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Top three guitarists?

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23 hours ago, TrevorR said:

 

  • Dave Bainbridge - Iona & sessions

 

 

Dave is a wonderful guitarist (and amazing piano/keyboard player as well!) I have all Iona stuff, and he is currently guitarist in one of my very favourite bands - Lifesigns. Their latest album (Altitude) is brilliant, and his solo on 'Last one home' Is an emotional thing of beauty.

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On 04/02/2022 at 20:30, T-Bay said:

Bob Mould, most underrated musician of all time in my humble opinion

Kurt Cobain, not the most complex but just the right sound at the right time

Billy Duffy, just love that sound



What I always liked about Cobain was how his playing served the song rather than dominated it. That's something I prize as when I listen to music I want to hear a band working as a whole - I'm just not interested in listening to one part dominating the whole and drawing all the attention, all the time. 

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16 hours ago, Angel said:

 

 

Dave is a wonderful guitarist (and amazing piano/keyboard player as well!) I have all Iona stuff, and he is currently guitarist in one of my very favourite bands - Lifesigns. Their latest album (Altitude) is brilliant, and his solo on 'Last one home' Is an emotional thing of beauty.


Agreed, he’s a superb guitarist and a fine keyboard player too.

 

I’m not familiar with Lifesigns. I must check them out.

 

He’s also working with the current incarnation of the Strawbs, played on their last two (excellent) albums and has guested on Chas Cronk’s recently released solo album.

 

A busy man and with an album of his own due out soon, I think

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Based in what most inspired me to pickup the guitar aged 11 or so:

1. Steve Cropper (and the blues brothers)

 

 

2. Marty Mcfly

 

 

 

3. Ralph Macchio and Steve Vai

 

 

Now I'm very suspicious of the white saviour narrative in all of the above...

 

 

Based on developing a voice of my own:

1. Hendrix

2. Marc Ribot

3. Zoot horn Rollo  (captain beefheart)

 

Now very much based around 

Nile Rodgers

Tony maiden (Rufus & Chaka khan)

And James browns various guitarists

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dave Gilmoure. Even if he had  only ever played the first solo on Comfortably Numb.

 

Mark Knopfler. His playing on the first Dire Straits album got bands playing guitars again.

 

Peter Green. For me still the best white Blues guitarist.

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Leo Kottke is probably #1 for me esp before his hand injury when he'd play fingerstyle with fingerpicks on a 12-string. Had a really muscular but clear tone.

Tommy Emmanuel very close behind though LK edges him because I prefer his material. TE is most definitely best experienced live as he has great stage banter as well as fantastic skills. 

Two other brilliant fingerstyle players are Scottish celtic folk specialist Tony McManus and the late Pete Huttlinger who used to play with John Denver

 

Electric wise I lean heavily towards inventive and distinctive post punk players like John McGeogh (Magazine and Siouxsie & the Banshees), Terry Bickers (House of Love), Keith Levene (PiL), Andy Gill (Gang of Four) and Geordie Walker (Killing Joke). Hard to separate out these five.

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If I had to pick 3 guitarists... Today's would be:

 

Donald Roeser aka Buck Dharma,

Johnny Marr,

Jonny Greenwood.

 

With the following honourable mentions:

Wilko Johnson, Mick Green, Peter Green, Nick Drake, Richard Thompson, John McGeoch, Ed O'Brien....

 

 

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24 minutes ago, howdenspur said:

If I had to pick 3 guitarists... Today's would be:

 

Donald Roeser aka Buck Dharma,

Johnny Marr,

Jonny Greenwood.

 

With the following honourable mentions:

Wilko Johnson, Mick Green, Peter Green, Nick Drake, Richard Thompson, John McGeoch, Ed O'Brien....

 

 

Great to see Richard Thompson get a mention.

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A bit late to the party, but my favourite and most influential to me personally must be Chuck Berry, Hank Marvin and Richie Sambora.

Great feel and tone. After 30 years of playing Johnny B Goode and Apache, I still go weak at the knees hearing the originals with that extra something that I just can't give. I can play all the right notes but I haven't got that same feel.

Hank Marvin was the one to get me started (and that was during the 80s) and I still marvel at his recognisable touch.
 

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I flat refuse to name just 3, so why am I here?

Was just watching a YT of Knopfler talking about Strats (cf Les Pauls) and he says "I'm trying to make the guitar speak".

For me that's it - some players speak, sing... like from the street to the balcony.

Many others play notes in succession - patterns, 'licks'. There be habits to be got right there. Sometimes a very lot of notes really quick. I do not give one single sh*t how many notes.

Someone good once said 'knowing what notes NOT to play - that really matters'. Might have been Miles Davis, talking about the importance of space around notes.

Hear (in your head) a worthwhile expressive statement, a sentence worth saying, the one-liner that stops the room... and play just that with real expression.

 

That's a big ask but it'll do for me.

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New to the forum and flicking through a few days and found this topic and thought I would chip my tuppence worth in for what it's worth.  I appreciate it is very subjective there are so many and it changes with my mood and whatever I'm listening too so firstly mentioned in despatches has got to be Jeff Beck, Jill Jackson and George Benson.  However the three I always come back to are:

 

Frank Zappa - so underrated it's unbelievable, even if you don't like his music give it a listen just for his playing.

 

Paul Kossoff - just a sublime guitar player IMO.

 

Finally John Martyn what he did with a guitar was absolutely amazing, especially when he taped the pick up on his acoustic and used and ecoplex(?) In the 70s.

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