What Makes A Guitarist Great?

[Monty]

Do you base how good a guitarist is by Technique, or on the material they produce?

In my humble opinion, I rate how great a guitarist is by the material they produce. That is why I rate Slash more highly than say...Buckethead. Now, I am NOT saying Buckethead isn't a good guitarist, and we all know that he can play the hell out of the AFD songs, but you don't see these "technical" guitarists actually making songs as great as those found on AFD or the Use Your Illusions, for example? I don't think people should rate guitarists by how fast they play, or if they do or don't tap, etc.

Well, thats my opinion anyways.

[slashs_servant]

People play fast, and shred liek bucket head, to compensate for their inability to play from the soul. As many guitarists like slash for instance who can play a solo as easy as november rain (first one) and it sounds so magical. I hate people who play fast for the sake of playing fast. It doesnt float my boat :|

[s_vonen]

People play fast, and shred liek bucket head, to compensate for their inability to play from the soul. As many guitarists like slash for instance who can play a solo as easy as november rain (first one) and it sounds so magical. I hate people who play fast for the sake of playing fast. It doesnt float my boat :|

yeah I know what you mean, I was jamming with my friend some tijava script:emoticon('')

smilieme ago and this came over and asked why I played so boring, I said whats your defeinition of good guitar playing then and of course the faster the better in his opinion

[Battlehawk]

The music they produce most definitely because technique can vary per player but a great guitarist can produce crappy music whereas a semi ok guitarist with inspiration can make something worth listening to.

[johnezz]

It all has to do with the emotion and soul they put into their music

If you ever seen footage of Stevie Ray Vaughan live (or if you saw him first hand!)you'll see what i mean about passion and emotion in playing an instrument, he wasnt technical but he is still one of the greatest guitarists ever.

Hendrix, Clapton, David Gilmour, Jimmy Page are all legendary guitarists and i wouldn't call them overly technical (Page and Clapton could be if they want to) yet they put so put passion into their music, and thats how they made classic music, they put their heart and soul into it.

Technical guitarists like Butckethead and Ygnie Malsteem are "cool" in the sence they can shred but theres no soul in it.

I'm not saying that all shredding isn't soulful, i mean look at Randy Rhoades and Ritchie Blackmore, they could play incredibly fast yet still retained the emotion in their music.

Edited June 15, 2005 by johnezz

[IzzySixx]

It all has to do with the emotion and soul they put into their music

If you ever seen footage of Stevie Ray Vaughan live (or if you saw him first hand!)you'll see what i mean about passion and emotion in playing an instrument, he wasnt technical but he is still one of the greatest guitarists ever.

Hendrix, Clapton, David Gilmour, Jimmy Page are all legendary guitarists and i wouldn't call them overly technical (Page and Clapton could be if they want to) yet they put so put passion into their music, and thats how they made classic music, they put their heart and soul into it.

Technical guitarists like Butckethead and Ygnie Malsteem are "cool" in the sence they can shred but theres no soul in it.

I'm not saying that all shredding isn't soulful, i mean look at Randy Rhoades and Ritchie Blackmore, they could play incredibly fast yet still retained the emotion in their music.

i think everything that needs to be said has been said there

[DirtyDeeds]

to try and do a dictionary definition of good musician... this is coming from a minimalist's mouth...

a good musician takes very little and makes the most of it...

or better...

A good musician is ne who has the touch and soul to take something incredibly simple and somehow make it incredibly complex to the listener.

[Chrisi Rokks]

Null Vote

Reason? A great guitarist is a guitarist who can play with feel and emotion regardless of how many millions of notes they can tap in a small space of time or what scale they play. Technique is just for showing off

[Fizz]

The music they produce is most important. I love both shred guitar and "soul" guitar, if you like.

However, you can be a great shredder and still sound like wank on every album. There are some forms of music where shred comes to life and still sound full of power.

Guitarist who can do both are the best in my opinion. As long as they use both within the limits and only use them when necessary in the music they write.

So yeah, a great guitarist, in my opinion, writes awesome riffs and solos.

[Lumiere]

Being called teh Slash, avin frize hare and warin a top hat!

[Forsaken]

Both.

Steve Vai for example. Vai writes good songs and music, while at some times he can just cut loose and start shredding.