# Great rock guitarists of today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181 "2016-04-14T13:18:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/41 "2016-04-15T17:41:49Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **troub** , that’s a good choice to showcase their more out-there playing that Nels Cline brought to the band. He isn’t really featured in that clip, but does all kinds of fun noise-generation type stuff in their songs. Except Nels joined the band right after that album was recorded 🙂 According to the YouTube comments on the various live versions of the song, yeah, everybody’s apparently surprised that the solo is indeed mostly Tweedy. Apparently he was in a bad place “[Tweedy refers to the guitar solo at the end of the track as a “musical transcription” of one of his panic attacks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Ghost_Is_Born).” Constant migraines and painkiller addiction. But damn it’s a cool song. ---
**Author:** ![Cumbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Cumbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumbrian)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/42 "2016-04-15T20:38:29Z")
Thanks for Wilco recommendations. Off to Spotify. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/43 "2016-04-15T20:48:33Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > Joe Bonamassa, although at 38, he’s not exactly a youngster. I saw Joe Bonamassa play when he was an unknown kid, on the recommendation of a good friend. I was blown away. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/44 "2016-04-15T21:00:12Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > KWS is a fine player - saw him on the Experience Hendrix tour a few years ago. He tours and has a great career. But it _is_ a form of Hendrix tribute band - he is not going to step up to be an innovative guitar god the way, say, Derek Trucks is. > > As for Bonamassa, well, he is a master player, and seems to be the poster boy for guitar collecting these days, having gotten up to, what, maybe 9 real sunburst Les Paul’s in his collection these days? Oy. > > I find his playing bores me, similar to Yngwie. Brilliant technique, but limited musicality. > > Compared to Julian Lage, who I just started a link on and is another player who started off as a child prodigy, it is not even close. Don’t give up on KWS. Take a listen to some of his recent work with “The Rides”. While he’s normally a Thrash and crash style some of his blues stuff is downright poetic. One of my favorite solo listens is the subtle soulful solo he blends into “Don’t want Lies” Trucks is #1 on my list and it being just one month after getting a knee replacement I will hobble in and be 4th row center when he visits KC next week. I can understand your criticism of Bonamassa. He seems to forget that speed and complexity can be overused. His fault is that his performances sometimes appear to be a display of what he can do instead of what the song needs. Now I gotta go binge listen to Julian Lage. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/45 "2016-04-15T21:23:05Z")
I saw KWS at the House of Blues early in his career, when he was promoting Ledbetter Heights and being portrayed as the next SRV. I really liked that album (and still do). As a blues guitarist he’s fine, with some really good, meaty riffs, but not really somebody I’d classify as a guitar god. Solid-not-spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/46 "2016-04-15T23:53:15Z")
> [@Cumbrian](#): > > I really should listen to more Wilco by the sounds of things. I know next to nothing about them. [Impossible Germany](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_0BPqWpM_M), off their terrific _Sky Blue Sky_ album, has the most lovely Nels Cline guitar solo. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/47 "2016-04-16T01:19:38Z")
I’ve been fairly impressed with David Eering of The Machine, though I’m not a guitarist so I couldn’t say unequivocally that he’s all that. [He doesn’t start to play around until 7-8 minutes in](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyLahdE7X0I) [Ditto](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMeyWGY2ngo) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/48 "2016-04-16T05:57:22Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’ve been fairly impressed with David Eering of The Machine, though I’m not a guitarist so I couldn’t say unequivocally that he’s all that. > > [He doesn’t start to play around until 7-8 minutes in](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyLahdE7X0I) > [Ditto](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMeyWGY2ngo) Disclaimer: David is an acquaintance of mine; we have exchanged music and words occasionally for the past 5 or 6 years. David is an awesome player. Few know their way around a wah pedal like David does. I find his playing tasteful, energetic and precise without straying far from “feel” and never entering “technical” territory, especially with The Machine. No one wants to back me up on Tosin Abasi or any of my other earlier mentions, so I’ll go with two more: the nearly-always-overlooked-but-incomparable Buckethead and a guy most people have never heard of unless they are serious Zappa fans: Mike Keneally. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/49 "2016-04-16T11:46:38Z")
Hey, I am trying to follow up on stuff here!! 😉 The Machine sounds cool. I enjoyed Caterpillar’s Mushroom. Good guitar! Yeah, groove oriented; his use of the wah was rhythmic. **BubbaDog** , let me know what you think of Lage. He is not playing rock, so is coming at this conversation from a different place. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/50 "2016-04-16T13:17:29Z")
Orianthi had a couple of minor hits a few years back. She is quite good. Herman Li of course is just ridiculous(Dragonforce). ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/51 "2016-04-16T13:53:57Z")
Mike McCready from Pearl Jam should definitely be in this conversation ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/52 "2016-04-16T14:13:30Z")
Please note: I am NOT trying to threadshit. I am offering a pov and open to hearing differently. Herman Li: that’s not playing, that’s typing. Mike McCready: I have stated this on this board in a few threads. I have not checked in recently, but man, when I first listened to PJ, I was struck by how amateurish his playing sounded. The lead playing out the end of Alive sounds like the leads on Louie Louie by The Kingsmen or Dave Davies on You Really Got Me to me. When I listened during that Cameron Crowe movie, Twenty, I saw a guy with an AMAZING collection of vintage guitars whom the band truly loved as a bandmate. I get the impression he is the Ringo of Pearl Jam. His playing sounded fine, but never transcendant. He listened to a lot of good players growing up. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/53 "2016-04-16T14:51:28Z")
> [@phungi](#): > > Mike McCready from Pearl Jam should definitely be in this conversation He’s older than me. Buckethaed is awesome, but he’s almost as old as me. I am interested in young guitarists of today - those that can rock and carry the guitar God/-ess title forward. Also, those that can really rock, not just can play well. Some great suggestions and discussion so far - really opening my eyes and ears. Thx ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/54 "2016-04-16T15:28:45Z")
Don’t know if this guy has been mentioned in this thread. A friend of mine swears by Gus G. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G-EIDTPg9xs/hqdefault.jpg "Firewind - Gus G guitar solo and 'Fire and the Fury'") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-EIDTPg9xs) To me, it is technically brilliant but lacks something. Some kind of depth or feeling. I hear it and say: Wow, that’s a lot of notes. You didn’t miss any of them. But I am not moved for some reason. Anyway, to each his own, maybe you might like it. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/55 "2016-04-16T16:01:16Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Don’t know if this guy has been mentioned in this thread. A friend of mine swears by Gus G. > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-EIDTPg9xs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-EIDTPg9xs) > > To me, it is technically brilliant but lacks something. Some kind of depth or feeling. I hear it and say: Wow, that’s a lot of notes. You didn’t miss any of them. But I am not moved for some reason. Anyway, to each his own, maybe you might like it. Yeah: typing. I am the wrong guy; I don’t find that type of dexterity musical that often. I love this bit from Chris Broderick formerly of Megadeth, but honestly, not much else. If I need to my shred itch scratched, I watch this and move on: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xkpZ645ztl0](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xkpZ645ztl0) “All right! That was a VI - V - I in the key of E Minor…” Bwah? ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/56 "2016-04-16T22:52:53Z")
Unfortunately I’ve written off FM radio and all they play where I’ve lived is “classic rock” (not that there’s anything wrong with that). When I listen to radio it’s internet radio and I tend to listen to jazz and jazz-fusion. So with that in mind: Jane Getter Johnny A I know that there’s other rock and metal in existence but not on FM, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/57 "2016-08-05T20:02:45Z")
> [@zoog](#): > > [Samantha Fish](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fVqLHjJii8) can play a little. Oh yes indeed. Have her “Wild Heart” in the stereo right now, been listening to her on YouTube for a few weeks now and bought her CDs. Played them in the car and thought her live stuff better, she has a nice ‘rawness’ about her. I’ve revised my opinion since hearing her on a good stereo. I have been missing a lot of her subtlety, she is even better than I had previously thought and I thought she was damned good. Orianthi was superb at first but seems to have rather lost her way lately. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181.md?page=2)