Why is Hendrix so revered amongst guitarists?

koneguitarist

ICBM said:

koneguitarist said:

Hank Marvin did! And I don't like Hank Marvin!

Hank Marvin was just a guitar player.

Before Hendrix, electric guitar was an instrument, that you amplified - the two things were separate, even if you added a few effects.

After Hendrix, electric guitar was a tool to create sonic art by controlling the sound which came out of the amp - they were one thing.

The only other player I can think of who even comes close to being as revolutionary as that is Charlie Christian, who was probably the first to play electric guitar as a lead instrument - but he didn't change his whole genre of music with it.

Hank inspired more guitarists world wide than any other player to play the guitar. Even now doing adverts with kids dressed like him, Apache was one the first songs every one tried to learn on guitar, his use of echo to create his sound was exactly what you are crediting Hendrix with years later. Get a grip. As for Drew you struggle to hold a debate with yourself, so give up now. )

littlegreenman

koneguitarist said:

So after all the evidence that has been shown to me so far, the main thing that we can all agree on is he was very exciting to watch!

There you go, I think you just answered your own original question

koneguitarist

littlegreenman said:

koneguitarist said:

So after all the evidence that has been shown to me so far, the main thing that we can all agree on is he was very exciting to watch!

There you go, I think you just answered your own original question

)

streethawk

This is insane.

Drew_TNBD

In the membrane.

p90fool

There were much faster typists than John Steinbeck, and more technically proficient writers, both before and after he came along. It's not a test of proficiency, it's whether something moves you down to your very soul.

Some people just seem to have no soul and will never get it, and they'll always resent those of us who get goosebumps when we connect with something.

"T-Bone Walker played behind his head first!" "Alvin Lee was faster!"

So fucking what, there are some things which transcend all of that and it only happens once every few decades in any given genre. It's a rare thing amongst musicians, but Glenn Gould had it, Jascha Heifetz had it, Jimi Hendrix had it, Miles Davis, Roy Buchanan, Jacqueline du Pre and Thelonious Monk definitely had it.

It's a hard thing to quantify or even name without sounding pompous, and not everyone even recognises it, but the very, very best of the also-rans can spot it instantly because no matter what they do or how hard they try, they KNOW that little extra something is just out of their grasp.

Hank.

Fucking.

Marvin, indeed.

ICBM

koneguitarist said:

Hank inspired more guitarists world wide than any other player to play the guitar.

Even now doing adverts with kids dressed like him, Apache was one the first songs every one tried to learn on guitar, his use of echo to create his sound was exactly what you are crediting Hendrix with years later.

Lol

Yes, Hank was quite an important player. Yes, he used effects. Yes, he inspired a lot of players.

Not even close to the impact Jimi had.

He nicked the look from Buddy Holly, anyway .

koneguitarist

This whole topic was about trying to quantify why Hendrix was so revered, not whether he was a good guitarist he was, undeniably so. But so far people have mainly said he was the best because all the other top guitarists of the day say he was? So if we say something enough it's true?

FWIW I think little wing is a fantastic piece of music and so was "and the wind cries Mary", purple Haze I think was a song of its time, though sounds a bit naff now without the drug culture , same as so many late 60's songs. That's not to say it's no good but it doesn't transcend time like some classics do.

It's not about technique, if it was would I have mentioned Clapton or Marvin, hardly the most gifted technicians of their day?

We all come from different backgrounds and hence have different ideals and hero's, mine is Albert Lee and James Burton, I am certainly not gonna say they were best guitarists in the world but they were pretty much the top of their genre during their peak.

So many like John Frusicante, can't say I know his stuff, but from what I have seen, undeniably skillful.

So what makes one better than all the rest, and the answer is us! We say it !

koneguitarist

ICBM said:

koneguitarist said:

Hank inspired more guitarists world wide than any other player to play the guitar.

Even now doing adverts with kids dressed like him, Apache was one the first songs every one tried to learn on guitar, his use of echo to create his sound was exactly what you are crediting Hendrix with years later.

Lol

Yes, Hank was quite an important player. Yes, he used effects. Yes, he inspired a lot of players.

Not even close to the impact Jimi had.

He nicked the look from Buddy Holly, anyway .

Do you really believe Hendrix inspired more to play than Hank? )

ICBM

I'm not sure - it could be either way round. And it doesn't matter. (I suspect that for people born after about 1955 or outside the UK, it's Hendrix anyway.)

Hendrix had a much bigger impact on the evolution of the guitar as a musical instrument. Hank isn't irrelevant, but isn't really in the same league in that sense.

Who inspired more to play the guitar - Scotty Moore, or Elvis?

Skipped

Guys that went to see the Shadows in 1962  came out of the show determined to buy a cheap Electric Guitar. I don't think many of them came out with a Dislocated Jaw.

p90fool

Every generation has its own inspiration, before Hank it was Lonnie Donegan who inspired the first generation of pop guitarists in the UK.

It's actually not that relevant arguing about who inspired the most players - I think a Bert Weedon thread could be even more polarising than this one...

koneguitarist

So maybe Hendrix was best of his generation?

richardhomer

I would question that Hank Marvin made a significant impact outside of the UK. Cliff and the Shads were not big in America. The reality is that James Burton probably had more influence around the world at the time - even if people who heard the records didn't know his name, as he was a sideman who didn't sing.

Which is probably another reason why Hendrix was significant. Prior to him, lead players (generally) did not front bands. He combined vocal and instrumental ability in a way that just had not been done before (and he was a great writer).

I'm afraid the 'I don't get Elvis/The Beatles/Miles Davies/Mozart/Dylan' type threads are ultimately self-defeating. Most musicians (or artists) who have reached this level of reverence have not found themselves so lauded by being crap (and by extention, just lucky). They are people who have genuinely acted as game-changers - moving things forward in a way that means the world was never quite be the same again afterwards.

Comparing Hank Marvin to Hendrix is a bit like comparing 'Bathelor Boy' to 'A Day in The Life'....

koneguitarist

Funnily enough I agree ref Hank outside the Uk, I suppose the Ventures would be the ones in the states.

I do applaud the members for pretty much discussing this in a fairly amicable way, and it's certainly got a lot of posts.

A lot of name guitarists do name check each other a lot, they are all fairly honest about who they like, and I find the better the musician, the more open and honest they are. 

Case in point, when Albert Lee and Steve Morse were showing off their Musicman guitars at a show, putting them throughout their paces, EVH was invited to join in, he was slated by some of the music press for not being able to keep up when Albert and Steve let rip. A couple of years later I asked Albert the story and was it true, he said, we would not have been any good playing all EVH stuff, so it was unfair to slate him for not being able to play theirs. And he was full of admiration for EVH for having a go.

And there was the legendary album Green Bullfrog, which had Richie Blackmore state on front cover, there are only 3 guitarists he rates far above his own abilities and that was Hendrix Albert Lee and Big Jim Sullivan, one of the first to utilise the wah wah on record.

GuitarMonkey

richardhomer said:

Comparing Hank Marvin to Hendrix is a bit like comparing 'Batchelor Boy' to 'A Day in The Life'....

+1

ToneControl

ICBM said:

I'm not sure - it could be either way round. And it doesn't matter. (I suspect that for people born after about 1955 or outside the UK, it's Hendrix anyway.)

Hendrix had a much bigger impact on the evolution of the guitar as a musical instrument. Hank isn't irrelevant, but isn't really in the same league in that sense.

Who inspired more to play the guitar - Scotty Moore, or Elvis?

I don't agree that people born after 55 would be likely to be influenced by Hendrix

Out of my musical (Rock) social circle in the late 80s, only one person was a Jimi Hendrix fan,  everyone else was focussed on Zep, Floyd, Sabbath, Rush, Yes. No one was very interested in Hendrix at all.

I think that Hendrix had more impact on the idea of a guitarist as a frontman, than the use of the instrument musically. I found his material mostly dull when I was 18, and I feel the same now

 

ToneControl

Out of curiosity, I asked my Mrs :

"The guitar forum boys" (she calls this forum 'mums.net for guitarists') "are discussing Jimi Hendrix, what do you think of him?"

the answer:

"Over rated"

I was surprised that a non-player would be critical, but why not go and ask your lady friends out of curiosity

GuitarMonkey

Quick poll of the females of the troop:

Me: Who is the greatest guitar player of all time?

Mrs Monkey "Jimi Hendrix"

Youngest Monkey (18yrs): "Jimi Hendrix"

richardhomer

ToneControl;223478" said:

Out of curiosity, I asked my Mrs :"The guitar forum boys" (she calls this forum 'mums.net for guitarists') "are discussing Jimi Hendrix, what do you think of him?"the answer:"Over rated"I was surprised that a non-player would be critical, but why not go and ask your lady friends out of curiosity

Currently single, so not really an option.

That said, my ex-wife despised every CD I owned and frequently dismissed my playing as 'a bloody racket'. I doubt she would be any more complimentary about any guitar player. Outside of mainstream pop, she had/has no interest in music.

The fact that your 'Mrs' thinks Hendrix is over-rated does not mean she is right....