Rank the Best Gn'R Guitarist from Best to Worst

[Gibsonfender2323]

6 hours ago, D.. said:

DJ Ashba finishes last for me, no surprise there, though I never understood all the bashing. I think he's a great guitarist and a great performer live. I think the main problem was his style, he looks like he comes from a parody of a bad Tim Burton movie. I think what he did with his Better remix was interesting, and he's gifted in Sixx AM creatively, who knows what he could have come up with? I would actually have liked to witness that. He impressed me each time I saw him live, and I was fortunate enough to attend shows where he didn't fuck up anywhere. He actually did a pretty good job at covering CD parts & Slash parts, and was very cool to the audience, even if he posed a lot. Thing is, as much as Axl let him shine on the stage, Bumblefoot & Fortus were still more competent than him, so that sucks a bit. Ashba should have been the third gu

This. I feel like Ashba had a lot of potential and could have done some great stuff. But he just came off really bad and i think thats what turned alot of people off

[BadApples87]

Slash and Izzy.  

Don't care about the rest.

[CernakA]

Finck and Izzy for me ... best song writers...

[Pitchingnr]

Ugh. What does "best" even mean.

Slash clearly best for GNR. Hands down, no debate. Best for the blues influenced/rock style GNR grittiness. Combination of penatonic, non-diatonic chords have a unique style that fits perfectly for GNR. 

Izzy song writing/style. 

Buckethead best technical guitar, most creative, most tools in his belt.  But I would not label him as "best" for GNR.  Plug him into the Stones or Beatles hes automatically the "best" guitarist but best for the band, no way. 

[invisible_rose]

14 hours ago, Gordon Comstock said:

Slash is the best guitarist for Guns, Buckethead is the best guitarist overall.

Nailed it.

[YOUCOULDBEMINE.]

Hahaha anyone remember Paul Tobias on Rocket Queen. Oh my.

But for Guns it's Slash, Izzy is a great songwriter and without him there would be no GN'R. Bucket is the most technically gifted if you ask me, he lacks a bit in the nunchuck department tho.

And I don't understand the negativity towards Richard. I always really liked the dude. 

The rest didn't do much for me tbh. 

[Gackt]

I can't believe Ashba has more votes than Bumble. 

[life_247]

15 hours ago, viruzzz said:

Buckethead is way on another level, not only about skill, soul, composing.. everything.

Then, slash, finck, izzy, bumblefoot, fortus, ashba.

(i'd pick Paul Huge over Ashba and Fortus for his contributions as a composer on CD)

He's like the polar opposite to Fortus, who is great live but everthing he's ever recorded has been proper meh.

I'll have Slash as the best but Buckethead is also amazing - I always wonder if Axl had stuck his own name on a record (or another name) with BH and just let rip (no baggage of the GnR name - which there is whatever way you look at it) how amazing that would of been! We can always hope after the reunion record we get a Hevan & Hell esque CD line-up reunion (not you Ashba)

[bassplayer1993]

I don't rate guitar players, I rate guitar duos.

 

1. Slash + Izzy

2. Bucket + Fortus + Finck

3. Slash + Fortus

4. Slash + Gilby

5. Paul + Robin

6. Bucket + Paul + Robin

7. Fortus + Bumble + Robin

8. Anything Else

I dislike Bumblefoot as a musician and Ashba can't even play SCOM, so I wouldn't go as far as to call him a Guns N' Roses guitarist.

[double talkin jive mfkr]

22 minutes ago, bassplayer1993 said:

I don't rate guitar players, I rate guitar duos.

 

1. Slash + Izzy

2. Bucket + Fortus + Finck

3. Slash + Fortus

4. Slash + Gilby

5. Paul + Robin

6. Bucket + Paul + Robin

7. Fortus + Bumble + Robin

8. Anything Else

I dislike Bumblefoot as a musician and Ashba can't even play SCOM, so I wouldn't go as far as to call him a Guns N' Roses guitarist.

This except slash and gilby are way above him and fortus 

Ashdick was the worst addition to GNR along with Bumblefuck and Frank the Butcher

don't get me started on Fortpus, he's an ok player but his stage antics DRIVE ME FUCKING MAD it's like he truly thinks people will mistake him for Izzy and he embraces that! 

Edited September 25, 2019 by double talkin jive mfkr

[loko]

Buckethead

Robin Finck

Bumblefoot

Fortus

Slash

Izzy

Gilby

Dj Ashba

[F*ck Fear]

Slash of course.

I love Buckethead and Ron as well.

[Lethalis]

I voted Slash, because I like his more bluesy like playing, but more philosophically "what is GnR" ?

Is it the classic rock band of the 90s or has it morphed into something else? People have changed, the music has changed.

If Axl wants to release whatever he has been working on the last 10 to 20 years, he might need a very versatile guitarist. Slash is great, but always does the same thing. He does "his" thing. When you hear Slash playing, you instantly hear it's Slash. Can he even play things that sound really different? Modern? Etc.

So the question "what is the best guitarist for GnR" is a very difficult one. It just depends on the vision Axl and the rest of the band has.

Ranking them is even crazier... they don't do the same things.

Finck / Fortus / Izzy / Gilby are more rythm players, Buckethead / BBF / Slash / DJ play the solo's.

The best rythm player in my opinion is Fortus. He is very reliable and is very good. I love Izzy, but the guy is even more unpredictable than Axl.

The best solo player really depends on your taste. You like Metal? Buckethead en BBF would be first choice. You like more bluesy solo's? Slash and even DJ are more pleasant to listen to.

So in my world on the guitar front things are just fine with Fortus and Slash 

Sometimes I miss Bumblefoot. So my top 3 for GnR is pretty much:

1. Slash
2. Fortus
3. Bumblefoot

Then maybe still Izzy. I don't care much for the rest of them.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Lethalis

[DarkLotus1111]

Buckethead for me. Free the chickens. 

[TMAC20]

Slash 

Izzy 

Gilby 

[UsedYourIllusion]

Slash 

Izzy

Buckethead

Robin

Gilby/Fortus

Bumble

Paul

Duff

Axl

Tracii

Dj Ashba

 

Edited September 28, 2019 by UsedYourIllusion

[Beto 22]

Izzy
Slash
Fortus
Finck
Bumblefoot
Buckethead
Gilby
Paul Huge
Dj Ashba
 

[dogman]

Question, why does everyone hate DJ so much?  Is it about his look and his phony stage act?  Because if so, I understand that.  But if we're judging on phony stage acts look no further than Fortus.  If we're judging on looks, look no further than Bucket or pre-2006 Finck.  I'm not saying I'm a DJ fan boy, but here's what I thought he brought to the band, in order of importance:

1) He brought the solos BACK.  Before DJ every single solo from the AFD and UYI songs was just a bunch of wanking and nobody played the solos right.  When DJ joined, they FINALLY started playing the solos the way they should be.

2) He brought some sloppy/sleazy/bluesy playing back into the band.  Finck kind of did this, but I wouldn't call his playing bluesy, mostly just sloppy haha.  

3) He brought a stage presence that I think the pink-hat fans liked.  He actually interacted with the audience.  

4) It seemed like him and Axl really got along well and you could tell on stage.  Axl definitely favored playing with DJ over Bumble or Fortus.

Just some food for thought.  Again, I'm no DJ fan boy, but I also don't get the complete hate for him.  (He did look like a tool though)

Edited September 27, 2019 by dogman

[WhazUp]

5 minutes ago, dogman said:

Question, why does everyone hate DJ so much?  Is it about his look and his phony stage act?  Because if so, I understand that.  But if we're judging on phony stage acts look no further than Fortus.  If we're judging on looks, look no further than Bucket or pre-2006 Finck.  I'm not saying I'm a DJ fan boy, but here's what I thought he brought to the band, in order of importance:

1) He brought the solos BACK.  Before DJ every single solo from the AFD and UYI songs was just a bunch of wanking and nobody played the solos right.  When DJ joined, they FINALLY started playing the solos the way they should be.

2) He brought some sloppy/sleazy/bluesy playing back into the band.  Finck kind of did this, but I wouldn't call his playing bluesy, mostly just sloppy haha.  

3) He brought a stage presence that I think the pink-hat fans liked.  He actually interacted with the audience.  

4) It seemed like him and Axl really got along well and you could tell on stage.  Axl definitely favored playing with DJ over Bumble or Fortus.

Just some food for thought.  Again, I'm no DJ fan boy, but I also don't get the complete hate for him.  (He did look like a tool though)

I liked his enthusiasm for being in GNR, but as a guitar player I noticed a lot of technical short cuts he was employing in order to play Slash's solos - and just, idk to me if you are a guitar player with enough clout to be in GNR you should be able to play the solos properly and without skipping the hardest parts.  Nothing he ever did, including the shows I saw, really wowed me

 

I also thought the top-hat, ciggy, Les Paul, and playing with his guitar up exactly like Slash did, was a bit much.  Really tacky IMO

Edited September 27, 2019 by WhazUp

[GNRmello77]

Taking everything into consideration: Ability, writing, image, stage presence, blabla I'd say

Slash

Fortus

Izzy

Bumble 

Buckethead!

I picked fortus over Izzy because I love him on stage, I dig his playing live and when I saw him with the Dead Daisies he really stole the show! Izzy will always have a special place tho, too bad he was in GN'R before my time!

[janrichmond]

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[Fourteenbeers]

18 hours ago, janrichmond said:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Which one of them is more wasted? 

 

Edited September 28, 2019 by Fourteenbeers

[JayceAce4]

Slash

Izzy (no one else had his feel and knack for writing with Slash and Axl)

Fortus live he's amazing and really seems to get into performing and he's more than technically capable)

Bucket (most technically proficient but lacking in the soul and grit that were fundamental to GNR)

Robin

Bumble (probably the 2nd most proficient technically but the fretless noodling didn't do it for me)

Ashba

Gilby

 

While Buckethead was the most technically proficient guitarist in the band, Slash embodied Guns N Roses. He is arguably the greatest hard rock guitarist certainly of his generation and arguably of all time.   He can shred and burn up the fretboard but at the same time shift into incredibly melodic, emotive, and memorable guitar playing out there.  

Robin and DJ both did admirable jobs filling in for him given that it was such a tall order and such big shoes to fill (I loved DJs mi amor and Robin's playing on better and TIL), that said Slash took CD and Better and made them both better GNR songs.

Personally I loved the new Better intro and throughout the NITL tour Slash has routinely been heralded as the highlight of the show by both fans and critics alike.  Nobody plays those songs like him, nuGNR made admirable attempts but honestly I saw them in 02 and 06 and it just felt like too much being stuffed into the songs.   Slashs playing is looser, more bluesy and he gives the songs space to breathe that they didn't have when there were 3 guitarists trading solos. So it makes perfect sense to me that he's ranked 1 by a wide margin

 

Edited September 28, 2019 by JayceAce4

[Amaya]

THIS IS A FACT AND NOT MY OPINION.                 The best guitarists GnR  HAD AND WILL EVER HAVE  in songwriting, stage showmanship,  in studio, producing and EVERYTHING ELSE for GnR from AFD to ULIs was Slash and Izzy. THEY WERE GNR then.   No one could or can do GnR in no shape, form, or fashion  of that material .    Slash and Izzy ONLY wrote   the material then. They were 2/5 .         How can one say, you may written the music, played it in concert, promoted in mags, tv, videos, ,put your  life into, but nah,  I  can do you, your work better than you can, lol. Are you joking?                                                             So says the other guitarists  there, only joking here because these people did not say....  I think that Slash and Izzy    guitar parts really to be reworked, rewritten from GnR  music AFD to UYIs..     I can do their work much  better than they can.  I really know what they meant and were trying to do but failed to do so. The songs and guitar parts were an epic fail, especially   the rhythm guitarists  parts in AFD to UYI. Awful.                                                                         From that time on,  excluding CD music, the best and only  guitarists for GnR is and will be Slash Hudson on what he writes and produces and creates.                 The rest of the names listed there were and- or are  hired staff. Hired touring musicians. Hired studio musicians. That is great and they are great.                                                                          Izzy is NOT the future rhythm guitarist s of GnR. He is NOT part of this in songwriting, etc. He is simply not the best or even good for anything he did not create. He is and would  be  awful at CD music and any future music in trying to play it . He does not , or would know what he is doing. That is fair or will  be fair to say. It is not his work and creation.                                                         Anything Slash writes and records for his group, if he chooses to do so,  will be the best for his group and he will be the best guitarist because it's his stuff.                         This is like saying, ehhhhh, cant GnR find a better bass player ? OMG.  That guy, Buffy, he really doesn't know how to play the music, bass,  of AFD, Lies, UYIs.  The guy playing the bass from 1995 to 2005 or whenever was so , so much better.  Fluffy, Duff, whats name, ONLY wrote, promoted, created ,etc . the  music and words. That is all he did, lol.                                                                              Good topic. I am not knocking anyone. I think Slash and Izzy have to be removed  from the list. Yes I am an Izzy fan. I like the old music and old band. I do believe too that life goes on. 

[Tomek1985]

On 25.09.2019 at 3:45 AM, SeBaZ said:

Old Slash or current Slash?