Top guitarist of all time?
- Thread starter General Tso
- Start date
John Frusciante is my favorite. RHCP is clearly different and much better when he's with them. Guy is amazing
Define "best." I would guess the most proficient player ever is someone nobody on here has ever heard of.
The problem with most people, is they only list rock guitarists. I've seen fingerstyle and classical guitar players perform songs more technically difficult than any rocker mentioned in this thread.
Perhaps a better title would be "Favorite guitarist."
My favorite is Joe Bonamassa.
The problem with most people, is they only list rock guitarists. I've seen fingerstyle and classical guitar players perform songs more technically difficult than any rocker mentioned in this thread.
Perhaps a better title would be "Favorite guitarist."
My favorite is Joe Bonamassa.
This thread is more like a list of best guitarists in popular bands. If you were to ask people in the industry, you would get an entirely different set of responses. I'm surprised no one has mentioned Phil Keaggy.
Too subjective of a thread title, but I’ll list mine.
Hendrix
Jeff Beck
Clapton
Uli Jon Roth
Those are top of the crop.
Very closely behind
SRV
Blackmore
Brian May
Michael Schenker
Guthrie Govan
Tim Henson
Guthrie Govan and Tim Henson have made quite the name for themselves and are phenomenal.
Hendrix
Jeff Beck
Clapton
Uli Jon Roth
Those are top of the crop.
Very closely behind
SRV
Blackmore
Brian May
Michael Schenker
Guthrie Govan
Tim Henson
Guthrie Govan and Tim Henson have made quite the name for themselves and are phenomenal.
To your point, there are a half dozen jazz guitarists that are as good, and technically proficient, as anyone people will name in this thread. Joe Pass, Allan Holdsworth, John Scofield, Wes Montgomery are all on par with Hendrix, Gilmore, Satriani, and Knopfler. But hardly anyone knows who they are unless they are jazz fans or hard core guitarists.
For me, in the rock arena, I'd go with Hendrix, EVH and Gilmore (SRV is my favorite), mainly because of the ground they broke.
I’ve always been fascinated by what it takes in terms of pedals and other equipment for guitarists to sound like Jimi Hendrix. There’s a couple old quotes out there that I’m too lazy to find from Ted Nugent and Michael Bloomfield talking about how Hendrix could create his glossary of sounds from absolutely minimal gear. They each saw him do it many times early on. Jimi obviously is an inimitable player, as are many. But the fact that people to this day struggle to figure out how he sounded so different and so otherworldly….that’s pretty telling in regard to his greatness. He gets my vote.
Holdsworth is a guy who could play on and on and never run out of ideas. He was never repetitive. Listening to him reminds me of an old screensaver that continuously refreshed and changed. Remarkable dude. His fusion albums are fantastic. I think he humbled EVH pretty handily when they jammed together, as his playing wasn’t bound by blues and/or rock parameters.
Surprised he hadn't been mentioned. I don't pretend to know a ton about guitarists but he's gotta be on a decently short list of the GOATs
Special mention to the guitarist that Jimmy Hendrix mentioned as 'his favorite' ... Billy Gibbons.
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A young Neal Schon (famous for Journey) playing with Carlos Santana.
I would be remiss if I didn't add one more: for both chording as well as soloing, had to beat Ted Nugent or Tom Scholz.
I probably couldn't put Neil at number one. But he's right up there. There's just such a powerful, rugged sound that's different than anyone else.
have fun. Just saw him a couple weeks ago. 3 years ago, I didn’t even know who he was. A friend had an extra ticket, so I went. As soon as he started playing I was like WTF!! He is great.
Yep, this will be my second as well. Saw him at a local music joint before the pandemic for $20. He's playing two nights at the LJVM Coliseum this week...both nights almost completely sold out...I'm paying close to 9x more.
Hendrix
Page
Knopler
Beck
Eddie Van Halen
Glen Campbell
Roy Clark
Brad Paisley
Page
Knopler
Beck
Eddie Van Halen
Glen Campbell
Roy Clark
Brad Paisley
The first time I saw Trucks was within a couple of weeks of his birthday - I can't remember if they said he had just turned 13 or was just about to turn 13. He played in a little nightclub in my small hometown in central FL, place seated about 150 people. At the time, the State had a law against anyone under the age of 18 working in a bar; he was subject to the rule, but the State gave him a temporary waiver while the Legislature worked on rewriting the rule to exempt performers. Under the terms of his waiver, he could go directly to the stage, but when not performing had to leave the building; since his show consisted of multiple sets, he had to go outside between them. He, his dad, and the band went outside & sat in some lawnchairs, getting eaten alive by mosquitos. I brought them a can of Deep Woods Off that I had in my car & chatted with them for a bit.
/csb
Read an interview a few years back with Alice Cooper in which he stated Eddie Van Halen asked him to see if Glen Campbell would be willing to give Eddie a guitar lesson. Seems like Alice and Glen were neighbors in Arizona and played golf together on a regular basis.
True story.
David Gilmour #1 favorite guitar player and all around favorite musician..
Best I've seen in person are Steve Ray Vaughan and Jeff Beck.
Would have liked to have seen Dicky Betts.
Jerry Garcia never gets enough credit.
Would have liked to have seen Dicky Betts.
Jerry Garcia never gets enough credit.
