What is a good guitarist?

[Beer$]

If you shred, apparently you have no sense of melody. If you play slow, you aren't cool because you ain't fast enough!

What do you guys see as a good guitarist and what do you tend to criticize when you see others play.

I bring this up because I've noticed alot of criticism of some famous guitarist playing styles.

I've also noticed alot of people who have learned alot of scales, wish they new how to ad lib better and people with the good improv skills wishing they new more scales.

[dd12939]

Joe Bonamassa! He plays fast AND with feeling!

Seriously though, all the "good," "great," "amazing" and etc. guitarists have their strengths. It's all a matter of doing what fits their talents and the music they are making. I don't expect Yngwie to phrase like Gilmour and don't expect Gilmour to shred like Yngwie.

As for improv, I can make up leads all day long - they just all sound the same. Doesn't really bother me either.

In other news, if you stare at YNGWIE for a long time, it starts to look really weird.

[Robbiedbee]

At the end of the day, there is no accounting for taste.

As far as I'm concerned, speed makes you a good guitarist, yes, but it doesn't make you a good musician. It's how well you use your notes within the framework of what you're doing, whether it be with a band, or just on your own. Look at Gilmour, he's awesome. Hendrix is another one.

Speaking of those two, I guess another thing which I think makes a good player is having a style which intrinsically their own. You know Hendrix when you hear him. You know Clapton. You know Santana, you know Yngwie. I know I do quite like all these artists, but maybe not Santana as much. Yet, I appreciate the fact that his style is very melodic, and it isn't really mirrored elsewhere.

[Low_fidelity2100]

to Me a good guitarist is anyone that when I hear them, or see them play. They make me wanna go home and play my guitar. Sometimes it'll be a smashing pumpkins song, other time a Van Halen song, sometimes even a song I don't really like that much, but theres just some little thing that makes me wanna play.

Thats all I care about. I don't care if a person can play fast, or any of that stuff. If they make you go "man I gotta get home and play my guitar" then they're doing sumthing right.


Besides being a "good" guitarist is subjective. If your into metal, then your not gonna hear a Elvis costello song and thing "wow thats bad ass". Just like if your into country your not gonna listen to Megadeth and go "Man I wish I could play like that" ya know?

All the people that rip on VH, or Ace, or whoever....are people that aren't fans to begain with. So of course they're gonna find any reason they can to say something bad about them. Thats just how it works. I don't really pay attention to what others think of music. If I like something I like it, an I don't care what someone else says about it.

So If you think a guitarist is Good, an someone else disagrees. **** em. Who cares? they're good to you, an if they make you wanna pickup your guitar. Thats really all that matters, ya know?

[daemon barbeque]

Well there are some qualities that really counts
Some are Groove (Hendrix) ,Perfect Bending(malmsteen) ,Mastering one techique (tapping ,arpeggios etc) ,speed(Michael Angelo Batio) ,Scales and phrasing(Friedman-Shuldiner) ,tone(Friedman ,Slash) ,feel (really subjective) ,improvisation(Shawn Lane) ,rythm ( Vai) ,and some tricks like whammy bar tricks or harmonic tricks (Eklundh ,Dime etc)...Uniqueness is the Key to be a Hero.Altough Slash is not unique ,nor is Clapton ,they had the chance to combine some of the qualities and made a good combination!

[Marinblues]

"Good" is whatever is good to you.

[fingerace]

A good guitarist is one who is able to convey his feelings to his audience, or at least express his feeling through his guitar.

That's it for me. If he makes me feel the way he feels, he is "good" in my book.

and yes, shredding IS a statement - it is a feeling. Personally I do not get it and it doesn't do anything for me, but for many people it may communicate to them a lot of of things.

[StrangeSound]

Sugar....spice.......and everything nice.....and chemical X


= good guitarist

[Simon_F]

"Good" is whatever is good to you.

+1

Marinblues is an excellent guitarist BTW!

[Axl H]

+1

Marinblues is an excellent guitarist BTW!

+1! And +1 to the Marinblues thing, awesome playin' bro

[tubeman87]

Good guitar playing is subjective, I've heard some guys smoke on thier gee'tar and have had people tell them they suck, and I've heard some......"questionable" playing and have had people tell them they're the next big thing. Criticize no one, because there are not enough guitar players and "real" musicians in the World today....we got to stick together.

I'm tired of all this guitarist on guitarist violence....can't we all just get along!

[daemon barbeque]

Good guitar playing is subjective, I've heard some guys smoke on thier gee'tar and have had people tell them they suck, and I've heard some......"questionable" playing and have had people tell them they're the next big thing. Criticize no one, because there are not enough guitar players and "real" musicians in the World today....we got to stick together.

I'm tired of all this guitarist on guitarist violence....can't we all just get along!

good post!
We often "mix" things like ,good sounding and good playing guitarists!Some cna play tehir instruments even is the deepest sleep and still they can sweep,some play 5 notes and penthatonic all the way with a glory ,but that's all what they can!
So we have to learn to profit from all kind of musicians.The good sounding ones ,and the hyperwarp driven technical freaks!

[some_dude]

What is a good guitarist?

Michael Schenker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgY_w6M6Fnc

Wait for the solo...

[Rainmaker]

A good guitarist cares not what other guitarists think of him... a good guitarist does not need to!

[Mr Wolf]

A good guitarist (or musician) is someone who plays music they enjoy and are passionate about + inspires and connects with other people through their music

[emilio]

Sugar....spice.......and everything nice.....and chemical X


= good guitarist

hehe powderpuff girls....

[spacecaptain21]

One thing for me is feel/emotion. You got guys like Derek Trucks who aren't playing particularly fast or technical, but you can tell they mean every note they play. Not to mention Derek is playing in Open E, with fingers and sometimes a slide (even more reasons why he rocks!).

Another is creativity...guitarists that are always coming up with different/interesting stuff. One guy that comes to mind is Mike Einziger, from Incubus. Cool chord voicings, interesting riffs etc.

[Skarekrough]

The most successful guitarists were adequate players. They had feel, they knew their instrument and gear and all that comes along with that. Typically they were guys that were awed by others abilities but understood what they knew and had a great amount of confidence in their own playing.

But overwhelmingly they did a few things right that had nothing to do with playing guitar. They showed up to rehearsals on time, they knew the material they were going over, they had some sense of discipline, respect, motivation and work ethic. They busted their tails just as hard booking gigs as they did playing and they had tenacity that never wavered.

There are a slew of players that sit in their bedroom surrounded by top-notch gear and play head and shoulders above many others...and they keep at it like they're going to win a prize some day for it. It kind of replaces masturbation at a certain point in time and it gets a little scary. But they don't go out and see bands or play in one or comprehend that the guitar is no more important than the bass, the drums or the vocals.

Anyone can learn another scale. But can you book a ****ing gig? Can you cold-call a booking agent and get them excited to hear your band? Can you get fifty people in the door consistently to a Wednesday night show? Can you make the bar returns double on the night you're playing there? Can you be on call to show up an hour before stage time when a band cancels that same night?

[Sirion]

Michael Schenker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgY_w6M6Fnc

Wait for the solo...

+1

[BigAlTheBird]

The most successful guitarists were adequate players. They had feel, they knew their instrument and gear and all that comes along with that. Typically they were guys that were awed by others abilities but understood what they knew and had a great amount of confidence in their own playing.

But overwhelmingly they did a few things right that had nothing to do with playing guitar. They showed up to rehearsals on time, they knew the material they were going over, they had some sense of discipline, respect, motivation and work ethic. They busted their tails just as hard booking gigs as they did playing and they had tenacity that never wavered.

There are a slew of players that sit in their bedroom surrounded by top-notch gear and play head and shoulders above many others...and they keep at it like they're going to win a prize some day for it. It kind of replaces masturbation at a certain point in time and it gets a little scary. But they don't go out and see bands or play in one or comprehend that the guitar is no more important than the bass, the drums or the vocals.

Anyone can learn another scale. But can you book a ****ing gig? Can you cold-call a booking agent and get them excited to hear your band? Can you get fifty people in the door consistently to a Wednesday night show? Can you make the bar returns double on the night you're playing there? Can you be on call to show up an hour before stage time when a band cancels that same night?

Yeah I agree with Skarey here. One reason why I love Elvis so much (from Left Alone). He isn't a great guitarist, but he loves what he does and he's genuinely happy. It comes through in his music, which is why they sell 500-1,000 tickets every single night.