[davenotdead]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

zoot horn rollo.

woot. i like hendrix too

[PAULYBEE2656]

NO.

[atsonicpark]

John Fahey.

[batreleaser]

i dont know, it seems unfair to put fahey and hendrix in the same categories as guitar players, theyre so unbelievably different.

[atsonicpark]

Then, what defines "best"?

John Fahey invented a new style of playing and is one of the only guitarists who has ever made me feel something just from their playing that was beyond just riffs or solos.

Hendrix was interesting and had some good stuff but I highly doubt even he could have made 40 brilliant albums using a guitar as the only instrument (usually).

But as I said earlier in the thread, Jimi Hendrix's favorite guitarist was Zoot Horn Rollo. So, Zoot is actually probably the best just for that. Hah.

[Derek]

What defines "best" is really personal preference.

[batreleaser]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Then, what defines "best"?

John Fahey invented a new style of playing and is one of the only guitarists who has ever made me feel something just from their playing that was beyond just riffs or solos.

Hendrix was interesting and had some good stuff but I highly doubt even he could have made 40 brilliant albums using a guitar as the only instrument (usually).

But as I said earlier in the thread, Jimi Hendrix's favorite guitarist was Zoot Horn Rollo. So, Zoot is actually probably the best just for that. Hah.

theyre both amazing man. thats a total matter of preference if youre gonna choose between the two.

[Massassinated]

I'm more impressed by Keiji Haino, Nels Cline, James Blackshaw, Carlos Montoya or Sonny Sharrock than by Jimi Hendrix, but still, he was one of the all-time greatest guitarists all the same.

[atari 2600]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Then, what defines "best"?

John Fahey invented a new style of playing and is one of the only guitarists who has ever made me feel something just from their playing that was beyond just riffs or solos.

Haha John Fahey didn't invent open tunings. Although I like Fahey, let's face it that all he really did is play open tunings very simply and in an elementary way to great effect and artistry.
I was playing stuff that sounds like Fahey before I'd ever heard of John Fahey. Any contribution Fahey made through uncovering "new" chord forms in open and near-open tunings I found on my own before I ever listened to anything by him.

[atari 2600]

Originally Posted by Massassinated

I'm more impressed by Keiji Haino, Nels Cline, James Blackshaw, Carlos Montoya or Sonny Sharrock than by Jimi Hendrix, but still, he was one of the all-time greatest guitarists all the same.

Gee, so sweet of you to include Jimi in your illustrious canon of best guitarists.
Allow me to impress on you that none of those you mention are even as good as Pete Townshend. And I would imagine even they, even Sharrock, would say so. So, I ask of you, where does that leave them when it comes to Hendrix?

I mean, really, just because you are young is no excuse to make such ridiculous statements. What, all you've heard of Hendrix live is The Star-Spangled Banner from Woodstock?

You're like, "I don't know, man, I just like what I like and I identify Jimi with hippies and I don't like hippies...Hendrix doesn't fit in with my cool image I like to project and uh all he did is play stylized blues and uh..."

Whatever, guy.

__________________
"The first human being who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization." - Sigmund Freud

[batreleaser]

Originally Posted by Massassinated

I'm more impressed by Keiji Haino, Nels Cline, James Blackshaw, Carlos Montoya or Sonny Sharrock than by Jimi Hendrix, but still, he was one of the all-time greatest guitarists all the same.

sonny sharrock definitley.

hendrix to me goes beyond his guitar playing though, yknow? sometimes, these musicians just have something extra going on inside them that no one else can seem to fathom what it is, like they no something we dont. call it soul, call it spirit, but people like miles, coltrane, ornette, fahey, beefheart, sun ra, etc.. hendrix had this in spades, watching him play, especially in the band of gypdies video, is like watching god posess a human guitar player and playing the riffs of heaven. i dont wanna debate whos better and who isnt better than hendrix, its tedious and pointless. the guy deserves better than that.

Originally Posted by atari 2600

Haha John Fahey didn't invent open tunings. Although I like Fahey, let's face it that all he really did is play open tunings very simply and in an elementary way to great effect and artistry.
I was playing stuff that sounds like Fahey before I'd ever heard of John Fahey. Any contribution Fahey made through uncovering "new" chord forms in open and near-open tunings I found on my own before I ever listened to anything by him.

Pfft. I wonder how much of Fahey you've heard to state that. Odd that someone is comparing Fahey to Hendrix, 'cause I was about to start a thread about a specific topic.

[Massassinated]

Originally Posted by atari 2600

Gee, so sweet of you to include Jimi in your illustrious canon of best guitarists.
Allow me to impress on you that none of those you mention are even as good as Pete Townshend. And I would imagine even they, even Sharrock, would say so. So, I ask of you, where does that leave them when it comes to Hendrix?

I mean, really, just because you are young is no excuse to make such ridiculous statements.

Which "statement" ? I just said I was more "impressed" by them. I didn't even mention technicality, which I don't care much about, or whatever.
Oh, and spare me the hackneyed "you're YOUNG lol ROFL" shit, please. I'm sure you can do that for me.

Originally Posted by atari 2600

What, all you've heard of Hendrix live is The Star-Spangled Banner from Woodstock?

Wow, the classic "I disagree with you on an artist => You sure don't know a shit about him". How impressive, really.

Originally Posted by atari 2600

You're like, "I don't know, man, I just like what I like and I identify Jimi with hippies and I don't like hippies...Hendrix doesn't fit in with my cool image I like to project and uh all he did is play stylized blues and uh...

Where the HELL did you read that? Prob'ly not in my post. You seem to be a bit tense, don't you? You had a bad day, your wife dumped you? You desperately need to let off steam on forums, or what?

Btw, I like pretty much everything I heard by Hendrix. And like batreleaser said, his guitar style sure was soulful. That doesn't mean I'm obliged to make him my fave guitarist. And that sure doesn't make me a anti-hippie bigot (which couldn't be further from the truth actually, believe it or not).

Sorry, dude.

[atari 2600]

And where are you reading in and getting all that?

Look, go approach Neil Young during a soundcheck and say, "Hey, Neil have you heard of Keiji Haino before? What do you think of his playing?" and he'll probably give you a nice, complimentary response. But say something like, "Hey Neil, I think Keiji Haino is great...he's even better than Jimi Hendrix," and Neil might just laugh at you, although he probably would greet your impetuousness with a bemused grin and his eyes rolling and honestly not know what to say to one such as yourself.

As for porkmarras' "pfft," I regard it with amusement because he shows that he doesn't know anything about Fahey. To disregard the obvious fact that Fahey played in open tunings just shows that he's unwilling to even acknowledge the most basic of facts. And again, although I do like Fahey (I think he's creative and I love his sound), the artists on the earlier recordings that inspired him would have probably not thought much of his playing.

[Massassinated]

Once more, I didn't pretend the guitarists I mentioned where "better" than Hendrix. And honestly, I don't care whether they are or not.

[Sheriff Rhys Chatham]

Let's solve this. Jimi Hendrix is the best left-handed black guitarist to die at the age of 27.

[Derek]

Well that's a bit specific, you've only got two options really haha.

[Sheriff Rhys Chatham]

Whos the other?

[fugazifan]

^KC

[atsonicpark]

When did I say Fahey invented open tunings?

I said he invented a new style of playing... that doesn't necassarily mean his tunings, that's a combination of fingerpicking, the open tunings, and a lot more. Not to mention that he was the first person to really use an acoustic guitar as a solo concert instrument. And again, he has like 250 great songs that almost exclusively use acoustic guitar (electric guitar on the later recordings and there are some overdubs of other instruments on maybe 15 other songs)... to me, that speaks for itself. Find another artist who has HOURS of brilliant work just featuring a single guitar.

Obviously, Fahey's style can be traced back to influences like Walter "Buddy Boy" Hawkins, Carl Perkins, Robert Johnson, Blueberry Hill, Hank Williams, Pete Seeger, traditional Christmas music, Charley Patton, and even Stravinsky (!)... or how about Brij Bhusan Kabra, the first person to play ragas on a guitar? I'm not saying Fahey was the most revolutionary guitarist in history, but he's definitely one of the most important. Name one great acoustic guitarist who plays fingerstyle in open tunings who isn't inspired by Fahey.

I think Hendrix was good, and maybe it's wrong to even compare electric and acoustic guitar players since they are wildly different instruments... but I only see him being considered the "best" because he's the most well-known.