# Top 3 favorite guitarists?



## UniverseOfTheMind8 (Jul 2, 2016)

Mine are Chuck Schuldiner, Andy James, and Muhammed Suicmez. Who are yours?


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## welsh_7stinger (Jul 2, 2016)

Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Carlos Santana


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## Rawkmann (Jul 2, 2016)

Angus Young
Marty Friedman
Ritchie Blackmore


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## broj15 (Jul 2, 2016)

Hard to narrow it down, and most bands I listen to don't have noteworthy guitarists but here's some bands/guitarist duos from bands that are huge influences on my playing:

Steve Pedersen/Tim Kasher (Cursive. Steve played guitar on Such Blinding Stars... and The Storms of Early Summer, my two favorite Cursive albums)
Kurt Ballou (Converge)
Nick Antonopulous (Jeromes Dream. Mainly influenced by the album Seeing Means more Than Safety)

Honorable mention:
Jamie Behar (Off Minor)


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## rokket2005 (Jul 2, 2016)

Billy Howerdel, Steve Lukather, Nuno Bettencourt


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## SensesTied (Jul 2, 2016)

Hard to pick 3 but if I had to:
1. Chuck Schuldiner
2. Peter Wichers
3. Per Nilsson


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## Scordare (Jul 2, 2016)

1. Shawn Lane
2. Steve Vai
3. Jason Becker


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## Zeus1907 (Jul 2, 2016)

1. Danny Gatton 
2. Django Reinhardt 
3. Marty Friedman 

Gatton and Reinhardt are heads and shoulders above all guitarist, of course my own opinion.


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## DeathChord (Jul 2, 2016)

Some many fantastic players to choose from so Ill pick my top three most influential.

Michael Schenker
Gary Holt
Fredrik Thordendal


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## Bdtunn (Jul 2, 2016)

1. Dime
2. Mustaine 
3. Vai


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## brett8388 (Jul 2, 2016)

Di Meola
Vinnie Moore
Jason Becker


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## Dawn of the Shred (Jul 2, 2016)

Jason Richardson 
John Petrucci
Dimebag 

Hard to pick 3 so, Chuck Schuldiner, Jason Becker, Paul Gilbert, David Gilmour, Peter Joseph, Mark Morton, Josh Travis, Scott Carstairs, Tosin Abasi, James Hetfield,


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## beerandbeards (Jul 2, 2016)

Schuldiner
Dimebag
SRV


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## Rachmaninoff (Jul 3, 2016)

Eddie Van Halen
Marty Friedman
Johnny Hiland

This list changes everyday, though...


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## Unleash The Fury (Jul 3, 2016)

yng
lane
gilmour


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 3, 2016)

1) Dino Cazares (EDIT: Actually hard to choose between Dino and Jon Schaffer)
2) Jerry Cantrell
3) Eddie Van Halen 
Honorable mention to Iommi.


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## ramses (Jul 3, 2016)

I'm sorry, but it is simply not possible to answer this question.


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## Ordacleaphobia (Jul 3, 2016)

In no particular order....
Mark Holcomb.
Chuck. (duh)
aaaand the Trend Hafdahl / Justin Lowe wombo combo.

Petrucci, Marsha Monsoon, Hevy Devy&#8482;, and AJ Minette for honorable mentions.
This is a hard list to narrow down.


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## Deathspell Omega (Jul 3, 2016)

Shawn Lane
Scott Mishoe
Josh Travis


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## Force (Jul 3, 2016)

I'm having the same trouble as most, only 3? I'll have a go though...............

1. Adrian Smith
2. Kee Marcello
3. Victor Smolski


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## Blytheryn (Jul 3, 2016)

1. Alexi Laiho
2. Dimebag
3. The dude from Dissection

Honorable mention to Doyle from the Misfits.


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## oc616 (Jul 3, 2016)

1: Dino Cazares. Don't care about his skill level, he will always be THE father figure of how I play guitar.

2: Devin Townsend. If only for his ability to make nonsense sound sensible.

3: Stephen Carpenter. Big. ....ing. Riffs.


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## Random3 (Jul 3, 2016)

Impossible to pick 3.

Gun to my head if I had to pick my personal favourites:

Steve Vai
John Petrucci
Joe Satriani

But really I could rotate any of these in as well:

Guthrie Govan, Paul Gilbert, Dimebag, Tosin Abasi, Luke Hoskin, Devin Townsend, Paul Waggonner, Alexi Laiho...


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## DownTuner (Jul 3, 2016)

My top 3, not in any particular order:

Steve Vai
Paul Gilbert
John Petrucci

Some honorable mentions: Per Nilsson, Marco Sfogli, Guhtrie Govan, Shawn Lane, Joe Satriani, Jason Richardson, Marty Friedman and lots of others, not even gonna write down everyone because no one wants to read a list that long.


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## Mprinsje (Jul 3, 2016)

tough choice this.

James Hetfield
Jim Root
Kurt Ballou


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## Carvinkook (Jul 3, 2016)

Iommi - The Godfather
Jerry Cantrell 
Alex Skolnick


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## RUSH_Of_Excitement (Jul 3, 2016)

John Petrucci
Synyster Gates
Adrian Smith


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## posmaster (Jul 3, 2016)

Alex Lifeson
John Petrucci
Jeff Beck


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## Reverend Chug (Jul 3, 2016)

1. James Hetfield 
2. Jeff Loomis
3. Dimebag


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## Pablo (Jul 3, 2016)

1) Ritchie Blackmore - my first and to this day biggest inspiration - "Rising" is all you need to know!
2) John Petrucci - from the early '90's until the release of Octavarium, JP ruled my world!
3) Shawn Lane - IMHO one of the most jaw dropping MUSICIANS of all time. I still get the chills whenever I put on "Two Doors" by Jeff Sipe...


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## gunch (Jul 3, 2016)

Vogg
Luc Lemay 
Marlon Friday


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## extendedsolo (Jul 3, 2016)

Steve Vai
Marty Friedman
Tosin Abasi.

Really is genre specific.


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## Floppystrings (Jul 3, 2016)

Hizaki
David Gilmore 
Björn Gelotte


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## Forkface (Jul 3, 2016)

hmm hard to come up with an answer but 

Govan
Gilbert 
and probably Paul Waggoner
...
yeah im going with that, final answer.


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## Possessed (Jul 4, 2016)

Dave Mustaine
Yngwie Malmsteen
Gary Moore

I even put these three guys in the acknowledgement of my PhD thesis lol


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## M3CHK1LLA (Jul 4, 2016)

hetfield

hammett

phil collen (not to be confused with phil collins)


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## works0fheart (Jul 4, 2016)

silverabyss said:


> Vogg
> Luc Lemay
> Marlon Friday





Anyways, it's really hard for me to pick just 3, but I'll go ahead and name some that quickly come to mind. 

1. Mike Gilbert
2. Ryan Knight
3. Jonas Bryssling


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## Louis Cypher (Jul 4, 2016)

Too many to choose but todays favourites are all old school:

- Van Halen
- Randy Rhoads
- George Lynch


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## OmegaSlayer (Jul 4, 2016)

Jason Becker
Guthrie Govan
.






...
Kiko Loureiro


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## Fraz666 (Jul 4, 2016)

James Hetfield
Slash
Josh Homme


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## Andrew May (Jul 4, 2016)

Rune Eriksen
Mick Barr
Fred Frith


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## pastanator (Jul 4, 2016)

Brendon Small, Guthrie Govan, Devin Townsend


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## StevenC (Jul 4, 2016)

Robert Fripp
Marty Friedman
David Di Santo


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## Science_Penguin (Jul 4, 2016)

This is impossible to answer because there's so many different guitar playing styles I enjoy listening to across so many genres, and there's no three guitarists who even come close to nailing all of those.

..So here's a list of three guitarists I happen to be really enjoying recently.

Inoran of Luna Sea
Mike Einzinger of Incubus
Dan Cavanaugh of Anathema


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## Esp Griffyn (Jul 4, 2016)

In no particular order:

Steve Vai
Shawn Lane
Tony Macalpine

There is a list of honorable mentions as long as my arm, but those guys are the top 3.


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## Ordacleaphobia (Jul 5, 2016)

Esp Griffyn said:


> In no particular order:
> 
> Steve Vai
> Shawn Lane
> ...



Always forget about Tony. That guy can play, really incredibly talented dude.


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## CaptainD00M (Jul 5, 2016)

While its pretty hard to narrow it down, in terms of "known" guitarist who I never get tired of listening too or ripping off it would be:

Matt Pike
Warren Haynes
Billy Gibbons

There are more as always but those are the big culprits.


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## Spicypickles (Jul 5, 2016)

I can't really do favorites, like right now I'm really into Mark Holcomb, Jason Richardson, Loomis, Trent Hafdal, Chris Storey, etc.


I guess my most influential ones are Heftfield, paul gilbert, and John Petrucci, but I don't listen to a whole lot of their stuff right now.


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## BDW2703 (Jul 5, 2016)

jeff loomis
jason becker
marty friedman


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## IbanezDaemon (Jul 5, 2016)

1: Vinnie Moore
2: Paul Gilbert
3: Yngwie (early)


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## bloodfiredoom (Jul 5, 2016)

1. Varg Vikernes
2. Euronymous
3. James Taylor



1. Chuck Schuldiner
2. Tony MacAlpine
3. John Cobbett


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## monkeysuncle (Jul 5, 2016)

IOMMI (Ozzy era)
IOMMI (Dio era)
IOMMI (solo/Tony Martin/Ian Gillan/Glenn Hughes era)


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## will_shred (Jul 5, 2016)

Paul Gilbert
Jeff Loomis 
Guthrie Govan


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## zenshin (Jul 5, 2016)

1. Wes Borland
2. Misha Mansoor
3. Brian "Head" Welch


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## akinari (Jul 5, 2016)

Justin Broadrick / Godflesh
Todd Forkin / Starkweather
Rob Marton / Discordance Axis


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## Aymara (Jul 6, 2016)

There are so many virtuous guitarists, that it's hard to reduce the list to only 3.

But there are three, that influenced my own playing style the most:

Geordie Walker of Killing Joke
Billy Duffy of The Cult
Vini Reilly of The Durutti Column


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## kerdeh (Jul 6, 2016)

Jimi Hendrix 
Buckethead
Justin Lowe - After the Burial


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## Aikara (Jul 6, 2016)

3 is just impossible. For me there's a top 5, which I don't ever see changing. Not because there won't emerge better guitarists, but because the ones listed below have made an impact on my musical evolution, that simply can't be outdone anymore

John Petrucci
Steve Vai
Joe Satriani
Criss Oliva
Yngwie Malmsteen

Current favorites:
Jakub Zytecki
Paul Gilbert
Guthrie Govan


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## bostjan (Jul 6, 2016)

1. Django Reinhardt - He defined an entire genre, made the instrument relevant, and it's seldom pointed out that he was one of the earliest electric guitar innovators.
2. Buckethead - Love him or hate him, he's developed the most distinctive sound, not to mention that he innovated a number of techniques that have since caught on.
3. Jan Akkerman - Also often overlooked, but dude was doing extreme shred metal in the 1960's...he also did a lot of stuff Blackmore and Santana did, before those guys did those things...and he was a master of exotic scales and modes long before it was cool.

Not to mention hundreds of others who are extremely innovative, but those three stand out as innovators of both techniques and styles.

Also:

*. Matthias IA Eklundh
*. Ron Jarzombek
*. Chuck Schuldiner
*. Dick Dale


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## takotakumi (Jul 6, 2016)

Christian Muenzner
Fountainhead

3rd is tied with:
Per Nilsson
Vogg
Tosin Abasi


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## ArtHam (Jul 6, 2016)

Danny Tunker
Christian Muenzner
Per Nilsson

You can imagine I'm stoked the new Hannes Grossmann album.


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## Arkeion (Jul 6, 2016)

1. Loomis
2. Dino
3. Misha

Hard for me to exclude Petrucci and Jason Richardson from the list. Werstler also gets a runner up ribbon. Jason might very well pole vault to the top after I drops. The Het also.


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## Hogie34 (Jul 6, 2016)

I'm an old a** man so I have to do this in two eras for me...

Pre 2K

1) tied between Page and Iommi . They were the reason I picked up a guitar.
2)Mustaine
3)Schenker

Post 2K 

1)Merrow
2)Loomis
3) Gord Olson

I know it's cheating to have six but oh well...


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## Santuzzo (Jul 6, 2016)

mine right now:

1. Steve Vai
2. Wes Montgomery
3. Andy Timmons


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## ArtDecade (Jul 6, 2016)

Papa Het
Sugizo
Marty Friedman

... in no particular order!


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## Jaxcharvel (Jul 6, 2016)

Mark Knopfler
Chris Degarmo
Monte Montgomery


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## leftyguitarjoe (Jul 6, 2016)

For the shreds:
Guthrie Govan

For the grooves:
Matt Pike

For overall style:
Mikael Akerfeldt


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## CGrant109 (Jul 6, 2016)

Tough to decide! Buuuut, in no particular order:

1) Stephen Carpenter
2) Adam Jones
3) John Browne


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## BrailleDecibel (Jul 6, 2016)

It's so hard to pick just 3!

(in no particular order)

Dino Cazares (Fear Factory)
Mike DeWolf (Taproot)
Neil Godfrey (Lo-Pro, Ultraspank, Life on Planet 9, etc.)


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## chopeth (Jul 7, 2016)

Petrucci
Muenzner
Ihsahn


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## StrmRidr (Jul 7, 2016)

My top 3:

Adrian Smith
John Petrucci
Michael Romeo


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## Masquerade (Jul 7, 2016)

Aaron Marshall
Jason Richardson
Jonathon Deiley


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## Beefmuffin (Jul 7, 2016)

My top 3:

Jason Richardson
Andy LaRocque 
Paul Waggoner

3 more that I have to mention: Tosin Abasi, John 5, Adrian Smith


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## MistaSnowman (Jul 7, 2016)

Too many influences to narrow it down to three, but here goes...

1) Prince
2) Jimi Hendrix
3) Many other guitarists


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## PBC (Jul 7, 2016)

Like people said, very difficult to narrow down just 3. Some have influenced me more through songwriting than playing. 

Currently:

Magnus Karlsson (Solo, Last Tribe, Primal Fear, Russel/Lande, Kiske - Somerville)
Syu (Galneryus)
Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry)

Honorable off the top of my head that I worship

John 5, Tony MacAlpine, Josh Travis, Brian "Head" Welch/Munky, Sam Totman/Herman Li, Andy James, John Schaffer, Dino, Cobain, Karl/Dallas, Fountainhead, Terrance Hobbs, Chuck Schuldinner, Jon Levasseur


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## frahmans (Jul 8, 2016)

Showing my age and influence on technique/melody

- Stanley Jordan (show me a better tapped rendition of stairway to heaven)
- Jimmy Page (cause he composed stairway to heaven)
- Pat Martino (a toss between him and Jimi Bruno)


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## ArtDecade (Jul 8, 2016)

frahmans said:


> Stanley Jordan (show me a better tapped rendition of stairway to heaven)


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## Aymara (Jul 8, 2016)

MistaSnowman said:


> 1) Prince



He was for sure a great multi-instrumentalist, but as a guitarist he was just an average funk guitarist.

I would prefer Jesse Johnson of The Time in this genre:





But both might have their roots in Hamilton Bohannon's style:

[youtuBevid]6dWGeOGSO9A[/MEDIA]


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## Sopko (Jul 8, 2016)

Plini
Guthrie Govan
Tosin Abasi


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## VBCheeseGrater (Jul 8, 2016)

Tough one.....hard not to put in SRV, but i won't...

David Gilmore
Kirk Hammett (I know he's no tech wizard, but i love alot of his solos)
Billy Corgan


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## ArtDecade (Jul 8, 2016)

Aymara said:


> He was for sure a great multi-instrumentalist, but as a guitarist he was just an average funk guitarist.



Bull. Prince was a fantastic guitar player both when playing funk and when shredding his nuts off. And as fantastic as his playing was, he was an even superior songwriter. The man was world class talented in every avenue of musicianship.


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## ASoC (Jul 8, 2016)

Misha
Alex Lifeson
James Hetfield

Not necessarily my favorite to listen to (how could I possibly narrow that down to 3?) but these 3 have the most influence over my playing/writing.

I also really like: EVH, Randy Rhoads, Vivian Campbell (his Dio era stuff, anyway), Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, Al Di Meola, Uli Jon Roth, KK and Glen (they go together), Herman Li, Dime, Head and Munky (they also go together), Jake E. Lee, and probably several others that I'm forgetting


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## shadowlife (Jul 8, 2016)

Allan Holdsworth
Joe Diorio
Frank Zappa


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## Might-is-Right (Jul 8, 2016)

I was surprised at how hard this was to really nail down a top 3. So, i'm going with this...

Karl Sanders - this is the only easy one for me
Muhammed Suicmez - really enjoy everything from his limited catalog

And then...either
Chuck
Iommi 
or Matt Pike


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## Vres (Jul 10, 2016)

Holdsworth, Thordendal, Suicmez, Hendrix, Reinhardt, Mäenpää... impossible to narrow down to three.


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## Maybrick (Jul 10, 2016)

Mark Tremonti
Joe Satriani
Rob Arnold or Alexi Laiho


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## Spicypickles (Jul 11, 2016)

frahmans said:


> - Jimmy Page (cause he composed stairway to heaven)





Didn't they go to court over this song and settled out of court? Zep totally ripped it off.


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## Aymara (Jul 11, 2016)

Spicypickles said:


> Didn't they go to court over this song and settled out of court? Zep totally ripped it off.



https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...pening-chords-may-have-been-stolen-judge-says


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## chickenxnuggetz91 (Jul 11, 2016)

Jeff Loomis
Tosin Abasi
John Petrucci


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## Blood Tempest (Jul 11, 2016)

This is extremely hard for me since I usually categorize players by genre or styles, but as far as the ones that have influenced me the most within the last few years I would say:

1. Bjorn Gelotte / Jesper Stromblad
2. Jason Weirbach aka Dagon
3. Lauri Penttilä aka Werwolf


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## geekusa (Jul 11, 2016)

Dave Mustaine
Chuck Schuldiner
Billy Corgan

So many others that have influenced me as well.


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## kherman (Jul 11, 2016)

John Sykes
Criss Oliva
George Lynch


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## Dooky (Jul 11, 2016)

1. Richie Allan
2. Steve Vai
3. Jarle H. Olsen


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## crg123 (Jul 12, 2016)

1. Kelly Shaefer (Atheist) - I'll never forget the first time I listened to unquestionable presence. 
2. Steve Vai - believe it or not his Scene in the movie Crossroads inspired me to get a guitar as a kid.
3. Tosin - FINALLY Pushed me to finally get a guitar with more than 6 strings after 10 years of playing and hemming and hawing about getting a 7 string. Actually jumped straight to an 8 string at first before settling down with my Skervesen 7 . 

Other ones of huge influence (I couldn't just do a top 3 lol) are Andy La Roque (King Diamond), Chuck, and Bill Steer (Carcass)


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## bostjan (Jul 12, 2016)

Man _Unquestionable Presence_ was a killer album. The demos with Roger were phenomenal as well. I wish Atheist had done more back then.


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## crg123 (Jul 12, 2016)

^ I actually really liked Jupitar (2010) too. I was really hesitant when I heard they were releasing a new album back then. Now I wish they'd hurry up and release the one they've been working on for the last 6 years haha.


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## Universe74 (Jul 13, 2016)

Rick Graham
Guthrie Govan
Shawn Lane


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## MattThePenguin (Jul 13, 2016)

Mikael Akerfeldt
Chuck Schuldiner 
Luc Lemay


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## inprognito (Jul 15, 2016)

Guthrie Govan
Tom Quayle
Aaron Marshall


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## Cheap (Jul 15, 2016)

Nick Johnston
David Maxim Micic
Maneli Jamal 

New generation woo!


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## QuantumCybin (Jul 17, 2016)

Alex Lifeson
David Gilmour
For a third, more modern guitarist I'd say Misha or Aaron Marshall...depends on the day


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## MrBouleDeBowling (Jul 17, 2016)

Dave Brownsound - Because he's the reason I wanted to learn guitar when I was 11

John Galagher - For being a mean riff machine while doing the most demonic grunts ever

Ryan Knight - Because Arsis/The Black Daliah Murder


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Jul 19, 2016)

Three is just impossible, but aside from (legendary) guitarists other people have mentioned, here are the less obvious ones that had a great influence on me, in that order:

1. Scott Henderson: Either w/ Chick Corea, Tribal Tech or solo, he's a monster.


2. Al Di Meola: His solo albums from 70s or 2000s are simply amazing, and not just for the technique.


3. Joscho Stephan: Like Django? This guy will blow you away.



*[EDIT]* added videos


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## Humbuck (Jul 19, 2016)

Billy Gibbons
Leslie West
Joe Walsh


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## Sang-Drax (Jul 20, 2016)

Billy Howerdel (A Perfect Circle), Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), René Rutten (The Gathering).

It varies. Sometimes I like Soilwork's or Karnivool's guitar lines better, but these three are solid candidates for my personal favorites at any given day, I think.


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## MistaSnowman (Jul 27, 2016)

Aymara said:


> He was for sure a great multi-instrumentalist, but as a guitarist he was just an average funk guitarist.
> 
> I would prefer Jesse Johnson of The Time in this genre:
> 
> ...




I love Jesse's guitar work very much and do consider him as someone who got me interested in guitar. However, Prince could run circles around Jesse when it came to guitar playing. Both guys were influenced by Hendrix (thus why Jimi was number 2 on my list) and you can hear Jimi's influence in each player. The difference between the two...Prince had way more range in his playing whereas Johnson is more of a blues/blues-rock player. 'Bare My Naked Soul' showcased Johnson's edgier side of guitar playing but even then, much of his playing was based around the blues scale. Was it good? To me, it was but compare that to any of Prince's guitar performances (the Super Bowl especially), it's like night and day.


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## Aymara (Jul 28, 2016)

MistaSnowman said:


> ... compare that to any of Prince's guitar performances (the Super Bowl especially), it's like night and day.



When I saw Prince live in the late 80ies, I was more fascinated by his skills as a multi-instrumentalist than his guitar play.

Maybe my comparison between Prince and Jesse is inspired too much by the fact, that I was always more a fan of The Time than of Prince.


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## Dodeejeroo (Jul 28, 2016)

So many, so I'll just list the ones that made me want to pick up a guitar as a kid.

Kevin Cadogan (3EB is still one of my favorites)
Jade Puget (Black Sails was a MONSTROUS guitar album, great riffs)
John Frusciante (can't fight his grooves man)


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## MistaSnowman (Jul 28, 2016)

Aymara said:


> Maybe my comparison between Prince and Jesse is inspired too much by the fact, that I was always more a fan of The Time than of Prince.


 
While Prince's bands were good to great, The Time was straight ridiculous when performing live. Often times, The Time outperformed Prince to the point where Prince would tell them of what songs NOT to play on The Time's setlist. Those orders went in one ear and out the other as The Time would play their setlist as they intended.


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## Aymara (Jul 28, 2016)

MistaSnowman said:


> Often times, The Time outperformed Prince ...



The movie _Purple Rain_ is a good example


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## MistaSnowman (Jul 28, 2016)

Aymara said:


> The movie _Purple Rain_ is a good example



Actually this one might be a better indicator...


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## Aymara (Jul 29, 2016)

MistaSnowman said:


> Actually this one might be a better indicator...



Interestingly Jesse played a lefty Strat on this gig ... a homage to Hendrix?


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## Fathand (Jul 29, 2016)

1. Hetfield - I wouldn't play guitar without this mutton chopped, low slung Explorer playing "Yeaaaah" -guy with the hardest riffs ever.

2. Dimebag - Just recently realized how much of his pentatonic based natural/artificial harmonic squealy chugga squealy riffage has been imprinted into my playing without me even noticing it 

3. It's a split between John Maclaughlin, Allan Holdsworth and Greg Howe - I could name a million fusion/jazz players that have gotten me into wild improvisation stuff and honing my theory skills, but these are the three I listen to most and always go back to.

Honourable mentions for different purposes go to: Yngwie, Shawn Lane, Billy Gibbons, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rory Gallagher and Al Di Meola


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## MistaSnowman (Jul 29, 2016)

Aymara said:


> Interestingly Jesse played a lefty Strat on this gig ... a homage to Hendrix?


 
More than likely, I think.


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## pwsusi (Aug 13, 2016)

Vinnie Moore
Jason Becker
Greg Howe


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## MoonJelly (Aug 13, 2016)

Paul Gilbert






Claudio Sanchez





Ian Thornley






They may not be the typical picks, but I relate to them, their individual styles are something I gravitate to over and over.


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## thrsher (Aug 13, 2016)

brain welch
wes borland
joshua travis


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## Dawn of the Shred (Aug 14, 2016)

Depends on the day or mood i'm in...

Dimebag Darrell 
Kerry King
James Hatfield


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## TWaldo666 (Apr 6, 2017)

Super late to the party, but for me in no particular order

Top 3 that got me wanting to play
Synyster Gates
Jim Root
John 5

Favorite all time players alongside those top 3:
Django, devy, Bill Kelliher, Brent Hinds, Brad Paisley, Zakk Wylde, BB King, Joe Bonamasa, Adam Jones, Frank Gambale, the list goes on and on


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## ddtonfire (Apr 6, 2017)

John Petrucci
Misha Mansoor
Satch


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## Mboogie7 (Apr 6, 2017)

James Hetfield
Angel Vivaldi
Jason Richardson


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## gunch (Apr 6, 2017)

My list 2017

Mick Barr (Krallice)
Michael Hoggard (Ulcerate)
Michael Bielenda (Boreworm)


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## Science_Penguin (Apr 6, 2017)

Well, since my previous entry was just three guitarists I happened to be enjoying at the time, let's see what that list is now:

Sugizo (Luna Sea/X Japan/Juno Reactor)- so... the other guy from Luna Sea. Knows how to make the guitar work in Trance. Probably why he's in Juno Reactor.
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)- A Momentary Lapse of Reason is still my favourite Floyd album.
Dave Sharman (Solo)- Lesser-known UK shredder. Fast, but very soulful. I highly recommend his album '1990'.


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## endmysuffering (Apr 6, 2017)

Can I put tosin 3 times? No?
Okay real list
-Tosin because he makes the kind of music I've been searching for all of my life.
-Allan Holdsworth because he's straight out of a lovecraft story.
-Christian Muezner because he's done amazing leads on amazing record.


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## IGC (Apr 6, 2017)

Mark knopfler
Alex lifeson
Christopher ammot


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## NorCal_Val (Apr 10, 2017)

I'm old(just turned 52), so I've gotta divide it up;
Early favorites(influences)
George Lynch
Eric Johnson
Allan Holdsworth
Middle period
Steve Vai
Vernon Reid
Shawn Lane
2000-present
Munky and Head(convinced me to keep my Universe)
Fredrik and Mårten(love their tones)
Tosin(convinced me to get an 8-string)


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## Furtive Glance (Apr 15, 2017)

Petrucci
Vai
Andy James


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## curlyvice (Apr 15, 2017)

This is actually the hardest question I've ever tried to answer. Gonna go with my all-time top 3 versus my current mood.

Lifeson
Frusciante
Adam Jones


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## HeavyMetal4Ever (Apr 16, 2017)

Hard question...right now it's Allan Holdsworth(RIP), Steve Vai and Andy LaRocque...tomorrow, who knows?


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## getowned7474 (Apr 16, 2017)

Allan Holdsworth, Guthrie Govan, Owane.


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## NickS (Apr 16, 2017)

Dime, Holdsworth and Hendrix. RIP to all three.

Like said before, that is for right now, but I don't see Dimebag leaving the top spot.


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## mitou (Apr 16, 2017)

Chris DeGarmo (all time #1 influence)
Andy Summers
Robert Fripp


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## C-PIG (Apr 16, 2017)

friedman 
mustaine 
slash


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## Lemons (Apr 16, 2017)

Uhhh I'm gonna give my vote to Aaron Marshall, Joe Pass, and Tosin Abasi.


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 16, 2017)

my absolute top 3:
wes montgomery
Tosin 
paco de lucia


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## Alonious_Monk (Apr 17, 2017)

Justin Boradrick -Godflesh/Jesu
Geordie Walker -Killing Joke
Josh Homme -QOTSA


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## onefingersweep (Apr 17, 2017)

1.Shawn Lane
2.Dimebag
3.Allan Holdsworth

Still shredding...

1.Brett Garsed
2.Guthrie Govan
3.Yngwie Malmsteen


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## DaemonRage (Apr 17, 2017)

Dimebag Darrell
Randy Rhoads
Alex Skolnick


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## Yash94 (May 3, 2018)

Dave Mustaine, Corey Beaulieu, Jimmy Page.


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## bostjan (May 3, 2018)

Crazy that this thread ever stopped going.

The history of the guitar is such a rich story, and there are so many innovators. 

I'm always going to put Django Reinhardt at #1, because he was not just an innovator of technique, but also he brought an entire subgenre of jazz to the attention of so many people. Also, he gets very little credit for his electric guitar playing, but he was actually able to bring the electric into Gypsy-Jazz. There was Gypsy Jazz before Django, for sure, and the guitar playing of Eddie Lang predates Django by almost a decade, and exhibits some of the same musical ideas that made Django stand out, but, there is no doubt that Django had more boundaries to push and really made the guitar the forefront instrument of a genre that had previously been dominated by other instruments. And all of this in spite of the fact that he only had the full use of two fingers on his fretting hand.

(Make sure you don't miss the run at 2:53)


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## Spaced Out Ace (May 3, 2018)

George Lynch, Eddie Van Halen, and Ace Frehley.

Honorable mentions: Warren DeMartini, Jake E Lee, and Billy Duffy.


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## bostjan (May 3, 2018)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> George Lynch, Eddie Van Halen, and Ace Frehley.
> 
> Honorable mentions: Warren DeMartini, Jake E Lee, and Billy Duffy.


No Vinnie Vincent?


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## Kyle Jordan (May 3, 2018)

The 3 that are responsible for me playing:

1. Randy Rhoads
2. James Hetfield (nod to Kirk too here.)
3. Tony Iommi

The 3 that are responsible for me pushing myself further:

1. Steve Vai
2. Yngwie Malmsteen
3. Joe Satriani

The 3 that have shaped me the most in the last decade:

1. Dino Cazares
2. Per Nilsson
3. Alex Skolnick (Testament in general, but Skol helped much with his Jazz.)
BONUS! I'm cheating and putting Aaron Marshall here too.

The 3 I've been digging on the past year or so:

1. Andy Wood
2. Bucky Pizzarelli
3. Rob Scallon

My 3 Favorite:

3. Per Nilsson
2. Steve Vai
1. Randy Rhoads

We'll see what it looks like next year.


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## bostjan (May 3, 2018)

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any love for Kim Thayil, nor for Chris Cornell. I believe that those guys really pushed the guitar in a different direction for their time, and that they contributed to the stylistic changes that occurred in guitar playing and music in general during that time (Pearl Jam's _Ten_ came out in 1991, Alice in Chains' _Facelift_ in 1990, Nirvana's _Bleach_ [which was more punk-oriented than their later releases] was 1989, and Soundgarden's _Ultramega Okay_ came out in 1988). The band used tons of different guitar tunings and different time signatures and all kinds of weird dark grooves that the grunge movement really ended up defining as the characteristic sound.

Or Phil Keagy, also a really different kind of player.

And one that few people really know about, but I submit for your pleasure: 
Brad "Buster" Jones

I saw this guy playing sitting at a trailer park on someone's camcorder video. He was playing a sort of a march song, fingerstyle, of course, and it was really cool, but then the song transitioned into another part and he pushed the low E off of the fretboard and strated doing snare rudiments on it with his thumb while he was still playing the melody with his other fingers at the same time. My mind was blown. This guy played the guitar like it was a guitar, banjo, harp, and drumset...


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## Spaced Out Ace (May 3, 2018)

Kim Thayil and Jerry Cantrell certainly deserve a mention. That said, I feel Jerry Cantrell's AIC work is a tad same-y after awhile. Just saying.


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## Ralyks (May 3, 2018)

John Petrucci, Jim Matheos (Fates Warning)............ Allan Holdsworth. It was between him and John McLaughlin, but I’ll give Allan the edge since I got to see him live.


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## zappatton2 (May 3, 2018)

There's a million guitarists I love, but the top three spots go to Slash, Slash and Slash, in that order.

The first time I heard the solo to Sweet Child was the first time I ever actually noticed or paid attention to a guitar solo, and the first time I realized guitars were awesome.


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## NosralTserrof (May 3, 2018)

Misha
Browne
Ryan Morgan (Misery Signals)


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## vilk (May 3, 2018)

Andy LaRocque
Karl Sanders
Hm... who is #3? For today, lets say Yngwie


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## bostjan (May 3, 2018)

Mine are:
1. Django Reinhardt (like I said)
2. Buckethead
3. Jan Akkerman (from Focus)


Another mention of a somewhat unknown and highly under-rated guitarist: Dave Martone


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## PunkBillCarson (May 3, 2018)

Iommi
Ihsahn
Stephen Carpenter


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## Spaced Out Ace (May 3, 2018)

Well, if we're going to mention the obscure/underappreciated, then how about Ty Tabor, Rocky George, and John Christ.


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## mastapimp (May 3, 2018)

Tough to pick 3, but here's the top of my list:

1.) Michael Hedges

2.) Marty Friedman

3.) Guthrie Govan

Runners up that I feel don't get enough love:
Jan Akkerman, Dave Davidson, Andy Timmons, Pierre Bensusan, Alex Skolnick


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## Ebony (May 3, 2018)

Top 3 in metal:

1. Ole Borud (pre-2004)
2. Chuck
3. Vicotnik

Honorable mentions: Jonas Bryssling, Destructhor, Hobbs, Rutan, Toler-Wade, Sanders, Tiegs, Mameli, Ihsahn, Christer Espevoll and Sebastien Tuvi.

Top 3 in fusion:

1. Al Di Meola
2. John Goodsall
3. Allan Holdsworth

Honorable mentions: Lane, Govan, Akkerman, Gambale, Stern, Mclaughlin and Henderson.


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## Ralyks (May 3, 2018)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Well, if we're going to mention the obscure/underappreciated, then how about Ty Tabor, Rocky George, and John Christ.



Hell yeah I’ll give some love for Rocky George. And while we’re at it, Josh Christian from Toxik is right next to Petrucci I’m getting me into more technical playing, and showing me how crazy Thrash can really be.
I’ll add that Chris Poland is highly underrated.


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## USMarine75 (May 3, 2018)

Zeus1907 said:


> 1. *Danny Gatton *
> 2. ...
> 3. ...
> 
> Gatton and Reinhardt are heads and shoulders above all guitarist, of course my own opinion.



Don't see that a lot 'round these parts! I'm sure you prob know this cat then too!


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## Spaced Out Ace (May 4, 2018)

bostjan said:


> No Vinnie Vincent?


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## lewis (May 4, 2018)

John Browne - Monuments
Acle - Tesseract (just love their twangy guitar tone)
Timfy James - Hacktivist, HOAC (former in both)

would say these atm. Although Im so engrossed in my own writing/band, that I dont really think about other guitarists anymore.


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## r33per (May 4, 2018)

Got to love a personal, totally subjective list 

1. Joe Satriani
2. John Petrucci
3. Alex Lifeson


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## JouniK86 (May 4, 2018)

1. Shawn Lane
2. David Gilmour
3. Jakub Zytecki


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## Flappydoodle (May 4, 2018)

1. Michael Amott - written many of my favourite riffs and melodic solos

2. Synyster Gates - despite the douchey name and appearance, he's a hell of a guitarist with a unique style who write very memorable solos

3. Dave Mustaine - written many of my favourite riffs, and still going strong at his age. I can't listen to Tornado of Souls and just not start grinning.


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## bostjan (May 4, 2018)

Flappydoodle said:


> 1. Michael Amott - written many of my favourite riffs and melodic solos
> 
> 2. Synyster Gates - despite the douchey name and appearance, he's a hell of a guitarist with a unique style who write very memorable solos
> 
> 3. Dave Mustaine - written many of my favourite riffs, and still going strong at his age. I can't listen to Tornado of Souls and just not start grinning.


A7x started out as a typical metalcore band with some little bits of neoclassical influences barely showing through at times, and people really dug them, then they very suddenly got really big, and then most people hated them. I know there were a few trainwrecks that happened live on stage, and that seemed to be the main fuel for the fire for hating them early on. Interestingly, the same dude who introduced me to A7x also introduced me to Arch Enemy, both were around the same time, summer of 2001. Both bands have changed very significantly after that.


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## Flappydoodle (May 4, 2018)

bostjan said:


> A7x started out as a typical metalcore band with some little bits of neoclassical influences barely showing through at times, and people really dug them, then they very suddenly got really big, and then most people hated them. I know there were a few trainwrecks that happened live on stage, and that seemed to be the main fuel for the fire for hating them early on. Interestingly, the same dude who introduced me to A7x also introduced me to Arch Enemy, both were around the same time, summer of 2001. Both bands have changed very significantly after that.



I remember hearing their first album too and thinking "what the fuck. I didn't know music could do THAT". Same for Waking the Fallen. I listened to that pretty much continuously for a year when it came out.

IMO, the fuel for fire of hatred was seeing a metal band making it big, putting out a few ballads, introducing more clean singing, and actually getting some mainstream acceptance. I remember going to a concert and it was packed with teenage girls. However, I think it was obvious from day 1 that they were talented, and they continued to put out great stuff IMO.

Even the most bitter, hardened hater of the band needs to admit that "Synyster" is a fucking class guitarist.

And yeah, Arch Enemy is sadly pretty boring now. But Amott has written some crazy good stuff, and I love his style and tone.


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## Spaced Out Ace (May 4, 2018)

Syn seems like a decent guy, just started an online guitar school of sorts, and his dad is super cool.


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## wankerness (May 4, 2018)

I don't really give a f*** about technical ability, I go for whoever comes up with the coolest riffs or the most "expressive" solos. So, I'd probably go for classic Mikael Akerfeldt for the awesome riffing, classic Daniel Gildenlow for both riffing and the way his solos sounded within the songs/lyrics, and maybe bow to the technical side of things with Tobin Abasi, since he came up with a ton of really layered, cool compositions on the S/T and The Joy of Motion, and his shredding was secondary to me.


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## gunch (May 4, 2018)

3 isn't fair let alone 9


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## Strobe (May 5, 2018)

Randy Rhoads, Buckethead, Tosin Abasi


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## ThePIGI King (May 5, 2018)

Muenzner
Malcolm Pugh
J.B. Brubaker

Honorable mentions:
Loomis
Abasai
Waggoner
Fountainhead


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## Kovah (May 6, 2018)

In no particular order

Jon Nödtveidt
Anders Nyström
Dan Swanö (not only as a guitarist though)


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## Sollipsist (May 6, 2018)

1. Robert Fripp
2. Me
3. You


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## lurè (May 6, 2018)

In no particular order:

1. Michael Romeo
2. Guthrie Govan
3. Tosin Abasi

Honorable mentions:
- Holdsworth
- Shawn Lane
- Loomis


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## nyxzz (May 6, 2018)

The more I think about it the more impossible this gets. Maybe not the best ever but my favorites right now.

Jimmy Page
Guthrie Govan
Thomas Erak (underrated imo)


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## ExileMetal (May 7, 2018)

Per Nilsson
Paul Wardingham
John Browne


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## BigViolin (May 7, 2018)

Way too many, so going recent.

Tom Quayle
Browne
Tosin


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## NateFalcon (May 7, 2018)

Mixed bag....3. Buckethead 2. Shawn Lane and...1. Rocky George

Runners up: Merle Travis and Chet Atkins


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## jwoods986 (May 8, 2018)

Oh, this is easy:
Yngwie
George Lynch
Van Halen


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## ArtHam (May 9, 2018)

In light of my complete and utter Alkaloid obsession these last few months this has gotten really easy:

1 Danny Tunker
2 Florian Maier
3 Christian Muenzner

(though there's a separate "life-time achievement" podium for Chuck Schuldiner next to that)


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## Isurez (May 9, 2018)

1. Jimmy Herring
2. John McLaughlin 
3. Robert Fripp


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## sevenfoxes (May 9, 2018)

Steph Carpenter
Randy Rhoads
Matt Talbot/Tim Lash


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## Ancestor (May 11, 2018)

bostjan said:


> 1. Django Reinhardt - He defined an entire genre, made the instrument relevant, and it's seldom pointed out that he was one of the earliest electric guitar innovators.
> 2. Buckethead - Love him or hate him, he's developed the most distinctive sound, not to mention that he innovated a number of techniques that have since caught on.
> 3. Jan Akkerman - Also often overlooked, but dude was doing extreme shred metal in the 1960's...he also did a lot of stuff Blackmore and Santana did, before those guys did those things...and he was a master of exotic scales and modes long before it was cool.
> 
> ...


Very interesting!


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## Ancestor (May 11, 2018)

1. Randy Rhoads who made me need to play guitar the first time I heard Over the Mountain on the radio.

2. EVH. Stole too many of his singular techniques not to have him on the list.

3. Vivian Campbell on the first three Dio albums. He's melodic but incredibly shredding and I love his technical style.


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## Mullet (May 12, 2018)

John Browne 
Mark Holcomb 
Justin Lowe


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## ArtDecade (May 12, 2018)

^ Not gonna lie... I had to look up each one of those guys because I didn't recognize any of them. That said, I'm old.


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## Spaced Out Ace (May 12, 2018)

ArtDecade said:


> ^ Not gonna lie... I had to look up each one of those guys because I didn't recognize any of them. That said, I'm old.


I thought there was a no dads allowed policy around here. 

That said, only Mark is moderately worth listening to.


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