Is there any guitarist today or in history you put on the same level as Jimi Hendrix?

AJUMP23 said:
Guitar thread and no mention of Joe Satriani....

This is a simple song, but he has some great stuff,

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Yeah, WTF! :messenger_tears_of_joy:

(Wait for 1.03 :messenger_winking:)



And here the same song, because I coudn't decide which version was better :messenger_grinning_squinting:



:messenger_sunglasses:



Hugely popular



And finally, something to purify your sweet little souls.
 
In terms of technically ability, like others have mention, he's been surpassed; people like Steve Vai can probably shred harder but what blows me away about Jimi is how creative and unique his music is. And the fact that he only lived to be 27 is both astounding and tragic. I can't help but wonder about all the music we missed out on and what he would've been like as an older guy.
 
UncleMeat said:
In terms of technically ability, like others have mention, he's been surpassed; people like Steve Vai can probably shred harder but what blows me away about Jimi is how creative and unique his music is. And the fact that he only lived to be 27 is both astounding and tragic. I can't help but wonder about all the music we missed out on and what he would've been like as an older guy.
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Randy too. meh.
 
Jimi wasn't technical ... at all.

There are a billion other bedroom and professional guitarists since his time with way more technical ability. Just watch a Yngwie Malmsteen shredding video.

Jimi was an amazing artist, and I think the art he made will outlast most of these "technical" guitarists, but that's not even a debate. He will always be one of the most iconic faces when you think "guitar".

Now in terms of creativity I can think of at least one other pure guitarist who surpasses Hendrix by a thousand a miles, and that's Buckethead:




How about another phenomenal guitarist who can ALSO write relatable songs and sing like angel?


 
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In terms of icon status, absolutely not. There will never be a more legendary guitarist than Hendrix.

When it comes to technicality, there are definitely players I'd put above Jimi.

But technique isn't everything
 
Mister Apoc said:
in terms of pure technical ability or greatness....seems like the consensus is Hendrix was the best and no one comes close? do you agree?
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Jimi's great but it was mostly high-powered heavily distorted blues solos. Better? Mike Oldfield, Eric Johnson, Adrian Belew, and Steve Howe to name a few.
 
Gilmour, Clapton, Jimmy Page. I consider those 3 as good or better than Jimmy and they are still alive.
 
There'll be plenty that would tear him to shreds technically but at that time, nobody was doing what Hendrix was doing and he influenced perhaps every single guitarist since in some way whether it be directly or indirectly. Many guitarists would be able to play what he played after the fact but he was the one creating it and making history. I'm not personally into his stuff but there's absolutely no way I can deny his influence and what he did for music.
 
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Julius Ibidus said:
his slide work is just, well, unbelievable, and sometimes haunting:

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So is this guy's (Steve Howe from Yes)

1BFRmDs.jpg
 
he had a unique sound that is iconic

joe satriani is my favorite electric guitarist and he has his own sound that i love

same goes for tommy emmanuel and his acoustic work, i consider him the best of all time
 
And then there's Michael Angelo Batio -









Most seem to agree he's absolutely incredible technically. Personally I'm not in a position to judge technical ability, but I do find him absolutely fascinating to watch.

Edit : fixed that last clip. Clips go from 4 neck guitar to 2 neck down to an acoustic.
 
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People's lists are way too contemporary. Not enough love for guys like Buddy Guy, Albert King and Muddy Waters.

VAL0R said:
We are talking about "pure technical ability" and "greatness" (whatever that means).

The OP:


So yes, shredding scales cleanly with incredible speed would be an obvious demonstration of technical ability. I assume that's what you mean by stenography? I probably like Buckethead's "music" better too, but that's very subjective and not worth debating in my eyes.
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Buckethead is fine. "Faster" is an stupid descriptor. Not all guitarists play the same type of music and a lot of that will help dictate speed. This isn't a WPM competition.
 
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Jimi was on a whole other level, but people aren't use to seeing his name in the same sentence as Jack White who has been consistently great since the 2000s.
Jack White The Hardest Button To Button GIF by The White Stripes
 
DarkestHour said:
First off, Jimi is God.

Second, the comparison has to be done within that time and not using examples afterwards. There's tons of guitarists better than him technically, but what he did in that era is amazing and innovative. Will never be matched.
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Its this.

There are plenty that are technically better, but its the innovation of Hendrix (especially for the time), that puts him into another stratosphere.
 
BigBooper said:
Frank Zappa easily. His improvisation was on another level beyond anyone, but his composed music was also exceptional. His songs were more quirky generally and not as catchy as Jimi, but for pure skill he wins.
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I laughed so hard when I saw a Rolling Stone magazine ranking of "100 Greatest Guitarists."

They had Zappa in like position *50-something*... Below the likes of George Harrison. LMAO, that's when I knew that list was a fucking joke.

Was actually listening to his album "Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar" earlier today. An easy case can be made for Zappa being a top tier guitarist. Better than Hendrix? Not sure. But he's very, very, very good....
 
ArgleBargleFooferah said:
So is this guy's (Steve Howe from Yes)

1BFRmDs.jpg
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I did mention Steve Howe in a post on guitarist who were far above Jimi on skill and technicality. My thing with Jimi Hendrix is the same deal I have with many of "the great" guitarists; guitarists like: Hendrix, Clapton, Angus Young, and at time even Gilmore rely heavily on distorted blues solos. Mike Oldfield in the myriad albums and numerous elaborate solos he wrote/played seldom ever used blues solos.

There are indeed those guitarists which did heavily use blues solos too but were much more technical like Eric Johnson (as I had also mentioned earlier).
 
I don't care what his drug addled peers think. The only thing Hendrix is #1 at is being overrated. There are youtubers with better chops.

Sorry you guys fell for the meme. Think for yourselves.
 
Men_in_Boxes said:
I'm a simpleton, but that music pisses me off. It sounds like a nightmare.

I know they're all insanely talented.
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lol thats completely understandable actually. there is a pretentiousness to jazz musicians, and its mostly because they are trying to make things as difficult as possible, and essentially are just flexing there musical skills. hence, taking cherokee at ~375bpm

i love jazz, and i play jazz guitar, but im not a huge fan of jazz culture. a lot of the people involved are pricks.

i can say i met pasquale grasso and he was one of the nicest dudes ive ever met. he even let me play his guitar (the one in the video), so i guess there not all so bad.

but a lot of them are lol
 
There are hundreds both as or even more technically proficient and "soulful" but they usually play in more hardcore metal bands or perhaps more often folkmusic/troubadour (see John Butler, Estas Tonne, ect). Hendrix was great but guitar playing has come a long way since he paved the way and a lot more people are learning to play really well since his time.

 
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lets be clear, hendrix inspired countless guitar players and musician. he was mind blowingly talented and creative. without hendrix, i dont know what guitar playing would look like today.

but there are a lot of better guitar players that have come and gone since him, and there were a lot before him too. but he absolutely changed the whole guitar playing game as far as contemporary music goes.
 
Kev Kev said:
he was mind blowingly talented and creative. without hendrix, i dont know what guitar playing would look like today.
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this is from 1969, same time Hendrix was peaking on the scene. lots of players at that time were experimenting with the instrument in really unique ways:



guitar playing would have found a way without Hendrix or Page, others would have pushed the instrument as far as they could, just like both Jim's did.
 
Honestly, I only like one Hendrix song. Little Wing. A few of the others are impressive, like All Along the Watchtower, but not especially enjoyable to listen to. It's kind of like listening to the soundtrack for Inception. Same with his famous Woodstock national anthem. I feel like I could go to almost any bar with a house band and they would play the exact kind of thing.

His songs are pretty fun to play though if you're learning guitar.
 
Julius Ibidus said:
this is from 1969, same time Hendrix was peaking on the scene. lots of players at that time were experimenting with the instrument in really unique ways:



guitar playing would have found a way without Hendrix or Page, others would have pushed the instrument as far as they could, just like both Jim's did.
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guitar playing would have "found a way", i mean yeah of course, that goes without saying. but without hendrix it would look and sound very different. his songs are everywhere all over classic rock, and his creativity was way outside the box, inspiring bazillions of guitar players to try and sound like him.

there are a lot of other guitar players you could say the same about. like page, or a lot of other 80's heavy metal guitarists.
 


There were and are loaaads of amazing guitarists out there. I guess it all depends on your tastes and style of choice.
Great thread btw! Keep the music coming
 
Kev Kev said:
guitar playing would have "found a way", i mean yeah of course, that goes without saying. but without hendrix it would look and sound very different. his songs are everywhere all over classic rock, and his creativity was way outside the box, inspiring bazillions of guitar players to try and sound like him.

there are a lot of other guitar players you could say the same about. like page, or a lot of other 80's heavy metal guitarists.
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i guess that's where i'd disagree, i can dig up some Stooges or other bands from before/around his peak that had a similar sound because, well, they all were embracing the effects of the time. even the Beatles emulated the sound of the time with Helter Skelter, everyone was copying everyone else.

combining this sound with his tremolo work is what i think made his playing what it is, his hallmark. i'd say that was the part of his playing that influenced so many other guitarists over time.
 
IMO Hendrix is one of the primary giants whose shoulders everybody stands on, but he has been surpassed in pure technical skill and ability. None of that takes away from what he did when he did it. It's like saying Babe Ruth's accomplishments aren't worthwhile today since beating his record is often viewed as the 1st step.
 
There are countless guitarists who are more technically proficient than Hendrix was, he's not even close. For instance, pretty much any guitarist in a good progressive metal band, John Petrucci of Dream Theater being a prime example. You don't have to agree that he's a better guitarist than Hendrix overall, but technically he factually is (and IMO he writes much better music as well, but that's subjective).
 
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bajouras said:


There were and are loaaads of amazing guitarists out there. I guess it all depends on your tastes and style of choice.
Great thread btw! Keep the music coming
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this guy is an absolute beast. ive seen him run circles around jazz guitarists. and he does it with such confidence and style. he is a true musician's musician
 
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