There Is No Best Guitarist

[Sgt. Pepper]

9 minutes ago, merciful-evans said:

Its possible to enjoy someone's playing without necessarily being inspired by it.

Yes

[Notes_Norton]

On 3/2/2024 at 8:56 AM, Sgt. Pepper said:

I think the Beatles were the first to record feedback on the song, I Feel Fine. I think the Kinks and the Who might have used it live before Jimi.

Yes, there is no doubt Jimi  use the hell out of feedback.

You are probably correct, but Jimi used it melodically, to sustain notes, not just as an effect.

As a sax player in a band, I remember our lead guitar player's mind was blown about that. He had an Epiphone Sheraton, and immediately started to experiment with using feedback for sustain. After quite a few false starts, he found the sweet spot.

Notes ♫

[Notes_Norton]

The thing about who is better than who, comes down to personal taste.

Art isn't a contest, and IMO all art contests are flawed.

Can you say what painter is the best painter? What singer is the best singer? What dancer is the best dancer? What author is the best author? What film director is the best director? I can't

IMO Jeff Beck was at least one of, if not the best technical guitar player of the rock era. Although I love his music, I wouldn't say he was the best guitar player. Just one of the best.

My favorite guitar player? Me? (And I'm just a hack at guitar, it's my 7th instrument)

Notes ♫

[Sgt. Pepper]

14 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

The thing about who is better than who, comes down to personal taste.

Art isn't a contest, and IMO all art contests are flawed.

Can you say what painter is the best painter? What singer is the best singer? What dancer is the best dancer? What author is the best author? What film director is the best director? I can't

IMO Jeff Beck was at least one of, if not the best technical guitar player of the rock era. Although I love his music, I wouldn't say he was the best guitar player. Just one of the best.

My favorite guitar player? Me? (And I'm just a hack at guitar, it's my 7th instrument)

Notes ♫

Exactly - there’s always someone that can do something probably a little better than you, or easier than you, and something that probably someone struggles at, but there is no best anything like you alluded. No best painter, dancer, guitarist, nothing you can’t quantify who is the best. Next time you want to say best, why don’t you use favorite or really good because that’s what you probably mean.

Edited March 6 by Sgt. Pepper

[jvi]

but JH  was the best... so........

[Sgt. Pepper]

1 hour ago, jvi said:

but JH  was the best... so........

So back it up with proof. Aw you can’t.

Is a Big Mac the best hamburger because I say it is? Nope it’s an opinion you genius. It can’t be proven no matter what big describing words I use.

Edited March 6 by Sgt. Pepper

[Karloff]

1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

So back it up with proof. Aw you can’t.

Is a Big Mac the best hamburger because I say it is? Nope it’s an opinion you genius. It can’t be proven no matter what big describing words I use.

anybody remember the Gino's Giant ?

[RBSinTo]

.....and round and around we go.

RBSinTo

[jvi]

1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

So back it up with proof. Aw you can’t.

Is a Big Mac the best hamburger because I say it is? Nope it’s an opinion you genius. It can’t be proven no matter what big describing words I use.

on the first page  of your topic , you genus, I said bingo when you said it was opinion, but you like this argument so you repeatedly  start it ,  so have Fun     (he was the best,    if you,     like me ,   bought and dived into the first 3 albums as they came out,  you may agree, but your so young you  were a little late to the party so ,,,,,you loved Kiss)

[Phil OKeefe]

I know you're all geniuses here, so we should be able to have a discussion—and even strongly disagree about opinions—without posting implied insults at each other, right?  😉 

 

[Sheepdog1969]

How boring would it be if we all liked the same thing? One kind of music, one style of apparel, one kind of car, one color choice, etc., etc.. There would be no need for creativity, critical thinking, or personal growth, etc.. Heck, there would only be one type of guitar, if at all. (shudder)

Variety is the spice of life. The more variations there are of something, the more variants of each variation can occur. (exponential variety).   

Often, the type of music I like listening to, at one point in the day, is NOT the type of music I like listening to during other parts of that same day. I never consider if one type is "better", I simply want to hear something different. 

Regarding a hamburger, for example, it is scientifically proven that every bite you take of your favorite burger is progressively less satisfying than the first bite you took of it. (This does not mean that the next time you eat one, the first bite will be less tasty than the last bite you took of your last one)  It does say that your favorite burger may only taste that great during the first few bites. Yet, a day later, that first bite of one, when eaten again, tastes as good as ever. Our brains tend to derive far more enjoyment from the things we really like, when it is exposed to each "liked thing" in a small dose, followed by more "small doses" of different and varying  liked things.

For our brains, better/best relates far less to our enjoyment, than does short exposures to a constantly changing series of things that we like.

Variety, (of music, or musicians in this case),  means a variety of opinions regarding music/musicians, with no subjective way to quantify said. Yet, even those with the strongest opinions, may find that their opinations are subject to change when/if they are exposed to something new. (anyone with a teenaged daughter understands how their "favorite" one day, will not be their "favorite" the next.) When someone claims one musician is the "best", they (in the simplest terms) are stating that particular musician provides them with more listening enjoyment than other musicians provide them. As such, it would seem logical that they should only listen to that musician's body of work, and not listen to other musicians performances. (no one really does this, right?) But, based on how our brains work, it wouldn't take long to stop enjoying that musician's performances after listening to their body of work, over and over and over again, (and listening to nothing else.) If all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, then all Rush and nothing else makes Sheepdog staby staby, (hypothetically,  of coarse). 

I personally get tons of enjoyment by "mixing" (cross fading), music from my favorite artists from a myriad of styles and genera, (in real time/live). I find this enhances my enjoyment of each song/artist, and generates emotional flow from the confluence of differing musical styles and artists exceeding their stand alone effect on me. Some times it's the BPM, or the key, but playing one song always brings another song to mind, regardless of musical style. Even the most odd combinations, like Bobby Darin's Mack the knife mixed into Gorillaz' Clint Eastwood, can be oddly fun. This variation of music in flow is the "Best" for me, as opposed to seeing one musician being the "best". 

 

Edited March 7 by Sheepdog1969

[Rabs]

At rock/blues..   Jimi was still the best though 😄   (or at least most influential )

More proof from the pros

 

 

Edited March 7 by Rabs

[Notes_Norton]

On 3/6/2024 at 9:55 AM, Sgt. Pepper said:

<...snip...> Next time you want to say best, why don’t you use favorite or really good because that’s what you probably mean.

I have a problem with favorite too. I have too many favorites to pick just one. 

So for me, it's just "one of my favorites".  I'd include Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana, Emily Remler, Albert King, Eva Cassidy, Kenny Burrell, Duane Allman, Buddy Guy, Herb Ellis, David Gilmour, Brian May, Joe Pass, Joe Walsh, Johnny Winter, Jim Hall, and at least a dozen others. It depends on my mood.

Art is not a contest, it's a conversation between the artist and the appreciator. There are plenty of technically accomplished guitarists that I don't care for. I can't fault them for anything, but they just don't speak to me. And there are others who may have flawed technique, but sing a song that I want to listen to. Art is funny that way.

 

Notes ♫

[Karloff]

We should have a thread 

What guitarist do you "not get"

[Phil OKeefe]

1 hour ago, Karloff said:

We should have a thread 

What guitarist do you "not get"

Might be an interesting discussion. Feel free to start the thread if you'd like. 🙂

[Notes_Norton]

I get guitarists who are melodic in a way that speaks to me. If they don't, I'm not going to dis them. 

I've been playing music for a living for decades. I play guitar, but it's my 7th instrument, sax is my primary ax.

Many years ago, I was in a hired horn section for some wanna-be star. Me, another sax, a trumpet, and a trombone. We all got plenty of solos in the songs.

The other sax player was a monster, flawless technique, and could sight-read the most complicated songs without an error. I was in awe. I can sight-read a lot, but these were things I'd have to woodshed first.

We were on break, and a couple of different girls came up to me to tell me how much they liked my sax playing. I told him I was in awe of what he could play and their gushing was a bit embarrassing. He told me that he wished he could play a sexy, sensuous melody, the kind that come easily to me.

That's when I realized, we all have different strengths and weaknesses, and it doesn't matter, as long as the music comes out right. That's all that counts.

And as long as you have people appreciating what you are playing, the music is coming out right.

 

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

On 3/8/2024 at 8:20 AM, Karloff said:

We should have a thread 

What guitarist do you "not get"

The Edge

Johnny Marr

T. Rex (Marc Bolan)

 

[cody78]

In my early years (the 90's) my favourite guitarists were Slash, Angus Young, Joe Perry, Richie Sambora, Jimmy Page and Mark Makoway (from Moist). Since then I've listened to all types of music from simple to complex, from minimalism to highbrow arty stuff and I can tell you that the music that I enjoy the most is still the same bands and guitarists from my youth.  

Edited March 9 by cody78

[Sgt. Pepper]

On 3/7/2024 at 10:04 PM, Notes_Norton said:

I have a problem with favorite too. I have too many favorites to pick just one. 

So for me, it's just "one of my favorites".  I'd include Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana, Emily Remler, Albert King, Eva Cassidy, Kenny Burrell, Duane Allman, Buddy Guy, Herb Ellis, David Gilmour, Brian May, Joe Pass, Joe Walsh, Johnny Winter, Jim Hall, and at least a dozen others. It depends on my mood.

Art is not a contest, it's a conversation between the artist and the appreciator. There are plenty of technically accomplished guitarists that I don't care for. I can't fault them for anything, but they just don't speak to me. And there are others who may have flawed technique, but sing a song that I want to listen to. Art is funny that way.

 

Notes ♫

Exactly was Dali better than Picasso. No they are different like Jimi Hendrix and Richard Thompson. Both great but both different than the other.

[Retired]

On 2/27/2024 at 2:31 PM, Notes_Norton said:

No matter who you are, there is always someone better and someone worse than you.

Jimi thought Terry Kath and Buddy Guy were better than he was. I think it's simply a personal matter.

And to tell you the truth, I don't have a #1 favorite guitarist, but perhaps 20. I'd include the above,  and add Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page, Duane Allman, Robert Fripp, David Gilmour, Alvin Lee, Joe Walsh, and at least a dozen more that will pop into my head as soon as I hit "Submit Reply".

And that's only rock guitarists.

 

Notes ♫

We saw Buddy Guy way back. Also several you mentioned here. They were all good. Actually anyone who can play a great solo is number one in my book as I can't solo much. just some of the easier ones. 

[merciful-evans]

On 3/7/2024 at 6:26 PM, Rabs said:

At rock/blues..   Jimi was still the best though 😄   (or at least most influential )

More proof from the pros

 

 

 

That's not proof. Its evidence. 

[Notes_Norton]

On 3/9/2024 at 11:24 AM, cody78 said:

the music that I enjoy the most is still the same bands and guitarists from my youth.  

That's pretty typical. I think it's human nature.

As a youth my dad liked the "Big Band Era" music, and really loved the arrangements that bands like Count Basie, Artie Shaw and others put together (He played trumpet, violin, uke, and after retiring, organ). 

Also in my school band we played a lot of excerpts from symphonies, and I learned to love them.

My big sister was into Elvis era songs, and I dig them too.

Then, when I started playing in a rock band it was Beatles, Yardbirds, Kinks, Chicago.

So although I embrace and love many different kinds of music from Jazz, to Salsa, to Reggae, to Cabo Verde, to whatever, I still have a soft spot in my heart for those that influenced me when I was a boy.

 

Notes ♫

[Sgt. Pepper]

18 hours ago, merciful-evans said:

 

That's not proof. Its evidence. 

Ah . . . Good word - evidence.

[Sgt. Pepper]

Here is one for the drummers. Is Dave even a drummer anymore? He has sig guitars models.

https://singersroom.com/w40/best-drummers-of-all-time/

[merciful-evans]

1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Here is one for the drummers. Is Dave even a drummer anymore? He has sig guitars models.

https://singersroom.com/w40/best-drummers-of-all-time/

I'm surprised that my two favourite drummers are in there. Elvin Jones & Stuart Copeland. 

Grohl ? Dont know, but he's not the first drummer to  leave the kit for centre stage. Phil Collins comes to mind.