One trick pony guitarists.

Being a one trick pony isn't always bad, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top and Angus Young are so good people dont care. But The Edge from U2 has been getting on my nerves since after The Joshua Tree. Diverse players like Steve Vai who play straight up hard rock to spaced out experimental are very few. I always liked how Dimebag infused southern rock licks into his power metal palying too.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

OH, and I haven't seen the ultimate one-trick pony mentioned...

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN

Ridiculous chops, but is the Angus Young of shred...every album the same thing.

I've been on a bit of a Malmsteen kick that past couple weeks, sort of rediscovering those old albums that I haven't listened to in quite some time. I

I tend to agree with you to an extent. The man can shred like nobody's business, but even his classical stuff seems to have that same feel to it.

I'd be curious to see if Yngwie could pull off an emotional slow blues, not unlike some of his heros; Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Uli Roth, etc. I bet he could, but he just hasn't done so.

I think we also need to be careful that we are not mistaking "style" for only having "one trick". Malmsteen is probably not a "one trick" guitarist, but he does have a style that is uniquely his and is immediately recognizeable.

manny wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Quote :

I'm not arguing his significance or his place in metal history, but just being innovative dosnt make you the best when loads of players can copy your style that easily down the road.

Name a guitarist that can't be copied? Marino and Trower are almost better at doing Hendrix than Hendrix himself...

WRONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think he was a good songwriter but overrated as player.

Troublezone wrote:

manny wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Quote :

I'm not arguing his significance or his place in metal history, but just being innovative dosnt make you the best when loads of players can copy your style that easily down the road.

Name a guitarist that can't be copied? Marino and Trower are almost better at doing Hendrix than Hendrix himself...

WRONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think he was a good songwriter but overrated as player.

Hendrix overrated? He totally changed the way people saw rock and roll guitar playing in the 60's. He was an innovator.

I'm not fan of The Beatles, but I don't say they are overrated because I know their historical significance and respect the spectrum of their influence. Same should be true of Jimi Hendrix.

I don't play guitar or know anything about it so I don't know how qualified I even am to make a call on this, but I want to second the votes for Zakk Wylde and the DragonForce guys. Zakk was out of ideas by 1992 and the DragonForce guys have never heard a Helloween riff they didn't like.

Troublezone wrote:

manny wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Quote :

I'm not arguing his significance or his place in metal history, but just being innovative dosnt make you the best when loads of players can copy your style that easily down the road.

Name a guitarist that can't be copied? Marino and Trower are almost better at doing Hendrix than Hendrix himself...

WRONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think he was a good songwriter but overrated as player.

His career only lasted 3 years, he revolutionized the way the guitar is approached in rock, coming up on 39 years after his death we are exploring his techniques, he was one of the first to experiment with stereophonic and phrashing, he used the studio as another instrument, and guitartist as diverse as The Edge, Jeff Beck, Yngwie, Neil Young, Steve Vai and countless others are all fans and claim him as an influence, over rated not very all.

Anyway the title of the thread is one trick pony, how was Hendrix exactly a one trick pony?

Quote :

Hendrix overrated? He totally changed the way people saw rock and roll guitar playing in the 60's. He was an innovator.

I'm not fan of The Beatles, but I don't say they are overrated because I know their historical significance and respect the spectrum of their influence. Same should be true of Jimi Hendrix.

Like i said, he was a good songwriter imo.

Jimi Hendrix is the original shredder!

Troublezone wrote:

Quote :

Hendrix overrated? He totally changed the way people saw rock and roll guitar playing in the 60's. He was an innovator.

I'm not fan of The Beatles, but I don't say they are overrated because I know their historical significance and respect the spectrum of their influence. Same should be true of Jimi Hendrix.

Like i said, he was a good songwriter imo.

Fine I agree he is a good songwriter, if you feel he is a better songwriter than guitartist that is cool, we all hear things differently. The name of the post is one trick pony, so how actually was Hendrix a one trick pony?

Quote :

Fine I agree he is a good songwriter, if you feel he is a better songwriter than guitartist that is cool, we all hear things differently. The name of the post is one trick pony, so how actually was Hendrix a one trick pony?

I never said he was a one trick pony, he was brought up as a response to a EVH post. I was just saying anyone can be imitated to a certain extent. I like what i like and others can like what they want as well. I'm not taking anything away from him since it's just my opinion... People are way too sensitive over opinions.

For the record i feel the same way about Jimmy Page as well. I actually like Hendrix's songwriting quite a bit but that doesn't equal guitar god in my book.

Troublezone wrote:

Quote :

Fine I agree he is a good songwriter, if you feel he is a better songwriter than guitartist that is cool, we all hear things differently. The name of the post is one trick pony, so how actually was Hendrix a one trick pony?

I never said he was a one trick pony, he was brought up as a response to a EVH post. I was just saying anyone can be imitated to a certain extent. I like what i like and others can like what they want as well. I'm not taking anything away from him since it's just my opinion... People are way too sensitive over opinions.

Not being sensitive, just wondering why you felt he was one trick pony, where it turns out you were responding to a comment not stating that you felt Hendrix was a one trick pony.

Back to the topic at hand, it is real easy to pick on C.C. Devill and Mick Mars but I have to agree this guys are the very definition of one trick ponies.

Troublezone wrote:

For the record i feel the same way about Jimmy Page as well. I actually like Hendrix's songwriting quite a bit but that doesn't equal guitar god in my book.

I disagree with your view of Hendrix but like I said we all hear things differently, Jimmy Page is a great but inconsistent, some nights Page plays he is brillant, other times he is a very 'sloppy' guitartist, but usually he has something interesting to say musicially si he is still a 'guitar god' in my book.

Yes CC Deville and Mick Mars are without a doubt and not many will disagree, "Bland".

I know this is off topic but do you think more players reflect Hendrix's style or EVH's? Both had decades to let their styles sink in so to speak. And i know Hendrix only did a few records but those records have influenced many just like Randy Rhoads did. EVH blew everyone away with his sound in '78 and it didn't change much but look at what it did to the musical landscape of the 80's.

Troublezone wrote:

I know this is off topic but do you think more players reflect Hendrix's style or EVH's? Both had decades to let their styles sink in so to speak.

In the 80's most definitly Eddie Van Halen, but when grunge came into vogue it more of Iommi vibe than any either VH or Hendrix, with the newer generation of metal guys, it seems to be Dimebag is most citied influence.

manny wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

I know this is off topic but do you think more players reflect Hendrix's style or EVH's? Both had decades to let their styles sink in so to speak.

In the 80's most definitly Eddie Van Halen, but when grunge came into vogue it more of Iommi vibe than any either VH or Hendrix, with the newer generation of metal guys, it seems to be Dimebag is most citied influence.

So the 70's was a mix of Hendrix, Page, Iommi and Blackmore players...

Troublezone wrote:

manny wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

I know this is off topic but do you think more players reflect Hendrix's style or EVH's? Both had decades to let their styles sink in so to speak.

In the 80's most definitly Eddie Van Halen, but when grunge came into vogue it more of Iommi vibe than any either VH or Hendrix, with the newer generation of metal guys, it seems to be Dimebag is most citied influence.

So the 70's was a mix of Hendrix, Page, Iommi and Blackmore players...

IMO that would be correct, and also forgotten guitar hero Leslie West could be thrown in that mix, also in the 80's I would think we could add Randy Rhoads, Michael Schenker and George Lynch, anyone you feel we left out or should be not be in that list?

Quote :

IMO that would be correct, and also forgotten guitar hero Leslie West could be thrown in that mix, also in the 80's I would think we could add Randy Rhoads, Michael Schenker and George Lynch, anyone you feel we left out or should be not be in that list?

Sounds good to me but i'm not sure how much of a impact Leslie West had compared to those others listed. I would add Uli Roth in the 70's list.

Troublezone wrote:

Quote :

IMO that would be correct, and also forgotten guitar hero Leslie West could be thrown in that mix, also in the 80's I would think we could add Randy Rhoads, Michael Schenker and George Lynch, anyone you feel we left out or should be not be in that list?

Sounds good to me but i'm not sure how much of a impact Leslie West had compared to those others listed. I would add Uli Roth in the 70's list.

True regarding Leslie West, great guitartist but his impact was not as great as the others listed, I guess I could replace West with Ted Nugent.

Jimmy Page is about as far from being a "one trick pony" as you can possibly get. When you talk about a guitarist you can't just concentrate on solos, you have to take their entire style into account. Page is an improvisational based player, that means that some nights you're going to be "on" and some nights not so much. But you're taking that chance...the chance to create something magical.

If your playing sounds perfect every single night...YOUR NOT TAKING ANY RISKS!

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

I really don't understand how Petrucci is falling into this one-trick-pony category...the man is incredibly diverse. Maybe it's because of the last few DT albums (which all kind of run together)? But the first 4 DT albums show without a doubt that Petrucci is a player with several tricks up his sleeve.

Exactly the point I was making! Although I'd say the first 5.5 albums (up until Scenes From A Memory-the .5 includes Change Of Seasons which, although pretty long, is an EP).

I never was a big Jimmy Page fan. I always thought he was WAY overrated. He's the main reason I don't like LZ too much. Robert Plant, on the other hand, is awesome and I LOVE his solo material!

detuned wrote:

Jimmy Page is about as far from being a "one trick pony" as you can possibly get. When you talk about a guitarist you can't just concentrate on solos, you have to take their entire style into account. Page is an improvisational based player, that means that some nights you're going to be "on" and some nights not so much. But you're taking that chance...the chance to create something magical.

If your playing sounds perfect every single night...YOUR NOT TAKING ANY RISKS!

No one said Page is a one trick pony either. I mentioned Page to say i think of him the same way i think of Hendrix, a great songwriter. He is a good player and very influential but a little sloppy in his playing compared to say Ritchie Blackmore or Uli Roth.

7thSaviour wrote:

I never was a big Jimmy Page fan. I always thought he was WAY overrated. He's the main reason I don't like LZ too much. Robert Plant, on the other hand, is awesome and I LOVE his solo material!

I'd give Page a lot more credit than Plant's solo stuff. Page was a great songwriter and that means more than being a shredder in my book. Not to mention that Plant's solo stuff was much poppier and weaker than Zep's catalog.