OT: Guitar / Guitarist Appreciation Thread

[Bleem Phuppert]

There's been enough conversation about this topic lately, across multiple threads, that it warrants its own.

For guitarists: What do you play, what do you listen to, who do you like, what gear suits you best, stuff like that. For the rest, it's art - your opinion matters, even if you're not familiar with how it's made.

Hopefully we'll get some good chatter, here. And hopefully it can stay on the board. I mean, hey - it's gotta be as good as "What beers have you tried and how were they", amirite?

Cc: @RUGuitarMan, @mildone, @RUScrew85, @Knight Shift

 

[PiscatawayMike]

Most underrated and underappreciated guitarist of all time: Terry Kath

When someone asks me about favorite guitarists, I mention Kath. I am always astounded that most have no idea who he is.

He was a superb vocalist as well.

 

[RUevolution36]

As a neophyte who is just starting my guitar journey, I bought an Ibanez over the summer. As a bit of a metal head, I kind of want a 7 string... is there a recommendation for a budget accessible 7 string for a dabbler? I've seen Ibanez, Jackson, and Schecter 7 strings out there for not very much money.

 

[Bleem Phuppert]

Most underrated and underappreciated guitarist of all time: Terry Kath

When someone asks me about favorite guitarists, I mention Kath. I am always astounded that most have no idea who he is.

He was a superb vocalist as well.

Kath is one of Rick Beato's favorite guitarists, too. In this video he addresses 3 different solo works - Kath is 3rd, at about the 6:30 mark or so. The whole thing is worth watching.**

**Hotel California Alert

 

[Bleem Phuppert]

As a neophyte who is just starting my guitar journey, I bought an Ibanez over the summer. As a bit of a metal head, I kind of want a 7 string... is there a recommendation for a budget accessible 7 string for a dabbler? I've seen Ibanez, Jackson, and Schecter 7 strings out there for not very much money.

I will say this - most instructional materials, chord charts, etc., are for 6 string guitars. It's hard enough learning the fretboard the way everyone else learns it - adding another string is going to make that much more complex.

Which Ibanez did you get?

 

[BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine]

There are elite guitarists, and then there is James Patrick Page.

 

[Bleem Phuppert]

Page is absolutely one of the greats.

 

[mdk01]

Somewhere in my storage room is a Yardbirds album I bought in junior high. Guitarists were Beck and Page, Clapton having already left the group.

 

[beaced]

Slim Stewart of Slim and Slam,(way b 4 most of your time)

 

[BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine]

Beato is the best for the guitar/guitarist fan. What do the actual guitar players/pros think about him?

 

[RUevolution36]

I will say this - most instructional materials, chord charts, etc., are for 6 string guitars. It's hard enough learning the fretboard the way everyone else learns it - adding another string is going to make that much more complex.

Which Ibanez did you get?

I have a 6 string Ibanez Gio budget RG (superstrat)...dual humbucker pickups... I can only drop tune it so far before the strings are too loose...hence wanting a 7 string for the real deep chuggy djent fun.

GRX20Z | RG | ELECTRIC GUITARS | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars

GRX20Z at Ibanez. Ibanez offers electric guitars, bass guitars, acoustic guitars, effect and pedals, amps, plus guitar accessories like tuners, straps and picks.

www.ibanez.com

 

[RUPete]

Somewhere in my storage room is a Yardbirds album I bought in junior high. Guitarists were Beck and Page, Clapton having already left the group.

That whole line up past and present is insane.

 

[BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine]

Page is absolutely one of the greats.

A buddy of mine who was drummer in a couple club bands said his guitar pals would say there were a handful of guitarists better technically than Page, but nobody had a better combination of technical and artistry mastery.

 

[RUShea]

A buddy of mine who was drummer in a couple club bands said his guitar pals would say there were a handful of guitarists better technically than Page, but nobody had a better combination of technical and artistry mastery.

That's always the balance that dudes have a hard time finding. There are a boatload of technical wizards but it sounds soul-less. That said I do love me some tech wizards. Some of the guys that strike a nice balance for me are Vai, Gilbert, Kotzen, Howe. DiMeola was great. Obviously EVH, Hendrix. Frank Zappa is extremely under rated as a guitar player. I also love the less techy guys too. I think Derek Trucks is one of my favorites right now. Duane Allman. I'm a big Trey Anastasio fan. Who am I kidding, I love 'em all.

 

[RUPete]

That's always the balance that dudes have a hard time finding. There are a boatload of technical wizards but it sounds soul-less. That said I do love me some tech wizards. Some of the guys that strike a nice balance for me are Vai, Gilbert, Kotzen, Howe. DiMeola was great. Obviously EVH, Hendrix. Frank Zappa is extremely under rated as a guitar player. I also love the less techy guys too. I think Derek Trucks is one of my favorites right now. Greg Allman. I'm a big Trey Anastasio fan. Who am I kidding, I love 'em all.

Derek Trucks - underrated, thanks for bringing him up.

 

[RUevolution36]

Right now, I'm enamored with Adam Jones from Tool. Such a signature sound.

Not my favorite song on the album, but the grammy award winning one.

 

[Tango Two]

 

[LysanderSpooner]

Maybe not your style, but there may not be a better guitarist than Joe Pass (from New Brunswick).

 

[LotusAggressor]

Somewhere in my storage room is a Yardbirds album I bought in junior high. Guitarists were Beck and Page, Clapton having already left the group.

Roger the Engineer?

 

[RUGuitarMan]

A topic that has been simmering out there. In my opinion there should be no ”rating” of guitar players. There is no “best”, do people rank the best actors, best comedians, best song writers? It’s all subjective. Many great guitar players. I want to mention some players that I’m familiar with who I think are “underated”: Tommy Emmanuel, Brian Setzer, Tommy Bolin, Danny Gatton, Nels Cline, Don Felder, Eric Gayles, John Scofield. Many, many others. I like many players that just play in bands and aren’t the focal point, they serve the songs.

 

[Bleem Phuppert]

A topic that has been simmering out there. In my opinion there should be no ”rating” of guitar players. There is no “best”, do people rank the best actors, best comedians, best song writers? It’s all subjective. Many great guitar players. I want to mention some players that I’m familiar with who I think are “underated”: Tommy Emmanuel, Brian Setzer, Tommy Bolin, Danny Gatton, Nels Cline, Don Felder, Eric Gayles, John Scofield. Many, many others. I like many players that just play in bands and aren’t the focal point, they serve the songs.

That last statement is one of the reasons I really like the session guys. Most people who bought a Linda Ronstadt album during the height of her career would go the rest of their lives without knowing the name "Waddy Wachtel". But his work on her version of "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" is nothing short of masterful. How many people know who Denny Dias is? Everybody knows his work, though.

 

[mildone]

I'm actually a drummer, although I can play guitar at a fairly basic level (or could when I was doing it all the time). Started taking drum lessons in second grade. Got my first drum set in fourth grade after a lot of unseemly begging of, and false promises to, my parents. Studied with Joe Morello (of Dave Brubeck "Take Five" fame) for a while in HS.

Unfortunately, I rarely make the time to play anymore. Which kind of sucks because it's one of only a couple/few things in life I have been pretty good at.

So anyway, all I can contribute to the thread is a deep appreciation for great music and musicians.

 

[mildone]

A buddy of mine who was drummer in a couple club bands said his guitar pals would say there were a handful of guitarists better technically than Page, but nobody had a better combination of technical and artistry mastery.

Your drummer buddy probably wasn't too big on jazz or other genre's of music from which there are numerous technically and artistically gifted guitarists to chose from. Not to mention "best" is in the ear of the lister and is far too subjective a thing to state so deterministically.

 

[BishopPlace57]

Most underrated and underappreciated guitarist of all time: Terry Kath

When someone asks me about favorite guitarists, I mention Kath. I am always astounded that most have no idea who he is.

He was a superb vocalist as well.

I saw Kath play with Chicago in 1970... an awesome guitarist!

 

[mildone]

Derek Trucks - underrated, thanks for bringing him up.

Trucks is great. He's not too underrated with musicians I've known and/or played with over the years. Pretty well respected, actually.

 

[BishopPlace57]

Maybe not your style, but there may not be a better guitarist than Joe Pass (from New Brunswick).

Joe Pass was one of the greatest jazz guitarists ever! His Pablo solo albums are classics. He was also a heck of a nice guy. I believe that he is buried in Piscataway.

 

[BishopPlace57]

I play jazz guitar. My main ax is a 1956 Gibson L4C. I used to play through Polytone and Fender (Twin Reverb), but now that I am retired I play through a Roland Cube 80 and a Fender SuperChamp.

 

[mildone]

Right now, I'm enamored with Adam Jones from Tool. Such a signature sound.

Not my favorite song on the album, but the grammy award winning one.

View embedded media

I only discovered TOOL a few years or so back. And I'm pretty enamored with them, to say the least. When I was younger, I would not have given them a fair listen. But it's some genius stuff.

And I have a deep fondness for music with complex varying non-4/4 and alternating time signatures, for which TOOL is known (at least in recent times). That 4/4 shit gets boring real quick.

 

[mildone]

Maybe not your style, but there may not be a better guitarist than Joe Pass (from New Brunswick).

I'd disagree that there aren't any better. But agree that he's phenomenal.

 

[Bleem Phuppert]

I play jazz guitar. My main ax is a 1956 Gibson L4C. I used to play through Polytone and Fender (Twin Reverb), but now that I am retired I play through a Roland Cube 80 and a Fender SuperChamp.

I'm a huge fan of the Twin Reverb. And that Gibson is a hell of a nice guitar. I checked - they're going for between 5k and 10k on Reverb right now.

 

[BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine]

Your drummer buddy probably wasn't too big on jazz or other genre's of music from which there are numerous technically and artistically gifted guitarists to chose from. Not to mention "best" is in the ear of the lister and is far too subjective a thing to state so deterministically.

He played mostly rock back in the day. His favorites are Keith Moon, John Bonham and Carmine Appice, and is a huge fan of jazz drummers in general. I'm a rock music guy so that's what we talked about. Again, when bringing up Jimmy Page he would relay what the guitar guys in his band(s) said.

 

[Bleem Phuppert]

That 4/4 shit gets boring real quick.

WHIPPING POST!

(11/8)

 

[PiscatawayMike]

That last statement is one of the reasons I really like the session guys. Most people who bought a Linda Ronstadt album during the height of her career would go the rest of their lives without knowing the name "Waddy Wachtel". But his work on her version of "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" is nothing short of masterful. How many people know who Denny Dias is? Everybody knows his work, though.

Love Wachtel. Great catalog with Stevie Nicks.

 

[Purple-Ed]

Most underrated and underappreciated guitarist of all time: Terry Kath

When someone asks me about favorite guitarists, I mention Kath. I am always astounded that most have no idea who he is.

He was a superb vocalist as well.

Agree with Terry Kath. Another name I'll throw out there is Ry Cooder.

 

[mildone]

A topic that has been simmering out there. In my opinion there should be no ”rating” of guitar players. There is no “best”, do people rank the best actors, best comedians, best song writers? It’s all subjective. Many great guitar players. I want to mention some players that I’m familiar with who I think are “underated”: Tommy Emmanuel, Brian Setzer, Tommy Bolin, Danny Gatton, Nels Cline, Don Felder, Eric Gayles, John Scofield. Many, many others. I like many players that just play in bands and aren’t the focal point, they serve the songs.

Love Scofield. Covered "Hottentot" in a band I played with for years.

He's another super expressive player.

 

[Purple-Ed]

Page is absolutely one of the greats.

Agree - plus he liked banging 14 year olds.

 

[NewJerseyGuy]

 

[newell138]

I’m a huge fan of Joe Satriani

 

[mildone]

He played mostly rock back in the day. His favorites are Keith Moon, John Bonham and Carmine Appice, and is a huge fan of jazz drummers in general. I'm a rock music guy so that's what we talked about. Again, when bringing up Jimmy Page he would relay what the guitar guys in his band(s) said.

I too think Page is awesome and love his playing. So I'm not disputing that at all.

 

[mildone]

WHIPPING POST!

(11/8)

One of my all time favorite songs. Played it in bands from HS all through adulthood. But you know, I never saw any sheet music for it and never once, until now, considered what the time-signature was. LOL