Easier Guitarists that Sound Great

[MistaGuitah]

What modern guitarists do you enjoy that are more accessible to the average guiatarist?

For me, I probably learned more Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Ratt, and Armored Saint solos than any other band since I picked up a guitar. Their solos were tasty and stylish, but more accessible to me as a guitar player. By today's standards, they aren't face-melting fusion virtuosos, but I love their style.

I don't think there are many of that kind of players today because modern players are supremely skillful and musically advanced (Mark Lettieri, Matteo Mancuso, Tim Henson, Rick Graham, etc.). The art of stylish, (relatively) moderately skillful guitar playing has faded.

Even with blues, guys like Joe Bonamassa play with incredible accuracy, and other players like Eric Gales are so versatile and quick. Their solos require advanced skill to play. It seems like there aren't a lot of moderately great guitarists to absorb these days.

You could say my playing is respectable, probably somewhere on a level halfway between an Adrian Smith and Joey Taffola. Even though I can play some Eric Johnson, Marty Friedman, Satriani, Yngwie, etc. solos, they take a lot of practice and time to get down. This leaves me yearning for some middle of the road playing I can absorb.

Maybe I'm just outdated and under-exposed to newer players. I'd like to know what guitarists you enjoy playing these days.

 

[japetus]

Wes Borland

 

[Floyd Eye]

Jerry Cantrell
Ace Frehley
Angus ( and Malcolm) Young
Tom Morello
I fucking loved Allen Collins.
Lots of others.

 

[JimAnsell2]

I'm that kind of guitar player.
I just want to have fun, sound good, and look cool (by my standards of cool, which is so uncool to most )
I'm a pro chef by trade, and I look at shredding and being super techy the way i look at fine dinning vs casual dinning. I can do fine dining, but it fucking sucks. you waste food trying to make it the perfect shape and size, you over work ingredients, you take the fucking fun, the life, and soul out of doing something that you love just to impress some small niche group who can afford it. its the same with music. you're impressing only 1% of the listeners, and the other 99% would have been happy with 12 notes, instead of 212 notes in "that part".

just make the solos work for the song, put some personality into it, and have fun at the same time. Also maybe try and stay in key ( )
i think most average people will appreciate a little flash, but when you start shredding circles around a song, you can really loose people.
Being too technically proficient on a track is the difference between it being "pop" and relatable, vs being "niche" and over peoples heads. In metal, you can get away with more, but no other styles of music really feature "shredding" on anything, beside classical or jazz.

Besides, its way more important to be seen with a high end label right? just like in fashion.
if i see some schmuck with a mexican fender, vs a JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLERJAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER, I'm probably going to give more instant credence to the guy who spent 3k more on his gear. but if he doesn't deliver, i'm going with that same old line... "you can't buy talent".

 

[MistaGuitah]

Jerry Cantrell
Ace Frehley
Angus ( and Malcolm) Young
Tom Morello
I fucking loved Allen Collins.
Lots of others.

I know Cantrell wasn't much of a soloist but I loved AIC songs, and he always had a big sound. I used to have his Dunlop signature wah, and the JJ100 is my favorite Friedman... not that I was such a big fan of his, but those are great pieces of gear. Skynyrd was a little before my time but they still always come up in my Playlists. The solo on That Smell blew me away back then, and it was the first Skynyrd song I ever heard. Great stuff man.

 

[Floyd Eye]

I know Cantrell wasn't much of a soloist but I loved AIC songs, and he always had a big sound. I used to have his Dunlop signature wah, and the JJ100 is my favorite Friedman... not that I was such a big fan of his, but those are great pieces of gear. Skynyrd was a little before my time but they still always come up in my Playlists. The solo on That Smell blew me away back then, and it was the first Skynyrd song I ever heard. Great stuff man.

Plenty of great Cantrell solos bro. My favorites are the ones like I Stay Away. Not really shredder stuff just tasteful, dark and perfect for the songs.

 

[MistaGuitah]

I'm that kind of guitar player.
I just want to have fun, sound good, and look cool (by my standards of cool, which is so uncool to most )
I'm a pro chef by trade, and I look at shredding and being super techy the way i look at fine dinning vs casual dinning. I can do fine dining, but it fucking sucks. you waste food trying to make it the perfect shape and size, you over work ingredients, you take the fucking fun, the life, and soul out of doing something that you love just to impress some small niche group who can afford it. its the same with music. you're impressing only 1% of the listeners, and the other 99% would have been happy with 12 notes, instead of 212 notes in "that part".

just make the solos work for the song, put some personality into it, and have fun at the same time. Also maybe try and stay in key ( )
i think most average people will appreciate a little flash, but when you start shredding circles around a song, you can really loose people.
Being too technically proficient on a track is the difference between it being "pop" and relatable, vs being "niche" and over peoples heads. In metal, you can get away with more, but no other styles of music really feature "shredding" on anything, beside classical or jazz.

Besides, its way more important to be seen with a high end label right? just like in fashion.
if i see some schmuck with a mexican fender, vs a JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLERJAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER JAMES TYLER, I'm probably going to give more instant credence to the guy who spent 3k more on his gear. but if he doesn't deliver, i'm going with that same old line... "you can't buy talent".

I've never been able to afford a James Tyler, but have always heard great things about them. Suhr has become out of reach now too, so I just buy Japanese and Korean guitars these days. But yeah, I'm tired of chasing the prestige of being a fast, flawless player. I just want to make good music that centers on guitar sound.

On the other hand, to be honest with you, I cannot deny the appeal of high quality gear. I think most people on this forum appreciate high-end gear and lust after it to some degree. I made a rare visit to Guitar Center a few years ago and heard a mediocre player noodling on a Les Paul through an Ecstasy 20th and the tone was amazing. Even without great chops, there's attractiveness to good guitar tone. That's one of the things about electric guitar that hooks us all in. If someone can afford high-dollar stuff even without the chops, good for them. On the other end of your point, I saw a guy from the Philippines playing a cheap Yamaha Pacifica through a Marshall MG but his skill was very high-level. So won't take a stance to either end of that spectrum. I just love playing guitar, the sound of guitar, and to gear other people play the guitar whether they're great or mediocre.

 

[MistaGuitah]

Plenty of great Cantrell solos bro. My favorites are the ones like I Stay Away. Not really shredder stuff just tasteful, dark and perfect for the songs.

Oh yeah definitely. Cantrell's style is uniquely identifiable, really great tone, and he plays with a lot of feeling. Song like Nutshell and Would don't have amazing solos but they work perfectly in the context of their songs. AIC is such a great band.

 

[Floyd Eye]

Oh yeah definitely. Cantrell's style is uniquely identifiable, really great tone, and he plays with a lot of feeling. Song like Nutshell and Would don't have amazing solos but they work perfectly in the context of their songs. AIC is such a great band.

Absolutely.

 

[inyarak74]

Love Cantrell

 

[DanTravis62]

I would suggest work more on writing your own music and developing your own style.

ESPECIALLY writing your own solos.

You can start out with improvising to come up with ideas, but i mean actually writing guitar solos

This is a huge problem with guitar players in general nowadays, everyone is so obsessed with other musicians that they never spend any time turning themselves into the type of musician someone would want to emulate

 

[Floyd Eye]

Kim Thayill
Chris Cornell
Dean DeLeo
Noodles from Offspring
Curt Cobain
Mike McCready
Tony Iommi
Billy Gibbons
Ted Nugent
Paul Simon
Neil Young
Stephen Stills


I could probably do this all day. The fact is there is so much more to playing guitar than just the shredding style associated with 80s metal and newer. Paul McCartney for example is ( or was) a great guitarist. Some of his chord arrangements are mind blowing.

 

[cobrahead1030]

David Gilmour
Robin Trower
Warren Haynes
Peter Greene
Robben Ford
Dickey Betts

 

[RaceU4her]

I’m lazy these days, I want simple and catchy riffs I can play like a motherfucker and get peoples heads bobbing

 

[VonBonfire]

This is a huge problem with guitar players in general nowadays, everyone is so obsessed with other musicians that they never spend any time turning themselves into the type of musician someone would want to emulate

Cause that's the hardest part.

 

[DanTravis62]

Cause that's the hardest part.

It is, but it just rubs me the wrong way that everyone is so obsessed with copying other players instead of creating art

Yeah, I was obsessed with Yngwie and Dave Mustaine solos and learning their techniques when I was a teenager, I'm sure everyone has formative influences right?

It just seems like no one gives a shit about learning to make their own music anymore, which is the "final boss" of being a guitar player. Standing on your own two feet as an individual with your own voice.

All anyone wants to buy guitars and learn guitar for is to copy some other guitarist and it while it's totally normal, at a certain point it makes my eye twitch

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

John Christ
Dave Navarro
James Hetfield
Ed Mundell
Josh Homme
Tim Sult

 

[VonBonfire]

It is, but it just rubs me the wrong way that everyone is so obsessed with copying other players instead of creating art

Yeah, I was obsessed with Yngwie and Dave Mustaine solos and learning their techniques when I was a teenager, I'm sure everyone has formative influences right?

It just seems like no one gives a shit about learning to make their own music anymore, which is the "final boss" of being a guitar player. Standing on your own two feet as an individual with your own voice.

All anyone wants to buy guitars and learn guitar for is to copy some other guitarist and it while it's totally normal, at a certain point it makes my eye twitch

It's a good starting point...copping some licks and gear from your favorites, but being yourself should be the destination.

 

[Floyd Eye]

John Christ
Dave Navarro
James Hetfield
Ed Mundell
Josh Homme
Tim Sult

Great list, though I would argue that a lot of Dave's shit is pretty fucking complicated. Ocean Size solo, most of the shit on Trust No One.

 

[inyarak74]

It is, but it just rubs me the wrong way that everyone is so obsessed with copying other players instead of creating art

Yeah, I was obsessed with Yngwie and Dave Mustaine solos and learning their techniques when I was a teenager, I'm sure everyone has formative influences right?

It just seems like no one gives a shit about learning to make their own music anymore, which is the "final boss" of being a guitar player. Standing on your own two feet as an individual with your own voice.

All anyone wants to buy guitars and learn guitar for is to copy some other guitarist and it while it's totally normal, at a certain point it makes my eye twitch

Right. It’s like the mindset of “fuck this, I’m getting rid of this shit cause such and such is unbelievable” I mean I get it, but it’s about pleasing yourself and having fun making noise. To me anyways