the 10 most influential guitarists on YOU.

[Charlie Livingston]

Wow, I'm surprised no one mentioned Edge. I know he's never been known for great technique, but for sheer creativity on his instrument I'd venture he deserves a place in rock top 10. His attack always has that signature chiming presence, but he's expanded that sound across a lot of guitars in his career, and with each change has come a huge batch of new sounds, textures, colors, etc. (could anybody who didn't know better guess that Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby were the same guy?)

Here's the rest of my list in no particular order:

George Harrison - not a virtuoso, but what great creative instincts!
EVH - too bad his image has gone to the dogs in the last 5 years, genius player. Has anyone heard the new Van Hagar songs or seen the tour? I'd be interested in your observations, though I'm not very optimistic!
SRV - better overall tone than Hendrix, I think
Randy Rhoads - did I spell that correctly?
Pete Townsend - very literate rhythm playing within a stronger songwriting ethos than most of his '60's counterparts
Jimmy Page - do I need to qualify?)
Eric Clapton - I actually don't like white blues all that much, but man, that guy has great instincts and tone for days
Brian Setzer - maybe he's "swing/rockabilly lite", but he's assimilated a lot of classic players' styles AND he's recorded in the modern era, so you can hear all the great nuances of the Gretsch sound
Andy Summers - another "serve the song" guy on my list who's capable of a lot; those early Police songs were brilliant
David Gilmour - another tone player I love

Wow, that's 11. Oh well.

[Salty]

As I was sliding down reading the list thinking of my ten I kept getting stopped and saying, "Yeah, and him too." I guess I would have to say all of the above for me. I truly enjoy the instrument and the creative ways each of these mentioned have expressed themselves with it. I do have one quetsion however. Will the person who mentioned Robert Fripp please elaborate? I found his name in a book about guitars I had for over 10 years. And in that time I have not been able to come across anything (pre internet days. duh, I guess I should use a search engine - huh)

One that was absent that I would add to the above lists was Carlos Santana. Simple, Soulful, & Sincere.

[Ed Belknap]

Originally posted by Salty
Will the person who mentioned Robert Fripp please elaborate? I found his name in a book about guitars I had for over 10 years. And in that time I have not been able to come across anything (pre internet days. duh, I guess I should use a search engine - huh)

Fripp was the co-founder, and has been the only consistent member over the past 35 years, of King Crimson, a pioneering band in the British progressive rock pantheon. He also made two influential albums with Brian Eno in the 1970's which pretty much defined the "ambient" genre. And he appeared on recordings by David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, & Talking Heads, among others.

[David Klausner]

In terms of being an influence, which was the topic of this thread, his main influences on me have been his compositional approach and his tone. I just about wore out the grooves in my copy of "No Pussyfooting" (landmark looping collaboration with Brian Eno that Ed referred to) listening to the solo on "Swastika Girls".

And Ed, can I assume you've checked out his stuff with David Sylvian?

[cbret]

after my " all of the above " thought, i noticed that no one mentioned Vai's guru - ZAPPA. My rig sounds more like Gilmore every day. Have we forgotten Merle Travis? And what about his son? I can't recall his name, but jeez the cat can play! You guys that bash garcia are just afraid of melody (it's not that hard, if you can pull all those speed metal hammers and pulls surely you can teach yourself to play what you sing....) second thought , maybe it's the flashbacks that cause the fear .......

[Salty]

Thanks Ed! I had a feeling he may have been avant-garde. The photo shot of him was odd. I am aware of King Crimson in name only. I will have to seek out some of the music to get an idea of his style.

[Ed Belknap]

Originally posted by David Klausner
And Ed, can I assume you've checked out his stuff with David Sylvian?

Actually, no...ironic because not only is Fripp one of my favorite guitarists, but Sylvian's first band Japan is one of my favorite "pop" groups (if they can be called that). Yet I've never had the chance, or, perhaps oddly, the impetus, to explore their collaborations. Perhaps this is the opportunity; any recommendations?

[David Klausner]

The stuff I'm familiar with is the studio album "The First Day" and the live record of mostly the same material "Damage". Featuring Trey Gunn on Warr guitar and Jerry Marotta on drums. Really great progressive playing in somewhat "pop" song formats.

[StrykeBack]

The U2's the Edge
Dave Matthews

[marc777]

1. Steve Lukather - Toto
2. David Gilmore - Pink Floyd
3. Ian Bairnson - Alan Parsons Project
4. Tommy Emmanuel - One of Greatest Acoustic Guitar Players of all time
5. John Williams - Classical Guitarist
6. Don Andrews - Jazz Guitarist
7. Steve Howe

[Danolovesjesus]

Dave "The Edge" Evans
Jon Foreman (Switchfoot, honestly an incredible guitarist)
Glen Philips (Toad the Wet Sprocket, amazing song writer)
Johhny Marr
Andy Summers
Billy Gibbons
Ian Thornley
Dave Matthews
Ben Ottewell, Paul Blackburn and Ian Ball (of Gomez)
Mike Einziger

In this order, these cats have had the greatest influence on my playing style. These guys seem to be textural, rootsy, or songwriters, and I fit somewhere in between all that. Maybe some day I'll have to list Santana, Clapton, and Setzer, but I've got different musical priorities at the moment.

[Irgendeiner_1972]

here comes the voting from Germany:

1. Robben Ford
2. Frank Diez (plays in the "Electric Blues Duo" with Colin Hodgkinson on bass (was playing with Whitesnake in their early years), but maybe not known outside of Germany... great blues feeling)
3. SRV
4. Eric Clapton
5. John Lee Hooker
6. Walter Wolfman Washington
7. Santana
8. Jeff Beck
9. Jimmy Page
10. Peter Frampton


greets from Germany ;-)

[lorienken]

1. Phil Keaggy
2. Leo Kottke
3. Joe Pass
4. Wes Montgomery
5. Michael Hedges
6. Lee Ritenour
7. Alan Holdsworth
8. B.B. King
9. Eric Clapton
10. Jimi Hendrix

[vallesstrat]

Here's my short list from a new player and in no specific order:

1. SRV
2. Jimi Hendrix
3. Eric Clapton
4. Gary Rossington
5. Alex Lifeson
6. Lindsey Buckingham
7. Jimmy Page
8. George Harrison

[panhead]

earl hughes, steave gram, michael wedgwood, lindy and larry rains, steven kircher, and curtis cunningham. sorry for the spelling guy's. these inspired more special thanks

now for the list

1. mark knopfler
2. jerry reed
3. les paul
4. brian setzer
5. Roy Buchanan
6. danny gatton (roy and no danny)
7. junior brown
8. George Harrison (he inspired the song)
9. srv, and jimmy
10. jerry donahue, will ray, and john (dudes are good)
11. albert lee