What is it to YOU that makes a Guitar Hero?

[phil b]

So after reading many different opinions in the Ace thread it got me thinking. What is it exactly, to you personally, that makes a guitar player a legend? There are guys who play a zillion notes and guys that play pentatonic box patterns and both are considered icons. What is it in a player, to you, that qualifies as an all time great? The band, the songs, the tone, the chops..etc? Would you call Yngwie and Gilmore guitar legends? Some guys would and some wouldnt.. whats your reasons?

 

[rottingcorpse]

IMO,guitarists are not heros. But I am a stickler for certain words.

Guitar legends are made over time. Guys that have influenced a generation(or many generations)of players.

 

[Just Mike]

It's a little more personal for me. My heroes are MY heroes. There are a lot of great players out there that are better than my personal heroes. Mine are Mark Farner and Jimmy Page among others. I always thought Ace was a hack.

 

[Tone Zone]

I would mostly say, their "style." And, of course their tone and technique play into it as well. For example, I like John Petrucci (mostly for his leads) but I'm also a huge Slash fan. Guns N' Roses /his solo stuff ....love it all.

 

[phil b]

Ok, But what is it about Page that makes him a legend but Ace a hack? Page is quite sloppy live ad Ace was too.... Both cant play anywhere as clean as Shawn Lane or as fast, but Ace was in a hugely successful rock band and page was a great studio player, writer, producer successful band...etc.
So many people say Hendrix was sloppy, out of tune and played the same shit over and over.. but he is constantly mentioned as a legend. I am educated enough in playing to realize a lot of that is true, but to me he is a legend because of the innovative things he did. Backwards solos.. Vibrato bar tricks, His approach to using the sound of the amp for certain phrases. Note choice..theres a lot of things..
Same with Ace... I have heard recordings of him where I just cringe. Sloppy, messy..out of key. He certainly didnt get better over time.
But he did write some great solos that fit the song perfectly, has {at times}, good note choice and had a really good vibrato as well. There weren't many guys in the early days that were doing those type of slurred bends cranked thru a Marshall. Just a real bluesy rock/metal vibe..

One player I dont get is Slash... He is very often mentioned as a legend but I dont understand why? He is a really good guitarist and has had a successful career, and I am NOT taking anything away from the guy, just that to me there isnt anything that says he is a legend. No right or wrong... I am curious as to not so much who the player is but what makes him a legend to you...

 

[Rock Bodom]

Different reasons...Ace 'cause he was the first rock star I remember from childhood, and I actually dig KISS tunes basic as they are. His leads in their simple way are fun, regardless of how sloppy he can be live. Sure, now I know better, I could put up Uli or Schenker and other guys from that time who blow him out of the water, but Ace will always be cooler to me.

Lynch because he was THE guy at the moment when I was really honing my chops, I think I spent a whole summer learning Tooth and Nail top to bottom. Page because I in college I played in a classic rock cover band, heavily weighted towards Zeppelin, and it was probably hands down the most sheer fun I've ever had as a player. Doug Aldrich cause, well, he's a handsome man.

I just think certain players hit you at different times for different reasons...and you might not get a player like Slash unless it was 1988 and you were starting to really puke at the most recent round of derivative hair bands, and you saw the Welcome to the Jungle video on MTV and the top hat wearing, Les Paul sleaze guitar player looked like a whole new breed of rock star (something old that we had been missing and something new all at once). And then go on to listen to Slash and Izzy play off each other on Appetite...it was brilliant to listen to that album with headphones to hear the interaction on their parts, that was some of the most inspired playing in a LONG time.

 

[Manxmusicman]

To me it's hearing emotion through the playing, my absolute favourite was Gary Moore. I watched in Liverpool many years ago and the man made his guitars cry, his playing was just pure emotion.

 

[sg guy]

-it's simple-

-if it "SOUNDS FUCKIN AWESOME" makes me feel something!!

-I really don't understand anyone who gets off on technique, speed or staying in bounds of music's rules and progression's, it is the definition of "anti-rock n' roll"......... Completely unmusical, predictable and boring, does anyone really care how fast you can sweep pick a scale? is there a contest for this somewhere, a new Olympic event??

-music is for the ears, not the eye's,... What do I know, I'm old and no longer brooltaz.

 

[Mailman1971]

For me I would say that its who ever 'grabs you' at that moment.
When I was real young..... It was Ace Frehley. My uncles all played Kiss albums back in the 70's and that is all I heard. I knew I wanted to play the guitar. Even at 6 years old. Ace was just too cool.
Once I got a little older.... it was Angus young. Fell in love with AC/DC around 1982. Bought all the old stuff and every thing after that. Once I got my guitar at 13 years old...then I started to look at the 'technical' side of the coin.
It was Lynch #1 for me. Guys playing style was just so unique. You knew it was him if you heard the solos....riffs...
That is where it pretty much stopped for me in the "Guitar Hero' Phase.
I dig so many players after that...... but not the same impact as those guys.

 

[thiswaythatway]

The right stage gear of course, and spandex.

 

[Ventura]

Pretty subjective question, but honestly?

For me it's "how they impacted and influenced me personally and musically" and if they, throughout the years, continued to deliver at this level.

 

[cardinal]

Somebody that makes me want to play. That consistent comes up with licks or riffs that make me think "man that was great." Doesn't have to be a crazy virtuoso, but some are (like Vai).

 

[Racerxrated]

To me it's hearing emotion through the playing, my absolute favourite was Gary Moore. I watched in Liverpool many years ago and the man made his guitars cry, his playing was just pure emotion.

No one has given me goosebumps like Gary, such phrasing and emotion in his playing. One of a kind. RIP

 

[Starman22]

The ability to lay out a stage jumping fan with a Fender whilst only missing two bars.

 

[phil b]

Pretty subjective question, but honestly?

For me it's "how they impacted and influenced me personally and musically" and if they, throughout the years, continued to deliver at this level.

Subjective question sure, but there is no right or wrong. You said how these guys impacted you and influenced you. What made them influence you? Songwriting? Chops? Sound? What is it about a player that makes them be an impact or influence? So many good players on this forum its just cool to get a background on what these players consider worthy of being a legend to them. I absolutely agree that guys be able to deliver over time, and unfortunately not all can. If they were a huge influence on me then most of the time I will give them a pass, but that doesnt mean its still not a bit disappointing though.

 

[Smac77]

Emotion for sure... guys who move you with the right combination of notes

People don't crank the whole lotta love solo to hear the technical prowess of it !

 

[Steinmetzify]

Guys that I can tell who it is immediately......dudes that have an immediate voice. Dime, Slash, VH, etc. They all had something that immediately grabbed you and made you want to sit and listen to what was gonna come next, cause it was always different from what you, as a guitar player, thought it was gonna be.

These solos immediately sound like these guys...always have and always will.



If I have to sit for 10 minutes to figure who it is that's playing, I'm bored.

 

[Bato]

To me you are a guitar hero, when the audience can't wait to hear your solo in the first song. And when you start playing it, you earn standing ovations.
Just like EVH.

 

[Smac77]

The right stage gear of course, and spandex.

Looks like a spiderman wannabe