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This will be long and it will be glorious, if you like to watch crazy guitar then read this thread to the end.
I'm fed up of seeing these top players lists composed by armchair watchers and amateurs.
This is my Informed list of the top ten players in the world.
It's based on consistency, technique, performance, melodious composure, mastery of dynamics, theoretical based composure, flair and relative ability to the average underground pro.
Number 10.
Anton Oparin.
Many videos circulate of young players and people bypass any criticism because of their age.
Anton is the real deal and not on my top 10 list because of his age but his sheer cleanliness of playing Paul Gilbert's 'let the computer decide' on a reference a440 tuned guitar.
The string skipping on such a setup requires a lax accuracy that's astoundingly well pronounced with unconscious confidence and truly PERFECT technique.
Watch the last minute from 6.10 to 7.10. This musician is 11 and smokes me when I was 17.
Number 9.
Guthrie Govan.
Guthrie was a dude who was a guitar fanatic working in fast food.
He learned everything that interested him with an almost infinite pool of determination.
He submitted fan tablature of some Shawn Lane Music to an elitist guitar magazine called 'Guitar Techniques' and they took him on.
Guthrie has learned thousands of the greatest guitar songs to an unthinkable level of accuracy absorbing the phrasing of many revered players.
He then wrote some books and made a name for himself in the underground communities.
His playing and phrasing can only be described as 'musical tasty cakes for your greedy ears'
Everything he plays has a sheen of omfg about it.
This.Is.Guthrie
(8 mins of guitargasm)
Numbarrr 8ss
Paul Gilbert
El Pablo Gilberto, do I have to even profess his technical prowess?
He may be known to some of you as the guy who taught buckethead or the pinup from Mr Big.
Maybe you've seen him play guitar with a powerdrill etc.
This is Paul, the most down to earth guy in the scene. Light hearted and incredibly goofy and funny.
Making rogue impromptu songs about keyboards not working and covering the spice girls.
Paul Is known as a player for both his incredibly successful solo career where he teaches better than any other and has a back catalogue as large and colourful as the beatles.
He played in racer x spawning thousands of clones like buckethead because of one thing. We all want to be like him, have these unique frightening chops, wear bright red leather jeans and have guitars with frills on the neck
Paul. The keyboards ain't working but the crowd sure are loving every moment with Pablo.
Paul gets 8 because of his conviction. Guitar Wars 1985.
Guitar Wars 1985
jesus
Number 7.
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal
Let me say this first, yes he plays in guns and roses....
But this is Bumblefoot, his music transcends any modern construct. Only Conlon Nancarrow can compete for the outside sound that surrounds Ron.
His choice here is not biased because he gave me great relationship advice (tyvm) but because his technique is unique. He has few imatators and the best of them don't even come close. He's off the wall and his playing is that of cool mastery and experimentation.
Ron is renowned for his perfect pitch and can play above the fretboard with a sewing thimble and also is undoubtedly the best fretless player alive (although purists may disagree)
Mr Fretless.
Number 6.
Shawn Lane.
I can't believe I just ranked shawn lane number 6 but yeah.
To the normal person: Shawn was a legendary underground player, friends of all the greats and universally known as the best. Mr wtf himself.
His playing is off the scale with regards to sheer economical technique and his music is walls of ambience layered through subtle and beautiful inflections of his playing.
Skip to 30 seconds in, I promise you will not believe your eyes.
/he scared us all back then, rip Shawn.
Number 5.
Jason Becker
Has been paralyzed since he was 19 but the world still sings his name.
Serrana, yeah weakest thing of his to choose but it completes the shock value of seeing him.
Number 4.
Rusty Cooley
Simply put, he has the best all round technique of a guitarist alive today.
No real contest.
He strives to improve and never becomes complacent transcending what the perceived latent human abilities of playing define.
Number 3
Marshall Harrison
The worlds best economy picker, a picking technique that bests anyone who has ever existed.
Sincerely, he's just taken it to the max.
NUMBER 2
Thor Von Clemson
Oh yeaahh!
Who can play better than a God?
NUMBER 1
THE BEST GUITARIST OF ALL TIME.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you .......Fred Durst
I'm fed up of seeing these top players lists composed by armchair watchers and amateurs.
This is my Informed list of the top ten players in the world.
It's based on consistency, technique, performance, melodious composure, mastery of dynamics, theoretical based composure, flair and relative ability to the average underground pro.
Number 10.
Anton Oparin.
Many videos circulate of young players and people bypass any criticism because of their age.
Anton is the real deal and not on my top 10 list because of his age but his sheer cleanliness of playing Paul Gilbert's 'let the computer decide' on a reference a440 tuned guitar.
The string skipping on such a setup requires a lax accuracy that's astoundingly well pronounced with unconscious confidence and truly PERFECT technique.
Watch the last minute from 6.10 to 7.10. This musician is 11 and smokes me when I was 17.
Number 9.
Guthrie Govan.
Guthrie was a dude who was a guitar fanatic working in fast food.
He learned everything that interested him with an almost infinite pool of determination.
He submitted fan tablature of some Shawn Lane Music to an elitist guitar magazine called 'Guitar Techniques' and they took him on.
Guthrie has learned thousands of the greatest guitar songs to an unthinkable level of accuracy absorbing the phrasing of many revered players.
He then wrote some books and made a name for himself in the underground communities.
His playing and phrasing can only be described as 'musical tasty cakes for your greedy ears'
Everything he plays has a sheen of omfg about it.
This.Is.Guthrie
(8 mins of guitargasm)
Numbarrr 8ss
Paul Gilbert
El Pablo Gilberto, do I have to even profess his technical prowess?
He may be known to some of you as the guy who taught buckethead or the pinup from Mr Big.
Maybe you've seen him play guitar with a powerdrill etc.
This is Paul, the most down to earth guy in the scene. Light hearted and incredibly goofy and funny.
Making rogue impromptu songs about keyboards not working and covering the spice girls.
Paul Is known as a player for both his incredibly successful solo career where he teaches better than any other and has a back catalogue as large and colourful as the beatles.
He played in racer x spawning thousands of clones like buckethead because of one thing. We all want to be like him, have these unique frightening chops, wear bright red leather jeans and have guitars with frills on the neck
Paul. The keyboards ain't working but the crowd sure are loving every moment with Pablo.
Paul gets 8 because of his conviction. Guitar Wars 1985.
Guitar Wars 1985
jesus
Number 7.
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal
Let me say this first, yes he plays in guns and roses....
But this is Bumblefoot, his music transcends any modern construct. Only Conlon Nancarrow can compete for the outside sound that surrounds Ron.
His choice here is not biased because he gave me great relationship advice (tyvm) but because his technique is unique. He has few imatators and the best of them don't even come close. He's off the wall and his playing is that of cool mastery and experimentation.
Ron is renowned for his perfect pitch and can play above the fretboard with a sewing thimble and also is undoubtedly the best fretless player alive (although purists may disagree)
Mr Fretless.
Number 6.
Shawn Lane.
I can't believe I just ranked shawn lane number 6 but yeah.
To the normal person: Shawn was a legendary underground player, friends of all the greats and universally known as the best. Mr wtf himself.
His playing is off the scale with regards to sheer economical technique and his music is walls of ambience layered through subtle and beautiful inflections of his playing.
Skip to 30 seconds in, I promise you will not believe your eyes.
/he scared us all back then, rip Shawn.
Number 5.
Jason Becker
Has been paralyzed since he was 19 but the world still sings his name.
Serrana, yeah weakest thing of his to choose but it completes the shock value of seeing him.
Number 4.
Rusty Cooley
Simply put, he has the best all round technique of a guitarist alive today.
No real contest.
He strives to improve and never becomes complacent transcending what the perceived latent human abilities of playing define.
Number 3
Marshall Harrison
The worlds best economy picker, a picking technique that bests anyone who has ever existed.
Sincerely, he's just taken it to the max.
NUMBER 2
Thor Von Clemson
Oh yeaahh!
Who can play better than a God?
NUMBER 1
THE BEST GUITARIST OF ALL TIME.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you .......Fred Durst