Guitar World Announce their Guitarist of the Decade as voted for by the readers

[NoodleFace]

I actually agree with Nita Strauss being on that list - not only a fantastic guitarist playing for a huge band she's managed to get to a level of visability that no other rock/metal female guitarist has managed and inspired a ton of girls to start playing.

This is going to sound extremely sexist, but Nita is one of the first female guitarists I've watched where I didn't think "wow a chick is playing", and just saw a guitarist playing. It might be that she doesn't have the characteristically small woman hands you usually see too

 

[stevexc]

Something else everyone seems to be forgetting... Tremonti has been Guitar World's golden boy for YEARS. The guy's been their Guitarist Of The Year 3 times in a row. Of COURSE he's gonna get a cover and a place on the list (which, knowing GW, probably isn't ranked). Regardless what the microcosm of SSO thinks of him in your professional armchair opinions, the guys making the list are a little bit biased.

 

[StevenC]

Something else everyone seems to be forgetting... Tremonti has been Guitar World's golden boy for YEARS. The guy's been their Guitarist Of The Year 3 times in a row. Of COURSE he's gonna get a cover and a place on the list (which, knowing GW, probably isn't ranked). Regardless what the microcosm of SSO thinks of him in your professional armchair opinions, the guys making the list are a little bit biased.

So you're saying Tremonti just has the ego to assume he's number one on the list?

 

[Flappydoodle]

Next thing you'll see one of the dinguses from FFDP on one of these polls.....

In all fairness, both of them are really solid guitarists. Tight rhythms, and they can both shred but also play tasteful, melodic solos. And from what I've heard, they're super nice guys also. They just look and dress like douchebags.

 

[USMarine75]

This is going to sound extremely sexist, but Nita is one of the first female guitarists I've watched where I didn't think "wow a chick is playing", and just saw a guitarist playing. It might be that she doesn't have the characteristically small woman hands you usually see too

 

[NoodleFace]

Are you saying nuno is a chick or that he has girl hands

 

[Fenriswolf]

Who uses forums still?

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Mark Tremonti?! Has Alter Bridge even been in the limelight at all this decade? Maybe the Dec 2029 issue will name Jimi Hendrix as guitarist of the decade? Or maybe Django Reinhardt?

 

[USMarine75]

Are you saying nuno is a chick or that he has girl hands

Notoriously tiny hands. FWIW The N4 is 3/4 sized.

Same with Segovia.

 

[prlgmnr]

Notoriously tiny hands. FWIW The N4 is 3/4 sized.

Same with Segovia.

Look fairly normal on this authentic historically accurate photograph.

 

[USMarine75]

Look fairly normal on this authentic historically accurate photograph.

10/10

Now if you could complete the image with him peeing on Vai and Yngwie's graves.

 

[TheTrooper]

And sales/radio play/streams have nothing to do with guitar ability or influence.....

That's what I'm saying, are we listening to band becuase we like what they do or because we like how fast/techinical their stuff is?

People should enjoy what they like, and it appears they really like Alter Bridge/Tremonti.
I'm not a fan, but I don't see why other people shouldn't enjoy their stuff.
Those same people buy GW and like to take part in the polls they make.

Again, what does pop music sales have to do with influence on the guitar community?

Ehm.....I'm pretty positive that the amout of people The Beatles reached with their music (thus their sales) made a lot of those people pick up an instrument.

 

[TheTrooper]

I really don't think most people (even guitar players) know exactly how profound an album like Passion and Warfare is in terms of guitar playing. Passion and Warfare is extraordinarily difficult on a technical level, is modern, and it includes fast playing as well.
- I also think people confuse technical proficiency with physical speed which, imo, has very little to do with it. It might even be the opposite under certain circumstances. I believe many guitar players think this because they're still mesmerized by the gymnasitics some players can do. Once you get to a certain level with speed and gymnasitcs however, it actually gets quite boring and is usually uneventful, imo, . . though not always.
- Some players that do Not shred fast legatos and arpeggio sweeps and other gymastic feats however are doing much more techincally complex things, and they are so good most people don't even know what they're doing in terms of dynamics and feel. The usual list of names always comes to mind like Gilmore, Page, Hendrix, Zappa, Beck, Angus, etc. None of them were shredders, but all of them are/were some of the most technically proficient players of all time for sure.

I second ALL of that.

 

[Dayviewer]

Alter Bridge has a very loyal fanbase that is gaining more and more people every year, espescially in Europe where they've been getting bigger veneus and slots on festivals over time, and his solo project is also gaining more traction every release too.
So there's definitely something to say for his relevance compared to 10 years ago, though in my opinion Alter Bridge's song writing has been a bit more hit or miss lately, and their producer (Elvis Baskette) doesn't really help in the production department with smashing the whole mix to bits.
As for me, Tremonti was my favorite guitarist/songwriter for a good couple of years as well and it definitely influenced my own writing and playing, so yes, those people are "out there"

In terms of his style he definitely has recognizable elements, both his clean finger picked melodic parts (espescially) and riffs have a distinct style to them, and show a lot more personality and flavour compared to other so called "buttrock" bands in my opinion.
His songwriting also has a great mix of heavy and melodic parts to it with memorable riffs and melodic hooks, even though some transitions are a little hamfisted, when it works, it really really works.
Next to that he has definitely put some work behind his solos after Creed, and even though they are not on the technical level most people on this forum would like to see, they are always very well balanced and executed, and again much better compared to bands that they can be compared to.

I'm not saying he "deserves" the title, but he is definitely someone special in the genre he operates in, a great influence on the people who listen to it (he certainly was to me), and he deserves a lot of credit imo.

 

[sakeido]

imo it should have been John Mayer

It is totally bizarre how insular and isolated people on this forum seem to be. This thread has been very educational as to just how much of a bubble this place is. No wonder the music recommendations are all terrible

 

[MaxOfMetal]

imo it should have been John Mayer

It is totally bizarre how insular and isolated people on this forum seem to be. This thread has been very educational as to just how much of a bubble this place is. No wonder the music recommendations are all terrible

It is certainly funny that a technically proficient, multi-platinum, Grammy winning guitarist with consistent output, a huge and loyal following, and tons of marketable signature gear is a surprising candidate to some.

Don't get me wrong, I'm disappointed that my, and 8 other peoples', favorite YouTube djent-shredder who's still waiting on Go-Fund-Me cash for their debut single didn't win either.

 

[ramses]

I actually agree with Nita Strauss being on that list ... inspired a ton of girls to start playing.

Which has been very good for guitar makers.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

It is certainly funny that a technically proficient, multi-platinum, Grammy winning guitarist with consistent output, a huge and loyal following, and tons of marketable signature gear is a surprising candidate to some.

Yeah but my circle of friends that only listen to blackened 10 string djent prog thrash aren't inspired by him. So obviously no one knows who he is.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Yeah but my circle of friends that only listen to blackened 10 string djent prog thrash aren't inspired by him. So obviously no one knows who he is.

I mean, is it really music if more than you and your three best friends like it ironically?

 

[TedEH]

I've only been half following the thread, not really reading a lot of it, but I'll take the opportunity to say I'm 100% down with Nita being on that list, for her chops as a guitarist but also for her being what I think of as the right kind of "female guitarist role model" - and I'm appreciative of the fact that, while they could have gone the "hot guitarist chick" route with the cover, they kept it tasteful and about her as an artist/guitarist.

 

[Splinterhead]

Just curious, did they mention the qualifiers on how guitarists would make this list?
Streams?
Innovation?
Media Exposure?
Contributions to guitar community?
....if they laid out what they looked at to come to their conclusions it would make things easier.