What do you like in a guitarist?

iceman83 · 2008-10-28T08:34:35+00:00

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-pl...

What do you like in a guitarist?

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...

JK

OMG, that is quite possibly the funniest sh!t I've ever read...

My best is his guitar- After his success as an actor, Satriani finally saved up enough money to buy his dream guitar: a Gibson Ibanez Double-Necked Acoustic Eric Clapton Series Stratocaster. This was the guitar he used on most of his albums until it was stolen by Jimmy Page.

And his proteges:
Steve Vai
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vai
G Major

Thats too awesome man.

newrockid

Versatility, they have be able to play acoustic and electric songs and solos well like Alex Leifson. He is awesome

Shredder3211

? ? ? hehehe - " Satriani Hyperdrive," which was simply a large box where they let Joe play his guitar.

NorioDS

newrockid wrote: Versatility, they have be able to play acoustic and electric songs and solos well like Alex Leifson. He is awesome

Satch surprises me with his acoustic stuff. My all-time favourite song of his is "I Believe" and his acoustic playing is just so sweet and fitting. No where near over-board.

He also has beautiful classical-guitar acoustic stuff like Tears in the Rain which is just gorgeous (and has some great chords to help you stretch your fingers and improve dexterity).

Bob-Dubery

newrockid wrote: Versatility, they have be able to play acoustic and electric songs and solos well like Alex Leifson. He is awesome

That's interesting. Most everybody who plays guitar can play acoustic or electric, but how many really SHINE on both?

Roy Harper liked to use Jimmy Page on his albums, and said he did so because Page really shone on electric and acoustic, whereas most players tended to be good on one form of the instrument and just competent on the other.

I'm not even sure that you can say that session players will always be good on both. Some, of course, will be. You get the Tommy Tedescos who get hire to play anything and everything quickly and efficiently. But a lot of session players get called in to do specific things. There's one guy in Jo'burg who gets nearly all the country and western jobs. Another (Mauritz Lotz?) who always gets the call when you want somebody hitting the whammy bar hard. In California you don't call Larry Carlton in if you're laying down a C&W track (unless you want it to sound like a C&W track with Larry Carlton on top).

Jeff Beck doesn't play a lot of acoustic does he? Eddie Van Halen?

I, on the other hand, play electric just as well as I play acoustic.