“.. the guitar is just a wonderful instrument. It's everything: a bartender, a psychiatrist, a housewife. It's everything, but it's elusive” MusicWonderfulInstrumentsGuitarPsychiatristElusiveHousewifeBartender Author:Les Paul
“In oddball places, the electric guitar has been taken as an almost alien object - this weird, six-stringed instrument that fell down to earth and was then played loud but with traditional grace and intelligence” Has BeensEarthMusicTakenGraceObjectsSixInstrumentsGuitarTraditionalAliensLoudElectricDown To EarthElectric GuitarOddballs Author:Ry Cooder
“Each guitar has its own character and personality, which can be magnified once the player engages in beatin' it up” CharacterMusicPlayerPersonalityGuitar Author:Billy Gibbons
“I figured out how to get the guitar to rumble...I put it on the middle pickup, turn the tone know down, grab it by the wang bar, and just shake it on the floor... a Stratocaster is pretty tough - I wouldn't recommend that anybody do that with their ES-335” KnowsTurnsMusicMiddleToughGuitarBarsToneShakesPickupsRumble Author:Stevie Ray Vaughan
“A Strat was a thing of wonder .. when I was 14 or 15, the Shadows were a big influence, and they had the first Strats that came to England. I like to play all kinds of guitars, but I wasn't getting the sound I really wanted until I got a Stratocaster” FirstsKindPlayBigsWantedSoundWonderMusicInfluenceShadowEnglandGuitarAll Kinds Author:Mark Knopfler
“The only thing I ever really wanted was a Strat .. I started playing guitar after seeing Jimi Hendrix on TV the day he died...then I got Deep Purples' Fireball album which was also a big influence .. I have a collection of more than 200 of them that includes Strats from every year since March 1954 - the first month the Strat was made” YearsFirstsMadeBigsWantedMusicSeeingInfluenceTvsMonthsDiedGuitarAlbumsCollectionsMarchHendrixPlaying Guitar Author:Yngwie Malmsteen
“Sometimes it's the mistakes that end up leading you into new territory .. like the guitar solo on 'Peelin' Taters' - I had some speaker problems, but the tone ended up sounding better than if I had new speakers .. it's a 60's Nashville, 'uptown' thing” IfsEndsSometimesProblemMistakeMusicGuitarToneTerritorySpeakersSoloNashvilleNew TerritoryGuitar SolosUptown Author:Junior Brown
“You think back to Tele players, and James Burton was the one who started it all. He inspired Roy Nichols (guitar for Merle Haggard & the Strangers), Don Rich (guitar for Buck Owens & the Buckaroos), and guys like that to push the envelope and expand on that sound... I really identify with that kind of thinking ... those guys to me are the reason why any of us do this.” ThinkingKindReasonGuySoundMusicRichPlayerInspiredGuitarStrangerReason WhyBucksEnvelopesHaggard Author:Brad Paisley
“Hendrix was back there with a few of the others who were like my training wheels ... hearing him as a teenager taught me to look at the guitar in a different way - and how to tap into that thing inside of me that was already leaning toward improvisation. You learn other players' licks at first; then you take off the training wheels and start using the licks as building blocks to make your own thing. That's how influences work. somewhere in whatever I do, there's a little bit of Hendrix - plus about a hundred others” WayFirstsLooksLittlesDifferentBitsMusicPlayerInfluenceBuildingTaughtLittle BitTrainingHundredGuitarHearingBlockTeenagerDifferent WaysWheelsPlusImprovisationHendrixBuilding BlocksTraining Wheels Author:Junior Brown
“While other guitars may have more twang or an esoteric atmosphere, the Les Paul is like a T-Rex thampling everything in it's path .. it can be subtle if you want it to be, but it works best if you have an 'armadillo in your trousers' and you want to articulate that” IfsWantMayMusicPathGuitarAtmosphereSubtleEsotericTrousersArmadillos Author:Miles Zuniga
“Rock & Roll is feeling, and after you know most of the basics ... chords, rhythm, scales and bends ... getting that feeling is just about the most important aspect of playing guitar” KnowsImportantFeelingsMusicRocksAspectGuitarScalesRhythmChordsBasicsPlaying Guitar Author:Eddie Van Halen
“Usually, no one quite knew where Django Reinhardt was going to be, but I met his brother and about an hour later in walks Django with an entourage of friends. He always traveled with a large group-carried his own admirers with him, the most sinister-looking bunch of hoodlums you've ever seen. I walked up and offered to buy him a drink. That seemed to be the right thing to do... he was the first really brilliant solo guitarist I ever became aware of, I had records of his when I was 10 years old. It just blew my mind that anyone could play a guitar like that. Still does.” YearsMindFirstsDoeStillsPlayHoursWalksMusicRecordsGroupsBrotherDrinkMetsGuitarBrilliantBunchThings To DoRight ThingTraveledSoloGuitaristSinisterAdmirerLarge GroupsEntourageDjango Author:Charlie Byrd
“Charlie Christians' contributions to the electric guitar are as big as Thomas Edisons' contributions to the world.” WorldBigsChristianMusicGuitarContributionElectricCharlieElectric Guitar Author:Barney Kessel
“When it came time to hire a guitar player ... I didn't even have to think about it ... Mike Bloomfield was the best guitar player I'd ever heard.” ThinkingMusicPlayerHeardGuitarMikeGuitar Player Author:Bob Dylan
“Barney Kessel is definitely the best guitar player in this world, or any other world.” WorldMusicPlayerThis WorldGuitarOther WorldsGuitar Player Author:George Harrison
“Kenny Burrell is the grand master of jazz guitar.” MusicMastersJazzGuitarKenny Author:Dizzy Gillespie
“... When I heard "Pride and Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughn on the radio, I just said "Hallelujah" .. he was just so good and strong and he would not be denied... he single handedly brought guitar and blues oriented music back to the marketplace” SaidJoyStrongMusicHeardPrideGuitarRadioRaysDeniedMarketplaceHallelujah Author:Richard Betts
“Joao Gilberto on guitar could read a newspaper and sound good.” SoundMusicGuitarNewspapers Author:Miles Davis
“I was just a punk kid, trying to get a sound out of a guitar that I couldn't get off the rack, so I built one myself ... I wanted a Gibson type of sound but with a Strat vibrato .. I went to town painting it and I put three pickups back in, but they don't work - only the rear one works” TryingKidsWantedThreeSoundMusicPaintingTypeBuiltTownsGuitarPunkRacksPickups Author:Eddie Van Halen
“Lenny Breau dazzled me with his extraordinary guitar playing... I wish the world had the opportunity to experience his artistry.” WorldOpportunityWishMusicExtraordinaryGuitarArtistryGuitar Playing Author:George Benson
“Shortly before she died Janis Joplin gave me the Gibson Hummingbird she recorded "Me and Bobbby McGee" on ... Janis was a good guitar player, for her purposes .. she just wanted to play along with her songs, and she had a real pure and nice style for that.” RealPlayWantedPurposeSongMusicNicePlayerStylePureDiedGuitarGuitar PlayerHummingbirds Author:Sam Andrew
“Albert Lee and I have become real close friends, and he comes out anytime I'm in the L.A. area, and he'll sit in for the whole show ! ... we've got a habit of doing that ... in Austin Redd Volkaert does the same thing ... it's fun ... I love to make it a guitar thing and the audience doesn't know any different - they think he's some new band member they don't know. They don't realize Albert's the reason we all play Teles!.” ThinkingKnowsDoeDifferentRealReasonPlayWholeShowsFunRealizingMusicAudienceHabitBandMembersAreasGuitarClose FriendsAustinBand Members Author:Brad Paisley
“.. the Grand Ole Opry used to come on, and I used to watch that. They used to have some pretty heavy cats, heavy guitar players” UsedMusicWatchesPlayerCatGuitarHeavyGuitar Player Author:Jimi Hendrix
“When I started to play with my fingernails, it was not just for volume. The most important thing was giving the guitar different colors in its voices.” GivingImportantDifferentPlayVoiceMusicColorImportant ThingsGuitarVolumeFingernailsDifferent Colors Author:Andres Segovia
“,,, all around it would have to be Eddie Cochran, because it wasn't just music with him; it was his guitar playing, his look, his singing, I'd say that, all things considered, he's probably my favorite "cat" of all time” LooksMusicSingingAll ThingsCatGuitarMy FavoriteAll TimeGuitar Playing Author:Brian Setzer
“People ask me to describe how I play, and the most obvious answer is that I'm a jazz influenced guitar player. But I'm not a jazz guitar player. Wes Montgomery was a jazz guitarist, Joe Pass was a jazz guitarist (laughs).” PeoplePlayAsksAnswersMusicLaughingPlayerJazzGuitarObviousAsk MeGuitaristGuitar PlayerMontgomery Author:Larry Carlton
“Another guitar player who had a tremendous influence on my life was Howard Roberts ... I'd listened to a lot of Tal Farlow, Johnny Smith and Kenny Burrell, and I was certainly into those guys, but I was awestruck at the intensity and fire in Howards' guitar playing... for me, it became a roadmap.” GuyMusicFirePlayerInfluenceGuitarIntensityGuitar PlayerKennyGuitar PlayingAwestruck Author:Jeff Baxter
“I played 'Eruption' two times for the record, and we kept the one that seemed to flow ... there's a mistake at the top end of it whenever I hear it, I always think, Man I could've played it better ... but I like the way it sounds. I'd never heard a guitar sound like that before.” ThinkingMenWayTwoEndsSoundMistakeMusicRecordsHeardFlowGuitarEruptionGuitar MusicGuitar Sound Author:Eddie Van Halen
“Duane Allman inspired the group to explore the extended jam format that was already a staple of the Allman Brothers act. Moreover, his ferocious slide playing motivated Clapton to turn in some of the finest guitar performances of his career” TurnsMusicCareersGroupsBrotherPerformancesInspiredGuitarMotivatedFinestSlidesJamFormatStaples Author:Bob Whitlock
“Michael Bloomfield was the antithesis of a collector ... he didn't care how old a guitar was; all he wanted was something that sounded good when played it ... and he cared nothing about the collectibility of an instrument ... his philosophy was "A good player can make any guitar sound good" ... to Michael, a guitar was just a tool.” PhilosophyCareWantedSoundMusicPlayerToolsInstrumentsGuitarCollectorsAntithesisGuitar Sound Author:Nick Gravenites
“... all of the great sounds that James Burton and Jimmy Bryant were getting, came out of Telecasters” SoundMusicGuitarJimmy Author:Albert Lee
“Playing live is about going for it .. it's about bringing it ... you should see a bunch of people trying out stuff, actually performing, instead of learning the record and recreating it note for note. I can't play the show the same way every night .. I really need to be in a creative environment, every night or I'll go nuts ... my manager accuses me of singing just long enough to get me to my next guitar solo - which is true.” PeopleWayNeedsShouldTryingLongI CanEnoughPlayShowsNightNextStuffMusicCreativeRecordsEnvironmentSingingNotesGuitarBunchManagersPerformingNutsEvery NightSoloGoing For ItGuitar Solos Author:Brad Paisley
“Barney Kessel is incredible. He's just amazing . . . . Nobody can play guitar like that” PlayMusicGuitarIncredibles Author:John Lennon
“I first met Jimmy Page in London in 1961, and he was listening to James Burton, Scotty Moore and Cliff Gallup with Gene Vincent, as was I ... these were the rock and roll guys who really sparked our interest in the guitar, and later we delved into other things and went different directions ... during my time with Eric Clapton, we talked about what we'd listened to early on, and he was a huge fan of Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis” FirstsDifferentGuyInterestMusicFansRocksHugeListeningMetsPagesGuitarLondonMy TimeGenesRock And RollCliffsJimmyJerryEricChuckBerriesDifferent DirectionsScotty Author:Albert Lee
“When I heard Apache by the Shadows, that was it ! ...then there was a guitar player named Steve Gordon, he was "the player" in town ... I still remember him saying to me 'Is there any reason you're not using your little finger?.” LittlesStillsReasonRememberMusicPlayerHeardShadowTownsFingersGuitarGuitar Player Author:Ray Flacke
“If your going to learn to play lead guitar, get an electric guitar .. it doesn't have to be an expensive one .. acoustic guitars aren't good for learning lead, because you can't play up very high on the neck and they take heavier-gauge strings which makes it hard to bend notes” IfsHardPlayMusicNotesGuitarExpensiveNecksStringsElectricAcousticsGaugesAcoustic GuitarElectric Guitar Author:Eddie Van Halen
“Duane Allman didn't see himself as the bandleader .. he led by example, and you gained a lot of respect from Duane if you earned it, if you proved you could keep up with him. If you couldn't, you'd either end up in awe of him or you might not even like him. He was very different from Jerry Garcia (guitar/leader of the Grateful Dead) who was very easy going. Duane didn't have time to be easy going ... there was much more urgency to his personality” IfsDifferentEndsMightEasyLeaderMusicExamplePersonalityGratefulGuitarAweUrgencyJerryEasy Going Author:Richard Betts
“I also generally play slide guitar in standard tuning, which enables me to switch back and forth between using the slide and fretting notes and chords conventionally without having to relearn the fretboard, as one must do when playing in an open tuning.” PlayMusicStandardsNotesGuitarChordsSlidesBack And ForthTuningFretting Author:Warren Haynes
“Lenny Breau was a genius - inspired and really loose. I loved how he used the guitar as an extension of his inner freedom, because, obviously, on the outside there were a lot of trainwrecks going on. But when you listen to him play, you hear what kind of guy he really is” KindPlayUsedGuyMusicGeniusInspiredGuitarExtensionsTrainwrecks Author:Steve Vai
“If I'm going to buy a new guitar, I take it to a good 'hot' room, like a tiled bathroom, and listen to the wood. If tone comes off the neck, you can bet it's gonna sound beautiful through an amp” IfsBeautifulSoundRoomsMusicHotGuitarWoodsToneNecksBathroom Author:Richard Betts
“There is still a very strong subculture of people who want to do great things on an instrument, and who are stimulated by hearing people who can. That's reassuring. But it's gonna take a person - and I don't know who this is - to come along and reinvent the guitar as a virtuosic instrument in a completely different realm than any of us have done, or anybody else in the past. That's the clincher. Maybe that will happen and maybe it won't.” PeopleKnowsWantPersonsStillsDifferentDoneHappensPastStrongMusicInstrumentsGuitarHearingGreat ThingsRealmsVery StrongReassuringSubculture Author:Steve Vai
“I would urge a young player to listen to Charlie Christians' sense of time ... I'll never forget listening to my father (Bucky Pizzarelli) and Tal Farlow playing Christians' 'Solo Flight' backstage at a gig... that's when it hit me how big of an effect Christian had on jazz guitar. 'Solo Flight' was like the gospel.” BigsChristianYoungFatherForgetMusicPlayerEffectsListeningJazzGuitarFlightUrgesNever ForgetSoloGigsCharlieGospel MusicGuitar Solos Author:John Pizzarelli
“Barney Kessel was 'Mr. Guitar,' the foremost jazz guitarist of his generation. He had an amazing imagination, his solos were incredible, he swung his tail off, he was a heck of an arranger and could out-read anybody.” ImaginationMusicGenerationsJazzGuitarIncrediblesTailsSoloGuitarist Author:Larry Coryell
“I would just like to say that Ritchie Blackmore did a bunch of great stuff guitar - wise. I'm happy to play the solo from 'Highway Star'. I always thought it was one of the most exciting guitar solos I'd ever played.” PlayStarsStuffMusicWiseExcitingGuitarBunchSoloHighwaysGuitar Solos Author:Steve Morse
“The guitar is a means of expressing music, When you get into the emotional side of it, then it's not the guitar that matters so much as the music itself. But the guitar is the vehicle I use. It's how I express myself. As for the emotional side, music takes up where language leaves off. To try and verbalize what music says, emotionally and spiritually, is futile. Let me put it this way, Louis Armstrong once said if you've got to ask, you'll never know.” IfsKnowsWayTryingMeanSaidMatterUseAsksLanguageSidesMusicEmotionalLet MeGuitarVehicleArmstrong Author:Charlie Byrd
“I don't know whether it was his (Charlie Christian's) melodic lines, his sound or his approach, but I hadn't heard anything like that before. He sounded so good and it sounded so easy, so I bought me a guitar and an amplifier and said now I can't do nothing but play! Really, welding was my talent, I think, but I sort of swished it aside.” ThinkingKnowsSaidI CanPlayChristianEasySoundLinesMusicHeardTalentApproachGuitarCharlieAmplifiersWelding Author:Wes Montgomery
“Scotty Moore plays one of the first really amazing riffs in rock history on Heartbreak Hotel with Elvis Presley ... it was dangerous, it scared everybodys parents, which was part of the attraction then - as it still is now... it totally blindsided me and made me want to get a guitar and do that.” WantFirstsMadeStillsPlayParentMusicRocksDangerousGuitarScaredAttractionHotelReally AmazingScotty Author:Roger McGuinn
“Just because a guitar is old doesn't make it good... I've seen guitars that were old but weren't as good as the reissue ... for me, it's not the age that makes it happen, it's the quality of the instrument.” HappensAgeQualityMusicInstrumentsGuitarMake It Happen Author:Jorma Kaukonen
“Lenny Breau is one of the true geniuses of the guitar. I suppose he is a musician's musician. His knowledge of the instrument and the music is so vast, and I think that's what knocks people out about him. But he's such a tasty player too. I think if Chopin had played guitar, he would have sounded like Lenny Breau.” PeopleIfsThinkingMusicPlayerGeniusMusicianMusic IsInstrumentsGuitarTastyTrue Genius Author:Chet Atkins
“I was doing someones hair the day I first saw my guitar ... a guy was walking down the street with it, and knew that guitar was mine (a 1953 weathered Fender Telecaster) .. I said I'll get you the most beautiful guitar you've ever seen and I'll trade you straight across ... I found him a purple Telecaster and said here's your guitar ... that was it, it was like he knew that guitar belonged to me.” FirstsSaidBeautifulGuyFoundMusicSawsStreetsMinesHairWalkingTradeGuitarPurpleWeathered Author:Roy Buchanan