Who is the most underrated guitarist?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ibanezrocks
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Oh Yeah.....John Cippolinia. Coolest tone ever......MOST underated....Gold & Silver ,The Fool, Mona.....forget about it.....super bad....RIP John....
 
Frank Marino

Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush gets my vote.
 
Elliot Easton

Blast from the past, baby - the lefty from The Cars. The solo from "Just What I Needed" is pure genius.

JD
 
guttapercha said:
Blast from the past, baby - the lefty from The Cars. The solo from "Just What I Needed" is pure genius.

JD
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you know, now that i think of it, i heard that shit a lot in high school, and never really liked it. i heard it so much i don't need to hear it again to remember exactly how a lot of those lines go... now that i think of it, it is very inventive and lyrical
 
lotuscent said:
you know, now that i think of it, i heard that shit a lot in high school, and never really liked it. i heard it so much i don't need to hear it again to remember exactly how a lot of those lines go... now that i think of it, it is very inventive and lyrical
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Yes, same here actually - I don't actually listen to the Cars, but as a guitarist, I've always thought that Easton never got recognized enough for being so tasty.

Thanks for thinking about it a sec,

JD
 
Come on guys, let's stick to folks that most folks know. I can name every obscure guitar player in the world, but it's not really answering the question.
Also, how the fuck can Steve Vai be an underated guitar player? The dudes on like every cover of every guitar wank mag ever made. He's the most overated guitar player. The dude can't write a catchy tune to save his life. Not that is what makes you a good guitar player, but if i got to sit through a boring unispired song/album to get to a magic solo, then he ain't no "god". All those fucks like Vai/Satriani/Malmsteen/Eric Johnson miss that point. You need a good vehicle to showcase a solo. What are you impressed with? Speed? Jonn Mclaughlin can shred those guys in that department. Technique? who the fuck cares if you are not saying something worth hearing. Guitar playing is not a pissing contest. I'd rather hear Kurt Cobain or Lightnin' Hopkins play a solo that sounds like they fuckin mean it but is not "technically" very good, than some 1,000 note a minute shred fest that emotes nothing other than "Look how fast and complicated I can play".
All you guys that are fascinated with these Vai folks need to listen to someone who can say something with as few notes as possible. I have heard Neil Young, David Gilmour, Jim Hall, Marc Ribot, and Robert Fripp say more in one note than these guys like Vai and Satriani say on a whole album. The only thing that is transcending about music is emotion. Technique and speed can be learned and practiced with discipline. Having something to say and being sincere within conviction is not something learned in a guitar class or a tab book. Sometimes I think people who like these guitar shreders feel safe because aspiring to that does not require having to say something real or important and does not ask anything from the listener in terms of emotional insight. Feel can't be taught. Translating emotion can't be a given. A good guitar solo hits me in my "feel", not in my technical observation skills.
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Ok this is just silly. Of course there are some people who play fast for the sake of playing fast, but most of the guys you named aren't that. Michael Angelo (from Nitro) comes to mind. That guy's as tasteless as a piece of cardboard. But to say that Steve Vai plays with no emotion just sounds like sour grapes to me. If you can honestly say that the solo in "For the Love of God" does nothing for you, then I guess we come from a different planet. I'm not a huge Vai fan or anything, but I'm not afraid to admit when someone's a good guitar player. People learning their instrument and spending time practicing doesn't make them emotionless. Here's someone to disprove your point: Stevie Ray Vaughn. That guy had chops from hell, but does that mean he played with no emotion?

Sure there are some guys who say a lot with one note, but there are other people who say a lot with a lot of notes. Emotion has nothing to do with the number of notes you're playing. That's just ridiculous.

Jeff Beck... Steve Morse
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WTF??? Jeff Beck? Underrated? Are you insane? Players like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and anyone else from here to eternity have been singing his praises for decades!
 
famous beagle said:
. Here's someone to disprove your point: Stevie Ray Vaughn. That guy had chops from hell, but does that mean he played with no emotion?

Sure there are some guys who say a lot with one note, but there are other people who say a lot with a lot of notes. Emotion has nothing to do with the number of notes you're playing. That's just ridiculous.
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not picking on you Beagle just elaborating...
i think "emotion" has come to mean an emotion unto itself, what i mean is playing with emotion to some means they have to want to cry during the song ...happy is an emotion too and some of these guys (shredders) the first time i heard them it was like WOW just an up feeling "satch boogie " comes to mind ...Gary Hoey composed a piece to play during a ride on a rollercoaster somewhere in Cali i believe, i can remember thinking that would be awesome to hear while you rode (speakers were in the headrest) that would be an emotional feeling too...lol

as for an underrated picker check out Bill Kirchen, does a lot of truck driving old school country ,was with "commander cody and his lost planet airmen"
 
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"they say you can say a lot more with one note than you can 20, well that's a load of crap" John McLaughlin

"The moment you start to talk about playing music, you destroy music. It cannot be talked about. It can only be played, enjoyed and listened to"
John McLaughlin

That's all that is needed
 
guitarfreak12 said:
"they say you can say a lot more with one note than you can 20, well that's a load of crap" John McLaughlin

"The moment you start to talk about playing music, you destroy music. It cannot be talked about. It can only be played, enjoyed and listened to"
John McLaughlin

That's all that is needed
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Stop talking about it then, John.
 
guitarfreak12 said:
"The moment you start to talk about playing music, you destroy music. It cannot be talked about. It can only be played, enjoyed and listened to"
John McLaughlin
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I completely disagree. I think talking about music can enhance the experience of listening to it. Then again McLaughlin is not on my list of favorite guitarists, so maybe his music can be ruined by talking about it?
 
Defining underrated...

Not sure if I'm catching the true nature of the original request in this thread, but I scoped out all ten pages of replies, and unless I overlooked a mention in pasing, I do not see Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser on anyone's list. He's certainly on mine!

I do see a bunch of great players listed, however, from all genres. That is cool...
 
WryDogPaul said:
Not sure if I'm catching the true nature of the original request in this thread, but I scoped out all ten pages of replies, and unless I overlooked a mention in pasing, I do not see Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser on anyone's list. He's certainly on mine!

\
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YEAH!!!!! BO fuckin' C!

man i went to see soft white underbelly in 1985 when i was 15 in a little hole in the wall in santa barbara... hell yeah! what a great memory. i was about ten feet from buck, my eyes glued to his fretboard, some sweet rocker chick fist banging next to me...

ahhh childhood
 
I'm going to add my say in this 10 page thread... :p

The following are listed for their different reasons.

(Maybe not underrated?)
David Gilmour - Because he makes you FEEL his music through the speakers. When I listen to the solo Another Brick In The Wall II, I almost cry. And to think it was DI and not mic'ed.

John Mayer - I have to give credit to this guy, even if he does a lot of imitation. He turned me on to other guitarists when he referenced their style in his songs (Charlie Hunter, SRV, Bill Frisell, etc.).

Eric Krasno from Soulive - Funky blues grooves and jazz chops to boot.

Tim Reynolds - Was this mentioned already? Listen to Stream on the Live at Luther College CD2 with Dave Matthews. Good slide, picked stuff, and ambience with an echo pedal and 1 acoustic guitarist. Closest thing to a shredder on this whole list...

Dave Matthews - Have you ever tried to play any of his songs correctly? He comes up with crazy ass voicings to chords and knows how to fill the room with 1 guitar. Now do that and sing at the same time... :mad: ... Not to mention the fact that he comes up with really hooky riffs in all sorts of time signatures (4/4, 3/4, 6/8).


edit: Crap...I forgot one last one. Trey Anastasio - That squeezed tone he gets and some really cool jamming that isn't just pentatonic. One of my fav guitarists of all time. Can't believe I left him off the list...
Hope that wasn't too long. Sorry I couldn't pick one! :o
 
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Jeff Healey - The guy can play better blind and in his lap than most normal "guitar gods" can play.

Alex Lifeson - Although highly rated, still not highly rated enough.

-Clintage
 
John Mayer?? Come on, now. Yeah he's good, but he's no SRV or even close. Definitely NOT the most under rated.

Dave Matthews??? He plays guitar?
 
Paul Simon

David Lindley

Pete Anderson

James Hetfield

Steve Earle & Dwight Yoakam (rhythm guys, but very musical)
 
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