Which Modern Players have a voice?

Sick Michael

Sick Michael

Active member
You watch Instagram for long enough and you hear and see quite a ridiculous array of fretboard gymnastics. I listen to a lot of modern players and I hear guys who are frigging amazing at copping any style there is.

But where is the originality? Who has their own tone and theire own playing style? Who can you recognise after 10 secs of listening? Discuss...
 
I was just thinking about this a few days ago and also thought it would be a good thread. I think there are a few but there are SO many now that it is hard to separate them all. I think with access to so much and so much already having being written, the unique guys are fewer and fewer. through the 70's and 80's you could hear someone play and know who it was. These guys are undeniable. On instagram you can see tons of guys with chops as you mentioned, but they are almost inter changeable. They aren't unique. Tone doesn't help either. Everyone playing a Helix or an amp sim through the same virtual cabs etc.
 
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I think there are a lot of guys out there that are bringing their own style. Polyphia get mentioned a lot, but they have been working their butts off. I've seen them three times and it's crazy to see a sold out club full of 20 somethings (yes, even 40%-50% women) for an instrumental band. I'm going to be 50 and I've never seen a reaction like they get. It's like a dance club in there. They really did find the niche between EDM and guitar and it's working. Chon is another band, that Polyphia actually ripped off.

I also dig Plini, he brings a lot of dynamics to his songs and cool odd times.

Nick Johnston has changed a little over his last few, but earlier he was like The Shadows if Hank Marvin took a crash course in shred.

Thomas McRocklin is back on the scene and he's also doing an EDM thing that is pretty killer.

Danielle Gottardo is just incredible. His first release is my favorite still, as it's more metal, but damn can the guy play and his sense of melody is similar to Jason Becker.

I think for us Gen Xers, hearing the combo of hip hop/EDM mixed with guitar is foreign, and thus not good. I'm not a fan of hip hop, but, taking hip hop rhythms and building melodies on them is pretty cool. They syncopation that these new guys have is incredible. We came up with Gilbert and Yngwie and Eddie and I can play a lot of that stuff. But, honestly, playing along to Polyphia is a whole new language. The use of harmonics and open strings and the syncopation, plus the constant motion of seemingly endless streams of lines, is really hard to duplicate. There is rarely straight up a scale or arpeggio with the new breed and that is hard for someone who grew up ripping off Yngwie.
 
Ian Thornley of Big Wreck. Just saw them a couple weeks ago, one of the best live sets I have ever seen. He sings live like Chris Cornell did on albums, almost perfect. He is a monster lead player among living frontmen that sing and play at the same time. I think he is about the best alive. Killer slide player as well Total Triple Threat, I know his lead playing might be considered "nothing special" among people that just do that, but when you take into mind that he wrote this, he's singing, playing rhythm throughout (they tour as a 3-piece when needed), and just killing it on lead as far as I'm concerned. He definitely has his own style, we were a little worried that they might not be playing, because the tickets said "special guest subject to change", and we couldn't see his Suhr cabs onstage and just saw EVHs (2nd guitar player). Literally as soon as he started playing, just simple swells and licks, my buddy and I smiled in relief, his phrasing and melody choice is unique, once you are familiar with his voice, on guitar and vocally, a Big Wreck song sounds like a Big Wreck song.

This is a heavier one, definitely shows his chops all around. Skip to the end for the solo.



This starts out with the bass player just killing it, then the band comes in, there are 3 or 4 long solo breaks for Ian to show off, over a great song. Skip to 4:20 and 6:20 for the main solos.

 
Locrain said:
Ian Thornley of Big Wreck. Just saw them a couple weeks ago, one of the best live sets I have ever seen. He sings live like Chris Cornell did on albums, almost perfect. He is a monster lead player among living frontmen that sing and play at the same time. I think he is about the best alive. Killer slide player as well Total Triple Threat, I know his lead playing might be considered "nothing special" among people that just do that, but when you take into mind that he wrote this, he's singing, playing rhythm throughout (they tour as a 3-piece when needed), and just killing it on lead as far as I'm concerned. He definitely has his own style, we were a little worried that they might not be playing, because the tickets said "special guest subject to change", and we couldn't see his Suhr cabs onstage and just saw EVHs (2nd guitar player). Literally as soon as he started playing, just simple swells and licks, my buddy and I smiled in relief, his phrasing and melody choice is unique, once you are familiar with his voice, on guitar and vocally, a Big Wreck song sounds like a Big Wreck song.

This is a heavier one, definitely shows his chops all around. Skip to the end for the solo.



This starts out with the bass player just killing it, then the band comes in, there are 3 or 4 long solo breaks for Ian to show off, over a great song. Skip to 4:20 and 6:20 for the main solos.

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That was very cool, great choice! Thanks!
 
I haven't heard anyone, especially on Instagram that can write anything I would remotely be interested in.

Just a bunch of anodyne players with anodyne tone, and lots of chops.
 
When you talk about a player having a voice, to me that means they are instantly recognizable when you hear the first few phrases…
I would say Tremonti is pretty recognizable when I hear his leads. Although, maybe he’s not modern enough since he’s been around awhile.
 
Jakub Zytecki is one for me - dude is such a unique player. He's totally become one of my all-time favorite players
 
I'll second Ian Thornley. And to me his leads are special. He can start a bluesy lick and go straight into shred-tastic and end with the blues again. And make it sound tasty. Big Wreck has been my favorite band for the last 12 years. He also has a better grasp on delta blues than most American players. And yes... he can sing his ass off.

 
SFW said:
I'll second Ian Thornley. And to me his leads are special. He can start a bluesy lick and go straight into shred-tastic and end with the blues again. And make it sound tasty. Big Wreck has been my favorite band for the last 12 years. He also has a better grasp on delta blues than most American players. And yes... he can sing his ass off.

Click to expand...

Hey Mama might have been my #3, great pick. That 3rd verse where he goes up an octave is hair-raising.
 
Sick Michael said:
That was very cool, great choice! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Glad you enjoyed it! There are two sets of theirs recorded live at the Suhr Factory party a year or two apart, you find them just by going to youtube and searching "Suhr Big Wreck", they are probably the best played/recorded/mixed live sets I've ever heard in my life. I prefer to listen to them over their albums.
 
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