Best guitarist - Technique and speed...

MikeEnRegalia wrote: Vai.

akiko wrote: 2 words: Allan Holdsworth

SilverSean wrote: Endless Wire wrote: It has been proven that Shawn Lane is the fastest guitar player in the world.  I think he can pick something like 19 notes per second or some such number.  Search for him on youtube and watch the sick lick video.  It is mind blowing, especially that lick around 2:36.   Ahem. Was the fastest. RIP Shawn

HughesJB4 wrote: MikeEnRegalia wrote: Vai. Vai is amazing, but his more of an all around virtuoso, good at many techniques, but a master of none. Hence why i couldn't pick him as the "best".

Rather "master of all". Which technique hasn't he mastered?

@1Vic,I usually PM when chastising a member but I am tired of this kind of behavior.Time for a crackdown.

1vic wrote: That thread is irrelevant.It's not like all the guitar players perform the same piece of music e.g Bumble Bee and such using a metronome so you can tell who is the fastest one. And I want to see it because speeding up the recording is a common practice since the end of 40s.

You see, you're supposed to use your brain and judge for yourself by comparing the musicians and what they play.

^ I am not much impressed by Tipton, to be perfectly honest. I am an avid follower of the shred guitar scene as well, which also means that I'm familiar with this sort of "Vai bashing". What I don't understand is how little you know about Vai's bandwidth of techniques if you really own all these albums/DVDs. First of all: Vai's playing has always been exceptional, even in the 80s. Just compare his playing on for example Passion and Warfare to what Satriani was playing at the time. Secondly, if you look at Vai in the 90s or 2000s you'll discover that he expanded his playing to totally different techniques again ... just two words: fretless, sustainer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbAi7fa2yZo).

There may be guitarist who play faster than Vai, but Vai is - at least for me - the ultimate combination of emotional playing, masterly technique, flawless execution and innovative composition/songwriting.


BTW: I actually agree with your theory that guitar techniques evolve ... a guitarist who begins his career in the 80s has more "building blocks" to use than one of the 1970s, in addition to the techniques which he creates all by himself (which there are very few of). What I don't agree with is that guitarists are stuck in their decade ... some are (Malmsteen most of all), some are not.


Edited by MikeEnRegalia - January 25 2008 at 04:24

HughesJB4 wrote:   As I've said, he is certainly great at many techniques, but if your an avid follower of the shred guitar scene like I am (I have no idea if you are you or not, Vai is really a master of composition, but not so much of guitar technique. I am a huge Vai fan, having about 3/4 of his solo albums, Live in Astoria and Visual Sound theories, not to mention all three G3 DVDs. His technique is still very much "80s virtuoso" level, as what happens to many guitarists that are in their technical prime in certain period, resulting in each sucessive generation of guitarists being more technical. Just to make more sense on that point i'll give examples: Jimmy Page/Tony Iommi were very much aof the late 60s guitarists and their technique is firmly rooted in that period, Dave Murray from Iron Maiden developed most of his technique in the 70s and his technique is rooted in that era, Marty Friedman/Joe Satriani/Vai/Malmsteen were very much a part of the 80s shred scene and there technique is rooted in that era, Rusty Cooley/Jasun Tipton/Jeff Loomis were part of the 90s and even today's shred scene and have highly evolved technique. While Vai is something special, many virtuosos of the 90s/00s can sweep pick, tap, alternate pick, string skip, legato more cleanly and quicker than Vai, some people significantly so. Cooley is faster and cleaner in all those areas then Vai, so i would consider him a master of all those techniques. And few people can match, if any at all, can match Tipton's abilities in mixing sweep picking and alternate picking in one pattern. Master in the 80s? I guess so,l but not so much nowadays. Being a Progmetal Specialist, im assuming you have heard Zero Hour and Tiptons insane technique

Thanks for replying Hughes, now I see what you meant. To me Vai is a musician who can play the guitar really well. Yet, I never used his music/licks for exercises.
I do not find Tipton's technique something out of this world, sorry.

I only keep the first Yngwie's album. I guess, I have better taste... just kidding.
HughesJB4 said: (except his sweep picking remains as sloppy as ever).
I am not trying to be annoying I just want to  make sure if I am loosing it or you are missing something because I didn't find anything that could be considered sloppy in Vai's  technique. Could you be so kind and point me to the right piece where his sloppiness sticks out the most I would really appreciate it. I think I have all his albums except Zappa's period.
Thank you HughesJ4B

i cant stand guitarists that are all technique and speed and have no emotion, so a lot of the guys i mention have a nice mix of both.

Jeff Beck
Frank Zappa
Steve Morse
Robert Fripp
the guy from Brand X
John McLaughlin
Jimi Hendrix
Kirk Hammett
Allan Holdsworth
Trey Anastasio
Mike Stern
Larry Coryell
Pat Metheny
John Abercrombie
Scott Henderson

one man i want to focus on is John Scofield. He may be the most soulful guitarist out there right now, but he can rip it down with the best of them (listen to any of the albums he's on with Miles Davis, Billy Cobham, George Duke, and John Abercrombie) his style is so lyrical, it's almost as if his guitar is an extension of himself.



Edited by darkshade - January 27 2008 at 15:16