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Old 09-13-2014, 07:39 PM
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elle elle is offline
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Default Jaysun's top 10 guitarists - LB write-up

[this is 2 years old, but i don't remember it being posted before?]

http://plannedbanter.com/2012/02/28/...ists-number-6/

JAYSUN’S TOP TEN GUITARISTS: NUMBER 6
Posted by plannedbanter on February 28, 2012

Welcome to a series of articles from Jaysun Lynch, unknown guitar legend in his own mind. This will be ten articles long, giving a chance to deeply display my reasons for each member of the list. If you haven’t read the previous article, then click on his name below. If you have, you know where to start!
This is a list based on those who have influences me, not overall acceptability. You won’t see the standards of Stevie Ray Vaughn, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton. All fine (and great) guitarists, but none made an impact on me personally. This list shows the top guitarists that inspired me to want to learn the craft, skill, and creativity represented in rock guitar. This is the key, rock guitar. There will be no jazz guitarists from the 70’s, or blues guitarists from the 30’s, just the modern era of rock music. Interestingly, 60% of the list are known for preferring Fender instruments. This does not necessarily indicate quality (well, maybe it is), but more of prestige and influence. I will be grading on a certain amount of criteria: originality, technical skill, and the important songwriting portion. The entirety of my list is heavily catered to the craft of songwriting for their respective bands and careers, I would have it no other way. I will also list the gear they use, and their best examples. Look at that, droning on and on, let’s just get to the list!
10. Brian May: Queen
9. Kirk Hammett/James Hetfield: Metallica
8. John Frusciante: Red Hot Chili Peppers
7. George Harrison: The Beatles
6. Lindsay Buckingham: Fleetwood Mac
5. Andy Summers: The Police
4. Kurt Cobain: Nirvana
3. David Gilmour: Pink Floyd
2. Eddie Van Halen: Van Halen
1.Billy Corgan: The Smashing Pumpkins


6. Lindsay Buckingham: Fleetwood Mac: Solo work

The perennially under appreciated master. He picks like a country back-up man, sears through the mix like a hot coal, and innovates with every flick of his wrist. He shaped Fleetwood Mac from a blues/jam band to one of the biggest selling acts in the history of music. Mick Fleetwood heard he and Stevie Nicks (then girlfriend) first album together, immediately recognized that the guitarist HAD to be the new one for Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham refused to join unless Nicks was brought on too, which was a quick yes. He is known for his ingenuity, his skill, and passion. He also has a high amount of notoriety for never being able to speak on “What’s Up With That?!” Sort of…

ORIGINALITY:
Buckingham didn’t have many rivals for best folk/county influenced rock guitar player (though, Mark Knopfler would probably rank high). He (like this author) never had guitar lessons or learned to read music, hoping to forge a wholly unique perspective on performance and writing. He heavily favored palm muting (used primarily by metal and metal-influenced players), not common in pop music. This is evident in the hit “Gypsy,” while a more laid back Springsteen-like pop song, Buckingham can’t resist throwing in innovative touches. Besides the palm muting, he employs many different sounds, a melodic use of harmonics (only a few notes on the guitar scale can achieve this, so one has to be precise on the notation they want for a song).

He employs a style of quality of quantity, to major effect. He can pluck a few notes (never uses a pick by the way) that will fill up an auditorium to deafening attention. “The Chain” exemplifies this style, tuning his guitar to dropped-D tuning and creating a darker, moody atmosphere. The verses have a low rumble, with few notes overall, and Buckingham choosing a banjo to play the main riff. The guitar has a dirty, gritty sound with a big, spacious sustain, propelling the sadness and pain the song is meant to exude. His solo in the song does the same thing. He only plays around 6 notes, to maximum effect. The solo sounds massive and as great as any of the thousand-plus note epics employed by many other guitarists. Buckingham’s stamp of originality comes from using a small portion to tell a grand sense of story, so the listener is very comfortable with what he is telling. He will use any tuning necessary to get the specific sound he wants, adjusting the instrument to him and not compromising.

You’d better believe I found an excuse to put in the National Lampoon’s Vacation classic theme song “Holiday Road” into this article. His solo in the song, uses a a great tone that starts like a normal guitar fill, then gets a little more complicated, then uses four notes in a plucking frenzy, scaling up and playing throughout the song thereafter. In what would normally be a fun little pop song (with a Dog barking sample no less) he still throws on some amazing and inventive guitar licks to throw everyone off track. Plus the video is AWESOME~.

Creativity:
In concert, and by himself, Lindsey his one of the most hypnotic performers in all of rock. He’s so passionate and striking, I’ve taken much of my own stage persona from his own performances. This is the song that will prove to anyone that doubts Buckingham’s amazing skills (Hey Rolling Stone Magazine, how ya’ doin’?) “Big Love” from Tango In The Night was a moderate hit, with a great melody, and a great guitar part, but this is the creativity section. When Buckingham performs this song live, it’s a revelation of the instrument. He took the entire song (keyboards, bass, drums, guitar, vocals) and condensed it to a single guitar part that electrifies every audience. The creativity is making the song sound complete with a single instrument, typically when you play a solo acoustic performance of a full band song, it’s more laid back and stripped down than it’s original counterpart. Buckingham decided to make the song sound even bigger and frenetic than before, seemingly a challenge to any other guitarists to do the same. They have not. It sound so full that just today my sister told me how our father told her it was not just one guy playing the song, there were 3 guitarists, because “it was impossible to play.” This is true for a mere mortal, but Buckingham is a GOD. Maybe. My sister was glad she was right for once.
Original:

This is the one thing to watch if you don’t read the entire article:

“Go You Own Way” is one of the most played songs in rock history, and for good reason. It was the lead single from the classic best seller Rumours, and show Buckingham crafting a unique guitar experience. He has some distortion, but really the syncopated strums he uses exemplify the creativity inherent in the piece. The palm muting makes the verses feel restrained, and finally when the chorus hits, the guitar opens and the song feels like it’s reached a massive climax. This makes the songs feels faster and “harder” (a rock and roll term to how the song feels grittier), while he throws in a few fills occasionally. Mainly, the fresh and inventive strumming he used makes the song breathe more, and gives it a grand definition of pain.
Live

Studio

SONGWRITING:
Lindsey is a prolific songwriter, spearheading Fleetwood Mac’s ascension in the rock world and “directing” every album the band produced while he was with them. Their reunion in 1997 was major event, and people were excited that the soul of the band returned. His songs, for the band, were the most rock oriented, and aggressive, but he also crafted (and inspired) some of the most lush and dreamlike for himself. “Go Insane” was the lead single from his second solo album (also Go Insane). The song on the album is more pop oriented, with synths and electric drums, but he creating a haunting version for his concerts. He can play the same song 2 different ways, have it feel like a new song but retain the elements to know it’s the same. This is an excellent mastering of songwriting. Notice how he uses the strumming to keep the beat while also playing a lead guitar fill. He adds a “Chorus” effect for the guitar, and some reverb to sound eerie and touching. This is a version made specifically to let the guitar breath.

“Tusk” is the lead single from the eponymous follow up to Rumours. Buckingham decided to minimize his guitar part, relegating it to an acoustic performance in the middle of the song, with a small fill at the end. This is why he’s an amazing guitarist, he doesn’t have to implement his signature instrument if it doesn’t fit the song. He instead created a loud brass band piece with a fat sound, a slick bass part, and a driving drum track. The song features Buckingham screaming often, without a loud electric guitar part to enhance the sense of dissonance, he employs the brass sound. It was in such stark contrast to the earlier two albums of the band that the public rejecting keeping the album at the top of the charts like they had for Rumours.
Music Video

Live (features hilarious Stevie Nicks dancing)

GEAR:


Lindsey primarily uses a rarer type of guitar called the Rick Turner Model One. He worked with Rick Turner to give specifics on what he would like in a guitar, and it was created especially for him. It features a single pickup, and a wide guitar neck. The sustain is immense, and I must say it’s gorgeous. It’s a rock icon. Buckingham needed a guitar designed specifically for him.

He’s used many other models before the Turner Model One, but mostly it was his beautiful white Les Paul (still played it without a pick). This was the guitar he used to record the self titled album, Rumours, and Tusk. His collection is extensive, with vintage Stratocasters, Telecasters, Thunderbirds, and a mountain of acoustic guitars (primarily uses Renaissance Rich Turner models for this).


His acoustic guitar amps vary from Trace Elliot’s, to SWR’s. Yet, his electric amp of choice for the last few years has been the classic Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier. It’s an amp so powerful that Metallica used it as a primary amp for 10 years, but he gets a unique sound from it, drawing the power he needs only. To record the classic Fleetwood Mac albums he used a few different Hiwatts and Marshalls (probably with 4×12 cabs), but he didn’t feature them prominently enough. He preferred to get unique sounds from recording equipment. On the first 2 Fleetwood Mac albums he played on, he used an old Sony 2-track tape machine to create the distortion. He plugged his guitar through it and got the exact fuzz tone he was searching for, and recorded the albums that way, which is really amazingly creative in itself.
He uses a very minimal amount of effects, and has done so for the majority of his career. A Boss Chorus pedal, some reverb, a small amount of delay (Boss), and overdrive from an amp and an SD-1. He keeps things simple and tight, allowing just his playing to shine through.

Buckingham sacrifices the prestige of “guitar god” status to let the songs play through. He is an amazingly accomplished and technical sound player in his own right, and can definitely “showoff” when the time is right. Yet, he prefers the guitar to blend with the band, creating a wonderful amount of harmony and the experienced listener can really tell how amazing he is. For this, I recognize Lindsey Buckingham as a true team-player and wonderfully inspiring musician.
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Old 09-13-2014, 08:23 PM
MikeInNV MikeInNV is offline
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Geez, for such a big fan you would think he could spell his name right.
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Old 10-20-2014, 10:02 AM
Cammie Cammie is offline
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Small detail as he got Linds creativity and brilliance correct! THANKS man !!!
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Old 10-27-2014, 05:26 AM
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At least he finally got the spelling of his name right in the latter part of the article.
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