Guitarists Discussion Thread

[MidnightViper88]

There needs to be a generic discussion about guitar here; There aren't any...Famous guitarists, guitar equipment, whatever...Do you play guitar? Who's your favorite guitarist? Want to learn how to play guitar? That can all go here...

Go!

[-Kh-]

I already posted in the bass thread, so now I will post on this one and help it go up the page.



My favourite guitarist is Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave:

• During Rage, in this video there are some of his best performances for Rage, I totally believe there is no one better than him (personal opinion).
  
• During Audioslave, some of his best solos for Audioslave in this video, really amazing as well, but with a softer and slower style than in Rage.

Munky, Korn main guitarist. Now only guitarist due to the departure of Head (another great one btw). He uses a 7 string guitar.

• Solo performed live, not a particular Korn song, but his own.
  
• This is a solo battle between Munky and Head. Short, but awesome.

Daron Malakian, from System of a Down and Scars on Broadway, born in Armenia.

• Great solo after the end of Psycho.
  
• Doing the intro for Mr Jack.

And I couldn't forget about Slash, the greatest thing to ever happen to Axl Rose.

• Amazing November Rain solo.
  
• And one last video to drool about it and wonder why Velvet Revolver and the new Guns-n-Axl suck so bad.

[MidnightViper88]

Off the top of my head, Zakk Wylde is one of those guitarists that really makes me want to pick up on guitar; Even though I can play basic rudimentary stuff, it's what he plays and the way he makes guitar look fun that makes me wish I could shred like him...I used to watch the shit out of the 2002 "Ozzy Osbourne: Live at Budokan" concert DVD, and some of the stuff he does, he does it so seamlessly that he makes it look easy...One of the things I like about Zakk Wylde too is that while he can shred a super fast solo if he wants too, he usually seems to prefer a solo with some emotion in it; Emotion in solos is one thing missing from a few modern metal guitarists that are bringing guitar solos back into music...I love how he improvs his solos too in live performances; If he plays a song originally written by either Randy Rhoads or Tony Iommi, he'll play it in a different way to kind of give it his unique touch without just completely copying the song...

He often says he'll never be at the level Randy Rhoades was at his prime; While I like both guitarists, Zakk is really humble...I love a guitarist that doesn't have an ego...

Hell, I didn't buy Ozzy's "Black Rain" for Ozzy, I bought it for the rest of the band, especially Zakk...

[Sides]

Let's see, current rig
Guitars:
Fender Classic 60's telecaster MIM
Squier Affinity Tele CIC (taiwan)

Amp:
Laney linebacker 100 reverb, it is an old english transistor amp.
Marshall MS-2, it is a mini amp and can be battery powered.

I do have some effect pedals, but i rarely use them, and a line 6 pocketpod. But most of the time i just adjust the amps that i play on, to get the sound i want.

A great guitarist, imo, is nick drake. And also, since i am a fan, joe strummer.

[Kazu]

all guitarist listed above are amazing.I'm more of a fan of the commonly known guitar heroes,Jimi Hendrix,Jimmy Page.But lately i'm starting to get into Jeff Beck,David Gilmour and Eddie Hazel.

I have a sunburst Fender Stratoscaster and a ME-20 pedal

Heres a song from funkadelic the band eddie hazel was in
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh3bleXWaCk

[vedicardi]

Originally Posted by MidnightViper88

One of the things I like about Zakk Wylde too is that while he can shred a super fast solo if he wants too, he usually seems to prefer a solo with some emotion in it; Emotion in solos is one thing missing from a few modern metal guitarists that are bringing guitar solos back into music

I gotta disagree with that. I give Evile's "We Who Are About to Die" solo 2 as an example. Sure it's fast, but it's full of energy and emotion.

The real problem is that the songs themselves are fast usually with modern metal. Slow emotional slows are very difficult to work into fast songs, etc. Most bands that try fail horribly. Only great modern metal bands like Evile and Lazarus AD can manage to work such solos into their songs.

That reminds me, the solo on Machine Head's "Aesthetics of Hate" is "emotional" and amazing as well.

And on that note, I don't remember guitar solos ever leaving music! XD

[MidnightViper88]

Ok, maybe they never went away in music in general, but the sure as hell were overshadowed and somehow deemed uncool to play in much of mainstream rock of the 1990s and early 2000s...

[vedicardi]

Oh. Well I don't listen much to pop rock, so I wouldn't know. I do suppose the transition of Pop Rock in the 80s (Journey etc) to the 90s, you can see the removal of solos, but in any other genre that used to have solos, they remained there.

Perhaps a better way to put it would be to say that genres that didn't have guitar solos became popular. Either way, metal always has and always will have solos. Any subgenre of metal that doesn't have them generally sucks IMO (Nu Metal particularly). It's a pity that those are the genres that become popular. However, now we are seeing the resurgence of some of the "better" metal genres with the rise of Machine Head and Mastodon, both of which have sold many, many albums as of late. So that's good.

I'm rambling again XD

[MidnightViper88]

The 1990s and early 2000s were kind of odd...

The grunge movement was kind of hit-or-miss; Some did, some didn't, and those that did weren't always grunge either...Pearl Jam and Soundgarden definitely did, and even though Alice in Chains were more metal-influenced than grunge influenced, they definitely did solos for their scene...Post-grunge bands like Collective Soul and Godsmack did too...

Nu Metal definitely didn't, at least at first...You also had Limp Bizkit, Korn, and Disturbed, with Disturbed one of the only bands out of the nu metal movement to gain some eventual respect with the implementation of guitar solos, though that didn't happen until their last two albums...I never really considered Disturbed nu metal anyway and just considered them metal, since they had a darker tone and weren't nearly as stupid as Limp Bizkit or Korn...

And then you have other lingering bands, like the hard rock act of Dark New Day, or the enjoyable but horribly retro The Darkness...

It'd odd; It's a case-by-case basis, but as far as the mainstream of today is concerned, solos are still something of an alien concept...Although not every band has to do a solo, since there are some bands that don't do solos that I still enjoy, like Chevelle from their "Vena Sera" album and Switchfoot...But if a band has a guitarist that puts out solos, and I like their music, I'll respect them...Though that's something I only think about when it comes to hard rock or alternative rock, because I always have metal to fall back on, though it's nice when some of the more mainstream acts try to put back what once was...

[Sides]

Solos really depends how the song is designed. But i think most songs still have giuitar solos, but the are shorter, then the old days. The other issue is records vs live performace. During live gigs you will definitely see guitarist doing a lot more solos, even in tracks which don't have them on studio records.
A lot of jazz and blues influenced musicians do a lot of soloing during live performances, for example.
Other guitarist worth mentioning are Dick Dale, Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton, Josh Homme, Matthew Bellamy, Jonny Greenwood and many more.
Personally i don't play a lot of solos, unless it is a jam, where everyone gets a shot.

[MidnightViper88]

Well, I'm talking about most of your "Top 40" rock acts of these days...Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the bands that were in the "Top 40"s were famous and did solos and stuff...But it's becoming more of a moot point, as even a few more of the more mainstream rock bands that you wouldn't necessarily associate with such musical talent open up anyway and try to record solos, even if they suck...

My my my, look at my optimism now...

[Bananoha]

I don't really know many other guitarists that you guys haven't already mentioned. ._.

I like Carlos Montoya, Yngwie [orz], Segovia, uh.... I've been listening to some Erik Mongrain stuff recently, but I do find it a little odd when he does that two handed lap tapping thing. I can't listen to him for too long, as I seem to get irritated with all that "noise" he adds. I still think of him as a great guitarist, though.

But yeah, I should really pick my guitar back up because I forgot how fun flamenco is.

[vedicardi]

Originally Posted by MidnightViper88

Well, I'm talking about most of your "Top 40" rock acts of these days...Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the bands that were in the "Top 40"s were famous and did solos and stuff...But it's becoming more of a moot point, as even a few more of the more mainstream rock bands that you wouldn't necessarily associate with such musical talent open up anyway and try to record solos, even if they suck...

My my my, look at my optimism now...

I think that's because in those days, pop was far less prevalent. Without pop, good music reigns, and the good times roll.

The type of acts that would have been huge back in the day are still around (as I mentioned before I'm sure, Wolfmother and Muse etc), but they just don't get as much notoriety as they would have back in those days.

Now for my favorite guitar player. I'd probably say Gilbert overall. His slow-basic stuff is fun to listen to and his fast stuff is incredible.

Paul Gilbert - I Like Rock (A silly, fun song)

Paul Gilbert - Get Out of My Yard (an INSANE song)

Other random guitar players that are great.

Gibbons of ZZ Top
Marty Friedman formerly of Megadeth
Shawn Lane
Scott Ian of Anthrax
Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
Randy Rhodes formerly of Ozzy Osbourne
George Lynch formerly of Dokken
Ol Drake of Evile
Chris Impellitteri of Impellitteri
Joe Satriani
Joe Stump
Steve Vai
Kirk Hammett of Metallica
Michael Angelo Batio formerly of Nitro
Brian May of Queen
Kerry King of Slayer
Dimebag Darrel formerly of Pantera
Rocky George formerly of Suicidal Tendencies

Here are some of Rocky's solos

and some more random ones

Alex Skolnick
Tommy T Baron
Lee Altus
Gary Holt
Chris Poland
Jeff Waters
Rob Cavestany
Phil Demmel
Rob Flynn

[-KarumA-]

-Kh- listed some of the most awesome examples indeed
When I heard the last solo in November rain with the tension building and then the sudden release in guitars I stopped doing whatever it was I am doing and was just hooked

When I was about 16 I saw a cd at the store that had a dragon on the cover, I only listened to it because I was curious why such a pretty pic was on the cover and I was hooked from the first song, I bought the cd after listening to the first 30 seconds lol only at home did I discover the awesome guitar play in later songs. The band in mention was Rhapsody, now calling themselves Rhapsody of Fire and I've never stopped listening to them they are absolute my favorite band ever, Luca Turilli the guitarist deserves one of the medals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-9_t_xxZ0A

You'll have to skip to 2:47 for the solo =P

[-Kh-]

Originally Posted by -KarumA-

The band in mention was Rhapsody, now calling themselves Rhapsody of Fire and I've never stopped listening to them they are absolute my favorite band ever, Luca Turilli the guitarist deserves one of the medals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-9_t_xxZ0A

You'll have to skip to 2:47 for the solo =P

Wow -KarumA-, I don't how I could have forgotten about Rhapsody, it's just that I haven't listen to them in a while and totally skipped my mind since they some of my favourite power metal bands, together with Stratovarious and Dragonforce.

Youtube does not quite want to work for me right now, so I couldn't search for something I wanted. I'll come back tomorrow to post a few more links, but in the mean time I just remembered I used to listen a lot in the past and has great guitars as well. I'm talking about Therion.

[kayote]

just started listening to Rage Against the Machine and all i can say is i wish i could play like Thomas Morello.

[radioIzzy]

Michael Angelo Batio...

The Quad Guitar... Over-excessive but, impressive. Apparently he's ambi-dextrous. I'm more the time to admire his talent rather than try to duplicate it.

I totally admire the speed demons of today, however my style of playing tends more to Keith Richards; more emphasis on rythmn and riffs rather than showing off :P.
The Pillows is sort of a good example of this.

[wistfulloner]

I play the acoustic guitar, and admire those who can play them with godlike skill. I think its an instrument which requires more "finesse" than their rock/electric counterparts.

I'm a fan of Michael Chapdelaine, Ulli Boegershausen and Sungha Jung.

[User91411]

I'm a major guitar fan, and I'm learning to play the guitar myself. It's going very, very slowly because of my laziness. My favorite guitarists list goes like this...(not in order)

Jeff Beck
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Eddie Van Halen
Slash (the guy WAS GNR, IMO)
Joe Satriani
Brian May (I only listen to Queen because of this man's guitar playing)
Andy Summers (The Police)
Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
Chuck Berry
The Edge (U2)
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
Keith Richard (The Rolling Stones)
Prince

Oh, and I found this amazing video when I was looking at Jeff Beck guitar videos on Youtube. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Beck playing together!

[vedicardi]

I haven't seen many people with Summers in their top 10 so to speak but it's nice to see him to get some recognition. His play goes to show that a guitar solo doesn't necessarily have to be one bit complex to sound great.