Who is the greatest guitar player of all time? This argument gets brought up among friends and often family members of different generations. What makes them the best at their craft? There are many factors that are debated including their unique sense of sound, style of guitar, equipment used including speakers and valve amplifier. Everybody has a different preference for a different preference. Here are our top guitars of all time. Have a read and see if you agree…
Jimi Hendrix
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Jimi Hendrix is widely regarded as one of the best guitarists of all time due to his ability to invent new techniques. After four years of mainstream success, he was one of the first to bring the whammy bar to the guitar world. He created “fuzz” and distortion creating a sound unheard of before. Hendrix idolized the likes of Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. His style is mostly described as a combination of British rock, jazz, American folk and jazz.
Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton is one of the world’s most known musicians. He is highly regarded for his abilities and many argue he is the greatest of all time. Eric Clapton is the only person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame three times. He is one of the most loved musicians by all and at one stage it is reported he was considering joining the Beatles. Eric Clapton’s musical influences were Buddy Holly, Muddy Waters, Freddie King and Robert Johnson.
Guthrie Govan
This man arguably has the most technical ability of any guitarist. His talents transcend any genre and there is no limit as to what he can do. Guthrie Govan played with many bands but his most successful was Asia. His influences include Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Steve Vai.
Eddie Van Halen
One you could never forget! His main influences are Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page who he says he shares a similar style. He used custom equipment throughout his career. His first choice of the guitar was a Gibson Les Paul. He then decided to replace this in order to sound more like Eric Clapton. Van Halen never actually learned to read music. He also started one of the most successful bands with the singer David Lee Roth and his brother Alex.
David Gilmour
The guitarist and the voice of the rock band Pink Floyd. David Gilmour is known for his huge rifts and atmospheric chords. David Gilmour is a man of many talents being able to play a number of other instruments including bass, keyboards, banjo, lap steel, mandolin, harmonica, drums, and saxophone. Many artists that have come after him have tried to copy his sound but none have succeeded.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Known for his amazing skills when it comes to Blues music, he led the revival of blues rock. His favourite artist was Lonnie Mack and says his style is the most unique and no other guitarist has ever been able to sound like him.
