What you think of guitar shredders?

[tot_Ou_tard]

This video shows exactly the opposite:

D@mn! Beat me to it.

I was gonna hunt down this clip too.

[Ger the man]

Good at what they do I suppose but I once witnessed a classical player and metal head shredder go head to head in a music shop. The classical player won by a country mile! I prefer light rock/funk and jazz players to be honest, musically they are more creative imo. Shredders have too much to prove.

[Katastrophe]

Gee, after 39 posts and a Chapelle Show reference I guess I'll weigh in.

Shredding is cool, in small doses, IMHO. When I was taking lessons, the school had a video room set up with instructional tapes by George Lynch, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie, and others. I used to get to class at least an hour early so I could work on some finger exercises and try to get some speed into my playing. I'd like to think I learned some pretty cool stuff that way. I have heard some incredible guitar, both in tones and technique coming from speedy guitar players. Someone has to push the envelope, right?

Then I listen to someone like David Gilmour, who is all about tasteful phrasing and melody in his solos. He's the anti-shredder, and it doesn't matter how fast or slow he plays. What he plays fits within the context of the song.

So now I gues I sit firmly on the fence, as someone who wants to hear soul and emotion from a player, but can appreciate and enjoy a nice burst of speed every now and again.

How's that for being wishy-washy?

[Justaguyin_nc]

I justa had to add this...
Although I don't caremuch for shredding..
Marnold was right about DragonForce..
these guys are good..
and you can actually listen to a whole song
without getting tired...




Hmm..once again..made me think of Meatloaf... not the food..

[Spudman***]

I like Dragon Force but like the king said in the movie Amadeus "too many notes."

Good melodic overkill.

[marnold***]

Of course, I was watching someone play Bach's famous "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor." There's some serious shredding in there. He was playing it on this massive, glorious, pipe organ. Of course, watching a YouTube video of it loses quite a bit in the translation.

For those of you who prefer something slower, here's the last track off the Dragonforce album, "Trail of Broken Hearts." Grab your lighters!



As a child of the 80s, I like me a good power ballad. I may the only person on the planet who likes that song, but I don't care.

BTW, I have no idea who made the Final Fantasy video for it.

[Eric***]

Marnold was right about DragonForce..
these guys are good..
and you can actually listen to a whole song
without getting tired...

I just watched this video, so I searched for Dragonforce here. This (or at least the guitar work therein), to me, is the definition of being impressive while simultaneously being something that just doesn't interest me. If technique wasn't some challenge to be bested/mastered, are there people who would actually enjoy listening to/watching this? I guess this thread has proven so, huh?

Interesting. Not easy for me to understand, but interesting.

[NWBasser]

I put in "C"!

What else would you expect from a bass player?

I've come to appreciate guitar players that put the overall musical soundscape ahead of their egos.

As a good example, I love listening to Jeff Beck as he incorporates virtuoso playing alongside other virtuoso musicians like Tim Bogert.

I'm a bit late to discover Beck's music and unfortunately don't know who played bass (killer player!) on some of his early albums like Wired and Blow by Blow. Anybody here know?

[deeaa*]

+1000 on those remarks!

Blues is a great player! And Guthrie is god, period. Please consider the following, in contrast to your average fire-breathing, fleet-fingered shredder. The experience is almost humiliating:

That was good, but the thing I dislike about this kind of playing...any guitar god playing is...it's so very clean. Every note picked or played just in time and accurately...I don't like it. Even the sound is way too refined and AOR style I get bored listening to it in a minute flat. I like it more when every note is played with more spasticity, with little regard for exactness, but everything on feel and power, squeals and screeches and NOT that polite, jazzy old-people-approved boring guitar god tone. I prefer Angus and Neil Young and such. IMO anybody can learn to play fast and clean if time is spent on it, but not all can learn to play freely and rawly and still make it sound great.

Not to say I don't appreciate his mad skillz, sure I do, but I just find it very boring.

[sunvalleylaw]

I looked at my old answer (C) and I still feel the same way. I have listened to a bit more since then, but it is not what I reach for most often.