Speaking of Guitars,

I walked into the Guitar Center several months back and was taking the Boyz as I was checking out Amps a Strats, and I spied a huge Hemp brownish Red Case in a Glass in closer the sign read $ 54,000 U.S. and I said what's the stories upon it Bro, it was a Fender Stratocaster, and case, original used or rather broken in, but all the knobs were there and sweet, the whammy bar and all, clean, the same exact modal and all including the ash tray pick up cover, that Buddy Holly owned, no not his, and they said one summer day, this kid walks in and wants a string for it as it was his Grandfather he just inherited along with his cowboy boots and so the kids taking out camping along the river with him, and they said to him: You're doing what?

And gave the kid enough cash to buy himself a Mercedes Benz, the Boyz asked if I wanted to fire it up and play it, I passed, as my luck was a bit off that day and it would have been by bad luck to half to folk out 54 G's if I had a mishap in catching my Justin Cowboy Boots on a Power amp cord and gone falling backwards into the displays of Guitars and amps which still would not have come even close in costs if I screwed that 54G Stratocaster up.

Not that I did not want to go sweet on it. Pavot

P.S. I am still standing by my Pick of Stevie Ray Vaughn...

then I would go with Eric Clapton, as a lefter it has to be Jimi Hindrix, and for hard core it is Slash

yep

meh to notes and chord progressions...

imho A guitar is made to smack the crap out it... and make some noise...

Bo Diddley

Eee...I've never noticed that before but Chas is a dead ringer for a young 'grandad' from only fools and horses!

yngwie malmsteen, eric johnson, Best bass players, Cliff Burton, Flea, Les Claypool, the bassists from casiopea and the square =D

Surprisingly only one person has mentioned Robert Johnson. He was able to play two tunes at once and make it sound as if there were actually two guitars playing at the same time.

I saw Stevie Ray Vaughn play live before his accident.

Speaking of playing bass and melody at once this guy takes it to a whole new level.

Another by the same chap...just for the sheer explosivness

Check him...according to his official blurb he is one of a very select few (by few I mean 3-4) people to recieve Nashville's Guitar Pickers 'Certified Guitar Player' Award.

Seen him play a couple of times in my local theatre...and you can go and have a chat with the guy after he performs too and he's always willing to give a little advice on advancing your tecnique. All in all I give him 10/10 for his shows...even though most of his songs are a wee bit rockabilly for my tastes, but for a night out he beats the s**t out of some of these 'legends' I've been to see.

If any budding guitar players see this you gotta go see him. Even while he's on stage he gives little lessons on playing 'piano style' (i.e. thumb plays the bassline and the fingers do the melody) and it all seems sooo simple...until you grab your guitar when you get home!

One regret in this life is never to of seen him play live.
From what i heard & read his guitar playing (live) not only had the crowd mesmerized it went straight thru ya.

R.I.P S.R.V





I read somewhere Robert Johnson was God to Jimi Hendrix.

Me personally, I always thought Hendrix was a reincarnation of Johnson. LOL!!!

The man changed modern music. Eight gazillion rockers and bluesmen have since covered Johnson, or given him props. Johnson's lyrics are sometimes truly chilling. He was rumored to have sold his soul to the Devil, at the Crossroads, and wrote of having Hellhounds on his trail.

He'll always be an enigmatic character, for all time. A legendary cocksman, he was rumored to have been poisoned to death by a jealous man.

My personal favorite is Terraplane Blues.

As to who's the greatest or best guitarist of all time, well.......there are just waaay too many truely brilliant players, all with their own style and you can't compare with different genres like heavy metal and jazz and blues etc....but MY favourites are....

Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Jimmy Page
Dave Gilmour
SRV
Jimi Hendrix
Mark Knopfler
Angus Young
Rory Gallagher
Kirk Hammett.......

How could I have even of spaced off Robert Johnson, as for Stevie Ray Vaughan goes, I own a DVD of his Live at the el Macambo and it is an awesome performance, what that man did with that Fender Stratocaster is phenomenal, no words can I even come up here to describe the Talented Abilities of Stevie Ray, no words.

Hay was it a Plane crash that took this man's Life, I can't recall it, so many have gone out by the Booze and Drug demons, I am trying to think of who we lost to plane crashes, Ronny Van Zandt, Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline was one wasn't she, Ricky Nelson, who else?

Tragic man so many good people have gone out and some so very young…hears to all the fallen ones…and for those lost in the Planes forgive me for my not mentioning their very talented back up and band members and roady crew, the pilots and every one lost as well…My Heart to them all and their families…Pavot

Believe it was a helicopter crash.

There's a marvelous/tragic scene from an old movie, One Trick Pony, where two characters play a trivia game, one tries to name musicians that were killed by crashes, the other tries to name musicians that have died from drugs. Hell of a scene, my friends.

I can't pick just one, it's too hard!! Here's my list of who I like: Eric Clapton, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, Angus Young, Stevie Ray Vaughn. There are others but I cannot think of them at the moment.

It's true. I saw SRV in roughly 1984? Maybe '83?... SRV and Double Trouble were the opening act for the Moody Blues. I'd vaguely heard of Vaughn (which amounted to someone telling me "oh that SRV guy is suppose to be pretty good), but had never actually heard him play. SRV was completely mesmorizing, captivating, cool, suave, and the sounds that eminated from his guitar were magical. I was a fan from that evening on. (the Moody Blues sucked after Vaughn, that was the only concert I ever fell asleep during and that's who I'd bought tix to see! LOL)

I was somewhat crushed when Stevie died.

SRV...

Hi MissMelsWell how goes the Great North Wet...Nice Winter/Spring weather here we are having, snow was down to 1,000 foot level last night and just a week ago yeasterday it was an awsome 81 degree sunny day here...Smiling with teeth chattering...laughing...

I would like to give all due respect to other guitar greats, Clapton was and still is amazing, and many others are out there and yet to come, but every time I see a picture of Stevie Ray Vaughn I am taken right back to the magic of him performing, I have only every been to three public performances of Music Artists, back in the day when they were still growing I saw Amy Grant and Phil Keaggy both perform on the same night and many years later here in town I saw the performance of Bruce Cockburn, I looked around at all the old hippies in all their splendid colorful attire and thought wow time flash back and I took a look at myself and realized I too was an old hippy, now I have said that If I ever was to wish I had gone and seen a music artist or group perform it would be the Pixies or the Cure, but really I do have to say I miss SRV and wished he was coming to town this very evening because man I would defiantly be there…Party on SRV…Shine on Bro..Pavot
...Pavot

You guys are frigg'n lucky. When i eventually go to the States my first stop over is at Town Lake Auditorium Shores West Riverside Drive in Austin Texas to violate the 1st commandment.

ROCK ON SRV...

My pick - Dimebag Darrell - Pantera

Some favs

Billy Corgan - The Smashing Pumpkins
Jerry Cantrell - Alice In Chains
Tony Iommi - Black Sabbath
Robby Krieger The Doors
Zakk Wylde - Black Label Society
Kurt Cobain - Nirvana
Kirk Hammond - Metallica
Jimmy Page - Led Zeppelin
Allen Collins - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Janick Gers - Iron Maiden
David Gilmour - Pink Floyd
Angus Young - AC/DC
Mark Tremonti - Creed, Alterbridge,

Jimmy Page

I personally disagree that there is one guitarist who is better than any other; each guitarist kicks ass in his/her own way.

Nevertheless, here is a list of my favs

Jimi Hendrix
Wata (BORIS)
Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple)
Mike McReady (Pearl Jam)
Michio Kurihara (Ghost)
Frank Zappa

SANTANA . Definitely the greatest ever .

I agree.Each has their own personal style and sound,and many have been very influential in regards to music.

I don't think that there ever could be a "best of all time" guitarist,because some have died early,leaving us with only a small amount of recorded works to go by...while others have a huge volume of work which we can listen to.Yet,even with the recorded works,it would still be very hard to say either way whether someone was truly playing at their full potential or skill...or not.So,we are left with our own personal opinions regarding those that we like the sound or style of.But since each of us differs on what we personally like...we should only be bothered with naming our own favorites,instead of trying to judge who could be considered the "greatest".

too many to name, but some personal favs

Ritchie Blackmore
Vernon Reid
Earl Slick
Zappa

For me it's down to either Jimi Hendrix or John McLaughlin (mostly when he was with Miles Davis, Tony Williams, or especially early Mahavishnu Orchestra). I can't decide.

Don't even get me started on bass players.............
Ok, I'll start anyway. Nobody mentioned Jaco Pastorius OR Marcus Miller. Nobody on the planet can touch those guys, except maybe Victor Wooten. But nobody can lay down a funkier groove than Marcus.

I have to say to me. It was Robert Johnson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A

One of my favorites and probably one of the most underrated guitarists in my opinion is Link Wray, he wrote a song that was released in'58 called 'Rumble' (a simple instrumental 12 bar) which is kind of a big deal. Just about everyone would have heard it, it's been in quite a large number of films and television shows (such as Pulp Fiction and the Sopranos) and has become some what of a staple. He was one of the first to experiment with distortion and feedback and a lot of contemporary music owes credit for elements of it's sound to Wray. He was particularly influential towards punk and surf rock and is known for popularizing the power chord. He also did the theme for he Batman series.



Here you can listen to 'Rumble'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP0aRKnyzpc

I'm gonna have to go with Steve Vai for the most talented and equally versatile slinger. Some other incredible song writers, technique masters, and genre pioneers that I truely appreciate include: Buckethead, Jerry Cantrell, Jimmy Page, Tommy Emanuel, Paul Gilbert, Alexi Laiho, John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Adam Jones, and even Tom Morello.

i cant really say theres a best guitarist because alot of my favourite guitarists all have really good unique solos
my favourites include soul hudson (slash), kirk hammet, stevie ray vaughan, joe satriani, jimi hendrix, david gilmour and matt bellamy

a super clone which uses all of their dna would probably be the best guitar player of all time XD

Jimi Hendrix was the most revolutionary figure in guitar playing and changed rock forever. For this reason whether or not you like his work he is the best guitarist to date.

In terms of contribution to guitar playing in general Hendrix contributed more then just about everyone else... Plus he could play like 3 guitars at once and play guitar with his teeth man.

Rory gallagher.


T nikki from peer Gunt.

I don't believe there can be a "Best Guitar Player Of All Time." Everyone has their own tastes, and every guitarist has (or should have) their own style.
Different styles appeal more highly to different tastes. Technical skill is half of it at most.

As for my personal favorite guitarist...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msRpsY1vKHI

I agree with everyone on here but i like add K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton from Judas Priest.

Robin Trower and Rory Gallagher.

Anyone who likes SRV needs to check out Rory Gallaghers stuff. Similar in many ways.

angus young, end of!

You're kidding right? Angus was great at what he did but he isn't a top 3 guitar player of all time. That being said, I Love ACDC!!

my favorite guitarists are Alex Lifeson of Rush, Steve Howe of Yes, John Petrucci of Dream Theater.

im not a big fan of the self-indulgent (look how fast i can play guitar) even though i am a fan of the shredders. i just dont think they can compare to the playing of guitarists suh as Alex Lifeson, Gilmour, or Petrucci (even though he can shred mad crazy) they still play with feeling and emotion.

Yngwie Malmsteen is one of my least favorite guitarists namely because his thing is "all i can do is play fast". he annoys the piss out of me and i cannot stand to watch or listen to him. To me it doesnt look like much emotion or feeling in what he plays. Its not fluid.

Petrucci yes, can shred just as fast as Yngwie, but there is still emotion in the playing.

i dont know, im just very picky like that.

ingvie malmsteen
eddie van halen
ritchie blackmore
etc
etc

Marty Friedman or Chris Poland from Megadeth. Marty for his neoclassical shredding, Poland for his jazz fusion tendencies.
Yngwie Malmsteen. The founder of neoclassical shredding.
Jimi Hendrix. This one goes without saying, seriously!
Kirk Hammett from Metallica. He's not as good as Megadeth's guys, I think, but I could be wrong, so sort of a just incase.
Dave Mustaine from is Metallica days. He's better than Kirk Hammett, no doubt, but I could be wrong...

Watch THIS!:
Shredding squared

BTW! Return To Forever has regrouped and is touring US and Europe!! You have to see them.. (Al Di Meola, Chick Corea, Stanley Clark and Lanny White..It doesn't get a whole lot better than that..)

your name is from Metallica's first song on their first album and you think that Dave Mustaine is better than Kirk Hammett? ... you could be wrong

Go to www.Missionmetallica.com ... I have already heard some riffs from their new album and they sound thump'n just to let you know. The site opened yesterday May 12th so it is new.

Been there, done that.

Hit the Lights was written by Mustaine anyway, even though he wasn't credited for it. Plus, I like Four Horsemen/Mechanix better. Hit the Lights is just a cool name

Tickets to see them in June, my friend!

Theres too many to mention but the ones that stand out the most for me would be Buckethead, John Petrucci, Frank Zappa, Tony Iommi and Dave Mustaine.

This thread cannot exist without Dean Ween, Eddie Hazel, Michael Hampton...otherwise it is a cheap, hollow shell.

Jimmy Page or Brian May.

BB King

Well, I dunno. I actually hate guitarists. It's why I prefer the Who to most bands. Very much driven by a bassist and drummer.

I forgot about Blixa from the Bad Seeds one of the few contemporary guitarists who is doing anything new.

Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhodes & Slash

Carlos Santana,enough said.

Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Jeff Beck, Paul Gilbert Jerry Cantrell, Buckethead, Jimmy Page, some Yngwie...

As far as personal preference goes then it is:Jimi Hendrix,Eric Clapton, and most others I will say on this list...
Rock n' ROll:Hendrix, Clapton, Jimmy PAge, Jerry Garcia, Chuck Berry, many others
Blues:Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, ALbert Collins, B.B. King, Buddy Guy
JAzz: DJango Reinhadrt
Latin rock:duh....SAntana
metal: Slash, Tony Iommi, Kirk Hammet
ANd that's all i can churn out...