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Overrated guitarist

5,188 Views | 72 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by imjustsayin
Aust Ag
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5:54p, 11/18/20
AG
I know this topic will fire up some people. You also have to state your evidence.

I'll start: B.B. King

Why? 1) For me, plays too slow. Not enough emotion. I think the great David Gilmour sometimes plays slow , , but..... 2) Also don't like King's "clean" sound. Every solo I've heard sounds similar. Probably comes from playing the same guitar for most of his life (Lucille). Boring.

My runner up is his protg, Eric Clapton. Some good songs, but nothing "great" outside from Layla (and he got a little help from a really great one there) , and maybe Guitar Weeps (Beatles) .

Not saying either of these guys are terrible, just saying overrated.

GO!
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Hub `93
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5:57p, 11/18/20
AG
Slash. His lead tone is like fingernails on a blackboard.
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oldcrow91
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6:20p, 11/18/20
AG
OP, You have some high standards.
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Ol_Ag_02
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6:22p, 11/18/20
AG
Can't wait to see OPs riffs on his forthcoming YouTube link.
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Funky Winkerbean
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6:25p, 11/18/20
AG
Keith Urban
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Quincey P. Morris
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6:33p, 11/18/20
AG
Really any of the "virtuoso" group. They're phenomenal players with a ton of skill but it's just boring to me after a while. They're like people that play the Chapman Stick for me.
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Hey Nav
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In reply to Aust Ag • 6:38p, 11/18/20
AG
So, Austin Ag, you took a dig at Rolling Stone Magazine's #6 and #2 on the all-time list.
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Brian Earl Spilner
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6:49p, 11/18/20
AG
Yngwie Malsteem
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Bruce Almighty
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6:51p, 11/18/20
AG
Keith Richards
George Harrison
Kurt Cobain
Neil Young
The Edge
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Ghost91
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In reply to Aust Ag • 7:10p, 11/18/20
Aust Ag said:
I know this topic will fire up some people. You also have to state your evidence.

I'll start: B.B. King

Why? 1) For me, plays too slow. Not enough emotion. I think the great David Gilmour sometimes plays slow , , but..... 2) Also don't like King's "clean" sound. Every solo I've heard sounds similar. Probably comes from playing the same guitar for most of his life (Lucille). Boring.

My runner up is his protg, Eric Clapton. Some good songs, but nothing "great" outside from Layla (and he got a little help from a really great one there) , and maybe Guitar Weeps (Beatles) .

Not saying either of these guys are terrible, just saying overrated.

GO!


Fun fact - there actually wasn't "a" Lucille. There were many over the years and he called each one 'Lucille'.

I think that most if not all of the famous guitarists reputations are well deserved, and what we "don't like" really applies more to their genre than their ability.

Case in point - I've never understood the love for SRV or Marc Knopfler, but I readily admit - as a hard rock/metal fan - that's likely due to the fact that I just don't like their kind of rockabilly/pop/whatever music.
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Shakes the Clown
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7:26p, 11/18/20
Brian May

His guitar tone sounds like he playing through a $100 throw away 50 Watt amp. Great technique, but overdoes his runs and fills. IMO, he could have reigned it in on some of the songs.

And, for the record, I've been playing guitar for 30 years.

I'll try to answer the other responses.

BB King - he made Blues "cool" - he was not flashy, no. But I've heard interviews where guys like Satriani worshiped him due to his melody and note selection. Simplicity and economical!

The Edge. - he was more about his effects and his chord phrasing (open Sus chords) - no one, I mean no one sounded like him in his era( Andy Summers is close). He's an amazing songwriter as well.

Keith Richards - opened up a new dimension with his alt tunings. A very, very underrated songwriter. No one ( other than Billy Gibbons) has/had the "hooks" like he did.
Where The Edge was with effects/pedals, KR was in the opposite spectrum. Kept it simple. It was all about the groove and the song (story telling).

I'll come back and add more...
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Shakes the Clown
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In reply to Ghost91 • 7:43p, 11/18/20
Jr.-

Watch this SRV - watch the whole damn thing!




Let me know how you feel about SRV after viewing the video.

-

Curt Cobain??? I don't know any one who would put him in the Top 100 of "Great Guitarist"
Same with Neil Young. Unique "loose" phrasing and bending in his solos, bit I wouldn't call him "great".

Eric Clapton was "the Bridge" from Black North American plantation Blues to mainstream. Like BB King, he introduced a whole generation to the wailings and moanings of the battered black soul. What EC did is he turned up the gain, and re-arranged some of their songs and made them, heavy, louder and faster.

Led Zep would later carry on that torch into the 70s!!
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aTm2004
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7:43p, 11/18/20
AG
John Frusciante - The only thing of his that makes me want to listen to multiple times is his SNL performance when he was as high as a kite, and that's primarily because of the story to the performance. Other than that, nothing of his stands out or is memorable. I think he was with the right band at the right time.
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Shakes the Clown
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In reply to aTm2004 • 7:56p, 11/18/20
aTm2004 said:
John Frusciante - The only thing of his that makes me want to listen to multiple times is his SNL performance when he was as high as a kite, and that's primarily because of the story to the performance. Other than that, nothing of his stands out or is memorable. I think he was with the right band at the right time.


You're entitled to your opinion obviously, but JF is probably a top 3 most UNDERRATED Guitarist for me.

I would literally give my LEFT nut to play like him.

He has it all: soul, funk, "feel", songwriting, originality, and Chops. Given my Scorecard, he's up there with Hendrix.

You know JF never learned to drive? He has no drivers license - he is both Apathetic about getting behind the Wheel and/or he's terrified of the responsibility. He's an interesting Soul to say the least.

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gggmann
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7:58p, 11/18/20
AG
This is a silly topic. You could really take it to extremes and list anyone who isn't a jazz or fusion guitarist as overrated. I think a better title might be famous guitarists you don't like and why.
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Brian Earl Spilner
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8:01p, 11/18/20
AG
Just waiting for someone to say John Mayer so I can pounce.
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Tibbers
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8:02p, 11/18/20
Here is someone who is not overrated:

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Bruce Almighty
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8:15p, 11/18/20
AG
Hendrix, Billy Gibbons and Frusciante are my personal top 3. Mike McCready and Duane Allman round out the top 5.
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aTm2004
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In reply to Shakes the Clown • 8:35p, 11/18/20
AG
His play better suits your taste. If I had the choice to be able to play like him or Gary Rossington, I'm going Gary.
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Big Al 1992
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8:35p, 11/18/20
AG
George Strait - his guitar makes a nice arm rest for him.
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johnnyblaze36
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In reply to Tibbers • 8:39p, 11/18/20
AG
Thanks for posting this. Love both Bela Fleck and Billy but I rarely ever miss a live Billy Strings stream. Kid's on a whole different plane these days.
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aTm2004
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In reply to Big Al 1992 • 8:51p, 11/18/20
AG
Big Al 1992 said:
George Strait - his guitar makes a nice arm rest for him.

The King doesn't need to strum a guitar.
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Tibbers
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In reply to johnnyblaze36 • 9:05p, 11/18/20
johnnyblaze36 said:
Thanks for posting this. Love both Bela Fleck and Billy but I rarely ever miss a live Billy Strings stream. Kid's on a whole different plane these days.


Me too. Me too. Although I didn't nab tickets for his upcoming show in October.
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Frok
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9:19p, 11/18/20
AG
Taylor Swift
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ConroeAg
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In reply to Aust Ag • 9:47p, 11/18/20
Regarding Clapton, I was really given a shocking awakening when he released his "From the Cradle" blues album. Totally unlike any of the rock and later, pop stuff I knew him for...and holy ****, those screaming hot guitar solos!

One of my favorite albums of all time from top to bottom.
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johnnyblaze36
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In reply to Tibbers • 10:06p, 11/18/20
AG
Tibbers said:
johnnyblaze36 said:
Thanks for posting this. Love both Bela Fleck and Billy but I rarely ever miss a live Billy Strings stream. Kid's on a whole different plane these days.


Me too. Me too. Although I didn't nab tickets for his upcoming show in October.
Where is it? I had tix for him opening for Isbell in Dallas back in August before it got rona'd.
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Tibbers
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In reply to johnnyblaze36 • 10:39p, 11/18/20
He is playing three nights at the mission ballroom in denver. Supposedly he may play in Dallas in January, will let you know if that comes to pass.
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Lathspell
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In reply to Shakes the Clown • 11:08p, 11/18/20
AG
How many years you have played guitar is really irrelevant. I've been playing for 20 years and played piano for 6 years, before that. How you could disparage Brian May in the same post as propping up the Edge is mind-blowing.

Brian May is one of the most UNDERRATED guitar players in history. His runs and phrasing fit the songs perfectly and he is notorious for NOT overdoing it.

I don't disparage anyone for liking the Edge's guitar playing, but oversaturating your sound with reverb and delay doesn't make you a great guitarist. He literally explains how simple his playing is in It Might Get Loud:

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johnnyblaze36
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In reply to Tibbers • 11:44p, 11/18/20
AG
Tibbers said:
He is playing three nights at the mission ballroom in denver. Supposedly he may play in Dallas in January, will let you know if that comes to pass.
I came so close to going to the Jeff Austin tribute show at Mission Ballroom that Billy played briefly. Hope the shows pan out for you!
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Philo B 93
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7:08a, 11/19/20
At some point in my life, I've thought ALL of the big names mentioned above were over-rated. I thought Hendrix was just distortion and feedback, I thought SRV's solos were all that one long note, all Van Halen could do is finger tap, and Clapton was just slow simple solos. I definitely didn't get Led Zeppelin when I was learning my first three power chords.

Boy was I wrong about all that. I didn't get a lot of those guys until I got some experience and a lot years of music into my ears. Some of you were lucky and got it all on day one, but I think I'm the lucky one because I got to enjoy new layers of appreciation spread out over 50 years.

When you focus on a good video of most of the players we've named, you can see that they're not normal humans. The pull the music from somewhere else. When they're playing, they're not competing with anyone. They're just winning.
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ABattJudd
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8:27a, 11/19/20
AG
I've never been a U2 fan, but I've gotta agree that The Edge succeeded in creating something unique in his sound and style. I used to play in a church band with a dude that basically patterned everything he did off of The Edge's use of delay, and I admired how his simple playing created something bigger than what he was actually doing.

I know it's not the purpose of this thread, but one guitar player that I wish could have been around to produce more is Steve Gaines. He joined Skynyrd right before their live album, and the only studio album he was on was Street Survivors. Listen to his lead work on their cover on Haggard's "Honky Tonk Nighttime Man" (I love this song, but I'm not a great fan of the mix; they should have dialed back the percussive acoustic guitar quite a bit).

"Well, if you can’t have a great season, at least ruin somebody else’s." - Olin Buchanan
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Aust Ag
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In reply to Ghost91 • 8:45a, 11/19/20
AG
Ghost91 said:
Aust Ag said:
I know this topic will fire up some people. You also have to state your evidence.

I'll start: B.B. King

Why? 1) For me, plays too slow. Not enough emotion. I think the great David Gilmour sometimes plays slow , , but..... 2) Also don't like King's "clean" sound. Every solo I've heard sounds similar. Probably comes from playing the same guitar for most of his life (Lucille). Boring.

My runner up is his protg, Eric Clapton. Some good songs, but nothing "great" outside from Layla (and he got a little help from a really great one there) , and maybe Guitar Weeps (Beatles) .

Not saying either of these guys are terrible, just saying overrated.

GO!


Fun fact - there actually wasn't "a" Lucille. There were many over the years and he called each one 'Lucille'.

I think that most if not all of the famous guitarists reputations are well deserved, and what we "don't like" really applies more to their genre than their ability.

Case in point - I've never understood the love for SRV or Marc Knopfler, but I readily admit - as a hard rock/metal fan - that's likely due to the fact that I just don't like their kind of rockabilly/pop/whatever music.
Well, that's why I said I don't think they're "terrible", or think they can't play. Obviously they have a ton of fans. I just don't get it, that's all.
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Aust Ag
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In reply to ConroeAg • 8:53a, 11/19/20
AG
ConroeAg said:
Regarding Clapton, I was really given a shocking awakening when he released his "From the Cradle" blues album. Totally unlike any of the rock and later, pop stuff I knew him for...and holy ****, those screaming hot guitar solos!

One of my favorite albums of all time from top to bottom.
I'll have to check it out this week. With most of these players listed above, I think most of us are making a judgement based on what we've heard on the radio. I mean, we don't really dig them much, why would we buy whole albums of their work? Most famous guitarist have much better work on display that's no so "radio friendly", with hooks, etc.

EVH worshipped Clapton, so maybe I need to take another look.
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Aust Ag
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In reply to Hey Nav • 9:01a, 11/19/20
AG
Hey Nav said:
So, Austin Ag, you took a dig at Rolling Stone Magazine's #6 and #2 on the all-time list.
Yeah, I know. Well, I've always been more of a John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Page guy.
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mazag08
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9:34a, 11/19/20
AG
Anyone that anyone on this board likes sucks ass.
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