Which Guitar Players Influenced You the Most?

[Telerocker]

Ritchie Blackmore, Pat Travers, Billy Gibbons, Andy Summers, Jan Akkerman, SRV, Brian Setzer, lots of guys actually.

[Stevepage]

Recently it's been a guy called Emil Werstler. Fantastic player who plays 'outside the box' and blends bits of jazz with the shreddy stuff.

I've also been listening to a lot of Slipknot recently which has influenced my song writing. But I seem to be influenced a lot by Marty Friedman and Jeff Loomis, not intentionally but I can definitely hear it even though I try to not sound like any one else.

[gwEm]

Tony Iommi, Uli Jon Roth, Michael Schenker, Brian Tatler, KK Downing, Pete Townshend

[Afghan Dave]

John Sykes, George Lynch, Adrian Smith, Gary Moore, Matthias Jabs & Steve Harris.

[MrBump]

Gary Moore and Mark Knopfler, initially.

Knopfler for the melody and feel - particularly Brothers in Arms.

And Gary Moores Wild Frontier album really turned me on to "rock".  Everything about that album still makes the fur rise.

After that - loads.  Reeves Gabrels, Richard Thompson, Andy Summers, Satriani, Iommi...

Loads.

[AndyR]

I've got lots of favourites. But when I look at how I play now - what's actually in my playing - and considering who I was trying to learn from over the years, my main influences are probably as follows:

Lead-stuff (melodies, phrasing, tricks, picking/etc):

Ritchie Blackmore
Mark Knopfler
Hank Marvin
Eric Clapton

Riffing and general rockin and rollin:

Jimmy Page
Marc Bolan
Angus & Malcolm
Billy Gibbons
Tony Iommi
Keith Richards
Pete Townsend

All-round approach to everything (including all of the above and lead vocal/guitar duties):

Rory Gallagher
Stevie Ray Vaughan (less so, but there's no getting away from it!)
Jimi Hendrix

On the bass:

Paul McCartney
John Entwhistle
Martin Turner
Jack Bruce
(and I hate to admit this :lol:...) Sting (listening to him was how I figured out how to do bass/lead-vocal duties)



EDIT: A while back, I would have just answered "Rory Gallagher" and left it at that - but it's simply not true. That is who I concentrated on most over the years, but listening to my actual playing, he's only part of the influences that affected me.

I also would have added Brian May in the past - a huge favourite of mine, and I have knicked stuff from him - but unless I play Queen songs I can't really hear any Brian May in my playing (there is in my songwriting, occasionally). Added to that he has a completely different approach to attacking the guitar strings than I do.

[Elliot]

Early on it was Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi, Gary Moore, Jimi Hendrix, Bert Jansch, Davey Graham, Richard Thompson (in his Fairport Convention days), Angus Young, Bob Dylan . . . and also YJM as I love the Rising Force album for a year or so before going off it big time.

later I would add Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Albert King, Son House, Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson

[Ratrod]

It was Slash who made me pickup the guitar.

James Hetfield was a big influence in my early days of playing.

Malcolm Young was and still is a big influence on my rhythm guitar.

Other big influences on my playing and tone these days: Brian Setzer, Jim Heath and Poison Ivy.

[HTH AMPS]

Angus, Clapton, Kossoff, Gibbons.

I love loads of other guitarists too, but they're the guys you'll hear in my playing.

[sgmypod]

Knofler, angus and malcom, gary moor, kossoff, mick abrahams and martin barre (JTull),  kerry livgren (Kansas prob spelt his name wrong) Neil schon, Joe Perry, Eddie van halen,  steve rothery (marillion), andy summers, mike bloomfield, mr walsh, nils lofgren,peter buck , tom petty and mr cambell, slash, paul simon,  even dylan and this is short list sure missed a few

[sgmypod]

and mr Grohl of course

[Johnny Mac]

Everyone.

[Madsakre]

Morgan steinmeyer håkansson(marduk), mike scaccia(rigor mortis), Karl sanders(nile), scott hull(pig destroyer)

[FredD]

Billy Strange
Bert Weedon (from my 'home town' of East Ham, London)
James Burton
Duane Eddy
Al Casey

 :D

[Kiichi]

Might be cause I am rather young, but my influences differ a bit from the general ones here.
Lot of the guys you named of course also had an influence on me too, but more in a way of shaping my general taste in music as in looking at what I wanne play and do on the guitar and how I approach it.

Slash (tone and feeling)
John Petrucci of Dream Theater (that versatility, technique and songwriting)
Jesper Strömblad and Bjorn Gelotte of In Flames (very big influence. So heavy, melodic and emotional)
Buckethead (did a lot of boring stuff, but can be Satriani with brains to me, very versatile and at times  innovative too)
Justin Vernon of Bon Iver (simple, atmospheric and just working so well with the songs)
Joe Trohman and Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy (amazing songwriting and just makes me wanne rock)
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails (going beyond conventional sounds and scales)
Roine Stolt of The Flowerkings and Transatlantic (his general style is something I wanne learn)
Michael Poulson of Volbeat (the riffs he writes just rock in the right way)

These are the guys that make me wanne pickup a guitar, inspire me, influenced me and that I strife to play and sound like.