Is Slash the greatest guitar player ever?

[mikejasond]

I know people will laugh but man, Im listening to Guns n Roses songs and god the things this guy can do with a guitar. Ive never heard anybody make a guitar SING like this. Besides his all-around badass persona and nonchalant style, the guy just knows the perfect notes to play. He can shred but he also knows the exact perfect notes to play...Knockin on Heavens Door and Patience show what he can do with simple little melodies...and then of course there's Paradise City, Sweet Child o Mine, November Rain which is just craziness (actually November Rain shows both his slow and fast solos)

Just listen to Estranged and how he makes his guitar parts a melody in its own....god he's awesome.

I mean you listen to McCready and he's fine but when you hear a Slash solo you're like 'Yup, you'd better never change a note of this solo, its perfect'

[tragabigzanda]

[i got bugs]

He's def up there

He was insane when I saw em in philly, I was really impressed..

[mikejasond]

I'd say either Jimi Hendrix or Nels Cline is the best (known) western guitar player. Slash is certainly no slouch, but Hendrix redefined the instrument, and Nels could play circles around Slash any day.

Maybe Id appreciate Hendrix more if I liked his style of music better, but Im just not a big fan of Hendrix's songs, while I really enjoy Guns n Roses (well most of their stuff) so Im a bit biased.

[Jorge]

Welcome back, Mikejasond.

[mikejasond]

Welcome back, Mikejasond.

[mikejasond]

Seriously he makes something out of nothing with his solo for Patience...how something so simple is so beautiful and memorable I have no idea

[Kevin Davis]

I love Slash's playing; I love that his soloing is so melodically rich and oftentimes technically understated in a genre that typically favors speed and blunt force impact over subtlety. In the hard rock/metal genre, he is unmatched, and one of a kind. But he's not even on my shortlist for greatest ever -- Nels Cline, Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, Richard Thompson, Jerry Garcia, Hendrix, Mark Knopfler, Jim Hall, Django Reinhart, the list goes on.

I've often thought Slash was born into the wrong genre; I'd love to hear his guitar playing spotlighted in a less brutish setting. Same with -- to a lesser extent -- Dean DeLeo from STP.

[verb_to_trust]

No

[bada]

Slash had a really good run there for a while. From Appetite up to his first solo album which I often wish Axl had embraced and used for a GnR album. After that I don't know. I probably like Velvet Revolver more than most but he sounds almost neutered on those albums. Maybe its the production. I think I remember reading in his book that has never been able to replicate the rig set up he had for recording his parts for Appetite and he has been chasing it ever since. I'm not really familiar with his other stuff so maybe I'm not being fair about his post '95 output. Its probably just the typical loss of that je ne sais quoi that affects many (most) musicians as they age. He still is pretty damn good though.

[surfndestroy]

I love Slash but his solo tones work best within GnR. His soft touch is juxtaposed against the raw aggression that is GnR at their best and the outcome is spectacular.

[MattA75]

He's not the greatest, but he honestly might be the most under-appreciated

[Bammer]

I'll be honest I've never heard of Nels Cline

[verb_to_trust]

I'll be honest I've never heard of Nels Cline

Hes the lead guy for Panic! At the disco

[Bammer]

I'll be honest I've never heard of Nels Cline

Hes the lead guy for Panic! At the disco

Bro they've had like 4 guitarists

[Leatherhead]

I'll be honest I've never heard of Nels Cline

Hes the lead guy for Panic! At the disco

I don't get it.

[Kevin Davis]

I'll be honest I've never heard of Nels Cline

Hes the lead guy for Panic! At the disco

I don't get it.

Bammer likes Panic at the Disco and it's funny because they suck

[i got bugs]

I probably like Velvet Revolver more than most but he sounds almost neutered on those albums. Maybe its the production.

I think his guitar on loving the alien is underrated

[Stardog Champion]

I love Slash. He's one of the reasons I started playing guitar. I can't call him the greatest guitar player ever. However, I will say, out of all the guitarists I've seen live, he was the one I most enjoyed seeing live.

[MadTIGERmaN]

There is this... and then there is everyone else...