Guitarists
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@MajorRage said in Guitarists:
Been thinking about my top 10 Guitarists this morning & I struggle to make the proper distinction between Guitarists, Musician & Music. This list is completely different to what I would have put down two years ago when I bought my Gibson and started learning to play properly. First names on it prior would have been Slash / Young, but now ... not quite.
Main reason is that I am simply not a "shredder" - it's cool when you get it, but I much prefer making / matching the melodic tones of more contemporary musicians & heavy riffing. So here is my shitty list, which is not in order.
- James Hetfield. As I said above, I struggle with the distinction as I know he's not the best guitarist, but he's a phenomenal player of what he does. Down picking riffs basically. Love it.
- David Gilmour. As MN5 says, nobody does more with less. HIs ability to make a guitar talk is unmatched by anybody
- Jerry Cantrell. Awesome combination of the two above but not as good as both at their particular crafts. But still, the main guy of one of my fave bands, so has to be on this list
- Keith Richards. The epitome of cool. I don't really get a lot of blues stuff, it's not natural to me. But the way he plays the guitar, playing short melodic riffs / licks is perhaps the guitarist that Im most inspired to be.
- Dave Matthews. Controversial this, but as I said it's my list. Similar to Richards, his ability to play a song without playing it, is just amazing. Saw him do a solo gig in London in 2002, still think its' one of the best things I've ever seen. All along the watchtower incredible.
- Slash. He's still on the list. He chooses melody over speed and it all sounds much the better for it.
- Frusciante. There is so much he's written / arranged that I can't play. He's just too farking good. A lot of people (mainly hipsters, honestly)will always claim the earlier RHCP stuff was better, but I don't agree. It all got a bit indulgent on Stadium Arcadium, but the Frusciante albums (Mothers Milk, BSSM, Californaition, By the Way) do define a lot of my teens / twenties.
- Hendrix. Because if he's not on the list it can't really be taken seriously, can it?
Thats kind of where it ends for me. I would then tack an honourable mention on this of Page (brilliant & phenomenal, but I get bored of Led Zepp), Angus Young (best live guitarist I've seen, no question, but I think I just love the music more than I love him as a guitarist), Townshend (similar to Young).
What is most amazing to me is that given that I'm a guitar guy, only one of the guitarists in my favourite bands of the last 20 odd years are on this list. Tool (it's their rhythm section that makes them), Foo's (great tracks, but hardly guitar genius), FNM (Gould is on bass list for sure) don't feature.
Like MN5, I reserve the right to revisit this list and wonder what the fuck I was thinking.
Start a thread for bassists and I’ll see if Gould features. Love the band as you know but I’d have to give serious thought to others ( from lesser bands )
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@mariner4life said in Guitarists:
it's disgraceful that a forum inhabited by 40+ year old white guys haven't mentioned Adam Jones or Billy Corgan yet.
I did mention Adam Jones above. With my reasons. I love the way he plays and the melodies played. He's just not in my top guitarists. Put it this way, I've never really made an effort to seek out any of his solo stuff, or other bands he's played in.
Billy Corgan is many many things to me .... but he doesn't make my top guitarists list.
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@MajorRage heretic
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@MajorRage said in Guitarists:
@MN5 Really doubtt the bassists thread will be big enough to need it's own separate one from this!
Fine…..ok then. Not in order, there’s no standout number one…..
1 Larry Graham ( invented slap bass, enough said )
2 Steve Harris ( his galloping bass lines are genius, in a band full of wicked musos he is the best )
3 Les Claypool ( so weird, so unique, his slap lines and whammy bar work are ridiculously good )
4 Flea ( I mean, he has to be there right ? )
5 John Entwistle ( did some freaky shit that no one has managed to replicate )
6 Robert Trujillo ( a monster for Metallica but he really shines in infectious grooves )
7 Geezer Butler ( along with Tony Iommi created the genre we know and love )
8 John Paul Jones ( some seriously tasteful grooves and riffs )
9 Stuart Zender ( Cool grooves and some wicked effects, made an 8 string bass sound magnificent )
10 Bill Gould ( He can really do all styles brilliantly, shows admirable restraint sometimes compared to others but can also thump with the best ) -
@Bovidae said in Guitarists:
I don't think you can have a list of the best bass guitarists without Jaco Pastorius not being in it.
Make your own list then instead of criticising mine
A bit wanky, jazzy and boring for me.
Same reason Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten and others don’t make my list.
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@MajorRage said in Guitarists:
@mariner4life said in Guitarists:
it's disgraceful that a forum inhabited by 40+ year old white guys haven't mentioned Adam Jones or Billy Corgan yet.
I did mention Adam Jones above. With my reasons. I love the way he plays and the melodies played. He's just not in my top guitarists. Put it this way, I've never really made an effort to seek out any of his solo stuff, or other bands he's played in.
Billy Corgan is many many things to me .... but he doesn't make my top guitarists list.
I’m teaching the girl how to play the guitar. She loves the Smashing Pumpkins so it will be nice to start her off with easy stuff before moving onto the technically challenging stuff.
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@MN5 said in Guitarists:
@MajorRage said in Guitarists:
@MN5 Really doubtt the bassists thread will be big enough to need it's own separate one from this!
Fine…..ok then. Not in order, there’s no standout number one…..
1 Larry Graham ( invented slap bass, enough said )
2 Steve Harris ( his galloping bass lines are genius, in a band full of wicked musos he is the best )
3 Les Claypool ( so weird, so unique, his slap lines and whammy bar work are ridiculously good )
4 Flea ( I mean, he has to be there right ? )
5 John Entwistle ( did some freaky shit that no one has managed to replicate )
6 Robert Trujillo ( a monster for Metallica but he really shines in infectious grooves )
7 Geezer Butler ( along with Tony Iommi created the genre we know and love )
8 John Paul Jones ( some seriously tasteful grooves and riffs )
9 Stuart Zender ( Cool grooves and some wicked effects, made an 8 string bass sound magnificent )
10 Bill Gould ( He can really do all styles brilliantly, shows admirable restraint sometimes compared to others but can also thump with the best )Interesting. Where do you put whichever of the DeLeo brothers who plays bass for STP?
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@MajorRage said in Guitarists:
@MN5 said in Guitarists:
@MajorRage said in Guitarists:
@MN5 Really doubtt the bassists thread will be big enough to need it's own separate one from this!
Fine…..ok then. Not in order, there’s no standout number one…..
1 Larry Graham ( invented slap bass, enough said )
2 Steve Harris ( his galloping bass lines are genius, in a band full of wicked musos he is the best )
3 Les Claypool ( so weird, so unique, his slap lines and whammy bar work are ridiculously good )
4 Flea ( I mean, he has to be there right ? )
5 John Entwistle ( did some freaky shit that no one has managed to replicate )
6 Robert Trujillo ( a monster for Metallica but he really shines in infectious grooves )
7 Geezer Butler ( along with Tony Iommi created the genre we know and love )
8 John Paul Jones ( some seriously tasteful grooves and riffs )
9 Stuart Zender ( Cool grooves and some wicked effects, made an 8 string bass sound magnificent )
10 Bill Gould ( He can really do all styles brilliantly, shows admirable restraint sometimes compared to others but can also thump with the best )Interesting. Where do you put whichever of the DeLeo brothers who plays bass for STP?
I love the band but not sure he’s much of a stand out. I do love the baseline in this one though….He also gets a strangely unique grungy/loungy sound with his bro which I appreciate too…..and kudos to them for finding a singer to match Weiland ! Would love to see them in concert early next year but time won’t allow it.
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@MN5 said in Guitarists:
1 Larry Graham ( invented slap bass, enough said )
No he didn't.
He popularised it, he re-invented it, he arguably invented modern slap bass, but he didn't invent slap bass.
He was about 50 years too late to have invented it. Jazz, swing, rockabilly all used slap.
Still have Graham in my top 10 though. Along with I Jack Bruce, Carol Kaye and James Jamerson
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@dogmeat said in Guitarists:
@MN5 said in Guitarists:
1 Larry Graham ( invented slap bass, enough said )
No he didn't.
He popularised it, he re-invented it, he arguably invented modern slap bass, but he didn't invent slap bass.
He was about 50 years too late to have invented it. Jazz, swing, rockabilly all used slap.
Still have Graham in my top 10 though. Along with I Jack Bruce, Carol Kaye and James Jamerson
debatable, on a bass guitar he did. But yes I get that some guys did a form of slapping on double basses prior to him doing it.
Jack Bruce was pretty overrated IMHO but the other two deserve a mention, both played extremely well on a truckload of well known songs.
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@Tim said in Guitarists:
@voodoo said in Guitarists:
Well I went to the Sum41/Offspring concert last night, and Noodles said he was the best guitarist in history. Looks like you guys all got it wrong
Speaking of ...
I have no idea how you can listen to those clowns Tim!
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@voodoo said in Guitarists:
@Tim said in Guitarists:
@voodoo said in Guitarists:
Well I went to the Sum41/Offspring concert last night, and Noodles said he was the best guitarist in history. Looks like you guys all got it wrong
Speaking of ...
I have no idea how you can listen to those clowns Tim!
Nothing Tim does surprises me