Why do people say that Jimi Hendrix is the greatest guitarist of all time? What makes him better than Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, or Stevie Ray Vaughan? Or do they say that cuz it's the only guitar name they know?
by 
chick
ANSWERS: 12
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Well, I think he was a genius but the greatest....should be shared by a few names. (You left out Eddie Van Halen). It may be because his hand was so big he could wrap it around the neck and hold the strings with his thumb as well.
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I think they say that because he was THE innovator. He did things no one had yet, many things. The was the first that understood what electricity changed for the guitar. Stevie Ray Vaughan never thought he played well. He hope to one day play as well as Hendrix and even thought his brother of the Thunderbirds, played better than he did lol! I think many of them are great. But then I also find music from people like Michael Hedges and Andy McKee the absolute best now. They amaze me:-)
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Jimi Hendrix Brian May
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Hendrix.
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Johnny Marr
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Randy Rhodes
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Stevie Ray Vaughn was the greatest guitar player of all time, all that needs to be said is right here.
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Greatness isn't just about being technicaly superb, although that is important. Hendrix was there first. Pioneers are always hard to dislodge once they have made their mark, and Jimi H did so with style.
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I don't hear too many people say that Jimi Hendrix is the greatest. He has a unique technique and some innovative songs, but neither of these makes him the best. I did, however, recently run into someone that personally knew Jimi, and he said that Jimi was actually a better guitarist that he was on his records. On his records, he was creating an image and playing a role, so he had to invent this guitar style to go along with it, even if it was not as good as some of the stuff he would normally play. I think that someone who has heard other guitarists like Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmy Bruno, Joe Pass or Andres Segovia would tend to NOT vote for Hendrix.
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I will defer to the opinion of Joe Satriani (my favorite guitarist, and one of the best playing today) who said (approximate quote), "Jimi Hendrix was the innovator. The rest of us are just building upon the foundation that Hendrix created". . . .
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i think it's because he was the first guiter super star and because he died at the hight of his fame.
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Hendrix was in a close crowd of guitar players riding the edge of the new Rock. No one else here has mentioned Eric Clapton, A brilliant improvisator who was improvising on classic tunes. Later in his career he created a lot of excellent original material. Perhaps Clapton was skipped as the greatest because he was already dubbed a GOD :)) Also noteworthy were Alvin Lee, and Ritchie Blackmore, and Jeff Beck, whose only problems were the lack of comparable material to Hendrix and Clapton. Later on comes Brian May, who used too many effects to be recognised as great, Jimmy Page, who managed to make misses sound like hits, the better innovator on the instrument. Everyone who thinks of this category ought to listen to some of Chet Atkins, who laid the groundwork for what was to come. Where would Joe Walsh and Carlos Santana, among dozens of others, be without the originals who cut the groundwork first ? Who is the best ? Why does it really matter, listen to the music of them all and try to decide for yourself, but enjoy it - thats why it was made in the first place.
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