Fastest guitarist in the world - official

S

Superhuman

Shagaholic
Not sure if this vid has been posted here before but apparantly the much debated 'who is the fastest guitarist in the world?' question has been answered (for now!).
It sounds completely ridiculous but it is what it is - mind bogglingly fast. You need to forward in a bit to see him playing, he plays 'Flight of the Bumblebee' from 180 through to 320bpm which is faster than the mind can reasonably handle. Not my personal idea of music, I think it sounds like a bumblebee in a blender but the guy has serious technical skill.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1495641/world_record_guitar_speed_2008/
 
GAD you cant even see his fingers moving, just looks like a solid hand going up and down the fretboard. That's damn fast tho, I'd like to see that waveform and see exactly how accurate and clean it all is,
 
What's funny was how bad his timing was at the "slow" (lol) speed of 170bpm. He would rush through 4 notes each beat and wait a bit before starting the next beat, like:

da-da-da-da----da-da-da-da----da-da-da-da


Anyway ... yeah it's great gymnastics, but it sounded like shit! His tone, as is the case with almost all those mega-shredders, was god-awful.
 
That's cool. I'll bookmark it so I can call it up when the shredders tell me how neat pure speed is.

As I've said before, he wasted a lot of sunny days practicing that crap when he could have been doing something more profitable, like chunking rocks into a pond.
 
I agree it sounds terrible, really fast stuff can sound excellent when used sparingly around solid phrasing but only up to an absolute maximum of 220bpm. 320bpm doesnt even sound like music anymore.
 
Impressive. Yet, he's still nobody. I'll give it credit as a sport, but it's hardly musical. He also needs a shower.
 
Superhuman said:
I agree it sounds terrible, really fast stuff can sound excellent when used sparingly around solid phrasing but only up to an absolute maximum of 220bpm. 320bpm doesnt even sound like music anymore.
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I have a hard time believing there's a sheer "speed ceiling" past which it doesn't sound like music, and even if there was I doubt it'd be that low.

That said, while I can't really say what the rest of this guy's music is like, please keep in mind that this is just a speed demonstration, and not an example of emotional shred soloing. Hell, the dude may have some pretty tasty phrasing too; it's just tough to show that when trying to set a speed record on a classical composition.

I mean, sorry to play devil's advocate here more a moment, but I see a LOT of people bash technically-minded guitarists based on clips like this which are obviously intended as no more than technical demonstrations. If you're going to slam all shred guitarists based on a clip of a guy showing how fast he can play a particular peice because his phrasing's no good, well, you're kind of missing the point. The criticism about his timing being a little iffy is valid - haying he wasted his time because he shows no creative phrasing here, only speed, strikes me as slightly less so.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
I have a hard time believing there's a sheer "speed ceiling" past which it doesn't sound like music, and even if there was I doubt it'd be that low.

That said, while I can't really say what the rest of this guy's music is like, please keep in mind that this is just a speed demonstration, and not an example of emotional shred soloing. Hell, the dude may have some pretty tasty phrasing too; it's just tough to show that when trying to set a speed record on a classical composition.

I mean, sorry to play devil's advocate here more a moment, but I see a LOT of people bash technically-minded guitarists based on clips like this which are obviously intended as no more than technical demonstrations. If you're going to slam all shred guitarists based on a clip of a guy showing how fast he can play a particular peice because his phrasing's no good, well, you're kind of missing the point. The criticism about his timing being a little iffy is valid - haying he wasted his time because he shows no creative phrasing here, only speed, strikes me as slightly less so.
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I love good shred, in fact I only play fast instrumental stuff myself, I did hear some of his other stuff and he does not play like that in his regular band - much more reasonable paced. I suppose it is hard to put a speed cieling limit to anything, I actually like Battio, Malmsteen, Petrucci, Romeo etc - unlike a lot of guys here I still reckon the speeds they still play very tasteful. 320 though is impossible to inject any feeling into - plus it is true, this piece was purely as a demonstration of incredibly fast technique. I would still like to be physically able to play that fast even if it is only as a sideshow.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
I have a hard time believing there's a sheer "speed ceiling" past which it doesn't sound like music, and even if there was I doubt it'd be that low.

That said, while I can't really say what the rest of this guy's music is like, please keep in mind that this is just a speed demonstration, and not an example of emotional shred soloing. Hell, the dude may have some pretty tasty phrasing too; it's just tough to show that when trying to set a speed record on a classical composition.

I mean, sorry to play devil's advocate here more a moment, but I see a LOT of people bash technically-minded guitarists based on clips like this which are obviously intended as no more than technical demonstrations. If you're going to slam all shred guitarists based on a clip of a guy showing how fast he can play a particular peice because his phrasing's no good, well, you're kind of missing the point. The criticism about his timing being a little iffy is valid - haying he wasted his time because he shows no creative phrasing here, only speed, strikes me as slightly less so.
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You're right that it's not fair to judge things like phrasing from clips like this, but, in fairness, several people have said things like "I'll give him credit for the sport of it ..."
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
I mean, sorry to play devil's advocate here more a moment, but I see a LOT of people bash technically-minded guitarists based on clips like this which are obviously intended as no more than technical demonstrations. If you're going to slam all shred guitarists based on a clip of a guy showing how fast he can play a particular peice because his phrasing's no good, well, you're kind of missing the point. The criticism about his timing being a little iffy is valid - haying he wasted his time because he shows no creative phrasing here, only speed, strikes me as slightly less so.
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So what's the point? If it's not music, then it's nothing. Maybe I just have higher standards.
 
Superhuman said:
I love good shred, in fact I only play fast instrumental stuff myself, I did hear some of his other stuff and he does not play like that in his regular band - much more reasonable paced. I suppose it is hard to put a speed cieling limit to anything, I actually like Battio, Malmsteen, Petrucci, Romeo etc - unlike a lot of guys here I still reckon the speeds they still play very tasteful. 320 though is impossible to inject any feeling into - plus it is true, this piece was purely as a demonstration of incredibly fast technique. I would still like to be physically able to play that fast even if it is only as a sideshow.
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Just to be fair here, I couldn't play that fast if my life depended on it, nor would I want to and this type of stuff bores me to pieces. However, I'm compelled to ask. Who are you to tell anyone else in regards to playing @ 320 bpm whether anyone else can/has and/or will put any feeling into it or not? Do you have any charts or diagrams to back this up or is this opinion trying to pass as fact?

Just curious. :D
 
Novelty act

Cirque de Soliel ala guitar. Impressive but non-musical. He should wear a Killer Bee suit ala John Belushi on Saturday Night Live. We want your pollen.
 
jfrog said:
Being the fastest guitar player is kinda like being the fastest ballet dancer.
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Excellent.

To reply to others, when a person throws everything he can into a single song, or a single painting, or a single poem, or anything else, that diminishes it as art. I could explicate this principal at great length, but suffice it to say, that, just because you CAN do it doesn't mean that you are showing good taste by DOING it.

For all you guys who are agog at the player's performance, God bless ya, kids.
 
lpdeluxe said:
So what's the point? If it's not music, then it's nothing. Maybe I just have higher standards.
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What's the point? Why try to climb Everest? Why try to set the world record in the 100 meter dash? Why try to see if you can bench press more than anyone else you know? Why take turns with your buddies seeing who can sink three pointers from farthest away? Why bother trying to shoot a hole in one when you can do it in three or four strokes and still beat par?

Because we as a people have a long history of trying to outdo each other. Why? Because it's fun.

All I'm saying is I suspect no one is watching a video of Usain Bolt running the 100 meter dash and saying they'd never want to go for a nice walk in the woods with the guy, because, well, look at him run.

There's a world of difference between a technical excersize and a musical performance, and my experience has been that a lot of people slagging off on shred players like to forget that as the basis for writing off the entire genre. Attributing it to "higher standards" totally misses the point.
 
lpdeluxe said:
Excellent.

To reply to others, when a person throws everything he can into a single song, or a single painting, or a single poem, or anything else, that diminishes it as art. I could explicate this principal at great length, but suffice it to say, that, just because you CAN do it doesn't mean that you are showing good taste by DOING it.

For all you guys who are agog at the player's performance, God bless ya, kids.
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See, this is totally condescending, and again misses the point. "The Flight of the Bumblebee" was from the moment it was written intended as a technical showcase and not a haunting, melodic peice of music - an attempt to replicate the doppler'd buzz of a bee whirring through the air on the violin. I'd say, based on those grounds, both Korsakov and this guy suceeded admirably. When I'm in the mood for something emotional this isn't what I'd choose to listen to, but that doesn't mean I can't also respect the guy for having the technical aptitude to do it.

And how exactly does taste factor into it? This bloke didn't write the peice, and violinists have been ripping through this for decades.

And I'd appreciate not being called a "kid" simply because I can discern between a virtuostic showpiece and an emotional solo, thanks all the same.
 
jfrog said:
Being the fastest guitar player is kinda like being the fastest ballet dancer.
Click to expand...

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

There is nothing musical about rubbing the strings so fast that it sounds like someone farting in a bathtub. The whole exhibition was totally pointless. What's next the fastest nose picker? 320 BPM [boogers per minute]
 
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