Fastest Guitarist In The World

[Johnny Mac]

You can't really prove if someone has "soul" or not, that's the beauty of music. I think Yngwie is one of the most soulful players to ever pick up the instrument, but I accept that others find his playing wanky even though I don't understand why they think so. What moves you may not move someone else. I hear so many blues players that I think lack soul. Yeah, they play the same licks and turnarounds that Freddie King played 50 years ago, so where's the imagination, where's the individuality, where's the soul? But that's just my thoughts, I'm not telling you to feel the same.

+1 (though i like blues too)

i just don't like blanket statements (e.g. "all shred has no soul" etc.). there are good and bad players and musicians in most forms of music.

I like the Yng a bit myself but old black vest isn't a bit like him cos the Yng is a musician.
There was a bloke around in the 80's called Dave Chastian, I think it was and he was always criticised for being too technical over feel, so this debate has been around a long time. I like shred when its mixed with other elements, like rhythm, black vest is devoid of it, a tune, melody, musical tension ect ect. Then the player can go for the less is more approach and really let go when the tune/song calls for it. That's when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

[nfe]

You can't really prove if someone has "soul" or not, that's the beauty of music. I think Yngwie is one of the most soulful players to ever pick up the instrument, but I accept that others find his playing wanky even though I don't understand why they think so. What moves you may not move someone else. I hear so many blues players that I think lack soul. Yeah, they play the same licks and turnarounds that Freddie King played 50 years ago, so where's the imagination, where's the individuality, where's the soul? But that's just my thoughts, I'm not telling you to feel the same.

+1 (though i like blues too)

i just don't like blanket statements (e.g. "all shred has no soul" etc.). there are good and bad players and musicians in most forms of music.

Absolutely, I just think that most styles of music are full of players striving to get the bet sounds and feels and tones whereas shred is full of folks trying to go fastest. In a huge number of cases, being soulful isn't even a consideration so long as you can play more notes in a second than you could yesterday.

Obviously not all folks, not in either case, but I think the majority of B grade Right Said Fred's calling their videos Fastest Guitarist in the World are probably leaning further to one side than the other  :lol:

[38thBeatle]

There was a track on his myspace site that was, to me, unlistenable. I agree with what some have said-because someone plays fast doesn't mean that they are devoid of soul no more than every blues player has soul. That aspect of playing( soulfulness) is indefinable and subjective and it is pointless debating it. The problem I have in criticizing is that he can obviously play and has spent a great deal of time perfecting his art and when push comes to shove, can out gun me. Its just that i don't like what he does and no amount of skill and speedy playing will make me like it. But there are plenty out there, it would seem, who look up to and aspire to him. All I would say is that if that prompts people to take up guitar then that has to be good-maybe one of them will be the guy we all rave over next because he has learned to combine artistry with soul and imagination.

[Philly Q]

There was a bloke around in the 80's called Dave Chastian, I think it was and he was always criticised for being too technical over feel, so this debate has been around a long time. 

That's true, but I actually liked David Chastain!  When all those guys like Tony MacAlpine, Vinnie Moore, Greg Howe, Joey Taffolla, Guy Mann-Dude etc were putting out instrumental shred albums on Shapnel, DC was shredding in a band context (with at least two bands, Chastain and CJSS).  He made some good records.

[dave_mc]

^ haha! i'm not really familiar with chastain, i have heard of him though.

I like the Yng a bit myself but old black vest isn't a bit like him cos the Yng is a musician.
There was a bloke around in the 80's called Dave Chastian, I think it was and he was always criticised for being too technical over feel, so this debate has been around a long time. I like shred when its mixed with other elements, like rhythm, black vest is devoid of it, a tune, melody, musical tension ect ect. Then the player can go for the less is more approach and really let go when the tune/song calls for it. That's when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

yeah, definitely. i just don't like people who slag off everyone who even vaguely shreds, because it's obvious they just don't like that type of music. Which is fair enough, but just admit that that's the case. :)

i don't like it either when they're just ripping through scales for the whole piece- i prefer the satriani style of shred, where it's an actual song with a verse/chorus structure (albeit instrumental), and then he lets rip where the "solo" would be (were it a normal hard rock song).

the problem arises where people (as i already said) try to tar everyone with the same brush- when they claim that people are just running through scales for the whole piece when they clearly aren't. For example, I remember when i was back in school, and all my friends hated shred, and they'd be slagging off guys like vai (even van halen) for playing too fast (which is fair enough). But then in the next breath they'd say that their favourite solo was free bird, because [verbatim] "it was so fast".

o_O

I love skynyrd, i'm not slagging them off at all, but that's pretty faulty logic right there if you ask me. it's obvious they just preferred skynyrd, and were trying to find an objective reason (and failing, if you ask me) for something which was subjective.

[PPPMAT]

All the clips show is that technically he is very gifted. It doewsn't make you a musician though - that for me is more about note and phrase selection and feel.

It may be that he is amazing at that aswell but that clip doesn't show it.

Its like an international level concert violinist to me - must have taken a long time to get that accomplished

[dheim]

I think the reason behind super duper fast guitarists is that they are really competitive people because speed can be measured, where as soulful playing can't be measured and is more to do with an individual expressing themselves

you got it... i know some hyperfast guitarist too... they don't care about music (one of them never played in a band after 15 years of bedroom shredding!), but exercise all day without playing anything at all...

[ToneMonkey]

Lewis Hamilton plays the guitar, so surely he must be the fastest........ Damon Hill too.

Dunno about shitepacker, he probably does too  :D

[Philly Q]

Lewis Hamilton plays the guitar, so surely he must be the fastest........ Damon Hill too.

Dunno about shiteepacker, he probably does too  :D

So does Jonny Wilkinson, apparently.

..... which is totally irrelevant, since we're talking about speed.  :oops:

[Muzzzz]

What I don't understand is why people criticise music for turning into a 'sport', but every bloody man and his dog watches televised sport, and, for instance, gives a shite about how quickly somebody can swim 100m. If some people want to make a sport out of music, that's fine with me (by the way, I hate spectator sports anyway).

But I think the 'all you need is soul' argument is a load of arse... can a concert pianist have 'soul' and no technique? Fact is, to play some of the best music ever written, you need a shiteload of technique. One can bring up the famous blues guys, but a couple of notes played amazingly doesn't mean anything to me if the music itself is boring... this is just my opinion, but amazing lead work is the effect of polish on a turd if you only ever use 3 chords in the same cliched chord progression.

[dheim]

But I think the 'all you need is soul' argument is a load of arse... can a concert pianist have 'soul' and no technique? Fact is, to play some of the best music ever written, you need a shiteeload of technique. One can bring up the famous blues guys, but a couple of notes played amazingly doesn't mean anything to me if the music itself is boring...

of course you're right, but a concert pianist usually plays music written by others (some guy called bach, beethoven and so on... :)), we're talking about "pop" musicians, and to play every other genre than classical music you need at least some improvising and arrangement skill... a friend of mine is a concert guitarist, he can play simply everything. and does it, in theaters and sometimes in professional music productions... well, the funny thing is that everytime he sees me playing he is amazed by the fact that i don't need to READ what i play. and i suck badly when it comes to guitar tecnique (i'm self-taught, except for 3-4 months of lessons when i was 17)...
most recordmen shredders (and this guy makes no exception) just play scales and exercises at ridiculous speeds... i heard one track on his myspace, and there are many exercises i did when i had a teacher - just 100 times faster!
i'm not doing a statement against technical guitarists... guitar heroes like malmsteen and gilbert (i love satriani but he keeps slow pace most of the time, so i don't include him in the category...) and metal shredders like jeff loomis make great and soulful solos... you can move your legs in the air even faster than a 100m runner but you don't go anywhere. this is the image i have in mind when i think about those talentless guys claiming to be the fastest players in the world...

[MrBump]

Speakign of Chastain...

Then..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_czLdrJlhKk&feature=related

... and now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxt_AsjBI9g

I'm with the pro Chastain brigade...  I thought that he was one of the better shredders back then, and I think he's pretty cool now.

Mark.

[Philly Q]

Speakign of Chastain...

Then..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_czLdrJlhKk&feature=related

... and now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxt_AsjBI9g

Sorry Mark, but David T Chastain and Dave Chastain are two different people!  :lol:  Good clips though.

http://www.leviathanrecords.com/dtc.htm

http://www.thedavechastainband.com/

[MrBump]

Speakign of Chastain...

Then..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_czLdrJlhKk&feature=related

... and now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxt_AsjBI9g

Sorry Mark, but David T Chastain and Dave Chastain are two different people!  :lol:  Good clips though.

http://www.leviathanrecords.com/dtc.htm

http://www.thedavechastainband.com/

Ahhh!!!

That would explain the vast difference then!!!

The thing is, if you look closely at them, the do look similar, in a skeletal kinda way...

[Philly Q]

The thing is, if you look closely at them, the do look similar, in a skeletal kinda way...

I'm not convinced....  :P :lol: