What makes a great guitarist?

[binnie]

Originally posted by Panamark


Although I can counter this a little, Ive heard
songs by Satriani and Vai that were obviously
them, but didnt seem to have any emotion
in them.....

Would you still classify that as greatness, Binnie ??

mmmm....


If Vai and Satch both aired new material, and I had to guess which was which, I bet I couldn't do it.

Having said that, you've got me thinking about emotion and feel now, maybe they are essential too....

[Matt White]

What makes a great guitarist?

1.) A KILLER VIBRATO

2.)Taste....knows that what you DON'T play is as important as what you do play.....

3.)Style...the absorbtion of a wide variety of influences...all repackaged into something new.....

4.) TIGHT PANTS

[binnie]

Originally posted by Matt White


4.) TIGHT PANTS

The crucial factor.

[Matt White]

Originally posted by binnie
The crucial factor.

It's what they all have in common....

helps stimulate good circulation............

...the little Girls understand...."

[binnie]

"We have armadillo's down out trousers. The size, it's frightening...."

[katie]

I know ed gets slammed alot but i loved the way he used to OWN & WORK the stage,
Especially with Dave when they used to play Little Guitars live.
Not many guitarists have those showmanship qualities.

Katie

[Steve Savicki]

Gentlemen,

A great guitarist can be anything from a guitar legend to music recorded on a 25 cent brand-new-still-sealed cassette found in a budget bin.

I happen to listen to both.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

I think the emotion is very important. Its hard to get the emotion right when playing guitar. You've really got to lose yourself in it and, to borrow a cliche, "let the music do the talking". Knowing when to do a solo properly is important.

Listen to "Big Trouble"-as technically good as that solo is, I've always thought it was out of place on the song, it didn't fit with the tone of the song in my poinion, and thats probably because Vai is more concerned about moving his fingers fast then he is about making great music that makes sense.

[binnie]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
and thats probably because Vai is more concerned about moving his fingers fast then he is about making great music that makes sense.

Bingo.

however, in Vai's defence I think he is the best of the fret-wankers. He does use melody quite reguarly, which often help hold his pieces together.

Far more so than Satch etc....

[nosuchluck]

Originally posted by binnie
Bingo.

however, in Vai's defence I think he is the best of the fret-wankers. He does use melody quite reguarly, which often help hold his pieces together.

Far more so than Satch etc....

Doesn't sound like you've heard either guitarist...

Vai is a great musician - not all his music is to my liking, but he isn't making the music for me. When Ed Van Halen tried to do that (since we seem to be comparing guitarists), he came up with VH3.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

I'm not questioning Vai's technical ability...my Alan, he can fookin' SHRED the FUCK out of most.

BUT...

He seems ro have no emotion in him whatsoever. I'm pretty sure if his entire family died in a massacre after being held hostage by raving lunatics, he would just go "ah, well...these things happen".

[binnie]

Originally posted by nosuchluck
Doesn't sound like you've heard either guitarist...

Vai is a great musician - not all his music is to my liking, but he isn't making the music for me. When Ed Van Halen tried to do that (since we seem to be comparing guitarists), he came up with VH3.

All I was trying to say was is that for me Vai is the most musical of the fret-wankers. He has an ear for melody and the sense of how to return to it throughout a piece of music, which a lot of similar guitar players lack.

Having said that, I still don't feel that he is a great guitar player, more of a great guitar technician.

Just my preference, nothing more or less...

[nosuchluck]

Well, that's a lot of conflicting opinions on Vai.
I wouldn't put myself down as a Vai fan, but to dismiss him as merely a "technician" smacks of not having heard enough of his discography. Moreover, personally I think his 'shred' technique is overrated.
But surely we can agree to disagree.

Guitar driven instrumentals are far too often dismissed as 'wank-fests'. That's ok, I suppose - it's not a genre that many people can get into.

And Binnie, Joe Satriani has an excellent ear for melody.

[binnie]

Originally posted by nosuchluck


And Binnie, Joe Satriani has an excellent ear for melody.

Well, I must be missing something.

But I think agreeing to disagree is a good idea, or we could go round in circles....

[MAPRamone]

Originally posted by binnie
mmmm....


If Vai and Satch both aired new material, and I had to guess which was which, I bet I couldn't do it.

You haven't been listening much to either have you? Their tones are easy to distinguish from one another.