The Next Generation

Bob-Dubery · 2009-08-14T06:02:27+00:00

Les Paul's passing has prompted some questioning. Whenever we talk about great players on GFSA the vast majority are not in the first flush of youth. Many rose to prominence in the 60s and early 70s. So who do we think are the coming greats, the players under 30 now who seem destined for greatness? In particular who are the guitarists in that age bracket who show signs of not just being top notch players but also of coming up with new ideas, or new takes on old ideas? I note that Clapton was 21 when Cream were formed. Beck was recoding critically acclaimed albums with his own group at 24. Hendrix died at 27. Eddie van Halen was 22 when the first Van Halen album was recorded.

Guy-Onraet

Like allen said, it's guys like Mattias Eklundh, Bumblefoot, (and i'll add Guthrie Govan, Ron Jarzombek and Paul Masvidal) who are inventing and have invented new genres or blurred the boundaries between a few genres to make a new one. All these players are over 30, but maybe that means that to climb onto the shoulders of the giants before them, now takes 10 years longer.

Bob-Dubery

Guy Onraet wrote Like allen said, it's guys like Mattias Eklundh, Bumblefoot, (and i'll add Guthrie Govan, Ron Jarzombek and Paul Masvidal) who are inventing and have invented new genres or blurred the boundaries between a few genres to make a new one. All these players are over 30, but maybe that means that to climb onto the shoulders of the giants before them, now takes 10 years longer.

I do think it's the case that things don't move as quickly as they once did. Things moved so quickly in the 60s and even the 70s. I think there are various forces at play in that. One being that in the 60s "rock" (or whatever you want to call it) was so unexplored and thus there were so many possibilities. There was more discovered because there was more waiting to be discovered.

But audiences have changed as well I think. They are less open now to new ideas, to novelty, to examining something new. Maybe this is part of "instant gratification".

Bob-Dubery

Neps wrote I've heard rumours of this one bloke 'Johann' who is awesome.. Saw him play a couple of days ago in the mirror and I must say his technique, yet unique, wasn't something to write home about ?

Bwahahaha! ?

AlanRatcliffe

Byron wrote DO any of you guys think that the actual guitar will evolve? From the days when the electric guitar first started to now has been a while, maybe something completely new will come out?

Depending on how you look at it, the guitar has already evolved - it's just the adoption of the newer instruments isn't widespread. After all it's hard to beat the guitar - easy to learn the basics portable, flexible and expressive.

The Stick and the Warr Guitar are true evolutions from the electric guitar, and arguably the Synthaxe and the Starrlabs Z-tar. To a lesser degree there are ultra modern versions of the guitar like the XoX Handle, Parker Fly, Steinberger, Teuffel Birdfish, etc. and even the Smoothtalker, which are all (strictly speaking) highly evolved guitars ...but are still guitars - just using modern technology to improve on the same basic ideas. Personally, I think the Stick and the Warr are the only ones that have evolved far enough to say they are different instruments, (guitar-descended life-forms ?), rather than a modern guitar or a keyboard controller you play like a guitar.

Fretless, microtonal, seven- and eight-string guitars are all becoming more popular these days, but are all old ideas.

Dirk

I don't know if there will ever be a next Hendrix or Stevie.. Not for our generation anyway..

Maybe our children that grows up with the music of John Mayer ect, will think of him what we think of our heros, but for me, I don't think I can develop the same respect for a new guy like I have for SRV.. Maybe that's just me :-\

Guy-Onraet

Bob Dubery wrote
I do think it's the case that things don't move as quickly as they once did. Things moved so quickly in the 60s and even the 70s. I think there are various forces at play in that. One being that in the 60s "rock" (or whatever you want to call it) was so unexplored and thus there were so many possibilities. There was more discovered because there was more waiting to be discovered.

But audiences have changed as well I think. They are less open now to new ideas, to novelty, to examining something new. Maybe this is part of "instant gratification".

Good point about instant gratification as far as audience goes. Pop music is becoming less and less about musicians actually playing music. Maybe that's why so few musicians try to innovate. That being said, there are more people playing at (or near to) a level of virtuosity than ever before. Just look at all the kids on youtube ripping it up. So maybe this is just a plateau and the next big leap is just around the corner?

[deleted]

(further, not necessarily faster -many seem to confuse the two)

Exactly what I was going to say. Though it may seem that those 60's /70's guitarists shot up out of nowhere, remember that they were riding a very big social wave. Those musicians were willing to be the revolutionaries of a society/ culture. Sure they were helped on a bit by copious amounts of drugs and millions of adoring fans(throwing their underwear at them), but they were willing to make the sacrifice. What brave young lads.

If anyone intends to be the next star, they'll need to create a SOCIAL MOVEMENT, not just be a virtuoso. If what you've got is good enough for the whole world to tap their foot to, you might just be it.

chris77

Maybe Cobain in the early nineties, but I havent heard any new gen guitarists lately that dropped my jaw. I do however reckon that today there are better technical players than ever before, but they lack mojo. Same way that my Toyota is technically a better car than a 64' Mustang... but which one would you rather have?

Bob-Dubery

chris77 wrote Maybe Cobain in the early nineties, but I havent heard any new gen guitarists lately that dropped my jaw. I do however reckon that today there are better technical players than ever before, but they lack mojo. Same way that my Toyota is technically a better car than a 64' Mustang... but which one would you rather have?

Do you think Cobain was significant as a guitarist? I think he was significant, but not for his guitar playing.

Neps

Bob Dubery wrote
chris77 wrote Maybe Cobain in the early nineties, but I havent heard any new gen guitarists lately that dropped my jaw. I do however reckon that today there are better technical players than ever before, but they lack mojo. Same way that my Toyota is technically a better car than a 64' Mustang... but which one would you rather have?
Do you think Cobain was significant as a guitarist? I think he was significant, but not for his guitar playing.

I have to agree with you Bob. He captured the imagination of a generation. As a guitarist he was very average, but song wise, they were good.
I'd probably get killed for the following statement (but then again, I'm a drummer, so don't take me too seriously), but I do think Nirvana as a whole is seriously over rated. The songs were good, the image worked, but as a whole, they didn't grab me. Yes I can play 'smells like teen spirit', yes, it's a cool song, but nah, not too convinced with the 'greatness' tag they got.

The world did get something from Nirvana though IMO, and that's the Foo Fighters.

I spent the day cleaning up my computer and looked at the music in my iTunes folder. I found that there are not really pieces of music that I own that I can say 'that is a hot guitarist' (though Japan&I have a HOT drummer for totally different reasons), so maybe I'm not in a position to say anything about great guitar players.

I will now go back to my cage, and hide from the mob that will come out to kill me due to my ranting about Nirvana ?

chris77

Before I heard Nirvana, I got into metal a bit. It just spoke to me in a way that Belinda Carlisle an Wham couldn't. Problem was that all my older sister's metal buddies were a pretty scary bunch and apart from the

Neps

chris77 wrote I got into metal a bit. It just spoke to me in a way that Belinda Carlisle an Wham couldn't.

hahaha... thats brilliant!! I should have told that to my folks when I got into Metallica. My parents even had a tiff about me buying the U2 POP album!! And after so many years I believe that'sone of the best albums EVER to be released!

All my friends were big into Nirvana and Co., but the grunge band that got me going was Soundgarden. Black Hole Sun was AWESOME!

I realized just now that the only really shredding guitar work I own is Guns 'n Roses and Dire Straits (hahaha) ?

aja

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Depending on how you look at it, the guitar has already evolved -

Sad but True. I think Guitar hero has robbed us of potential guitarists

aja

Neps wroteI'm a drummer, so don't take me too seriously

okie dokie ?

Neps

aja, your post just got you another Karma point!! That was the best/funniest post I've seen in a while!!

Regarding the GH drum kit.. According to rumours I heard, Travis Barker said that if you can play the songs on Expert (with the drums), you're quite a good drummer.. So I'm thinking about getting the kit for practice.

aja

Neps wrote aja, your post just got you another Karma point!! That was the best/funniest post I've seen in a while!!

Regarding the GH drum kit.. According to rumours I heard, Travis Barker said that if you can play the songs on Expert (with the drums), you're quite a good drummer.. So I'm thinking about getting the kit for practice.

thanks! I was afraid you might take it in the wrong way...

Yeah I wish the guitar controller was even similar to a real guitar. They should have used a strumstick or something

chris77

Sorry for the half post, my phone died on me. Where was I, o ja... Apart from the music I had nothing in common with them. So although I liked the soundtrack, I thought the movie was k@k. It just didnt feel right. Then I heard Nirvana and a lot of things clicked for the first time in my life. This bloke seemed pretty upset and he took it out on his guitar. Never before had I experienced that much emotion performed publicly. No long solos or killer riffs ala Metallica, Guns&Roses or Motley Crue. No black leather and big hair either, in fact, completely different in every way to anything that had been done up to then. And box, did it find an audience! To me that was the last big shift guitarwise. And Cobains distorted guitar was the voice that shouted it from the mountain tops.

singemonkey

While I can really get behind Derek Trucks's playing, it's more for his what he expresses and his ability to do so than for originality. In terms of rock guitaring that's made me go "F$%k yeah!", it'd have to be Jack White. Not afraid to take things to crazy town, and the wildness hides some serious guitar playing skills. Like Jimmy Page, he's a song-writer first, and applies his skills for composition into his blues guitar playing.

I agree that revolutions are going to be less frequent than in the sixties when the electric guitar was practically unexplored and each skilled player was expected to do something different. But they will come. Van Halen pretty much came out of nowhere. There'll be others.

Kurt was a great song-writer, but I reckon more than half the people on this forum can play the guitar better than he could. In fact, his influence was a bit stifling in the nineties. Not just to shredders, but anyone who wanted to do anything on the guitar that took more than two weeks practise.

New guitars... I guess people have got to just get a little bit more courageous. Not me though ? I'm conservative with guitars - even my Yamaha Pacifica is a fifties styled model. Mind you, though I hated it at first, I'm getting a bit of respect for the Parker Fly. And if we're just talking shapes, then my surf-guitar background had me loving the Yamaha SGV:

chris77

Ja, I suppose if ol' Nick ever hosts a "Hell's Got Talent" competition Cobain would probably not get a recall. He couldnt shred, play the blues, lead a jazz quartet or twang a tele like Merle Hagard. Bet he couldnt juggle chainsaws either. What he has in common with the conventional greats is that he used his instrument in a way not regarded as the norm and managed to influence millions as a result of it. Sure, the guys who worshipped their guitar heroes hated his guts. (Van Gogh had the same rotten deal cause his sunflowers werent Rembrandt.) So maybe he was more of a guitar anti-hero then, but definitely more influential than any young flexi-fingered guitar virtuoso plying his trade today.

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