top 10 neoclassical guitarist?

[M3CHK1LLA]

im starting to get some neoclassical stuff and was lookin at vids on yt. i ran across this "top 10" vid and thought id share. some of these guys i have not heard of and are really good (looking at a few of their other vids) and some you know and love. the vid is only 5:49 long. ive got the list of guitarists posted after the vid for discussions.




so here is the list...

10. vinnie moore - ufo / alice cooper
9. joe stump - holyhell
8. pual gilbert - mr. big / racer x
7. chris impellitteri - impellitteri
6. jani liimatainen - sonata arctica
5. jeff loomis - nevermore
4. michael batio - nitro
3. michael romeo - symphony x
2. jason becker - cacophony

but before #1 here are the honorable mentions lol...

hizaki - versailles / jupiter (only woman on the list)
syu galneryus
uli jon roth - scorpions
luca turilli - rhapsody of fire
timo tolkki - stratavarius

...and of course yngwie at #1

what do you think of the list? anyone else should /shouldn't be on it? what are your favorites and how would you rank them? discuss

 

[takotakumi]

My favorite: Christian Muenzer (Alkaloid, Obscura, Necrophagist, Spawn of Possession)

Phil Tougas from First Fragment writes very insane neoclassical stuff:

[youtubevid]x6tRJmCTVSM[/youtubevid]

 

[vilk]

team Romeo!

 

[feilong29]

Robert Marcello - Danger Danger, Marcello & Vestry
Syu - Galneryus, SpinalCord
Vinnie Moore
Yngwie Malmsteem
Jason Becker
Michael Romeo - Symphony X
Jeff Loomis - Nevermore, Conquering Dystopia
Matias Kupiainen - Stratovarius
Panos Arvanitis - YouTube
Takayashi Ohmura

 

[M3CHK1LLA]

My favorite: Christian Muenzer (Alkaloid, Obscura, Necrophagist, Spawn of Possession)

Phil Tougas from First Fragment writes very insane neoclassical stuff:

[youtubevid]x6tRJmCTVSM[/youtubevid]

muenzer...yes!

need to look into taugas

team Romeo!

+1 i'm sure many will agree

Robert Marcello - Danger Danger, Marcello & Vestry
Syu - Galneryus, SpinalCord
Vinnie Moore
Yngwie Malmsteem
Jason Becker
Michael Romeo - Symphony X
Jeff Loomis - Nevermore, Conquering Dystopia
Matias Kupiainen - Stratovarius
Panos Arvanitis - YouTube
Takayashi Ohmura

heck of a list

ii need to check out arvanitis and ohmura

 

[works0fheart]

No mentions of Alexi though? Say what you want about CoB's new material and I'll probably even agree with you, but them first 3 albums? Some top tier neoclassical shred going on there.

 

[takotakumi]

My favorite: Christian Muenzer (Alkaloid, Obscura, Necrophagist, Spawn of Possession)

Phil Tougas from First Fragment writes very insane neoclassical stuff:

[youtubevid]x6tRJmCTVSM[/youtubevid]

fudge, any idea why the embedded didn't work?

 

[ArtDecade]

This guy. Ten times.

 

[Unleash The Fury]

Yngwie #1.

But really if you listen to Uli Jon Roths guitar solos from the 70s and 80s you can CLEARLY hear where Yngwie got most of his style from (obviously along with Ritchie and the classical greats)

Tony Macalpine (although not strictly neo-classical more fusion but Autumn Lords is very neoclassical.
Romeo
Joe Stump
Alexi
Timo Tolkki

 

[Lorcan Ward]

^Deep down Yngwie was a fan trying to mimic his heroes just like everyone else. You can trace back all the big guys styles like Yngwie, Gilbert, Vai, Satch etc to the guys they listened to growing up.

I like how there is a fixed point where you can trace nearly every neo-classical player back to Yngwie. He really shook up the guitar scene influencing so many players who would then go on to influence countless others.

From a classical perspective I've always viewed Luca Turilli as being way ahead of everyone else. His composition and theory is much closer to classical music than a lot of others who honestly were just transcribing Bach and Mozart licks into their songs.

 

[Unleash The Fury]

Rhoads
Becker
Impeliterri

 

[chuggalug]

AJ Minette former The Human Abstract lead guitarist used to write so many tasty neoclassical riffs. if you jam the Nocturne album its got tons of stuff throughout.

 

[will_shred]

I don't really count Gilbert as "neoclassical" as his playing was much more influenced by 70's rock, and if you listen to his music the influence is pretty clear. Sure he took some classical influence and did some songs like BRO, and other stuff. But what modern musician doesn't have classical influences?

 

[Lemons]

+1 for AJ Minette, the album Digital Veil is a great example of some really original/modern neoclassical guitar work.

 

[Alternative-Perspective]

A ranking is difficult in my opinion. Michael Romeo is several times better than Yngwie in terms of technique and knowledge of music, but Yngwie is the more succesful, influential one. Jason Becker didn't have the cleanest technique, nor the most original stuff, but he was and is very influential. Joe Stup has a better technique than Yngwie, but he tries too hard to copy Yngwie. Blackmore arguably started it all, but his technique pales in comparison to that of most neoclassical players.

 

[M3CHK1LLA]

A ranking is difficult in my opinion. Michael Romeo is several times better than Yngwie in terms of technique and knowledge of music, but Yngwie is the more succesful, influential one. Jason Becker didn't have the cleanest technique, nor the most original stuff, but he was and is very influential. Joe Stup has a better technique than Yngwie, but he tries too hard to copy Yngwie. Blackmore arguably started it all, but his technique pales in comparison to that of most neoclassical players.

the list (and vid) was a starting point for discussion. like you said though it is hard to do a top 10 on nearly anything music

 

[works0fheart]

AJ Minette former The Human Abstract lead guitarist used to write so many tasty neoclassical riffs. if you jam the Nocturne album its got tons of stuff throughout.

Incredible album. It's crazy how much they've managed to slip through the cracks and disappear along with that release.

 

[Science_Penguin]

Okay, I'm glad they included Syu on this list- I was gonna have words if they didn't at least give him a mention. Hizaki as well, though, not sure why they didn't also mention Teru- they usually seem like kind of a package deal.

 

[Rawkmann]

A ranking is difficult in my opinion. Michael Romeo is several times better than Yngwie in technique.

I'd say that's debatable. There are certain periods in time where I feel Yngwie was basically untouchable technique wise. I'd say during the first few years of his career and then he hit another peak in the late 90s when he released Alchemy. Romeo likewise used to be a more precise player in the Divine Wings of Tragedy days.

 

[Unleash The Fury]

People always say Romeo is more creative and isnt as repetetive as Yngwie. Fwiw Yngwie has easily released twice as much material as Romeo. (I do have the Dark Chapter which is amazing). And also fwiw Romeo does rehash alot of the same licks, including tapping licks as well.

Yngwie is the king of repetition. But at the end of the day, who isnt repetitive? Clapton, Angus, even Vai, all rely on the same licks. Blues players literally play the same licks and chord progressions for 40 years and no one calls them repetitive.

As far as technique, again no one comes close to Yngwie. Ive never seen a more relaxed and subtle picking hand. His left hand technique with the scalloped fretboard is amazing because it requires the hand to have a consistently "medium" touch.

Romeos technique is quite amazing too. I was blown away watching those early instructional videos of his. (Fwiw, i believe his string action is incredibly low, which most would consider easier to play. But that doesnt really mean anything).

Would i dare say that Yngwie influenced more young guitar players than EVH did? (Granted i know even Yng himself took some tapping licks right from the EVH book). But to this day, especially in modern metal, theres a shit ton of blazing fast harmonic minor Yngwie style riffing going on. Not to mention arpeggio sweeps. Players from Skolnick to Loomis to Jari to Romeo and countless others are still incorporating Yng style licks to this day wether they know it or not. Thats why i think he had a bigger imoact on guitar pkayers than EVH. Sure EVH may have had a bigger impact on players in the 80s, but id say Yng's is a more lasting one.

Thats just how i see it but really i dont know. I was born in 85 so i wasnt around then.