I beeing searching in many list the best guitar player of all times in almost every list in the number one is Jimmy Hendrix. I have a lot of videos of him and he is very talentous I most say. But the question is: Is he the best guitar player ever? Most of people says that yes but in my opinion there are guitar players in his level or even better in musical genres such as jazz and metal. In speed and tecnic for example I think that Michael Romeo (Symphony x), Kiko Loureiro (Angra) and John Petrucci are better than him. I actually don´t play guitar, I play keyboards but like everyone I can see the tecnic of a musician just by seing him. In jazz and classical music also there a lot of talentous guys that plays guitar in other level.
Do you think that Jimmy Hendrix is actually the best guitar player ever?
Or do you think that are better guitar players?

This should be in the Rock Forum IMO... Because Jimi Hendrix was no metalhead, and many challengers for the 1st place in the "best guitar player of all time" aren't always metal (think of guitar heroes like Clapton for instance).
Anyway Jimi Hendrix is definitely one of the most talented guitarist ever, but it's hard to compare him with other guitarists you've mentionned because the Blues/Rock he would play is so different from the metal Romeo or Petrucci play. Both ask for great skills, but in different ways.

i will tell you why Jimmy Hendrix always shown as a best guitar player of all times in 1969 was Woodstock were he was on the peak, in 1970 he suddenly died. Like i told before you must die in correct time and in correvt place to become a inmortal legend!!!!

thats why he is number 1. i dont think so but the majority do.

And please, he wasn't named Jimmy but JIMI Hendrix :

Like i told before you must die in correct time and in correvt place to become a inmortal legend!!!!
True

EDIT: have a look at this list http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5937559/the_100_greatest_guitarists_of_all_time
I don't really agree with it either.

My dad thinks he is!

But I agree with Sekhmet. Hendrix's brand of rock was very blues influenced which not many guitarist do nowadays, marking it hard to draw an accurant comparison because the styles are so different. But if you're looking at technique...Hendrix could play with his teeth

Hendrix is not the "best" guitar player ever. Technically there are way better guitar players then Hendrix but no one can deny the influence he had on music. At the time what he was doing was great so it's not really fair to compare him to some of the guitarists nowadays. So sure he isn't the greatest guitar player now but back then he was sure as fuck up there because no one was doing that shit he was.

no fuckin way
he was good he done some intresting sound with hes guitar but for me he is not best guitar player ever

hes defenitly up there as one of the best. being a good guitar player isn't about how technical you are, its about how it sounds. hendrix was pretty simplistic in comparson to some guitarists nowadays but he was completly original and no other bands have the same kind of delirium inducing melodies that hendrix had.

on the recently released dvd of his set at woodstock he links 2 songs with this brilliant solo that lasts about 5 minutes. it just amazes me that this was in 1969! there was nothing like that at the time

He was yes, but is not the best guitar player...there are many who is better than him

Absolutely not. Many metal guitarists are better; 4 ex. John Petrucci or Michael Romeo

Best? perhaps not but definitely most influential

Well, his electric blues is amazing! In that days Hendrix was the most extreme guitarist (i think was better Pete townsend), and the best technique was from many others (Jerry Rivera), for a lot of people he's the best, for me he invented an era.

This has been discussed in other threads I think. Anyway, he was very very good but not the best in my opinion. Maybe the best of his generation, of his time.

Written by heresiarch on 05.08.2006 at 20:13

Best? perhaps not but definitely most influential

agree, no sound guitar like jimi did before him.

Well not THE best, but one of the best and one of the kind

I quote Norther's Petri Lindroos in the song Released: "No fuckin' way!!!"

He WAS the best but today we consider his music style to be a pretty soft style ... at least if you compare with the metal music we have today. Would he really be able to play the extreme solos we have today? Would he be able to play ... say the "Angel of Death" solos? Or maybe "Holy Wars ... The Punishement Due"? I don't think so.

Jimi was a fucking god thats for sure,but there really is no such thing as the best guitar player,there's so many different styles,it really depends on what your ears tell you.But in my opinion, I would say no...there are guitarists who are better,but they didnt revolutionize like this man did....

hmm...i think he was good, not the best...he made different, new things at the time and imo that's why he is so famous, he influenced alot...but he isn't the most talented guitar player...

1. He was best guitarist of his time, that is 100%

2. Yet, you should ask your self, is there really the "BEST" guitarist in the world? I think that currently, we have at least 100 "BEST" guitarists in world. That is because every one has something that other one doesnt. And i think you cant really compare guitarists that play different styles of music.

3. Speed and technique are not everything. In fact, they are nothing if you dont know how to use them.
If you could play 100 notes in second, would you be the best guitarist?? No.

That is why many people will say that Jimi Hendrix was best. He loved music, he loved guitar and he played it with his soul.

I von't say he's best, but I can say that he is my favorite guitarist.

No, for me he wasn't the best, he was one of the bests, but to find a single one guitarist that can live up to that name it's simply impossible, he had the soul, he had the love for the instrument... but he is not the best out there... and think there will be no one ever to do that... be the best out there....

NO HE IS NOT!... NO ONE IS... it's subjective

Written by heresiarch on 05.08.2006 at 20:13

Best? perhaps not but definitely most influential

I'm talking about the best guitarist not the most influential,

the most creative..... not the most skilled

Written by Stalker on 10.08.2006 at 22:04

1. He was best guitarist of his time, that is 100%

2. Yet, you should ask your self, is there really the "BEST" guitarist in the world? I think that currently, we have at least 100 "BEST" guitarists in world. That is because every one has something that other one doesnt. And i think you cant really compare guitarists that play different styles of music.

3. Speed and technique are not everything. In fact, they are nothing if you dont know how to use them.
If you could play 100 notes in second, would you be the best guitarist?? No.

That is why many people will say that Jimi Hendrix was best. He loved music, he loved guitar and he played it with his soul.

I von't say he's best, but I can say that he is my favorite guitarist.

I totally agree with this post, nothing to add.

Written by Sekhmet on 01.08.2006 at 01:14

And please, he wasn't named Jimmy but JIMI Hendrix :

Like i told before you must die in correct time and in correvt place to become a inmortal legend!!!!
True

EDIT: have a look at this list http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5937559/the_100_greatest_guitarists_of_all_time
I don't really agree with it either.

Kurt Cobain is considered a better guitarist than Blackmore here? What the fuck!? That list is just a popularity contest with Hendrix on top in an effort of making it seem credible. Is Hendrix the best guitarist? That is relative.

I don't know. I don't consider him the best, and his name seems to be bigger then his name to me. Shure, he was fantastic with the strings, but not THAT good, to be the best. btw 'the best guitar player' is just a fraze, IMO, it's very realtive, just like 'the best band', just more relative.

Well, is hard to discuss this but... personaly I prefer Steve Vai, John Pettrucci and Joe Satriani... but... he's among the best, the resources to play guitar now I think are far better than in the 70s so that's why I think nowadays could be several better than them...

in answering the question......

HELL NO!

i do however believe he was the greatest guitarrist ov the '60's.

Jimi Hendrix.... as a guitarist I can say that he was the best at his time with no contest... One of the "most" influentel is another way to express his legacy... if you ask any good guitar player to play a song or solo for Jimi he would most likely know atleast one


Since alot of the points I wanted to raise are allready mentioned here & there in this thred...
I wanted to share with you guys some facts that might be off topic but all are about Jimi:

1. short career: the career span of 4 years started with his boom in 1966 till his death in 1970 ... pretty short aint it .. and people are still talking about him !!

2. Jimi was not a drug addict, Jimi rarely used any hard drugs. Jimi only used marijuana, alcohol, cigarettes, and only experimented with LSD a few times. "If Jimi is to be called a drug addict, then everyone who drinks alcohol is an alcoholic"

3. "Purple Haze" was not written about drugs, This is completely false. He wrote it about a dream. He was walking under the sea, surrounded by purple haze. He became lost and Jesus saved him . The song was originally called "Purple Haze-Jesus saves."

4. After getting into trouble with the law over a stolen car, Hendrix traded a two-year jail sentence for enlistment in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky

I have many more PM me if your interested


Conclusion

Every artist has his moment of shine .... yes I agree with some of the people here when they say no one is the best of all time... but there is the best of some time ... ya dig
The Guy was the best in his time.... gota give him that credit...

Pick any guitarest you like and think is the best ... check out an interview where he talks about his guitar influnce... I bet you'll find Jimi there in his list !!!


Cheers

Jimi Hendrix is fantastic. He is an awesome guitar player and i loved listening to him. But im not sure if i consider him the best. Definately in the top 5