Members G-tarist Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 What do you think it was that made him the greatest? Was it technical ability? Creativity/Songwriting skills? Charisma? I'm trying to work out who I like more out of Hendrix and Page...so far I can tell what makes Page so great, but Hendrix I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Europa760 Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 he used a danelectro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Europa760 Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 game over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members G-tarist Posted December 21, 2004 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 Hendrix used a danelectro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Europa760 Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 oh yea. Anyone who has the balls to play a guitar that ugly is pretty high up on the greatest of all time list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members G-tarist Posted December 21, 2004 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 If Hendrix used one...how does that make him better than Page who also used one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Europa760 Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 thats easy, because i didnt know page used one. But like i said before, somewhere else, its his songwriting that hits people naturally inside. Because they can kinda relate to the simplicity. But when you put it in the context of back then, it blows my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dane Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 You may as well ask... "What does an orange taste like?" Once you experience it...You'll know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CustomGR Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 I think his main skill is the feel of the guitar.. His technical ability is fairly limited- as his songs are fairly basic (when compared to others).. But his overall feel and emotion that went into his playing is what inspires musicians to this day.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pepi Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 Originally posted by G-tarist What do you think it was that made him the greatest?Was it technical ability?Creativity/Songwriting skills?Charisma?I'm trying to work out who I like more out of Hendrix and Page...so far I can tell what makes Page so great, but Hendrix I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out. I seen Hendrix live and it was really a bad sounding concert:rolleyes: I think Hendrix was before his time and this makes him stand out as being the best ever. Don't get me wrong I love his stuff. Jimi was a hell of a studio guitarest but I don't think he was/is the best. JMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members likkafella Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 Cause he's not, Jerry reed is Hook it son! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jimi Ray Halen Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 It's been my experience that either you "get" Jimi immediately or you never quite will. The man was simply the best. Consider:1. He fronted a power trio. Not too many other guitar Gods did that. Beats Page right there. 2. He wrote all the songs (except for the covers, of course, which he did better than the originals). 3. He changed everything guitar when he came onto the scene. Who else did Beck, Page, Clapton, Townsend, etc. line up to go see play live in London? Nobody else, that's who. 4. He was only famous and producing music for three years. Three years! Look at the impact he had in three years. Look at how much he recorded. It takes some bands that long to be able to record one CD.5. His versatility is unmatched. A lot of people think of Purple Haze or Foxy Lady when they think of Jimi. Great tunes. But listen to his songwriting ability and genius on his pretty songs. Little Wing is but one example.6. He was the consumate showman. He didn't just stand there and play (Clapton), although he would have liked to. He learned early on how to entertain. Why do you think he played with his teeth, behind his head, while doing rolls, etc.? Because most White folks had never seen showmanship like that before. It became a trap for him after awhile, but he felt obligated. THIS is why some folks have the mistaken idea in their heads that somehow he was a sloppy player. Say what? Excuse me? If you think that he was sloppy then pick up an old straight-from-the-factory Strat and playing the {censored} out of it like Jimi did (don't forget to turn it upside-down first), using the wammy bar the whole time, and see how in-tune you sound. Quick, play behind your head and see how many clams you hit. Do a roll onstage while playing a lead and see how perfect that Pentatonic comes out. Equipment was primitive compared to nowadays. Hell, guys were inventing gear for Jimi and he'd take it up on stage and make history with it. Besides that, Jimi came up on the so-called "Chitlin Circuit" backing up all the lengendary performers of the time. How long would a "sloppy" guitarist last there? About one set. Maybe two. Then they'd be back to washing dishes. Jimi never set out to be "The worlds' greatest guitarist". It just turned out that way. He saw himself as more of a singer/songwriter than anything else. He idolized Dylan over everybody. That tells you something right there. But more than anything else, it's his music that sets him apart. His songs still stand up 34 years later. You might say "Well so does the Beatles and Zeppelin music". Well, the Beatles wrote as a team and LZ were a 4-piece. You might say that Clapton fronted a power trio, but Jack Bruce did most of the singing. Jeff Beck is a "more technically brilliant" player. How many Beck songs can your average listener name off the top of their head? None. And so on.He was one of a kind. There will never be another one like him. He was so far ahead of his time that some people still don't get him, all these years after his passing. All you have to do is listen to Machine Gun off the Band of Gypsys album to get a feel for what Jimi was all about. He played from the heart and painted sonic masterpieces with the most basic materials. He was simply the best.(Getting off soap box now) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sorted69 Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 Originally posted by Jimi Ray Halen It's been my experience that either you "get" Jimi immediately or you never quite will. The man was simply the best. Consider:1. He fronted a power trio. Not too many other guitar Gods did that. Beats Page right there. 2. He wrote all the songs (except for the covers, of course, which he did better than the originals). 3. He changed everything guitar when he came onto the scene. Who else did Beck, Page, Clapton, Townsend, etc. line up to go see play live in London? Nobody else, that's who. 4. He was only famous and producing music for three years. Three years! Look at the impact he had in three years. Look at how much he recorded. It takes some bands that long to be able to record one CD.5. His versatility is unmatched. A lot of people think of Purple Haze or Foxy Lady when they think of Jimi. Great tunes. But listen to his songwriting ability and genius on his pretty songs. Little Wing is but one example.6. He was the consumate showman. He didn't just stand there and play (Clapton), although he would have liked to. He learned early on how to entertain. Why do you think he played with his teeth, behind his head, while doing rolls, etc.? Because most White folks had never seen showmanship like that before. It became a trap for him after awhile, but he felt obligated. THIS is why some folks have the mistaken idea in their heads that somehow he was a sloppy player. Say what? Excuse me? If you think that he was sloppy then pick up an old straight-from-the-factory Strat and playing the {censored} out of it like Jimi did (don't forget to turn it upside-down first), using the wammy bar the whole time, and see how in-tune you sound. Quick, play behind your head and see how many clams you hit. Do a roll onstage while playing a lead and see how perfect that Pentatonic comes out. Equipment was primitive compared to nowadays. Hell, guys were inventing gear for Jimi and he'd take it up on stage and make history with it. Besides that, Jimi came up on the so-called "Chitlin Circuit" backing up all the lengendary performers of the time. How long would a "sloppy" guitarist last there? About one set. Maybe two. Then they'd be back to washing dishes. Jimi never set out to be "The worlds' greatest guitarist". It just turned out that way. He saw himself as more of a singer/songwriter than anything else. He idolized Dylan over everybody. That tells you something right there. But more than anything else, it's his music that sets him apart. His songs still stand up 34 years later. You might say "Well so does the Beatles and Zeppelin music". Well, the Beatles wrote as a team and LZ were a 4-piece. You might say that Clapton fronted a power trio, but Jack Bruce did most of the singing. Jeff Beck is a "more technically brilliant" player. How many Beck songs can your average listener name off the top of their head? None. And so on.He was one of a kind. There will never be another one like him. He was so far ahead of his time that some people still don't get him, all these years after his passing. All you have to do is listen to Machine Gun off the Band of Gypsys album to get a feel for what Jimi was all about. He played from the heart and painted sonic masterpieces with the most basic materials. He was simply the best.(Getting off soap box now) Best. Post. Ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members playdabluze Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 Jimi was ahead of his time, as far as the use of technical ability, distortion and effects. And this was happening at a time when the country was tripping on acid and staging love-ins. When he "played" the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock...you combine that with what was going on in Vietnam at the time...it's pretty potent, and seemed to signal a crossroads for the music scene...and the social/economic/political scene in general. My 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fishfartz Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 band of gypsies - either machine gun or who knows. they show you just where jimi was headed with his rock playing, just great music. i think he was great because of all the music that flowed from him. its like there was no type of "filter" between his soul and the amp. ive not heard another since that has the music free-flowing like that. i know there are other greats who have laid down alot of great music, but to me at some times some of thier stuff seems forced. he wasnt about technical skills, but its still so damn hard to recreate some of his tunes and do them justice. like on "who knows" - that 3rd solo is just madness. and the way he gets his amps to scream while fading in with his soft - full on solo. just amazing. and the short time he was releasing music under his own act he gave us so much stuff, so many ideas to strive for. man i wish he were still here jamming with us. he would have surely had his heavy jazz phase, but i think he would have come back around to playing the music that amazes guitarists who are not hung up on hating him just because they have someone in thier mind they think is better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Motorik Posted December 21, 2004 Moderators Share Posted December 21, 2004 Originally posted by likkafella Cause he's not, Jerry reed is Hook it son! You know it's true! Jerry is walking with the big dog, stand back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members daddyO Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 People say, "Oh, Jimmie wasn't that good technically." What do they mean? That he couldn't play some 1/16 note minor harmonic scale at 200 bpm? Or he couldn't tap? Try playing some of those funky double stop chord meolodies that Hendrix played with such feeling? He had his own technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lechip Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 As a previous poster put it about the music flowing from him..I think that is what really made Jimi what he was to all of us. Jimi's Strat was truly an extension of his soul, it wasn't just a tool that he was using. He truly knew how to pour out his inner self all the way through the speakers. That was a gift, I don't believe it's something that someone can learn.Technically most of us can learn how to play Jimi's songs but that't really not what makes anyone another Jimi.the guitar was really a part of himself. This is something that doesn't happen too often. Some say that this was the case with Stevie Ray, Django, Segovia, Jerry Reid, Danny Gatton, etc.I think all of these guys had something in common... a true feel for bringing out their inner self through their guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jimi Ray Halen Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 To paraphrase a comment I heard the other day "Saying Jimi wasn't as technically brilliant as so-and-so is like saying Babe Ruth wasn't that good of a football player". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BootRoots Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 Originally posted by Europa760 oh yea. Anyone who has the balls to play a guitar that ugly is pretty high up on the greatest of all time list. Sweet! I'm high up on the greatest of all time list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FelixGrammer Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 Originally posted by lechip As a previous poster put it about the music flowing from him..I think that is what really made Jimi what he was to all of us. Jimi's Strat was truly an extension of his soul, it wasn't just a tool that he was using. He truly knew how to pour out his inner self all the way through the speakers. That was a gift, I don't believe it's something that someone can learn.Technically most of us can learn how to play Jimi's songs but that't really not what makes anyone another Jimi.the guitar was really a part of himself. This is something that doesn't happen too often. Some say that this was the case with Stevie Ray, Django, Segovia, Jerry Reid, Danny Gatton, etc.I think all of these guys had something in common... a true feel for bringing out their inner self through their guitars. Word. He was very very far regarding the level of "becoming one with the instrument"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Funk Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 LIsten to guitar playing before 1966. then listen to guitar playing after 1969. thats what Jimi did. Any time you rip up a pentatonic with lots of distortion and using the whammy bar, you are following in his footsteps. If you are using modulating effects, you are copying Jimi. If you are tapping, you are copying Jimi (Jimi was tapping in 1967 - 10 years before Van Halen). Basically, all of use owe pretty much everything we know about lead guitar to Jimi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Europa760 Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 Originally posted by BootRoots Sweet! I'm high up on the greatest of all time list! Are you kidding me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BootRoots Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 Originally posted by The Funk Basically, all of use owe pretty much everything we know about lead guitar to Jimi. bah. there are plenty that came before him that have infulence numerous players. Who do you think he listened too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nothingstock Posted December 21, 2004 Members Share Posted December 21, 2004 When Jimi came on the scene, you had bands that generally included a "lead" and a "rythmn" player - listen to the way Jimi demolished that notion with songs like "Little Wing" - chords are not just strummed, leads don't ride on top if them - the whole approach to being a "total guitar player" was different after Jimi.Listen to Electric Ladyland all the way through, from the viewpoint of the time period it was released. Nothing compares to it. As great as Clapton is, as great as all the others are, I can't think of anyone who changed our approach to guitar the way he did. Plus, his playing was just elegant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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