Personal Paradigm Shift

[Goport]

Just wondered what inspired you all to play and then develop as guitarists. I started fairly late, I got my first guitar at 18 but I wanted one for a while before that.

The reason I picked up a guitar would have to be Hendrix, pure flamboyance and sexuality and oozed cool. I saw a clip of him on TV when I was about 15 playing in blackpool, England which was stunning. I started saving the next week.

Once there were loads of paradigm shifts but the obvious ones were (in chronilogical order of my development, rather than release order):

Steve Vai - outlandish playing and awesome technique. After 2 years of struggling to play sub standard hendrix style lead I got given a copy of Eat 'em And Smile. Someone had just raised the bar so high, it was tempting to quit. But Instead I spent about a year struggling to play substandard Vai riffs.

Joe Satriani - this chap seemed to be themissing link between Vai and Hendrix. Superb technique but also able to demonstrate restraint and seemed to be biased towards bluesy playing. I seem to remember trying to put "Lizard Down the Throat" Trem Tricks in every tune I played for over a year.

RUSH. I got a copy of moving pictures and ended up buying everything they ever did after that. Lifeson is superb and a major influence, but rush where the first band that I admired more for the Bass and Drums than the guitar playing.

It Bites/Francis Dunnery - took the Rush gig one stage further with timings and gave me an appreciation, for the first and possibly only time, of prog rock.

Fripp (on Bowies Scary Monsters) - the frighteningly fast arpeggio trills on Teenage Wildlife still astound me.

Clapton - I never subscribed to the "why do it with a 1000 notes when one note will suffice" school of thought. But after seeing Clapton on a Carl Perkins TV special - he actually wiped out all the other guitarists (and me) with just one note and the most amazing off the neck vibrato I have ever seen or heard.

Then there were many more but the above were the ones tat stood out for me.

Anyone else care to list theirs?

[EvilGtr]

Megadeth made me wanna try play guitar.... then as i grew as a player i began to like guys like those in the G3s... vai, malm, johnson, petrucci, satch and all.... then at this point i no longer i feel that IMO Steve Morse is the greatest

[Missy]

I Wouldn't class myself as a 'palyer' yet as Im still learning. My initial reason was because my youngest, who is 10, wanted a guitar for christmas. I was then given another one and decided to start to learn. Since then there has been no stopping me. I love it.

As for inspiration from other guitarists, well that falls into several catagories. I like rock so I suppose some would come from bands such as Guns 'N' Roses, Deep Purple. As a kid I was fed plenty of 'The Shadows' as mum was a great fan. But my main inspiration has come from you guys on here, giving loads of advice and encouragement....so thanx Guitars101 [img]images/smilies/icon_jam.gif[/img]