past 10 years or something, and was named by some big music magazine in the top 25 guitarists to ever live.

And John Mayer is an INCREDIBLY good guitarist, and very young. If you've only heard his recorded material you are not qualified to comment on his ability.

[jokerthief]

No

[JaBlue]

I know how good he is, him being a Berkelee student and all, but he's definitely not the best ever.

[mason55]

[ QUOTE ]
Is there any doubt that it's Victor Wooten?

[/ QUOTE ]

Last I checked Wooten played bass. Although he could play guitar and I don't know about it, but I'm pretty sure bass is his primary instrument.

[aquifex harse]

JaBlue,
Why ask the question if you reply to all the reponses that their choices are wrong?
FWIW my vote.... Steve Cropper

[jokerthief]

[ QUOTE ]
JaBlue,
Why ask the question if you reply to all the reponses that their choices are wrong?
FWIW my vote.... Steve Cropper

[/ QUOTE ]

Why ask a question and refrain from dialougue?

[bernie]

2 great ones that fit your criteria

Prince.

Eddie.

b

btw...if you exclude the 'zakk wyldes' you can exclude the joe pass' also.

[JaBlue]

[ QUOTE ]
btw...if you exclude the 'zakk wyldes' you can exclude the joe pass' also.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you crazy?

[JaBlue]

Leo Kottke plays a pretty [censored]' mean 12-string.. his vocals really ruin the songs a lot though /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

[bernie]

[ QUOTE ]
Are you crazy?

[/ QUOTE ]

No.

Just not biased.

b

[dsm]

http://barrywilliams.com/gallery/barry36.jpg

[bernie]

Never realized just how much he looked like howdy doody.

b

[Utah]

Under your criteria it would have to be Steve Vai and no one else is close. His musical knowledge is unreal, thanks in big part to Frank Zappa, and his technical abilities are unsurpassed.

He is not even close to my favorite guitarists (Satriani, Tuck Andreas, Bettencourt) but he is the best under your criteria.

[razor]

Jimi Hendrix

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

Has anyone said Tom Morello yet?

[turnipmonster]

based on all your criteria, I'm going to have to go with john mclaughlin. most of the guitarists mentioned thus far are very one sided (not that that's a bad thing).

--turnipmonster

[ArchAngel71857]

Stevie Ray Vaughn
Steve Vai
SLASH!

-AA

[usmfan]

I may get some flack for these but here goes (I'm just listing them as a couple of greats not THE greatest.
Johnny Marr
Jim Mankey (Concrete Blonde)

[rusellmj]

[ QUOTE ]
Best being defined as a combination of ability, musical knowledge, experience, and diversity in the music that they play

[/ QUOTE ]


Eric. Clapton.

Russ

[asofel]

I can't believe no one's mentioned Duane Allman yet.

He was revolutionary with a slide. He could play rock (layla), blues (played with clapton, aretha franklin, lots of blues with the allman bros), and do it all extremely well. Interesting trivia: freebird was written about him. As good as some of these guitarists are, given the criteria, Duane's got to be one of the top 3 choices. Satriani, Vai, and guys like that are incredible...but in a very specific way.

For those who like that music, check out Buckthead. He actually plays a lot of softer/bluesy/jazzy type of music on lesser known albums...

[turnipmonster]

[ QUOTE ]
diversity in the music that they play

[/ QUOTE ]

???? clapton is great, but I don't get the diversity part. he plays in bands that always have at least guitar, bass, and drums. he plays primarily pop or blues, and unless I am missing something he always has.

he's a great musician, but I just don't see the diversity.

just in the last 10 years, mclaughlin has arranged and recorded with a classical guitar quintet, recorded a concerto he composed for orchestra and guitar, released a million fusion records with tony williams and mahavishnu, had a very famous indian project with l shankar (violin) and zakir hussein (tabla), recorded straight ahead jazz with elvin jones, and played flamenco with paco delucia. also his guitar synth work with his trio is groundbreaking.

no one else mentioned even comes close to the kind of diversity this guy has consistently displayed over the past 30 years, and he still practices 6 hours a day!

--turnipmonster

[Uston]

Agree on McLaughlin. This thread should really be titled "best rock guitarist" because any of the top jazz guitarists of the last century (McLaughlin, Wes Montgomery, Django, even George Benson) are in their own league.

[jokerthief]

[ QUOTE ]
no one else mentioned even comes close to the kind of diversity this guy has consistently displayed over the past 30 years, and he still practices 6 hours a day!

[/ QUOTE ]

You should check out Tim Reynolds and try to find a scale he hasn't used. He's the only guitar player I've ever heard who actually envokes images in my mind by his play.

[willie]

[ QUOTE ]
Page is the most overrated guitar player who ever lived.

[/ QUOTE ]

he is highly overrated, but he's pretty good

my list

hendrix
mayer
SRV (my fav)
slowhand clapton
trey anastasio

[DMBFan23]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
no one else mentioned even comes close to the kind of diversity this guy has consistently displayed over the past 30 years, and he still practices 6 hours a day!

[/ QUOTE ]

You should check out Tim Reynolds and try to find a scale he hasn't used. He's the only guitar player I've ever heard who actually envokes images in my mind by his play.

[/ QUOTE ]

tim reynolds is nasty, but I'm a fanboy so I couldnt really mention him - I'm a little biased.

anyone ever seen Justin King? THAT dude is just sick. search for "Justin King Larrivee video" and you'll see what I mean.

neither is the best ever though. that's gonna be some obscure Jazz guitarist I don't know but everyone will insist is better than anyone I've ever heard so they can sound smarter than me /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[turnipmonster]

I like tim reynolds a lot, but what I am talking about doesn't have anything to do with scales /images/graemlins/smile.gif. frankly I would be shocked if tim or any of the guitarists mentioned on my or anyone else's list thought about scales when they played.

[jokerthief]

What is up with Mayer? Is he really that good? I wrote him off because I didn't like his first single then I hear that he played with Paul Simon and a bunch of people here espouse him. Did I judge him too quickly or is he the whiney sissy I first pegged him for?

[istewart]

Mayer is very good compared to what he is perceived as via MTV and such (i.e. like a normal teen girl pop idol or whatever), but he's not even close to the other guitarists in this list.

[DMBFan23]

on his studio albums he is bubblegummy and poppy and a huge tool.

live, he's definitely got the SRV/hendrix/badass guitar dude thing going on. he's really good.

[NutCrackerr]

Gotta be either Buckethead or Esteban.

[M2d]

andres segovia

[jokerthief]

Just checked out Justin King for the first time...WOW!!! I wonder what gauge he uses, I can't imagine how he can get that much action with only one hand. I saw another video with his band, can't say I like the band too much. This guy should just play solo, other instruments just hold him back.

[Joe Tall]

Has Kenny Burrell (jazz) or Ani Difranco (folk) been metioned yet?

Peace,
Joe Tall

[deacsoft]

I didn't look but I'm going to guess that yet another thread about "best guitarist" that is full of good/decent responses has yet again failed to mention B.B. King.

[Edge34]

Joe Walsh of The Eagles.

Technical ability, experience (still playing after 30 years, and that's just in the Eagles), broad range of styles in Eagles songs.

[M2d]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but has anyone heard Jake Shimabukuro play the ukulele? it's pretty amazing, and even better live.

[FeelGoodAboutHood]

Tremendous call, McLaughlin's work on Bitches Brew and Jack Johnson are phenoeonal, and so different from his work on one of the great guitar albums of all-time, Friday Night in San Francisco.

FWIW, while not as consistent as the other frequently mentioned giants, the highest of Trey Anastasio's highs are better than anyone elses.

[crosse91]

Doc Watson is damn good, but i think the style requirement might restrict him.
Same with Chet Atkins-but both were incredibly skilled
someone once said about chet atkins that "he was so good, when you heard him you either wanted to throw your guitar away or play for days"
Check out Albert King....
and monte mongomery is sick on the acoustic-but i don't think he's one of the best ever. Best around texas, yes. But not one of the ALL TIME greats. Also, some old old blues guys were performing stuff way before their time (i'll post if i can remember their names-Michael something comes to mind)
Also-John Mayer, yes he's better than 9/10 of whats out there now, but that doesn't make him the best. He's got the chops, but i saw him play with buddy guy and he got bitched pretty soundly by Guy-so does that make Guy one of the best ever?

[coltrane]

[ QUOTE ]
based on all your criteria, I'm going to have to go with john mclaughlin. most of the guitarists mentioned thus far are very one sided (not that that's a bad thing).

--turnipmonster

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, exactly....since diversity is being harped upon so much, even the original poster's choice of Joe Pass is pretty off the mark....Pass is phenomenal at what he does, but it's completely one-dimensional....McLaughlin's a great choice.....

my choice would be Bill Frisell.....amazing guitar-wise, but just also amazing musicality-wise, and very diverse....

if I were gonna pick a guitar-player guitar-player (whereas Frisell to me is an overall powerhouse MUSICIAN), I would go with Scott Henderson.....he may be the most adept both technically and improvisationally at an enormous range of styles.....

but FWIW, if diversity wasn't an issue, and if we were just going with BEST EVER guitarist - in terms of overall impact - it would be Hendrix hands down.....

[Zygote]

John Petrucci