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All-Time Greatest Guitarist


Jeff Matthews

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.............Chet Atkins did some things that no one else has done either.

I doubt that the rockers could match the guitar musicianship of Chet

Atkins. The sessions he did with Les Paul are amazing and yet

silky smooth. Joe Pass is another maestro and maybe even the best

electric guitar player ever.

"All Time Greatest.." though? Has to be Segovia.

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Personally, I read all this "greatest guitarist" stuff with a large grain of salt. As a lead guitar player for the last 35 years I feel maybe my and other guitarists' opinions should carry more weight than the opinions of non-musicians \ drummers. But really, this is a most ill-defined question with no meaningful answer. This is the same as asking who is the hottest woman. Only those have have "known" her should be answering that question.

For the record, I listened to Jimmy Page in Led Zepplin while learning to play as a youth, but moved on after realizing he was barely lousy. As time passed over the years I came to realise that Page was terrible. Of course most of the general listening population does not play the guitar or even understand a wit about music and does not hear how horrible Page is as a guitarist. I think the best Page ever did was on the first album, that because he played a Fender Telecaster. Later he played a Les Paul and insisted on playing it clean - which sucks - Les Pauls sound horrible clean (dual coil pickups). Fender guitars (single coil pickups) sound good clean. Page should have dumped his LP and got a nice Strat - history would have changed.

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Personally, I read all this "greatest guitarist" stuff with a large grain of salt. As a lead guitar player for the last 35 years I feel maybe my and other guitarists' opinions should carry more weight than the opinions of non-musicians \ drummers. But really, this is a most ill-defined question with no meaningful answer. This is the same as asking who is the hottest woman. Only those have have "known" her should be answering that question.

For the record, I listened to Jimmy Page in Led Zepplin while learning to play as a youth, but moved on after realizing he was barely lousy. As time passed over the years I came to realise that Page was terrible. Of course most of the general listening population does not play the guitar or even understand a wit about music and does not hear how horrible Page is as a guitarist. I think the best Page ever did was on the first album, that because he played a Fender Telecaster. Later he played a Les Paul and insisted on playing it clean - which sucks - Les Pauls sound horrible clean (dual coil pickups). Fender guitars (single coil pickups) sound good clean. Page should have dumped his LP and got a nice Strat - history would have changed.

That was a little rough. Let's see. Despite how bad he SUCKED, he managed to put together albums that sold in millions upon millions, time after time again. I suppose we should put him into the annals of rock-n-roll history as the "suckiest guitarist who changed rock-n-roll."

Think about why you made your comment that while listening and learning to play as a youth, you learned he was lousy and moved on. Two things come to mind. First, you weren't playing the whole song. You realized that to get the song right, you'd need 3 or 4 guitarists. Next, you might have realized that the part was easy to play. Woop-te-do! Third, you have no appreciation for his creativity.

To copy is not the same. Paige was a leader.

There are many technically great guitarists that will never achieve fame like Paige. Must be something more than fast fingers, don't you think?

Take Van Halen. He was a master and very awesome. While he could - and does - impress me with his leads, he does not exude the same creativity as Paige. Van Halen's guitar sounds pretty much the same - despite that the lead itself might change.

Now, compare within LZ, "Custard Pie," "What is and What Shoule Never Be," and "Down by the Seaside." The sound varies widely, with all great songs. I have a huge appreciation for this, as did most of the world, who voted with its pocket-books.

I think he's one of the few greats that connot be pigeon-holed with a "sound."

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Pauln,Jimmy dump the Les Paul?

Well....what can one say except I disagree with

almost the entire statement.EXCEPT,the part about JP playing a

Strat,that would have changed history for sure.I can't even fathom how

BAD for us all that would have been.I left Clapton when he put down the

Gibsons,that Strat sound he has makes me rather ill because it all

sounds the same.To each their own.

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