iceman83
Very simple, lasses and lads...
In stead of asking / voting / polling for your FAVORITE GUITARISTS, I ask simply WHY?
What is it about your favorite Git-player that makes you love him/her/it all the more? What do you like in your guitarists?
Do you like control? Tone? Showmanship? Technique? Speed? Technical Prowess?
I honestly don't care who you like, I would like to know WHY you like them...
For me, it's John Petrucci for these simple reasons: He's balanced. He's a technical genius while being reserved enough not to allow 10 zillion notes to take the place of 3 important notes. He can be flashy while still being rather unassuming. More that all those, the man's control allows him to evoke sounds to the likes of which few men may imagine.
Hopefully this topic hasn't been done to death... ?
Heath
Slash ..... his style . his sound and that smoke always hanging from the corner of his mouth is brilliant . i love his emotional solos and the way he plays (just love that stance.... like i am a rock god bow to me) .
NorioDS
What I love about Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons and Eric Johnson is 1) the music they WRITE and 2) how they PLAY it.
The actual songs they write don't need words, they're very balanced and they all tell a story! I can listen to their instrumental stuff all day long and it doesn't tire me out (like Friedman, Buckethead, Govan, etc do).
And, of course, the way they play their stuff. Andy Timmons has a very RAW rock and roll feel to his style and his music just seems to flow from years of playing.
Satriani can make a super-fast legato run actually sound musical and his ballads are breath-takingly beautiful. I love almost every song of his and find almost every note to be absolutely perfect.
And then Johnson's rhythm + lead all at once is amazing. He never sounds rushed yet he's doing so many things at once and the notes fit in perfectly, it's awesome!
I do think it comes down to HOW they play it for me. I've never heard a cover of a Satriani song that I liked more than the original. But that goes for SO many artists out there.
Sean
And Eric's tone is really great, I love it. ?
Manfred-Klose
I love them all!!!
Q:so what do i like in a guitar player?
A:Smoothness 8)
Like those shredders from california 8)
iceman83
I'm so chuffed - it seems my Topic is getting a good response!
And from people who know what they're talking about, no less...
I'm with you on Satriani and Johnson. Satriani is just... OUT THERE in terms of skill.
Johnson I like because he can be dynamic: Manhattan is a very serious and powerful song, as opposed to Cliffs of Dover, which is just a fun, happy and uptempo vibe. Haven't heard and Andy Timmons, though (mayhap I have a gigantic gap in my musical education)
Guy-Onraet
As I get more and more into playing and listening to guitar and guitar orientated music, I find that the further an artists pushes the limits of tone, technique, note choice and approach, the more it impresses me. That’s why I’m listening to Guthrie, Holdsworth and Krantz a lot lately. They push really hard, whether it’s tons of micro bends all over a super fast shred run, playing the most bizarre melody (at light speed) over the most unorthodox chords and changes, or going super far out over a single chord vamp. To my mind and ears, that’s much more pleasing than a 4 minute legato fest in E Lydian. ?
AlanRatcliffe
Good question.
The music they write aside from the solos. The solos themselves must be there just to compliment the music, and if a piece of music doesn't call for a solo, it should be left as is. I love a player who understands that the spaces between the notes are more important than the notes themselves. The expressiveness and dynamics on every single note should elevate the phrases.
I love the guys who can write any style of music and understand how to pervert a piece from one style of music to another, or to mix elements from each style together. I love the guy who can make me laugh with a completely unexpected musical "name drop" within a completely different piece of music.
Vintage-Vibe
A good guitarist should:
have a good sense of timing and particularly PHRASING (eg Brian May)
know when NOT to play.
plays a solo that no-one else could improve on or mimic perfectly
(like Gilmour)
play for the song, not for him/herself.
know when to climax - not too early (like Clapton) - excuse the
implications/puns there ?
should have a unique tone/playing style that can be identified
straight away (BB King, Clapton, Vaughn etc ...)
VV
Squonk
Very difficult to express in words.
I love Steve Morse, the textures of his music, the composition, the tones he gets etc. I think from a musicality point of view he is brilliant, from the dregs to his solo stuff, the Deep Purple stuff is a bit dodgy, but I dont think he is the dodgy one.
He doesn't stir up emotion from his guitar playing though, that I would give to David Gilmour who just has to play the penataonic scale and the goosebumps start.
There are definately a couple of angles you can look at this thread, it's what inspires you the most. I have listened to Satriani, Vai, Petrucci etc and they dont inspire me that much, but I am not looking at the technical and shredding ability side of the guitarist.
I am most probably inspired by the heart and emotion that comes through. Bob Dylan sitting on the corner playing 3 chords singing a bit out of key might just move me a bit more than Satriani's Summersong.
Dont get me wrong I do appreciate what Satriani does and I do think he is a great player as is Vai, Petrucci etc.
Other Guitarists:
Rory Galagher - brilliant blues possibly very underated
Jimmy Page - I love his chordal way of playing and the solo from "stairway to heaven" on "The Song remains the same" is just sexy for a lack of a better word
Mark Knopfler - Those first few albums with just straight forward Stratocaster sounds. Could be his fingers instead of a plectrum.
Robert Cray - Very tasteful with his choice of soloing. Not too much but enough.
This is a very good topic
JK
Good question….
I really enjoy playing that’s melodic, and doesn’t sound forced. Take Gilmour or Knopfler, wonderful ability yet they dont push notes down your throat. Even SRV, who was brutal on his axe and played like a demon, you still didn’t get that forced, over-kill feeling because its melodic, and subtle when it needs to be.
There some talented players out there that I appreciate, but listening to them is like drinking from a fire hydrant. 1000 notes a second blasting into your ears. Not necessary. I don’t give a shit if its uber fast and technical- it are sound kak! But hey, that’s just me 8)
sepheritoh
Very good question and great responses.
Personally I am not as much impressed with fast riffs that last for 10 minutes. For me it is as Alan said: I good player should know where a solo fits the music and where it is not needed.
The players I love the most are technically very good at what they do (Clapton, Gilmour) with brilliant phrasing. I would recognise them playing immediately - not becuase of the tone or because of the notes they play, but because of the way they play it. They are also brilliant at the vibrato. A good vibrato technique stamp the signature of the player on the solo.
There are other great players I like. I like early Van Halen because he did things differently. Unfortunately too many people copied him in the 80's and 90's and his sound does not sound new anymore, but we must not forget that he did those things before anybody else.
Another player I love is Mark Knopfler because he makes any solo sounds so natural. A non-guitarist can relate to his music just as easy, because the guitar seems to just fill the spaces.
JK
The solos themselves must be there just to compliment the music
Spot on. There is a G3 performance covering Little Wing, and Malmsteen just butchers the song. The guy is a phenomenal player, and has tons of talent, but he just misses the point completely about the song. If you hear Jimi’s version, or even SRV’s, its about emotion and feeling, not complexity, speed and crunch. You need to know when to pull out all the stops and when to rather compliment the melody. Goodness, that version is bloody aweful! Check on you tube. Satriani at least doesn’t go overboard.
Satriani
First off, my apologies for being away for some time. Been HECTIC with work! Absolutely love this topic. To me it's all about an artist being able to express what they are feeling to somebody else without having to say a word. I personally believe it is more difficult to do this with instrumental music, because you have to create a 'setting' without explaining what the song is about.
Joe Satriani for me does this better than anybody, while I am well aware there are many guitarists who do a great job of it too. Phrasing is SUPER important, something that alot of people who learn to play fast miss out on. There are some weird and wonderful ways of doing things in an unconventional way (like Marty Friedman's style of bending from weird notes), but that doesn't necessarily mean it makes it BETTER than somebody else.
As for the comment on Bob Dylan strumming 3 chords means more than Summer Song, Summer Song is not supposed to be a song that reaches out to people. It's about the season of Summer coming in, and how much fun people have in summer, which I think is well conveyed in the melody of the song. You have to compare apples with apples. Listen to a song like Ten Words, Always with me Always with you etc... to hear just how expressive he can actually be ?
iceman83
I know what you mean with Always with You, Always with me...
Slow and deeply emotional to the point where he taps out that bit before the last chorus.
That piece alone has me nursing a semi every time... and don't get me started on Ten Words...
Squonk
Satriani wrote
As for the comment on Bob Dylan strumming 3 chords means more than Summer Song, Summer Song is not supposed to be a song that reaches out to people. It's about the season of Summer coming in, and how much fun people have in summer, which I think is well conveyed in the melody of the song. You have to compare apples with apples. Listen to a song like Ten Words, Always with me Always with you etc... to hear just how expressive he can actually be ?
Hey dont get me wrong, I think Joe is a great guitarist I was just trying to point out what moved me. I compared summersong which is technically brilliant to something simple by Bob dylan just to prove my point about what moves me in a guitarist, 3 notes played simply with emotion and from the heart rather than the brilliance of Joe Satriani who could incorporate all these attributes.
Sorry if it came out wrong, I am not one for saying what I mean.. or is it meaning what I say.
Satriani Rocks
Lethe
I mainly look for melody/ Emotion, direction and some originality. A lead must say something or take me somewhere. Preferably not to the toilet to throw up. and like as has been said, one need to know when to play and what to play to suit the song. It seems a lot of guitarists seem to forget that a solo is part of a song and should compliment the song. A solo should never be about the guitarist trying to show off.
I guess the mighty (or not so mighty from Alan's perspective ? ) John P is pretty good at that. (we go waaaay back. Hence I can call him John P.) ?
He can play very fast but still give the lead a sense of direction and melody instead of just hitting tons of notes that lead to nowhere. I really love his solo on Hollow Years on the Live At Budokan DVD. It shows his versatility and melodic ability.
Friedman is another of my favourites due to his weird style. He's got great chops and uses a different technique and approach to his leads than many other players. His leads may not be as melodic as i like, but he seriously plays with feel. And to try copy his stuff is a pain. (TORNADO OF SOULS!!! EPIC)
Also the Amott brothers (I'm never sure who plays what solo). Great chops but they never go on a shredding expo for too long. There is always a lot of melody in their solos and lots of emotion. Esp on the Stigmata/ Burning Bridges albums. I rate the newest albums have gotten rather boring.
Bob-Dubery
I can think of several things - though they're not well defined and party subjective.
I like parts and solos that fit in well with the composition. I like parts and solos that make my ears prick up, that suggest that what I'm hearing is novel, not just a long string of cliches.
If the playing is engaging then the tone don't matter that much. If the playing isn't engaging then the tone don't matter at all. Which may be a way of saying that our subjective impression of "tone" is really down to how well we relate to the player and what is being played, that the interest is in the notes, the note selection etc rather than the choice of pickups, strings, pedals, amp settings etc (besides I happen to believe, but can't prove, that a lot of "tone" comes from the player, that if played the same kit with the same set up that I'm not going to sound the same).
I can like a player, for a while. EG I like Clapton THEN, but I don't like Clapton NOW. I thought Mark Knopfler's best recorded playing was on the very first Dire Straits album - I think that technically he may have improved, but I thought his ideas got less interesting.
I tend to listen to songs, even to albums of songs, rather than players, but I can still enjoy a good solo in the middle of a crap song - if I can pay attention long enough.
All of this is subjective to a degree. I don't think there are perfect solos. I love, for instance, Larry Carlton's solo on Kid Charlemagne, and it works for me in every way. But that doesn't mean I think that somebody else couldn't have done an equally interesting and appropriate but totally different solo on that song.
And it doesn't have to be solos. Larry Carlton played some great solos on Steely Dan albums, but on Aja he mostly plays rhythm parts - but really beautiful, swinging, interesting rhythm parts with great tone.
Technique is not to be sneezed at, but it's not the be-all and end-all. You can have chops up the wazoo, play at three times the speed of light, and still be boring.
And I hope there are plenty more things that I am not turned onto yet but will be.
It might be an idea to have a thread where posters take some specific piece of playing (hopefully not too obscure) and try to explain why they find it fun/interesting/virtuous/worthwhile.
Oh... and being able to have a fag dangling from the corner of your mouth whilst your guitar is down by your knees is of no interest at all to me. If it don't sound good to me then not much else matters. I have been to gigs with zero in the way of lighting and general show biz embellishments, but if the music is great then who cares about the rest. And if the music ISN'T great then the rest usually doesn't compensate.
andrewjbryson
for me -
Love Thing is still the most emotional and beautiful melody ever written.
Its just perfect, every note, every bend,
And He "explodes it" in the end, with re-introducing the same concept , but expanding, and "exciting" without shredding like a maniac
Tasteful playing at its best...
And thats why Satch has stood the test of time...
now after all that :
go here for a quick laugh
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Joe_satriani
iceman83
HAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!
OMG, that is quite possibly the funniest sh!t I've ever read...
the tears are still rolling off my face...
