Who is the best guitarist with the worst technique?

[vark]

Joel omans probably top 5 in the world right now, he is technically amazing but has “bad” technique in the sense that he breaks a lot of traditional rules of guitar position, and lifting the left hand high off the fretboard, as well as using his whole arm to pick. Doesn’t seem to matter at all for him tho lmao, but he could possibly be even better if he “fixed” those things

 

[TedEH]

shred like a demon

Too bad you can't hear any of what he's playing in those videos. It sure looks impressive, but he could be playing any number of things and I don't know if I'd hear a difference. Did he miss a note somewhere? Is it jazz? Does it make any difference how fast you're going if it's all a-melodic chugs and the same sweep pattern?

 

[nightsprinter]

View attachment 147334

Seizure response picking

 

[Wiltonauer]

First thought that came to my head.

Also shoutout to John Petrucci, dedicated pinky anchorer. Any time I hear someone on the internet say "don't anchor your pinky" I just think about how JP is better than them at guitar

I’ve built a better life for myself by using the pinky anchor. Plain strings, second octave? Pinky anchor!

 

[Screamingdaisy]

First name that popped into my head is James Iha.

He's nowhere near as good as those already mentioned, but he was the first guy I saw playing guitar where I said, "WTF" while watching him play.

 

[bmtf]

I basically taught myself how to play guitar along to Deftones songs. I don't think of them as having technique though, just going hard and turning up. Matter of fact, MY technique sucks, but its probably the neck profile

 

[Tarzan_on_bass]

There an Insta guitarist called Shred King or something who can, yes, shred like a demon but his fingers are always crazy splayed and flying everywhere. He is so much better than I'll ever be but it's so painful to watch.

This guy:

I dig Infant Annihilator, Rings of Saturn, and even some Berried Alive - but this is just...excessive.

What does the DI signal sound like

 

[BenjaminW]

John Sykes as much as I idolize him has had me go WTF with his right arm. It just looks like he has it both really far back and his hand is extremely loose during certain parts or phrases. There's also some pinky anchoring he does, all in this video. Even some fiddling with the knobs and pickup selector all in the middle of a song.


In addition, he's also a monster elbow picker. The solo to Crying in the Rain is no fucking joke.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Chuck Johnson



Goofy picking hand and spastic fretting hand, but damn it works.

 

[Tarzan_on_bass]

I'm transfixed by his picking hand whenever i see a video of him playing. It curls over so weirdly when he's on the high strings, and it doesn't look like that position could be doing any string muting of the lower strings at the same time. It's so strange.

That upward angling reminds me of this technique Dean Lamb uses in Remote Tumor Seeker...he says he learned it from Troy Grady.

 

[Rubbishplayer]

Marty Friedman
Steve Morse
Django

Actually, I don't think Django counts.

If you think that he was, basically, one of the first "paralympians" of guitar, the unique technique he had to develop to compensate is formidable.

Plus I don't think you can say that the lack of articulation of two fingers of his left hand counts as "bad technique". If anything, his ability to use what remained of his left hand remains a humbling lesson for most guitarists.

 

[Kosthrash]

I wanna learn how to hold the pick like Ola... What a stunning rhythm guitar player!

 

[M3CHK1LLA]

these guys /thread

 

[Shawn]

Vernon Reid would be top of the list for me, but his playing has more character than Friedman by miles. Friedman's playing is about as plastic as he looks, which is why I would say he's second place though also an impeccable player.

I also love Reid's solo stuff which has a little bit of blues and jazz mixed in.

 

[Rubbishplayer]

I also love Reid's solo stuff which has a little bit of blues and jazz mixed in.

I gotta admit that Vernon's technique isn't that weird, IMHO. But man he's great.

Perhaps a better choice would be Tom Morello, as he plays his guitar like a DJ plays decks...

 

[gabito]

I think most (electric, non-classical) guitar players are usually self-taught and their / our technique is partially, well... shit. At least in a "follow these rules, this is how you should do things" way.

Like @Demiurge said before: as long as you can play what you want to play and don't hurt yourself, go ahead you fucking weirdo.

That said: many of these self-taught guitar players eventually hurt themselves and either have to stop playing or learn better technique to keep doing it (I always remember this story about Jeff Hanneman being unable to play some of Slayer's songs due to wrist numbness and pain, but there's plenty of other examples out there).

Anyway, here's and example by The Pinkyless' Michael Keene.

 

[prlgmnr]

I'm not sure "weird looking" (e.g. Friedman/Morse) counts as bad technique, we need someone who fails to execute 50% of what they attempt but is still somehow compelling to listen to