Top 5 Guitarists Who Have Influenced You? :O

[arkansasmatt]

1#Dimebag got me liking metal. Made me want to play leads and solo.
2#John 5
3#Paul gilbert
4#Adam jones
5#Slash

[Ageispolis]

I have 3 bands who influenced my playing but I don't think I can point to any specific people.

-The Mars Volta
-Vildhjarta
-Explosions In The Sky.

[HOKENSTYFE]

1. Jake E. Lee

2. Kirk Hammett

3. Frederik Thordendal

3A. Mårten Hagström

[USMarine75]

I was only able to narrow down to 7 because I'm old and been playing awhile:

My rock rhythm style: Jerry Cantrell, Ty Tabor, and EVH (also leads)
My metal rhythm style: Dave Mustaine (I pick exactly like him)
Lead: Alex Skolnick (Practice What You Preach is exactly what my lead playing often sounds like to this day), Paul Gilbert (out of the box style, rhythmic soloing, string skipping, etc), Satriani; and Jason Becker (& Marty Friedman) for exotic modes/scales, bending, and trem work.
7-string: Jeff Loomis

[And for a period of time also: Hendrix, Satriani, Vinnie Moore, Bruce Bouillet, and Marty Friedman]

[Ocara-Jacob]

1) Tosin Abasi
2) Dave Grohl
3) Misha Mansoor
4) Grant Henry
5) My Dad.

[neurosis]

It's funny cause to this day the music I listen to the most is Metal, but when playing the most fun is still Rock for me. Maybe it is the classic influence of blues when starting with the instrument that has stuck with me overtime, or maybe it's just the plain lack of time to perfect the stuff I learn from more technical musicians.

My top five for many different reasons regardless of the bands they have played with are:

-Mattias Ia Eklundh
-Pete Lesperance
-Adam Jones
-Kiko Loureiro
-Paul Gilbert

If I would have to make a list regarding specific aspects it would look kinda different, but these guys are the ones I have been more impressed with.

[2ManyShoes]

Can't pick 5, but these guys come to mind:

SRV
Hendrix
Clapton
Pete Townshend
Angus & Malcom Young
Jimmy Page
Tony Iommi
Gary Moore
EVH
George Lynch
Randy Rhoads
Joe Satriani
Guthrie Govan

[chickenxnuggetz91]

No order.
For the time being:

Myself - i always tried to step back and listen to my playing and say "wow that's great!" or "that's really bad." i like the feeling i give myself when I listen to my playbacks

Matt and Cory from Trivium - Went home the first day I got my guitar got on youtube and typed in "guitar". The video of them doing that King Diamond Cover came up. Said that's what I wanted to do.

Andy James - Just pure awesome

Classical Guitar Instructor at my college - helped me get back into expression and feel

Good friend and guitar playing buddy - we just have fun making stupid guitar noises and laughing. always trading back and forth guitar ideas and philosophies. never really been competitive against each other. two totally different styles but has always supported my ideas. or not if they were truly bad ones.

[bob123]

1) Eddie Van Halen
2) Alex Lifeson
3) Joe Satriani
4) Steve Vai
5) Paul Gilbert

[Volsung]

In my early days it was (in no order):

-Kurt Cobain: The very first time I seriously picked up a guitar, the first riff I tought myself was 'Come as You Are'. Later on I found it interesting that Kurt 'borrowed' that riff from Killing Joke.

-Dino Cazares: A riff king. It's because of him that I wanted my right hand to be fast.

-Dimebag Darrell: Been a Pantera fan since childhood. It's because of him that my first guitar was a Washburn (the company he was with at the time).

-Quorthon: His playing style in the early and viking days of Bathory just blew me away. Hell, even his 'solo' alternative records are great. His guitar playing alone was enough to make him the legend he became.

-Jonas and Per of Scar Symmetry: Two players (along with Mr. Cazares) that drove me to get a 7. I've been a fan ever since the first record, but it was just until recently that I realized how much they've influenced my taste in tone.

Today (also in no order):

-Dino Cazares: Still a riff king. He'll always be one of my absolute favorites.

-Eric 'Doc' Hammer: Before he was writter for the 'Venture Bros.', he was the guitar player in Requiem In White and Mors Syphilitica. I've mentioned him several times before on this site, but I still can't get over just how killer those two bands are. Since he came from the NYC goth scene he's no technical wizard, but he is what all players should strive to be...a damn good song writer. I love (trying) to play his tunes.

-Tom G. Warrior and V. Santura of Triptykon: Ever since Warrior's return in '06 with 'Monotheist', he has proven (yet again) that it doesn't have to be technical to be intresting (in his case damn good). Plus, Tom is very lucky to have a guitar player like V. Santura in his ranks. The leads to all of the Frost classics have never been played better until Santura came along. Lately I've found myself playing along to CF and Triptykon more often then not.

-Jeremy Wrenn: He is the mastermind behind what I think is one of today's best shoegaze bands Airiel. After being introduced to them on this site (thank you AdamMaz), I have to listen to them everyday. I wish I knew the tuning to their song 'Firefly' because I love it to death. I also wish I knew of them sooner.

-Euronymous: An old influence, but his right hand stamina and chord progressions impress me more so than they did before. He may have been a megalomaniac in the end, but he truly was one hell of a player.

Other artists I wand to mention:

-John Petrucci (I'm a little late to the Petrucci party)
-Michael Hedges
-Rick Agnew (original Chrstian Death)
-Valor Kand (current Christian Death)
-Nergal
-Justin Broadrick

[iRaiseTheDead]

1-Oli Herbert (All That Remains) - first metal band I started listening too and has great technique

2-Chris Storey (ex-All Shall Perish) - mainly his speed xD

3- Alex Wade (Whitechapel) His theory and skill are just... well get to me everytime. Love that guy!

4- Paul Waggoner (Between the Buried and Me) - He keeps modern metal with a more classic feel. I thought that was pretty neat.

5- Joe Cocchi (Within The Ruins) - There is WAY too much I could say about this dude!

[opti]

5. James Iha - Let It Come Down, that is all. Just perfect songwriting

4. Shoji Meguro - The composer for the Atlus Shin Megami Tensei video games. His eclectic mix of rock, jazz, funk, and hip-hop and his impeccable flourishes are what make my style for leads. I prefer the "feel" of technique rather than outright speed because of this man.

3. Paul Masvidal - Besides being a superhuman on the guitar, he's simply a good person. He's always inspired me to explore spirituality and the inner-self when confronting songwriting, hardship, and life alike. Truly a good man and a fantastic songwriter.

2. Terrence Hobbs/Doug Cerrito - Suffocation is my second favorite band of all time, and the riffs are out of this world. The evolution of brutal death metal rested solely on their hands and...

1. Jon Levassuer - Cryptopsy, you released your first 4 albums and my mind shattered. Hearing 'Benedictine Convulsions' for the first time was when I realized what death metal was really all about, to me. None So Vile is still the reason I started playing in B Standard (which led to a 7-string, but Cryptopsy rocks 6's so that's not from them). Simply the best death metal band, hopefully Jon can put them back on track after TUK

Honorable Mentions:

Mikael Akerfeldt/Peter Lindgren, Conor Oberst, Chuck Schuldiner, Jerry Cantrell, Andy McKee and literally hundreds more. Music is my inspiration, not just one or two people.

[Atomshipped]

1. Adam Jones
2. Aaron Turner
3. Jeff Boyle
4. Michael Gallagher
5. Andrew Stephen Othling

[Alcojuana]

Im going to go with in no particular order

Paul Gilbert
Jason Becker
Marty Friedman/Dimebag
Jeff Loomis
Jerry Cantrell/Mike Mcready

Hard to pick only 5.

[fps]

It's nice when people explain why, some good reads!
Mine in no order, the ones who have, I think, clearly influenced my most regular playing.

1) Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains)- note choice, chord choice, songwriting, tone, playing for the song, it's all there. He really knows how to write a song to break your heart.
2) Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth)- probably my main soloing influence. Wonderful Gilmour-esque bends and a slightly fussy, very melodic approach to his soloing that's brilliantly melodic and feels very classical and carefully thought out. Great use of melody/discordancy in Opeth's brilliant middle period (MAYH, Still Life, BWP)
3) Adam Jones (Tool) - Amazing tone, always, can make a single chord sound like an epic and spine-chilling thing (eg the smashing distorted chords at the start of H). Plays textured parts which evolve and advance Tool's rhythmic workouts beautifully. Off-time grooves are awesome.
4) Tom Maxwell (Nothingface)- here for one album, Nothingface's Violence, which I consider one of the most underrated albums in the history of metal, I could listen to it forever, crunching riffs, great songwriting, odd time and odd rhythm stuff with good variety.
5) Tim Sult (Clutch)- I love grooves in odd times, people who take the regular nuts and bolts of playing, like the blues, and turn it into something new and crunchy. His soloing is always cool, not too flashy, his playing is right in the pocket, the riffs are all so similar and yet stick out in my head so much. Top player, very underrated.
6) Jeff Loomis (Nevermore)- he is what I would aspire to be as a soloist, some time way in the future, I like his approach to riffage and get told repeatedly that what I've come up with sounds a lot like his riffing. At this point I then change it so it's not too derivative.

[heregoesnothing]

'Influences' doesn't mean 'Favorites'

Paul gilbert - alternate pickings
Marc okubo - riffs
James hetfield - riffs
John petrucci - skippy soloings
Ryan morgan (misery signals/7 angels 7 plagues) - riffs/dissonant chords

composers/musicians:

Shoji meguro
Yasunori mitsuda
J.S bach
Seba jun/Nujabes
Eric brosius (really captivating works in System Shock 2)

[Panacea224]

Not really in any particular order:

1. James Hetfield (Metallica got me into metal and heavily influenced my early playing).
2. Kirk Hammett
3. Jeff Loomis (a huge influence on my current playing, definitely what I would aspire to be as a lead player. Also Nevermore is the band that got me into seriously playing 7 string).
4. Mark Morton
5. Alexi Laiho

Honorable mention: Ryan and Greg from Allegaeon are becoming a big influence on my current song writing.

[Don Vito]

Lil Wayne
Ke$ha
Rihanna
Lady Gaga
Justin Bieber

Honorable mention: Fred "The Chocolate Starfish" Durst

[ASoC]

1) James Hetfield - Papa Het, the whole reason I started playing metal and the source of my speedy downpick

2) Noodles - More downpicking, helped me develop into the player I am today

3) Tony Iommi and John Frusciante - Living legends who've left their mark on my lead playing style

4) Kirk Hammett - Left his mark on my speedier playing and taught me to love the wah pedal, although my favorite Hammett solos both dont use wah

5) Tosin Abasi and Misha Mansoor - Pushing the envelope in how I see metal, my style has changed alot in the past year. Because of these guys I started playing clean and trying for a groove instead of the fast, thrashy riffing of my past

[MrPepperoniNipples]

1. Christian Muenzner

2. Derek Taylor

3. Brendon Small

4. Jonas Bryssling

5. Rusty Cooley

[3074326]

Jimmy Page - love his voicings, melodies, progression. Easily the biggest influence on my playing.

Mikael Akerfeldt - I love his general sound. You can tell he's playing guitar when you're listening. He has that eerie/powerful style that really stuck with me.

John Petrucci - God

Misha Mansoor - Changed how I listen to and write metal. Probably got me to think about my playing and what I want out of it a lot more than anyone else.

Adam Jones - I still need to listen to my inner Adam Jones influence more.. simple is awesome, sometimes. Always plays the right note or chord.

[Blitzie]

James Hetfield, Adam Jones.

And James Hetfield

[Don Vito]

Lovin' all the Hetfield love.

Monster rhythm player.

[Korbain]

Adam Jones

Dimebag

Mikael Akerfeldt

Tom Morello

Munky (the reason i got into 7 strings )

As easy as it is, Kurt Cobain inspired me heaps as a lot of the first songs i learnt to play were nirvana. Huge fan of Wes Borland, Kirk Hammett and Daron Malakian as well.

While I'm at it, Jeff Buckley...amazing guitarist

[Daken1134]

1. Goncalo Pereira
2.Thomas Erak
3. Dave Martone
4. Christophe Godin
5. John Pizzarelli