Poll: Most Overrated Guitar Player OAT

  • Thread starter Thread starter gcapel
  • Start date Start date

Most Overrated (skill or songwriter)

  • Jimmy Vaughan

    Votes: 12 8.9%

  • Eric Clapton

    Votes: 23 17.0%

  • BB King

    Votes: 12 8.9%

  • Slash

    Votes: 41 30.4%

  • write-in

    Votes: 19 14.1%

  • all these guys rock what are you thinking?

    Votes: 28 20.7%
  • Total voters
    135
Sirnothingness said:
Carlos Santana. When he had a young Neil Schon playing with him, Neil blew his ass away. Not to offend Santana fans, but I think he is overrated big time.
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Aboslutley. HAHA - Neil took a bunch of his guys, too, and started Journey, who I think had a ton of great songs, ALL of which are better by far than any and all Santana.
The fact is, there are many really lame ( sorry to his fans, but it's my opinion - his playing is sour and weak) famous people that by simple luck and timing, NOT talent, are considered great. It's just not fair, and I think such people should have their fame revoked.
 
gibson59neck said:
Aboslutley. HAHA - Neil took a bunch of his guys, too, and started Journey, who I think had a ton of great songs, ALL of which are better by far than any and all Santana.
The fact is, there are many really lame ( sorry to his fans, but it's my opinion - his playing is sour and weak) famous people that by simple luck and timing, NOT talent, are considered great. It's just not fair, and I think such people should have their fame revoked.
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So if you agreed with me, why did you give me negative rep?
 
Sirnothingness said:
So if you agreed with me, why did you give me negative rep?
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How the hell did I do that? I am an idiot if I did. You sill be avenged, fellow hater of Santana...
 
soundchaser59 said:
You left George Thorogood off your list.....
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I didn't think he even rated highly? Doesn't the whole entire population of Earth think he sucks already?
 
Supercreep said:
I think Eric Clapton is just OK.

/shrugs/


For a guitarist described as "God" I'd say he's a little overrated.
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Agreed!!!!!!!!!
 
my 2 cents

I used to agree on Clapton being overrated, until I heard his stuff with Cream. His tone, feel, and licks on "Spoonful" made me "get it" for the first time about why he was heralded the way he was then. I think before someone dismisses him completely, they should listen to that tune. I agree that his best stuff BY FAR was with Gibsons. I wish he never would have picked up a strat.

I have to vote for Santana. He seems like a really nice guy, and I always enjoy what he has to say in interviews and all that, but his playing just seems like the most noodly, go-nowhere stuff to me. I dunno ... I just don't get it.

However, he doesn't get the most noodly go-nowhere award ever (he does for overrated players though). The most noodly go-nowhere player I've ever heard was a guy in Wide Spread Panic (sp?). I don't remember his name, but he was on a DVD I rented and watched about them. I THINK his name was Michael something, but I can't remember.

I do know that he sat in a chair while playing electric, even on stage. Anyway, this guy would never play more than from one note of a scale to the next when soloing --- literally. So, if he was playing in Am pentatonic for example, he might play something like: A - C - D - C - D - D - E - G - E - D - C - D. It was just up and down the scale one note at a time, ocassionally changing directions, but still only moving in stepwise motion ALL THE TIME.

And I promise I'm not being overly analytical about this. The first thing I realized was that his playing sounded incredibly bland and stale. It was only after listening for a little bit did I realize the reason. I couldn't believe it. I was thinking ... "Are you kidding? This person is a professional musician? And he's playing in a well-respected jam band like Wide Spread Panic?"

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I know he's not overrated or anything. The Santana noodly thing just started me on it and I got sidetracked.
 
hey beagle......that would be (the late) Michael Houser, and he's one of my favorite guitarists of all time.

sure he's a pentatonic noodler and not much more. but he's the perfect example of the part fitting the song. and the way he constructed his solos fit perfectly with the way the band jammed--it was a lot like riding a wave. ups, downs, fasts, slows.....he was the best example of you didn't need to play 800 miles per minute in order to make music i've ever seen. he could say more in one bent note than trey or petrucci can in a flurry of 1000.

and his tone was beautiful. i spent many a night parked on the rail in front of his soldano watching his fingers glide over the neck of his tele. the day he passed was a dark day in my world.

unfortunately, it never really came through on dvd like it did live. i guess you just had to be there to understand, and some folks just don't understand how his playing just FIT.

you're not a phish phan or something, are you? :p


cheers,
wade

PS--he sat on stage b/c he had circulation problems in his feet, due to the way he constantly used his volume pedal. he started sitting in 1996. prior to that he stood, and his leg would be numb by the end of the show. can't fault a brother for sitting due to medical reasons.
 
mrface2112 said:
hey beagle......that would be (the late) Michael Houser, and he's one of my favorite guitarists of all time.

sure he's a pentatonic noodler and not much more. but he's the perfect example of the part fitting the song. and the way he constructed his solos fit perfectly with the way the band jammed--it was a lot like riding a wave. ups, downs, fasts, slows.....he was the best example of you didn't need to play 800 miles per minute in order to make music i've ever seen. he could say more in one bent note than trey or petrucci can in a flurry of 1000.

and his tone was beautiful. i spent many a night parked on the rail in front of his soldano watching his fingers glide over the neck of his tele. the day he passed was a dark day in my world.

unfortunately, it never really came through on dvd like it did live. i guess you just had to be there to understand, and some folks just don't understand how his playing just FIT.

you're not a phish phan or something, are you? :p


cheers,
wade

PS--he sat on stage b/c he had circulation problems in his feet, due to the way he constantly used his volume pedal. he started sitting in 1996. prior to that he stood, and his leg would be numb by the end of the show. can't fault a brother for sitting due to medical reasons.
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Hi face,

Well I knew I'd probably hear from one of his fans! No offense meant, and I'm sorry that he passed away and that he meant so much to you. Different strokes for different folks! I mean, for pete's sake, like I said, Santana's playing does nothing for me, and he's heralded as one of the best ever. Wilco does nothing for a lot of people, but they're one of my favorite bands of all. So, you never know. And no I'm not a Phish fan or anything! :) Then again, I'm not really a big fan of "jam bands," so I'm sure I probably wouldn't get it.

However, I'm all for "playing for the song." Edge is one of my favorites in that regard, besides the fact that I just have a lot of respect for him overall as a musician because he's a great writer, bg singer, and a very solid player.

By the way, how did Michael die? That's too bad; he must have been very young.
 
beagle--

no offense taken, and certainly none intended from me--it's all good. diff'rent strokes indeed. :D

i'm not a santana fan either.

mikey just wasn't a flashy guitarist, he didn't want or mean to be, and i think he probably have agreed that in terms of pure wanking ability, he wasn't on the same level as a Steve Howe or Alex Lifeson (two of his idols).

mikey died from pancreatic cancer. he was in his mid 40s, and left a wife and two small children. he was diagnosed and then dead within 6 months or so. pancreatic cancer doesn't screw around and it's inoperable. he stayed on the road playing with the band until his body couldn't handle it anymore--which was about a month before he died.

i was planning on taking a break from seeing panic in 2002 until a friend of mine called me with the news, at which point i made a point to see as many shows as i could in the spring of 2002, so i could say my goodbye. it was very difficult as panic's music (and mikey's guitar) played a very large part in my life from 1992-2002, including some really hard times.

after mikey passed, they replaced him with George McConnell, which was just a horrible fit. i tuned out at that point for the next 4 years. george either quit (or they fired him, depends on who you believe) last summer, and Jimmy Herring took over. jimmy is a FANTASTIC guitar player. if you've never checked out Project Z, ARU or Phil and Friends, i highly recommend it. jimmy does mikey's parts complete justice AND he takes the band places mikey just couldn't. not to mention, jimmy is about the nicest, most genuine human being you'll ever meet.

i'm thoroughly excited about seeing the band tomorrow night in Richmond.

fwiw, i'm one of those that the playing of jerry garcia has never really done anything for. but i can certainly appreciate the appeal.


cheers,
wade
 
Micter said:
The guy just isn't a great guitar player by any stretch of the imagination. I'm comparing him to 1000's of guys that have more talent than Neil Young and he makes the top 100 guitarist of all time list? That to me is a huge joke and a slap in the face to the many guitarist that spend hours upon hours practicing to learn and master their craft. Plain and simple he's not that good! elecric, acoustic, lap steel, dobro, I don't care he isn't a good player at all.
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Plain and simple, you suck!
 
never seen so much hating in my life....lol
i agree with a few of the comments on a few of the guitarists, but there are some killer guitarists here being dogged, each of them bringing something exceptional to the table.
 
I don't personally hate any guitarists but there are some that I just don't get - just like there are some bands that I just don't "get". Rush for instance. I don't get them. I just can't stand the tone of Geddy Lee's voice, and their music just seems weird and goofy to me. Doesn't move me at all. But at the same time, I can appreciate that they are all talented and respected musicians, and some of my friends are die hard fans as are millions of others. So there must be something to them, it's just that I don't get 'em...

Neil Young as a guitarist? Great songwriter and musician, but i can't really say any of his guitar playing ever made me notice it.

John Petrucci? Don't get him either. Just sounds like flowery foo-foo guitar noodling to me, with no point. At least not one that I get.

Santana, on the other hand, not technically dazzling by any means, but at least he has some feeling in his playing. I get THAT.

Same for BB King and early clapton.

I guess some of us connect to music on a more basic and emotional level, while some people need more technical complex stuff to get us going.
 
amra said:
I don't personally hate any guitarists but there are some that I just don't get - just like there are some bands that I just don't "get". Rush for instance. I don't get them. I just can't stand the tone of Geddy Lee's voice, and their music just seems weird and goofy to me. Doesn't move me at all. But at the same time, I can appreciate that they are all talented and respected musicians, and some of my friends are die hard fans as are millions of others. So there must be something to them, it's just that I don't get 'em...

Neil Young as a guitarist? Great songwriter and musician, but i can't really say any of his guitar playing ever made me notice it.

John Petrucci? Don't get him either. Just sounds like flowery foo-foo guitar noodling to me, with no point. At least not one that I get.

Santana, on the other hand, not technically dazzling by any means, but at least he has some feeling in his playing. I get THAT.

Same for BB King and early clapton.

I guess some of us connect to music on a more basic and emotional level, while some people need more technical complex stuff to get us going.
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I agree on almost all of these points. Rush is certainly one of the biggest "I don't get it's" to me of all.

I love Neil Young, and I think he's a competent guitar player. He does what needs to be done.

All the others I agree with except Santana. Everyone else hears all this "feeling" in his playing, but I don't. I try to, because I like him as a person (from interviews that I've read), but his tone and feel and note choice just doesn't do anything for me.
 
danny.guitar said:
Tears In Heaven, Wonderful Tonight, Layla (not sure if he wrote this one), among a lot of other songs.
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Yech! Shittiest songs in his catalog. Clapner sux. tears in heaven?

The ONLY clapton song that I liked listening to him play was "Forever Man" which was also a really cool video. it was before Phil Collins spewed all over him and ruined him for future generations. I like to play Lay Down Sally, but I have extensively reworked the song. His solo is a fucking joke on that one. I admit that cream stuff is decent, but Christ! That was like 40 years ago. He's sucked since 30 years ago. His solo on while my guitar gently weeps sort of sucks.

Santana has only impressed me in the Woodstock movie. Everything else is shitte.

Non-hater moment: I saw a video of the cars live the other day and I think that Elliot Easton is pretty darn good. He's like the third best left handed guitar player of all time.
 
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