# The "Find out what your guitar style is" thread



## JP Universe (Aug 12, 2011)

RULES - you get to pick 5 guitarists you think have contributed to your style and technique the most. ONLY 5... no - "And 5th is Dimebag and Marty Friedman I can't decide!... you can only have 5 players mentioned!!! (Apart from your descriptions 

Out of the 5 guitarists you then say what technique/theory/thought process etc that you think has the biggest influence on your playing.

(Don't make it too long, maybe a paragraph)

So the example will be my list -

Steve Vai
John Petrucci
Eric Johnson
Yngwie Malmsteen
Fredrik Thordendal

Vai - His composition and "out there" approach really appeal to me and I try and look at my compositions/music stylings to be a bit different from the norm. My biggest project involved recording a 40 minute song using guitars only and beats to make a Trance album in 3 months. 

John Petrucci - Tone tone tone and you can tell from my gear....Ibanez JPM's and a Mesa Recto. Also got the Green dot Uni mainly because Petrucci used it on Lie  Also have the AxeFX, looking to get a BFR. Like a zombie 

Eric Johnson - Not allowed to say tone (just did) but mainly his hands position and approach to tone. I use my right hand fingers about 50 - 50 Now to my pick and I have Eric Johnson to thank for that . (I'm getting an Eric Johnson Strat soon)

Yngwie - Yngwie's vibrato when playing all those notes (Harmonic minor anyone  quickly is just imho the best Vibrato going round in shredders and makes the hairs on my neck go up!

Fredrik Thordendal - Look, Meshuggah is my favourite band..... Fredriks leads got me into Allan Holdsworth (with the help of my teacher) and had me Djenting for the last 10+ years. When I was younger I wanted a 7 string purely to learn the Destroy Erased Improve album... Werll about that 40 minute song I mentioned in Vais descriptioni.... .... That's a tribute to Thordendals Sol Niger Within

SUMMARY

Vai - Composition

JP - Tone

EJ - Technique

Yngwie - Feel

Fredrik - Note choice/Rhythm

I learnt something from this exercise, hopefully you do to! As long as one person does it is worthwhile!

Ready ................................. GO!


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## Sephael (Aug 12, 2011)

David Gilmour - tone, style, sheer genius...he influences and inspires me for a thousand different reasons. Enough reasons I could stop with just him and feel I covered a good 80% of my musical influence. 

Adrian Smith & Dave Murray (2 slots taken) - the band influenced me to no end so they both had to make the list. Catchy at times, powerful, and able to conquer the world.

Mikael Åkerfeldt - from dark and heavy to bluesy and soulful this man can do it all in one song and still find room to put in the kitchen sink.

T-Bone Walker - if I couldn't use all of my favorite blues guys I had to pick a progenitor and he the epitome of all things great about the blues.


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## JoeOsoDopke (Aug 12, 2011)

adam jones - off kilter/off time rhythms
tosin abasi - interesting unique chording
james hetfield/devin townsend - picking attack
guthrie govan - helped me gain my own voice
allan holdsworth - chord/thinking out of the box


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## Explorer (Aug 12, 2011)

Hmm... what inspired me from various players?

Michael Hedges - Composing without considering the normal limitations and abandoning the normal, under the finger patterns. Heavy mental fingerstyle.

Chris Proctor - Lyricism and complete composition.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Blistering leads, tasteful slower work, an extension and rebirth of Hendrix's melody/broken chord style.

Leo Nocentelli - Originator of syncopated funk guitar, incorporating bassline, melody and "horn" lines.

Donald Fagen - Not a guitar player, but I learned my chord voicings from the keyboard playing on Steely Dan albums.

And, even though I'm only supposed to name five, here's a shout out to Bowling Green John Cephas, from whom I learn to play fingerstyle Piedmont blues. Always a funny guy, and a great loss to the blues community.


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## Razzy (Aug 12, 2011)

Steve Vai
Synester Gates (I know most of you guys hate him, but I love a lot of the stuff he does.)
Tim Mctague
Paul Gilbert
Buz Mcgrath


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## celticelk (Aug 12, 2011)

Explorer, I'm *dying* to hear what you're doing with your equipment and that set of influences. =)

I don't think that I particularly sound like any of the guys I'm about to list - they're all way better players than me, for starters - but they are five who were instrumental in my approach to the instrument.

Sonny Sharrock - Love his tone: Les Paul Custom with heavy-gauge strings through a LOUD (but relatively clean) mid-80s Marshall 100-watt. Sharrock was sort of my anti-shred hero - he wasn't about knowing a bunch of fancy scales or playing really fast, he just stated the head of the tune (and his heads were usually pretty simple), and then went off to explore the space around it, whether that space contained pentatonic melody or atonal lap-steel-bar howls. I deeply regret not discovering his music until after his passing. I'd love to have been at one of his gigs, just to feel his energy in the room.

Andy Summers - Those chords! My love for odd clusters and what he would call "disinterested" chords comes directly from his playing, particularly his post-Police jazz work.

Bill Frisell - The beauty of simplicity, and the primacy of the melodic line. Frisell more than anyone else convinced me that it's OK that I play slowly.

David Torn - My introduction to looping, and still way beyond pretty much anyone else using that approach to live performance. Torn was also one of the first guys I heard explicitly incorporating non-Western idioms and approaches derived from other instruments while still just sounding like himself.

Tom Morello - Jam on the one; don't fake the funk; power to the people.

If the parameters included non-guitarists, I'd definitely include Miles Davis on the list, and probably a few vocalists (Peter Gabriel, David Sylvian, Cassandra Wilson).


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## carnagereap (Aug 12, 2011)

Christian Muenzner- Influenced me to start playing some tech-death, and now it's my favorite genre.

Brendon Small- Got me into sweep picking and I base a lot of the music I write off of his type of style.

Arde ?- Guitarist for Burning the Masses. Got me to start some whole-tone stuff and use chromatic sections in my music.

Buckethead- Is probably my favorite guitarist. He can easily go from nice mellow stuff, to shredding like a maniac.

Chris Broderick- I appreciate the fact that he knows more theory than any other guitarist I am aware of, and can use it in a context that applies to metal.


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## SirMyghin (Aug 12, 2011)

Alex Lifeson - Huge sounding licks and arpeggios, lots of open strings to reinforce the sound. One man sounding like so much more.

Mark Knopfler - Dynamics and touch. His delivery of notes is what I like about his style. He can solo from the pocket well, and is good practice on how to do and sound amazing. 

Vai - His composition for also is a big touch, but I also admire the bar gymnastics. He motivates me to leave to get between notes with my bar as well as bends and slides. So he hits 2 bases, a approach and a technique one.

Joe Satriani - His improv ability and tone. I love his tone, but his improv wow. They way he can depart so heavily from the studio tracks live and present you with a whole different song amazes me. The way his studio tracks are more outlines than complete ideas makes seeing him, and thinking hard about what you are really doing important.

Victor Wooten (I am a bassist, go ahead and shoot me). While providing an rather unique approach to the bass, and building on the foundations guys like Clarke made he also provided us with a book on music, without a single exercise in it. This book (The Music Lesson) is brilliant, and addresses every aspect of your playing you can't really learn the conventional way. It did enough to shift me back where I was years before, and away from too much shedding. It also brought up some interesting points that I may have forgotten along the way.


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## Solodini (Aug 12, 2011)

Zappa: approach to unusual music which still has a strong element of hook. Interesting and complex while very fun. 

Stevie Wonder: see above

Kaki King: cool chords and playing fingerstyle acoustic without falling into the traps of a boring singer-songwriter or middle-of-the-road acoustic guitarist. 

Imogen Heap: music without boundaries of genre or correct orchestration. Freedom, juxtaposition and creative honesty. 

Glassjaw: similar to the Zappa/Wonder influence but also teaching me that aggressive music need not be a punch in the face but can be a scalpel slicing precisely at the parts of you which hurt the most.


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## OrsusMetal (Aug 12, 2011)

Christian Muenzner - a lot of his style and techniques have rubbed off on me. He was one of the reasons I got into tech-death and a lot of modal writing. He definitely upped the theory side of my writing and playing. 

Per Nilsson - he inspired me to work on my phrasing more and overall tone of my playing.

Paul Gilbert - he was the one who originally got me into working on cleaning up my alternate picking. He is so god damn clean in his alt picked speed runs that I sat down and tried to model my clarity after his. After awhile though, I started looking to others for the machine-like alternate picking. He began it all for me though.

Muhammed Suicmez - Can't deny that he was the guy that made me want to change my writing style. Before I heard of Necrophagist my writings didn't really seem to be what I wanted. I didn't know people could play that tight before I heard them. This made me take my idea of clarity with the lower strings to a whole new level. 

Jason Becker - he is one of the guys who I studied for arpeggios and sweeping. When I was first learning the sweeping technique, he is all I wanted to play because he did SO much of it. It was all over the place too, so it gave me a lot to look at.


So, these aren't in the order that I discovered them, but just the order I figured I'd write it out.

Christian Muenzner - LOTS. Theory, writing, thought process...
Per Nilsson - Phrasing and tone
Paul Gilbert - Speed and alternate picking
Muhammed Suicmez - Machine-like clarity
Jason Becker - Sweeping fluidity and use of triad inversions in arpeggios.


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## Ill-Gotten James (Aug 12, 2011)

Awesome idea for a thread!

Michael Amott
Paul Gilbert
Jeff Loomis
Jeff Hanneman
Dimebag

Michael Amott - No, he is not an insane shredder, but I list him as number one due to his melodic, yet brutal riffs. Overall, while most songs that he has written are not choc-full of technicality, in my opinion the songs are well composed due to their simplicity and articulate sound. 

Paul Gilbert - Out of all of the speed metal shredders, I am fond of Paul Gilberts style, more so than his music. Racer X and Mr. Big, we not great bands in my opinion, but I like how solid his alternate picking is, string skipping, sweeping, and overall structure of solos. 

Jeff Loomis - First guitarist that I heard play on a 7-string that actually utilized all 7-strings, unlike the guys from that band korn. Loomis mixes a nice blend of metal and prog. licks that have certainly inspired some of my current writings.

Jeff Hanneman - Sloppy. Him and Kerry King are sloppy players, but they remind me of the first type of music I really bonded with. Punk. Jeff Hanneman is just a really fast player, but I like the fact that the music he writes has many influences of punk and hardcore. I would not be the guitarist I am today without my roots and my roots are in punk, hardcore, and thrash metal. Not only that, atonal guitar solos can sound pretty cool if used correctly and not abused.

Dimebag - This was really a hard call. Dimebag or SRV. I went with Dime over SRV for only two insignificant reasons. Dime's tone. Cowboys from Hell just had this over-distored guitar tone that I had never heard before and kept me coming back for more. Also, the dime squeal. Not a hard technique to pull off, but the technique definitely inspired me to start playing on guitars with floating bridges. Dimebag also lingered around the typical blues based leads, which is not a bad thing. The minor pentatonic scale can produce some ripping leads when used correctly and is also the first scale I learned to play.

The five guitarists that I chose are not the greatest, but definitely helped to shape the roots of my guitar playing. There are many other guitarists who have inspired me, but these five are my roots.


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## thraxil (Aug 12, 2011)

Dave Mustaine: I've always been more into amazing rhythm playing than soloing, and Mustaine probably has the best right hand in the business.

Kerry King: I'd be tempted to pull a "and Jeff Hanneman" here because what I really mean is "Slayer" and I don't particularly distinguish between the two. I spent pretty much a whole summer doing very little besides learning to play all of Decade of Aggression from beginning to end. It was like metal boot camp. 

Robert Fripp: breaking completely out of standard patterns and habits. Making guitars do things nobody else realized they were able to do.

Justin Broadrick: Power in simplicity. Beauty in a wall of noise.

Ihsahn: Musicality, composition, and melody without sacrificing aggression.


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## Azure (Aug 12, 2011)

Adam Jones - Great song composition, great tone and a disciplined approach towards effects
Mikael Åkerfeldt - natural/interesting way of approaching song composition
Fredrik Thordendal - inspiration for tuning to drop a, using low end carefully, interesting leads, great tapping
Tosin Abasi - neat ideas for soloing and an amazing combination of low and high end, makes me think more about what I'm writing, great tapping
John Williams - Inspired me to learn a bit of finger picking (the first bit of Leyenda) which I'm trying to incorporate with heavy metal. Also helping me develop my own style/feeling of playing with fingers.


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## Shogun (Aug 12, 2011)

Good to hear fripp being mentioned here 

My biggest influences : 

#1. John Pettrucci - The dude has such an incredible level of technique. Im currently trying to get my alt picking to the same level as his, i still have a way's to go though lol. I also love his tone, so much so that im currently saving up for a mesa mark v and a ebmm jp sig 

#2. Buckethead - When i first heard nottingham lace i was blown away, he plays with so much emotion you can really feel it. He's also really versatile in his playing and is a great songwriter. I've been working on my legato technique a lot trying to get it like his. 

#3. Paul Gilbert - I still put on his intense rock instructional video whenever i wanna work on my picking, He was probably the first real shredder i got into.

#4. Jeff Loomis - He turned me on to 7 strings, i love the heavy ass riffing he does on a 7. He also has such godly ( or should i say godless  ) sweep picking, when i first heard the sweeps he does on this godless endeavour i was like 

#5. Kirk Hammett - Even Though i listen to guys now that are way more technical , His and jame hetfield's playing on master of puppets is what made me want to pick up a guitar in the first place.I started out learning all his leads from mop and ajfa. I find that i emulate a lot of his bluesy/pentatonic playing.

So to sum it all up :

John Pettrucci - alt picking, tone and usage of a 7 string
Buckethead - For his use of legato and playing emotional leads and Also using interesting scales and licks.
Paul Gilbert - For overall picking technique
Jeff Loomis - Sweeps, picking, and 7 string riffing 
Kirk Hammett - pentatonic leads and tapping


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## Alimination (Aug 12, 2011)

John Petrucci- Tone
Ron Jarzombek- Composition/ exadurated poly rhythm.
Tosin Abasi- Thinking out of the box
Paul Gilbert- Effects and technique... and humor.. lol 
Loomis- Heavy riffing



John Petrucci - Really.. same as you. You pretty much nailed it. I love his tone more then any other guitar player out there. From his cleans to his crunch, to his hi gain stuff.

Ron Jarzombek- As muhammad scumez said.. he's really the god father of tech metal. When I first heard spastic ink and Blotted Science.. I've never heard such bizzar composition before like he does. I have to say that 80% of my composition has to be from this guy.

Tosin Abasi- Really when it comes down to it, everyone starts looking the same, and Tosin comes as a major contrast compaired to a lot of guitar players I know. It's hard to put him in a catigory as my other favorite musicians because really.. he's in his own spot. Also he inspired me to experiment with different techniques, chords, and gear.

Paul Gilbert- I'm pretty much an Effects whore. I love experimenting with synths.. flangers.. phasers.. and just come up with new weird sounds. I think that pretty much came from Paul Gilbert. His technique is also absolutely amazing (especially his string skipping stuff). AND lastly.. he has an amazing sense of humor.  I really love him for that! He just radiates positive/joyful energy.

Loomis- Yeah out of all the Hi gain metal players.. he probobly has some of the more cooler complex riffing out of all of them. I pretty much look up to him on that the most. Pretty good song writer. Really, there hasn't been a good original neoclassical album in a LONG time and loomis pretty much nailed it.


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## Mordacain (Aug 12, 2011)

Jimmy Page
 Bob Weir
 David Gilmour
 Mark Knopfler
 John Petrucci
#1 - Jimmy Page - For production techniques, unique phrasing and his exceptionally raw sound. When I think of olschool, in your face tone, I think of Jimmy Page. He shaped the way I started playing lead more than any other player when I first started. He also gave me, like some many other wannabes, a love for the Les Paul guitar.

#2 - Bob Weir - Purely for rhythmic badassery. Probably not a name on anyone else's radar. However, the first real band that I took part in was playing rhythm for a Jam band. If you want a schooling on how to play interesting rhythm guitar, look now further than Bob Weir. He is one of the few players to truly understand how to utilize the guitar as a purely rhythmic instrument IMO. Now, I wouldn't say Bob is one of my favorite players, but it turns of shaping how I play, the man is waaaay up there.

#3 - David Gilmour - For tone, emotive content, lyrical soloing and just inhinged beauty on the instrument. If I constructed a list of my top 3 solos, they were all performed by this man. A man's gotta understand his limitations and David Gilmour certainly does. You'll find no attempt at shredding or insane chords with Gilmour. The man plays to his strengths and there is no-one IMO that comes close to conveying the level of emotion as David. I can also blame David for my lifelong Stratocaster obsession.

#4 - Mark Knopfler - For uncompromising musical vision, creating the ultimate clean tone and for showing me the amount of energy and passion that could come through with just a strat, a clean amp and fingers. If there is anyone that I sound a little too much like, its Mark Knopfler. If I had to come up with one word to describe the man, it would be "Smooth." Aside from being an amazing guitar player, the man is also a brilliant lyricist and alongside Bob Dylan, one of the few musicians that can convey a proper story with a song.

#5 - John Petrucci - As so many have already said: tone, unparalleled technical ability and creative vision. John is the first guitar player that showed me that shredding was more than a jumble of notes played quickly. Getting into Petrucci's work probably broadened my musical horizon more than any other player. While I may never play at his level, the goal of achieving that has probably been more inspirational to me than any other. Realistically, I can say John Petrucci is who resparked my interest in guitar and the compelling reason for me to continue to push myself to practice and play better..


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## nostealbucket (Aug 12, 2011)

Tosin Abasi
Paul Waggoner
Misha Mansoor
John Petrucci
Allan Holdsworth


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## Fiction (Aug 12, 2011)

1. *Synyster Gates*, everybody hates him. But whatever, I've had my stage, but the thing is he helped me make that transition from learning smoke on the water, wonderwall all that and actually learning some lead. And that eventually has pushed me to the next level.

2. *Paul Gilbert*, this is where my next guitar movement progressed. He really got me practicing technique and is where I made the next leap in progressing in guitar.

3. *Tom Morello*, I love his riffing. He taught me to riff. RIFF.

4. *Tosin Abasi*, Around here I started looking for very out there, _different _music, which is when I came across AAL and I really started to progress as a player around here. Learning what I could of AAL and this is basically what got me to leap into buying a 7. I now have a 7 and don't even play metal on the thing, 7 strings just bring the Tapping and indie side out of me haha.

5. *Paul Waggoner, *I've been listening to BtBAM For a few years now, maybe 2 or so. And only really bothered to try and learn some of it about a year ago, and honestly in the last year. I have learnt more and progressed more than I have from picking up a guitar 8 years ago. Mostly thanks to my movement into the progressive genre, but definitely these last 2 have helped.


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## TheDjentlman (Aug 12, 2011)

Marc Okubo: Unique riffage and made me start thinking outside of the box.

Josh Travis: Ridiculous half-step harmonization. I really up-ed my playing when I started replicating his techniques.

Both Guitarists of My Bitter End: Legato, legato, legato. And TONS of Syncopated riffs.

Tosin Abasi: He inspired me to take in music as it is, in all forms.

Jon Nödtveidt: Really inspired me to take in Darker Music, and use atmosphere to my advantage.


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## CD1221 (Aug 13, 2011)

Eddie Van Halen - apart from his enormous contribution to rock lead work, the man is a rock rhythm encyclopedia - rock, blues, funk, nearly metal, jazz everything is in there. The first guy that made me want to pick up a guitar.

Dave Murray and Adrian Smith - these guys prove that you don't have to be an uber-shredder to be awesome guitarist. memorable, singable lead work. instantly recognisable tone. awesome.

Brian May - inimitable tone and phrasing. never over plays, perfect note selection. the classiest rock and roller out there.

Tommy Vetterli (aka Tommy T Baron - Coroner) - syncopated, odd time signatures and complex rhythm work that twists and turns in unexpected ways, yet doesn't sound forced or trite. His lead work is impeccable, beautifully fluid. Grossly underrated and underappreciated.


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## niffnoff (Aug 13, 2011)

Bulb - yes I admit it, but since I learned Icarus Lives! my rhythm and tone seem to becomming alot more syncopated and the leads taking a diverse and different approach due to the new chord voicings. Guess it's kicked me out a rut!

Yngwie - Got back into him lately, love his tone and how the use of classical and baroque phrasing is used. Plus all out amazing sweeping and picking.

Loomis - When I heard Jato Unit I was like who is this guy and never heard of him before. Then listened to nevermore after I looked him up, such an amazing tone and playing style. Those diminished runs in Jato Unit stick in my head forever great inspiration for rhythm and use of phrasing.

Adam D- Just love killswitches rhythm playing, especially rose of sharyn, the 3/4 into the 4/4 section is just so simple but addictive, plus using rhythm and lead together has always been involved in my playing style. 

Satriani- Never been able to replicate his exact style but some of his softer songs have always been influence on mine, crush of love and cryin have always stuck there. Not all solos have to be 1359025092532 notes to be effective.


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## SirMyghin (Aug 13, 2011)

TheDjentlman said:


> *1) *Marc Okubo: Unique riffage and made me start thinking outside of the box.
> 
> *2 )*Josh Travis: Ridiculous half-step harmonization. I really up-ed my playing when I started replicating his techniques.
> 
> ...



Not sure if you can count


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## thedarkoceans (Aug 13, 2011)

well,i'm a bass player but i think it works for me too.

Louis Jucker: the picking style,the distortion.pure madness.

Troy Sanders: he taught me that essential=good.and fuzz.

Liam Wilson: the jazz-metal union in a bass player.

guy from Ion Dissonance, Yanic Desgro_something_: still eading the bass into a great chaotic landscape.

Dick Lovgren: love his work in meshuggah,he owns the mid range!


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## Dayn (Aug 14, 2011)

1. Steve Vai. Just his way of looking at music and composition, really, how it can be anything. I suppose his writings in his Little Black Dots lessons helped me realise that the guitar is just an instrument, and I can compose anything.

...Umm, that's about it, because you said guitarists. Electronica and folk music where there is literally one guitar chord strummed behind a fuck-tonne of melodies on other instruments are far more influential to me, and I have no specific names otherwise. Music in general, regardless of instrument, influences my guitar playing. Going back to point one, 'it's just an instrument'.


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## in-pursuit (Aug 14, 2011)

Allan Holdsworth - I guess the lesson I got from him was to experiment more with chords, don't be afraid to never repeat yourself if you like, and you don't necessarily need anyone to keep a steady beat to have good flow.

John McLaughlin - I really liked the way he seemed to sometimes be trying to play that little bit faster than he knew he could, and the album he did with Shakti was just amazing, Have never heard an album that blended jazz with a traditional style so seemlessly.

Robert Fripp - I absolutely love everything he did with King Crimson, with looping and especially permutations. I always admired the way he seemed to embrace technology and incorperate it into his music.

Adam Jones - First guitarist I really got into who used a nice variety of time signiatures and sort of got me going down that path. Also probably the first more "metal" orientated guitarist I got into.

(the obligatory) Tosin Abasi - kinda goes without saying. He's got fantastic technique which is something I really never felt inspired towards until I heard some of the things he could do with it. I think his music is a culmination of a lot of different elements that I can relate to, so seeing how he ties it all together kind of makes me want to try harder to achieve that same level of cohesion in my own writing.


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## GhostsofAcid (Aug 15, 2011)

I've only been playing for a little bit over a year and am still somewhat of a noob, but this thread got me thinking more about my influences so i figure i'll take a whack at it.

1. Karl Sanders - Easily my biggest influence lead wise, his solos have a certain unexplainable feel to them that i love. His very heavy pick attack and extensive use of harmonic minor are audible in the few admittedly crappy solos i've tried to write.

2. Jesper stromblad - My favorite rhythm player/songwriter bar none.

3. Brendon Small - learned sweeping from this guy's stuff.

4. Jeff Loomis - I'm nowhere near able to tackle any of his material, but i find it very inspiring.

5. Jari Maenpaa - Like some of the other people in my list, he creates a certain atmosphere in his music that i really enjoy.


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## viesczy (Aug 17, 2011)

Paul Gilbert
Yngwie Malmsteen
Jason Becker
George Benson
Pat Martino

All 5 have TOTAL command (well had in Jason's case), all play with ferocity, certainty, and ability. 

I could listen to all for eternity and never be bored and hope that I've pulled some of their awesomeness into a voice of my own. Bach w bebop scales! 

Derek


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## poisonelvis (Aug 17, 2011)

randy rhoads-style,solos
eddie-tone
page-everything
jerry cantrell-make playing easy stuff hard
zappa-music doesn't have to make sense to be music


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 17, 2011)

Jerry Cantrell
James Hetfield
Paul Gilbert
Jeff Loomis
Buckethead


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## Hammersmashedsevenstring (Aug 18, 2011)

Mick Thomson (yes, Slipknot.)- brutal riffs and interesting lead sounds. Slipknot was the first metal band I heard and I was converted straight Away.

Pat O'brien- quite simply, he is the best guitarist in Metal. Nearly cried watching him play with Slayer.

Annie Grunwald- plays in a tech death band called Formless, and they shred like bastards. Had lost interest in guitar until I saw her play.

James Hetfield- after I heard him play, I decided to play guitar.

Dimebag- amazing sol


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## Hammersmashedsevenstring (Aug 18, 2011)

Mick Thomson (yes, Slipknot.)- brutal riffs and interesting lead sounds. Slipknot was the first metal band I heard and I was converted straight Away.

Pat O'brien- quite simply, he is the best guitarist in Metal. Nearly cried watching him play with Slayer.

Annie Grunwald- plays in a tech death band called Formless, and they shred like bastards. Had lost interest in guitar until I saw her play.

James Hetfield- after I heard him play, I decided to play guitar.

Dimebag- amazing solis, groovy riffs.


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## StratoJazz (Aug 18, 2011)

I'd probably some up my style with these 5.

1. Pat Martino or Metheny
2. Charlie Hunter
3. Eric Johnson/John McLaughlin/Joe Bonemassa
4. Angus young or EVH.
5. Jimi Hendrix

Now i know there are more than 5, but let me explain.

1. I'd say when i play faster jazz lines, i try to sound like Pat martino, and for slower more melodic lines, i strive to sound like Pat Metheny.

2. I tend to play some weird contrapuntal stuff. Bassline/Comping and/or Bassline/Melody. I'm getting better at this day by day.

3. The classic speed and tone of John McLaughlin, which was later enhanced through the use of effects and smoother distortion sounds of Eric Johnson and Bonnemassa. That tone is the like the golden guitar tone. Just BADASS!!!

4. I find when i play rock rhythm, it's really aggressive and tends to be the center of attention. Which if you've met me in person, i'm really introverted. So thats......ODD.......

5. I like hendrix's more bluesy playing. The whole fuzz-like smooth distortion is something that i really dig too. I find it in my playing sometimes too.


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## theclap (Aug 19, 2011)

pat metheny-compositional genius and has one of the greatest approaches to guitar playing. This is the guy that keeps me playing and practicing everyday. Runner up here was Jim Hall.

coltrane-i know a few solos of his all the way through and know most of his licks in all 12 keys. Some one i studied heavily while i was really into jazz and his album stellar regions helped to alter my direction on guitar in a very positive way. I can't think of any other musician i rather hear make noise. runner up is thelonious monk. 

dave gilmour-first favorite guitarsit ever. best tone and proves that tone is all in your fingers. plus i have a love for strat. my runner up here was EJ.

chopin-this pollock is the only way i could get myself to practice piano and has some of the best runs and most distinguishable voice in all of music. probably overall biggest influence.

zappa-lead rhythmic groupings changed my life and really helped transpire into the new metal craze of djenty syncopation

in order and overall main source of influence

1.metheny-composition/improv
2.chopin-everything
3.gilmour-tone
4.coltrane-improv/avant-gardey-out-there-ness
5.zappa-rhythmic/avant-gardey-out-there-ness
my 6th would probably be thelonious monk, he has created all of my most favorite jazz standards and excessive use of weird rhythmic phrasing, tritone and minor 2nd abuse have made him a very big influence in both my jazz and metal playing.


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## Guamskyy (Aug 22, 2011)

Adam D. - Guitarist from Killswitch Engage. I loved his tone back then (and I still do), and he inspired me to pick up the guitar after playing My Curse on Guitar Hero 3 

Tosin Abasi - Inpsiration towards how I view chords and arpeggios. He really is a very good guitarist and can explain things in a very technical way, but you can still understand it. 

Steve Vai - His feeling, and his passion when he plays. My inspiration from him is that you can be full of feeling while you play guitar, and you don't have to always play fast to sound awesome( For the Love of God like the first 4-5 min.)

John Petrucci - My inspiration from him comes from his approach to fast runs on the fretboard, and his melodic approaches to his fast runs as well, picking a melody you like from a scale and going up the fretboard via octaves.

Guthrie Govan - His music is just inspiring to do anything. Whether it be mow the lawn, get your homework done, or get better at guitar, he can make you do it all.


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## signalgrey (Aug 22, 2011)

Eastern Youth- Japanese Fugazi Influenced punk. Hes a player that just sounds like playing guitar is the ultimate cathartic experience. 

Edge- fuck you. Name one other person that plays like that so well and can make something that epic and catchy. Yes U2 are on everyone's hate list for stupid reasons, Edge is a soundscapist, not a "guitarist".

Billy Corgan- everyone knows what he sounds like...sooo ill leave it there.

Justin k Broadrick (jesu)- for getting me into lower tunings

Mono- for all things epic


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## Bones43x (Aug 24, 2011)

Not that I can play near as well as any of these guys, but here goes...

John Petrucci (Dream Theater) - His tone is excellent, and he was THE player that made me want to improve my alternate picking and get a 7-string.

Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) - Not only are his solos stunning, but his rhythm playing is absolutely amazing. He has an incredible sense of time and rhythm.

Paul Gilbert - He's taught me that you don't have to sweep pick to be a "shredder." His alternate picking is SO clean.

Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) - His rhythm playing and riffs have inspired me over the years.

Terry Kath (Chicago) - I know that came out of left field, but he was very underrated. His jazzy/bluesy/funky playing has always been a big influence on me.


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## TheGraySlayer (Aug 24, 2011)

Dimebag- Great soulfullness. (NUMAH ONE!!!!)
Marc Okubo- Odd rythyms with a good sense of unity.
Lee McKinney- Going from a fast, complex rhythym to a beautiful, inspirational sounding riff.
Michael Aekerfeldt- Going from bluesy to brutal sounds seamlessly.
Adam Jones- Thinking of odd yet extremely simple things


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## brootalboo (Aug 24, 2011)

*James Hetfiled* _(Metallica)_- Pick attack, clean riffs, overall feel of the music is simply amazing.

*AJ Minette* _(The Human Abstract)_- He's also my guitar teacher. AJ is the only metal guitarist I know that fuses neo-classical metal in a way that makes it epic as well as main-stream. I don't really know if that makes sense but when I listen to the Human Abstract cd i get chills up my spine. I hope to become half as good/creative as him someday. I was actually surprised he was voted one of the top 10 metal guitarists of the decade by Metalsucks recently. Although he is, in my opinion, the best young metal guitarist alive today. But I'm probably biased haha.

*Matt Heafy/Corey?* _(Trivium)_-(puts on flame retardant suit). The way these guys fused metal and hardcore really did it for me when I was first getting into metal. I do unfortunately tend to drift towards d minor riffs because of them, but I can also downpick at about 230 bpm because of them 

*Brian May* _(Queen)_- I haven't tried to tackle any of their material, but Queen and Fleetwood Mac is all I listened to growing up, so I'm sure it sub consciously affects the type of music I'm attracted to. His solos are so tasteful it makes me want to give up shred all together sometimes. 

*Mikael akerfeldt* _(Opeth)_- I can't say I'm a huge fan of Opeth but every time iTunes drifts towards one of their CD's I never skip it. It's always a treat to listen to Opeth's discography. They go from rock, to death metal, to acoustic, easy listening music. He is just so original and timeless that I hope to really get into them, it's just their discography is a little intimidating.

Must hold back from saying the dude from All that Remain (Oli Herbert)... wait wut. I would switch him with Akerfeldt but i already wrote a long thing on him so I'm not about to delete it lol


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## jsl2h90 (Aug 24, 2011)

God, I have to throw my two cents into this. Great thread idea.

*Jimi Hendrix* - He made me pick up a broomstick when I was 11 and strum it around the kitchen. (So did SRV.) He's singlehandedly launched my obsession and love for all things music. Overlooking the sloppiness of some of his more drug-addled live performances, the man took the soul of blues (check out "room full of mirrors" as my favorite example on the "Jimi Hendrix Experience" 4-disc box set) and the spirit and attitude of rock n roll and created sounds that pretty much throttle the soul. Basically he transcends the definition of a "great guitar player."

*Paul Masvidal/Jason Gobel* (2 picks) - Listening to Cynic's "Focus" inspired my love for fusion and turned me towards thinking man's metal. Masvidal's Holdsworthian feel for leads combined with Gobel's quirky rhythms just floors me.

*Tosin Abasi* - He is possibly the best guitarist out there, simply due to his diversity. He's not a "metal" player or a "jazz" player; he's taken everything that's good in music and made something completely original. Not to mention I totally get a Cynic vibe from some of his work. (Am I high?) Basically he's introduced me to a functional style of guitar playing that goes beyond alternate picking and pretentious widdling. Pre-Abasi I was totally engrossed in everything Jeff Loomis (which I of course still am, amazing player) but I can now see a higher purpose for the ERG.

*John Coltrane* - Of course not a guitar player but he's allowed me to realize what my goal in being a guitar player is along with Hendrix. Listening to "A Love Supreme" and all of his work is such a spiritual experience that it reminds me why I play guitar. He was an extension of the instrument and he really made music that was just beyond soulful.

But if we're including the guitarists that influenced us from the very beginning to pick up the instrument seriously, I'd have to go with some of the more obvious players that I've now shied away from:
1. *Kirk Hammett*
2. *Kirk Hammett*
3. *Kirk Hammett*
4. *Kirk Hammett*
5. *Kirk Hammett*


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## jsl2h90 (Aug 24, 2011)

Bones43x said:


> Not that I can play near as well as any of these guys, but here goes...
> 
> John Petrucci (Dream Theater) - His tone is excellent, and he was THE player that made me want to improve my alternate picking and get a 7-string.
> 
> ...


Props for Nuno and Dave Mustaine.


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## HyperShade (Aug 25, 2011)

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez: Really got me into more out there music. He has a sporadic approach I wish I could achieve myself.

Mikael Akerfeldt: Made me actually give a shit about learning classical guitar when I was in college. Amazing riffs and song structures.

Paul Gilbert: I learned so many licks from Gilbert instructional videos and he showed me the way of modes. I'm all about string skipping as well, which he is a master at.

Frank Zappa: I will always think Frank was the greatest composer ever. He was constantly pushing the limit of what he and his band could do. And he always changed it up live.

Devin Townsend: He showed me that Jedi's are real and you can master the force through guitar.


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## Bluestreak (Aug 25, 2011)

*Carlos Cavazo:* My cousin Vincent gave me my first heavy metal album in 1983, and it happened to be _Quiet Riot: Metal Health_. I started watching MTV (back when they actually played music videos!) and I saw some early QR music vids. Watching Carlos solo, watching the band play... they were my first inspiration to play music. My grandmother gave me a Sears guitar (white w/black stripes a la Eddie Van Halen's red w/white stripes)... but my dad wouldn't let me have an amp. Again, my cousin Vince to the rescue - he gave me a tiny, acoustic Fender guitar amp. I've played guitar ever since, because of Carlos, QR, and my cousin. 

*Steven Siro Vai:* What more can be said of Mr. Vai? I've attended his clinics, been to his concert meet-and-greets, seen him play live at least a dozen times, and I've found nothing but inspiration from his words, from the passion in his music, and the outstanding technique I think every person who ever touches a guitar aspires to.

*Paul Gilbert:* I got into Paul in his post-Racer X years, specifically when Mr. Big put out their second album (Lean Into It). I've been a fan every since, with _Spaceship One_ being my favorite PG work. He went from a blazing, heartless fretboard scorcher in Racer X to emitting tasty licks that bespoke of his dozens of great influences, rather than just masturbating a guitar neck to its limit. I had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Gilbert in the early 1990's (my band opened for Mr. Big in 1992 at a small club in Melbourne, FL), a time when he had matured from a speed demon into a melodic master in just a few short years' time. My favorite song of all-time to cover is _Green Tinted Sixties Mind_.

*Bruck Kulick:* Bruce first came to light for me with Kiss, but I've been a fan ever since. Union also did some great work. It was his sound that got me. His ability to stand out despite being consumed, if not drowned out, by the sound of Kiss, Paul Stanley, and Gene Simmons. His ability to transcend and technically out-play the legend (Ace Frehley) who preceded him was something that drew me to him as well, though it's only in the last ten years I've come to realize that. 

*Vito Bratta (White Lion)*: I can't help it, I grew up and learned to play guitar in the "hair spray" era. Vito's tasty sound, his fluidity, and his melodic virtues are something I've always aspired to include in my playing.

Though I am technically proficient and a solid guitarist, I will always fall woefully short of my heroes.

Honorable mentions go to John Petrucci, Joe Satriani, George Lynch and Dave Mustaine. I would not be the player I am today without those guys. 

-R


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## Valennic (Aug 26, 2011)

Michael Amott: It was Michael that got me into the intense melodic death metal riffing that would occupy two years of my guitar career, and theres no denying it was one hell of a influence on riffing. It still pulls through more dominantly than anything else I do, plus I hear melodies everywhere now 

John Petrucci: My SENSE of melody came a lot from this guy. I've always loved what he did melodically, and much of how I approach a seven string came from his work with Dream Theater.

Muhammed Suicmez (I can't spell his fucking name >_>): Definitely gave me the drive to improve my clarity and focus less on just straight power chords when riffing. This is probably the most predominant part of my style now, I tend to rely on mostly single note riffs because of the time I spent playing Necrophagist songs.

Tosin Abasi: This is definitely a lesser influence, but the chord voicings he uses and the approach to the instrument he has definitely made me rethink a few things, and look more into the beautiful side of an ERG.

Oli Herbert: He may use a lot of powerchords in his riffing but theres a lot going on around them. I picked up a lot of songwriting things from playing All that Remains stuff, and improved my technical skills due to Oli's ridiculous technical feats. (I also wish he'd release a solo album  )


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## SirMyghin (Aug 26, 2011)

ITT: More metal than a foundry


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## Enselmis (Aug 30, 2011)

Marco Sfogli because he has the most fantastic tone I have ever heard. 

John Petrucci because he's cliched.

Devin Townsend is just ridiculous in every way.

Al DiMeola can shred like nobody else, and he started doing it before Van Halen!

Oscar Peterson even though he isn't a guitar player. He defines jazz for me.


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## fantom (Aug 30, 2011)

While I tend to read more than post... I have to fill in some gaps here...

Currently influenced by...
1) *Per Nilsson*: Awesome everything... you can really tell he puts thought into everything he plays.
2) *Carl August Tidemann*: Despite the annoyance of his current singer, he amazes me with his overall tone, note choices, harmonization, and feel... and his speed doesn't hurt.
3) *Johan Reinholdz*: This guy made me love odd time signatures. He writes some solid music too.
4) *Mark Jansen*: A huge fan of his song-writing since the first After Forever album. Mayan kind of disappointed me though 
5) *Stefan Weinerhall*: Mainly for his compositions and melodies. I've been following him since Mithotyn.

And I have to mention *Christofer Johnsson* even though I'm breaking the 5 limit already.

And why is *Tony MacAlpine* missing from here? He's a great musician with an ability to play/compose many different styles. He's got amazing technique too (on guitar and synth).


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## ghostred7 (Sep 6, 2011)

In no particular order or anything I could come close to playing, but....

1. Al DiMeola - my acoustic influenced by him greatly. passion in all aspects of his song writing. 

2. Yngwie - Vibrato, Speed

3. Criss Oliva - One of the most underrated guitar players in Metal history. He had melody, phrasing, control, songwriting abilities, and tone. This is my biggest tone influence (even if i STILL can't get my amp completely right).

4. Andy LaRoque - Riffs

5. John Petrucci - Technique, style, songwriting


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## clockworksam (Sep 6, 2011)

In no particular order - 

Graham "Pin" Pinney - SikTh
I remember listening to Pins avant garde stlye of writing and technique and being utterlymindblown, A huge influence in melding Atonality with melody and working on as pristine a technique I can 

Steve Vai - 777 and Various
Reading the "Little Black Dots" for the first time opened my eyes (and ears) to the concept of being an individual player with my own style and influence, this honestly pushed me forward to seek out a "sound" of my own. I also loved the idea of playing the guitar like it isnt just a guitar, but an INSTRUMENT. 

Gurneet Aluwhalia - Viatrophy
UK band that recently split up much to my dismay. G had a partiular way of melding darkness and serenity into single (almost cryptic) passages of songs. middle eastern harmonic minor stuff that literally sounded like being in a tomb, I loved this style of ambience and atmosphere, so much so that I became obsessed with the idea of creating otherworldy ambiences with parts. for those of you who avent listened to this band check out - The Ethereal Darkness, on youtube and you will get my dift.

Alex Bailey - Sylosis
Josh Middleton of Sylosis may steal the show with most of his incredible solo sections and songwriting ability, but Rhythm player Alex was the biggest suprise, on seeing videos of his own solo ideas, his technique was impecible and his ideas imaginative, often complex and well suited, alot of the side project stuff he has done has a real sense of humour, captured really well by the fact it is technically advanced and well written.

John Petrucci - Dream Theater
Melodies. Eveyone can dig the mans incredible technique, and the rock discipline exercises are incredible, but I loved the amount of meoldy in alot of the early solos, the blistering blow your head off speed of some of the newer leads is impressive, but nothing will ever hit me as hard as pretty much every solo on the earlier albums. 


This was a great way to really think hard about my influences! Thanks JP universe!


I forgot devin townsend! but were alking about human musicians right?


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## IAMTHESQUALL (Sep 7, 2011)

Marc Okubo: Unique riffing style, crazy breakdown patterns, songwriting/structure, and his really unique choice of chords.

Frederik Thordendal: He uses some crazy time signatures... obviously.

JP Brubaker: Very unique riffing style again, and I also appreciate how he focuses on writing amazing melodies for his solos rather than just trying to make them really crazy and hard to play. 

Tosin Abasi: He's a god. I rest my case.

Lee Mckinney: Once again, I really admire his tendency to focus on the quality of leads rather than trying to make them as hard to play as possible. Although a Higher Place got a bad rap, it's a masterpiece in my book.


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## Tranquilliser (Sep 8, 2011)

1. Kris Norris (ex-Darkest Hour) without a doubt. He is probably my favourite guitarist ever. His solos are extraordinary, and so emotional, especially with the context of his era of Darkest Hour music. Just a fucking legendary player imo, and super underrated.

2. Paul Gilbert - his use of alternate picking in *everything* made me want to learn how to play guitar.

3. John Petrucci's playing made me inspired to play lead, and play fast, and clean.

4. Dino Cazares' fucking insane picking made me learn the nuances that can come from syncopation in your riffs, and the joys of tuning below E standard.

5. Per Nilsson's epicly clean technique. Inspires me to play cleanly and how to use arpeggios and string skipping in a more technical fashion, and integrate this into genres other than Metal.


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## Ckackley (Sep 8, 2011)

1. Stevie Ray Vaughn- His influence ? I'd never would have picked up a guitar in the first place if not for this guy.

2. James Hetfield- Rhythm chops, rhythm chops, holy shit rhythm..

3. Slash- He doesn't shred, his chords can be sloppy but when he plays a lead there's some of the BEST note choices ever. 

4. Zakk Wylde- Most people hate him. *shrug* His riffs have a cool groove and his songwriting (at least from a music standpoint, his lyrics are kinda meh) is stellar. 

5. Jeff Loomis- Shred with taste.. 

As you can tell I'm not much for really "shreddy" guitar players. Give me half as many notes and make 'em count.


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## skeels (Sep 8, 2011)

Buckethead said " Sometimes it takes a million notes to get one sound."

Jimi Hendrix for inventing rock guitar.

Slayer's Reign in Blood. As they got better, their lead work suffered. Does that make sense?

Alex Lifeson. Creative and wiry - tone wise.

Tony Iommi for bringing us the flat five.


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## SirMyghin (Sep 8, 2011)

> Jimi Hendrix for inventing rock guitar.


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## Dayn (Sep 8, 2011)

I reckon. Everyone knows it was Jimmy _Page_ that invented rock guitar.


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## celticelk (Sep 8, 2011)

skeels said:


> *Charlie Parker* for bringing us the flat five.



FTFY.


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## skeels (Sep 8, 2011)

Hm. Controversy! Yeah, Page was good- was gonna put him on there. Compositionally fantastic. But Jim-i took it up a notch. The screaming on EXP for instance. He was the Thurston Moore of that era. Page was high horsepower, full-on sexy blues rock but Hendrix brought the noise. 
And yeah Iommi didn't BRING us the five perse - come to think of it Paganini was a good guitar player, too- but alright, he brought us Ozzy. We love you Ozzy!

"Muddy Waters invented e-lectricity!"


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## SirMyghin (Sep 9, 2011)

I would say Rock Guitar predates Jimi, and even to a slight extent Clapton, west coast surf was there, which could rock a fair deal even if the lyrical content is slop. Guys like Berry probably did a lot to bring around what was happening in the 60s as it was, sure he didn't play distorted but that is irrelevant. Then we had Link Wray and his instrumental 'Rumble' in 1958, power chords, wang bar, distortion and feedback. If that isn't a big piece of modern rock guitar, what is?

But I mean even in the 60s you had Clapton, Duane Alman, and Jimi all around at the same time, doing a lot of very similar things. Jimi had the feedback control which set him aside a little, but you can hardly give one man all the credit.


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## skeels (Sep 10, 2011)

We guitar players are such a serious lot! Of course I do not credit 1 man for inventing an entire jonra of music. But for me and this seems to be the purpose of this thread jimi did pioneer the noise revolution. Of course bands like the Who and blue cheer did push the limits of sheer volume. And other players did make great advances in psychedelic tones, but to me rock is all about pushing the boundaries and conceptions of established norms. What rock was no longer pushes or tests these limits. Tony Iommi would be considered retro now. But when Sabbath started they were eeee-vile!


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## SirMyghin (Sep 10, 2011)

^^ I stopped reading your post at "jonra"

G-E-N-R-E

In all seriousness though, you are still taking far too narrow a view. I would not agree Jimi had more influence than some of the other guitarists you are pushing. For one big reason, he didn't do much to expound on musical form itself, he just pushed the envelope soloing (and as I said, other guys were already doing that, in many of the same ways).


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## skeels (Sep 10, 2011)

^yeah my voice recognition software sucks. I was told I could only pick five. Did I miss something? Did I pick wrong?

Forgive me for trying to be funny. Historically all "rock" music just becomes "popular" music on its jouney to become " oldies".


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## Konfyouzd (Sep 10, 2011)

Really ppl? We all know Jesus invented rock...

"Let he who is w/o rock strum the first chord!"


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## Dan_Vacant (Sep 12, 2011)

1.My Dad because I would not have ever really gotten into guitar if my dad haden't played guitar before me, and he got me into jazz and being open to all music
2.Adam Dutkiewicz. I love Killswitch Engage! he has the small lead in with the rhythm playing.
3.Alex Lifeson. I also love Rush! I Don't know how to explain it but sub divisions has it
4.Jim Root. One of the first song I learned on my own was Before I Forget by Slipknot and it used alternate and galloping so that got me to play faster and It is in drop b so he got me into low tunings
5.Tosin Abasi. He made me get influences from every thing cause Animal as Leaders has jazz elements metal elements and electro elements.

even though you said five guitarist I want to say John 5 would be sixth cause he plays country/ bluegrass and mixes it with metal so, I try and be versatile


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## Jackrat (Sep 13, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Not sure if you can count


Not sure if you can read! He clearly counts 2 in one sentence.


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## dantel666 (Sep 14, 2011)

1. Mick Thomson/Jim Root, can't pin it down to one because essentially Slipknot was what got me into guitar.

2. Robert Smith, mainly for his compositions because I liked how he never defined his sound as anything but The Cure and his songs just had an amazing affect on me.

3.The Guitarist/Guitarists from Vildhjarta(dont know their names) but when I first heard one of their songs I was floored, I had never heard a thing quite like that and it is why my rhythm playing is how it is today. Also they are why my guitar tone is the way it is.

4. Acle Kahney. I mainly listen to tesseract for their clean soundscape type parts because I find them so interesting, but their music in general is why I try to mix the heavy with the clean. 

5. Devin Townsend, mainly composition also. I also like his concepts and why he does what he does. His work has always impressed me. 

honorable mentions: Misha Mansoor, John Browne, Angel Ibarra and Wil Francis, John 5, and Wes Borland


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## edsped (Sep 15, 2011)

Paul Gilbert - Tone, pick attack, VIBRATO, articulation, awesome pentatonic phrasing. People always mention him for his alternate picking, but honestly for me it's more about his pick attack and his vibrato and his fucking TONE. Technical Difficulties and Superheroes are really the only two Racer X albums I'll listen to because not only are the songs great but the tone he gets from those Laneys is some of the best I've ever heard.

John Petrucci - Images and Words was not only my introduction to Dream Theater but also progressive metal and technical guitar playing. This is, IMO, the absolute best DT album, Petrucci at his absolute best, and one of my absolute favorite albums to this day. The tone, the phrasing, the speed, all the interesting ideas whether melodic or heavy or technical or whatever, this album and Petrucci's playing on it were and still are very inspiring to me. 

Ty Tabor - Vibrato, riffs, phrasing, feel, TONE, TONE. The first 5 King's X albums have some absolutely amazing songs all with equally amazing riffs. The tone he got from those Gibson Lab-5 amps is just insane, one of my all time favorites. But even when he switched to Mesas on Dogman his phrasing and feel were still awesome and the riffs were still great. And his VIBRATO. Obviously I put a lot of emphasis on pick attack, tone, and vibrato.

Jeff Loomis - A depressingly good technician, he can shred anyone's face clean off and make it look like nothing. But the reason he's here is for the riffs. That's it. This is a short entry, but whenever I think of heavy riffing Jeff Loomis is the first person to come to mind. His riffs are what made Nevermore, IMO. Plus his tone is brutal.

Zakk Wylde - What can I say, I wanted to put Greg Howe or Alexi Laiho or Marty Friedman or Satch or something here but I couldn't. I love Zakk's retardedly wide vibrato, I love his complete overuse of pinch harmonics, and I love his 2-note-per-string flurries of pentatonics. All three of those things are HUGE components of my playing (though I don't USUALLY take them to his extremes, and I use more than just pentatonics) so I just had to put him on here. Plus I generally like BLS and The Blessed Hellride is a great album. And the No More Tears solo!


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## Konfyouzd (Sep 15, 2011)

edsped said:


> Paul Gilbert - Tone, pick attack, VIBRATO, articulation, awesome pentatonic phrasing. People always mention him for his alternate picking, but honestly for me it's more about his pick attack and his vibrato and his fucking TONE. Technical Difficulties and Superheroes are really the only two Racer X albums I'll listen to because not only are the songs great but the tone he gets from those Laneys is some of the best I've ever heard.
> 
> John Petrucci - Images and Words was not only my introduction to Dream Theater but also progressive metal and technical guitar playing. This is, IMO, the absolute best DT album, Petrucci at his absolute best, and one of my absolute favorite albums to this day. The tone, the phrasing, the speed, all the interesting ideas whether melodic or heavy or technical or whatever, this album and Petrucci's playing on it were and still are very inspiring to me.


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## Blind Theory (Sep 16, 2011)

Dave Mustaine-Megadeth was the first metal band that I listened to and I have always admired Dave. My rhythm takes a lot from him as far as my palm muting and phrasing goes. 

Chris Storey-The second ever metal band I listened to was All Shall Perish and well, Chris Storey is amazing. I love his speed, it is fucking ridiculous. And he may be a blatant Rusty Cooley fan boy but he made it work and made it sound unique in ASP.

Alexi Laiho-He is an incredible guitarist and anything that sounds remotely melodic in anything I've ever written had influence from him behind it.

Matt Heafy-I love Trivium. They sound super unique and I just like how he writes and plays.

Yngwie Malmsteen-I used to try to emulate him to a tee when I started out and I first discovered him. I fucking LOVE his neoclassical shredding and it just makes me all fuzzy inside.


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## ashek (Sep 18, 2011)

1. *Benjamin Weinman* *- The Dillinger Escape Plan*

Mad skills when I first heard 43% Burnt with 6 strings madness. I have always admired the way he writes his music and I gotta admit the way he does it truly inspires me.

2. *Fredrik Thordendal* *- Meshuggah*

I don't think I need to explain on why he is listed here.

3. *Stephen Carpenter - Deftones*

He has been one of the reasons on why I picked up the guitar. His tone is pure evil and to witness him playing with his 8's live is amazing.

4. *Adam Jones - Tool*

I love what he does with Tool. A huge impact for me to write music. 

5. *Acle Kahney - TesseracT*

Gotta looooove his groove.


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## Allo1010 (Sep 20, 2011)

1. *James Clayton / Tom Hollings - The Arusha Accord*
I just love the way that there are so many quick changes in their songs and the absolute beautiful harmonies that come out of those immense atonal/dissonant build ups. Friggin awesome.

2. *Dan Weller / Graham Pinney - SiKth*
They're just awesome. I love the momentum they have in some of their songs (names Sanguine Seas and Another Sinking Ship) and after listening to them for a while it's made me very experimental when it comes to chords and harmonies between guitars. 

3. *Tosin Abasi - Animals As Leaders*
Musical choices, shredding style, time signature changes in soloes.

4. *Krimh Kerim - Drummer on Youtube (Now in Decapitated)
*It was one of the first _really_ heavy things that I listened to, and one fo the things that made me more interesting in drumming and what exactly works around guitars, so that really helped me rhythmically.

5. *Fredrik Thordendal* / *Mårten Hagström - Meshuggah
*These were pretty much the first guys who introduced me to polymetric stuff and I really enjoyed it, as well as the subtle changes in time signatures and their slight variations in repeats. Also helped me find really nice grooves as well.


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## ayambakar (Sep 20, 2011)

My inspirations change as I discover more guitar players, but the ones that sticks in my head forever are:

1. Matthew Bellamy (Muse): Their first 3 albums are amazing. Plus his live performances are so bombastic, it's ridiculous. Discovered them when I was in middleschool, changed my perspective on electric guitar (I was a classical player).

2. Steve Vai: so my dad has these G3 DVDs, and one day we decided to watch the Tokyo one, and of course back then I didn't know anything about tone, so when Vai comes in with The Audience Is Listening, my mind was really blown (that whammy bar abuse, that wah abuse, duel with Sheehan...) but upon seeing Satriani, I got bored . Much later, I discovered Mattias IA Eklundh and I started rediscovering the whammy again.

3. Paul Gilbert: a cliche shredder's influence, but it's true. He got me into these hyper-speed pickings (although not alternate, I was an economy picker). His ideas are brilliant: outside picking, three-note per string, and that 11-note lick I (and Buckethead, apparently) profusely use.
This tied with John Petrucci and Andy Timmons, but I guess I've been more oriented towards Paul's tone and articulation.

4. Pat Metheny: I've been listening to him since I was a fetus  my dad played "We Live Here" a lot in our house when I was little. That album became my inspiration while getting into jazz, especially tone-wise and phrasing-wise.

5. Misha Mansoor: yes, Bulb. He changed the way I see metal rhythm guitar and dissonance. Periphery got me into the 7-string business too (besides this forum). He's my most recent impacting influence, and I can tell this will last a long time in my playing.

There are countless other light influences, like Govan, Nilsson, Thordendal, Sfogli, G5 Project (a2c), Malmsteen, Hetfield, but those 5 are the most lasting and prominent part of my playing.


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## welsh_7stinger (Sep 30, 2011)

1: Jeff Haneman-if it wasnt for the regin in blood album i wouldnt have picked up a guitar.

2:Rusty Cooley-for my lead style and introduction to 7 string.

3:Fred Frith-showing you dont have to play guitar 'normally'.

4:Mick Thompson-for my use of low tunnings (1st tunning i ever wanted to use was drop B) 

5:Tom Morello-influance on my use of effects.

theres laods more but theyre my top 5 influances.


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## Skin Coffin (Oct 2, 2011)

jsl2h90 said:


> *Paul Masvidal*


 


Valennic said:


> Muhammed Suicmez


 
nuff said


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## Aspiringmaestro (Oct 2, 2011)

Eddie Van Halen, for being the first man to make we want to play the guitar.
Andy Timmons, for making me remember that simplicity can still be spectacular.
Eric Johnson, for inspiring me to learn more about chord voicings.
Chris Poland, because he's Chris Poland, and I love him.
Dimebag Darrel, for teaching me about the power groove.


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## SatanicAnarchist (Oct 2, 2011)

*Cliff Burton *(Metallica)Got me into playing bass guitar.

*Matthias Jabs *(Scorpions) Not strongly influenced musically but his guitar solos got me to drop playing the bass and start playing guitar

*Thomas Gabriel Fischer *(Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Triptykon) Taught me the value of simplier guitar playing and making lyrics that come from the heart no matter how esoteric they are.

*Nocturno Culto *(Darkthrone) Got me into playing black metal and got me interesting into making lo-fi sounding metal. 

*R. Forster* (Conqueror, Blasphemy): Learned how to play war metal from this guy's music. War Cult Supremacy is my favorite album of all time.


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## Kaney_21 (Oct 2, 2011)

*Jesper Stromblad* - His guitar playing throughout the early In Flames albums really inspired me. Loved his unique melodies and rhythms.

*Anders Bjorler* - His somewhat fast rhythmical playing, especially on Slaughter of the soul.

*Adam Darksi* - The raw aggression in his playing and unique combination of Death and Black Metal.

*Jari Maenpaa* - His beautiful melodies and flawless shredding.

*Mikael Akerfeldt* - His unique combination of various musical genres.


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## F0rte (Oct 3, 2011)

Shogun said:


> #4. Jeff Loomis - He turned me on to 7 strings, i love the heavy ass riffing he does on a 7. He also has such godly ( or should i say godless  ) sweep pick




Icwutyoudidthere


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## broj15 (Oct 3, 2011)

Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz (Acacia Strain) - rhythm tone (especially on Wormwood)
Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders) - opening me up to jazz guitar as an influence
Dusty Warring (Between The Buried and Me) - Helping me realize that breakdowns don't have to chug n 4/4 time
Marc Okubo (Veil of Maya) - This may sort of overlap with the previous choice but listening to mark taught me how to wire a breakdown that isn't dull and boring as fuck... And that dissonant chords are cool
Mark Smith (Explosions In The Sky) - Helped me learn that rhythm, note choice, and phrasing are very important when creating ambient/ atmospheric music. His playing also helped me realize that even if a song has no lyrics or vocals that it can convey just as much if not more emotion than any song with vocals. 

Explosions In tHe Sky as a whole helped me realize that songwriting and note choice is what makes a song a good song, not sheer technical prowess.

And Here's #6 because He's to good not to mention - Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse. Listen to their album "This is a long drive for someone with nothing to think about" It's far beyond what anyone else could even dream of doing at that point in time. He makes his guitar sound like a seagull... I still have no clue how he does it.


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## Cabinet (Oct 3, 2011)

Influences is such a difficult thing for me to talk about

1. Paul Gilbert. Had a masterclass with him and he really showed me what happens when you put your fingers to use with a metronome. He was without a doubt the biggest technique influence on me.

2. Allan Holdsworth. Not as much an influence as an introduction to something very unique. He was the very first player to show me how well chords and melody really fit together, and as a result I'm getting way more into jazz/jazz fusion. This man completely changed what I do with guitar, I don't even dial in many gain settings any more. I'm much more focussed on working with extended chords and the like.

3. Muhammed Suicmez. Back when all I did was play shred metal I bought the Epitaph tab book and learned as much of the solos as my fingers could handle. This was the same time when all I did was play the harmonic minor, and helped really push me to play cleanly when working with high gain

4. Tosin Abasi. He's the guy with a very unique approach to what you can really do on guitar. His tapping licks and his clean tone really made me start making good use of my single coil pickup, which I hadn't used at all up until then. I can't pull any of his 7/4 160 16th note licks, but I'm definitely using two hands on a fretboard more often.

5. Shawn Lane.
I wish.


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