Vai, Satriani etc................

Jigsaw

I like a wide range of music but as I am a guitarist I am a big fan of Vai and Satch. Am I the only one who has a job convincing other people of how good they are? My mates who are good guys enjoy the proper cool and credible Indie as do I but any suggestion of Vai or Satch brings calls of "fretboard w**k" which I think is unfair they are both consummate musicians but I guess the guys I hang about with enjoy music more about th feel of and the message it conveys as oppoed to the actual music itself.

Dave H

I would'nt worry too much about it mate, as they say, different strokes for different folks.
It's kinda poxy that your mates'll knock you just 'cos you're into more technical music, and since you're a guitarist that's understandable. Maybe they're just pricks.
But as a guitarist myself, I lean towards bands that have more technical playing,it's just a love of the instrument I guess. But going back to "different strokes for different folks", my wife gets the same enjoyment out of three chord trick bands like the Ramones, The Distillers,Black Flag etc as I would out of bands like Pantera,Dream Theather or Shadows Fall. Ya dig? Course you do .

Owen

I'm a Vai/Satch/Dream Theater addict too. There's loads of us out there, and the boys who think it's fretboard **** can stick to their power chord driven songs, as the poster above says, different people have different tastes!

Vegeta

I'm the same, love Satch. I genuinely think his music has a nice melodic element to it. "Circles" for example

nyarlothothep

Never liked Vai, though Satch is good fun to listen to. One thing I dont get is how the more technical guitar solos are nowadays widely (in my experience) regarded as fretboard ****. Guitar solos are cool. There should be more of them in songs, some songs cry out for a good guitar solo.

Mystic Fibrosis

In my opinion, Vai is as good a composer as he is a guitarist, you only have to listen to Sound Theories to pick that up. As much as I admire his playing the real reason I got into Vai (in a big way) was due to his songwriting talents.

Music4life

Guitar players tend too appreciate Satch & Vai more.I listen too Metal and lots of other genres.Most of my mates listen too metal only.If I start playing some Pete Doherty or Jeff Buckley they just hate it.Its just not there thing.It really is that different people have different tastes.:)

ShawnRaven

Two thumbs up for Satriani and Vai. I'd also recommend guitarists Alex Lifesson and Steve Rothery as well. Two very good technical guitarists who don't get anywhere near the credit they should.

VR!

cournioni

Went to see Vai in Vicar St. a couple of years back and I have to say, it was the worst gig I have ever been to. Constant widdle...

Eric Sardinas wiped the floor with him that night, for me.

highlydebased

Everyone thinks Hendrix is best, but I try to convince people that Vai and Tony McAlpine are 10 times better.....

Rustar

Neon-Circles wrote:

Everyone thinks Hendrix is best, but I try to convince people that Vai and Tony McAlpine are 10 times better.....

Can't compare apples and oranges.
Vai and McAlpine are famous for technical mastery of their instrument -
Hendrix is famous for re-inventing the instrument, the effects of which are still felt today.

It wasn't me!

Exactly. They play for different reasons, it could be said, so it's impossible to compare them.

SirLemonhead

I like Satch (well, i'm not a huge fan but he's cool in my books)

Vai is just awful though. It IS fretboard ****.

The audience is listening...ugh

It wasn't me!

MasterOfSolos wrote:

The audience is listening...

... is a cracking track. Great riffs and lead playing.

Grid.

Seen both here a coupla times and Satch is by far the more gifted guitarist, Vai is too over the top, Vicar st. gig was a chore to listen to!

Rustar

Satch is definitely The Man.

Wiki -
"In 1978 Satriani moved to Berkeley, California to pursue a music career. Not long after his arrival he resumed teaching. His most notable California students included: Kirk Hammett (Metallica), David Bryson (Counting Crows), Kevin Cadogan (Third Eye Blind), Larry LaLonde (Primus, Possessed), Alex Skolnick (Testament), Rick Hunolt (Exodus), Phil Kettner (Laaz Rockit), Charlie Hunter and Steve Vai."

And there would be no Satch without Hendrix, it seems:

Wiki again -
"Joe Satriani was inspired to play guitar at age 14 after learning of the death of Jimi Hendrix. Satriani reportedly heard the news during a football training session where he immediately confronted his coach and announced that he was quitting to become a guitarist."

Mystic Fibrosis

Yngwie did the exact same thing. So just think, there would be no Yngwie without Hendrix. (I'll leave the pros and cons to yourselves)

FunkZ

Loadsa my mates like all those "technical heads", anyone and everyone should have Vais album Fire Garden.

eoin5

Theses guys are great, pushing music and the guitar further and making good tunes while theyre at it. Its just not everyones cuppa though...

cournioni

There is no comparison between Satch and Vai, Satch is a better musician by far. He writes tasteful melodic music with virtuoso solos to match. Where as Vai just seems like he just can't wait to get to the solo to **** the wood off the guitar. Which to me seems like a pointless exercise really.

It wasn't me!

PORNAPSTER wrote:

There is no comparison between Satch and Vai, Satch is a better musician by far. He writes tasteful melodic music with virtuoso solos to match. Where as Vai just seems like he just can't wait to get to the solo to **** the wood off the guitar. Which to me seems like a pointless exercise really.

As amused as I am by your wording, I can't agree I'm afraid. I think Vai's an excellent composer. It's guitar music, in the way that a piano sonata is piano music, in my opinion. It's kinda about the instrument, and the guy has control I can never hope to have. But I do think he writes cool songs. The whole Passion and Warfare album is chock full of cracking riffs.

Sofaspud

It wasn't me! wrote:

As amused as I am by your wording, I can't agree I'm afraid. I think Vai's an excellent composer. It's guitar music, in the way that a piano sonata is piano music, in my opinion. It's kinda about the instrument, and the guy has control I can never hope to have. But I do think he writes cool songs. The whole Passion and Warfare album is chock full of cracking riffs.

I'd agree with you, I find Vai's music (not just the lead guitar) to be a lot more musical than Satch's, which is basically Satch widdling away over a Backing-track esque rhythm. Vai's is so much more textured, and there's only really fretwank where fretwank belongs. and also, just because something is played fast doesn't mean it can't be emotional. Listen to "Lotus Feet", for example.

rockintothebone

i dont agree with what some of you are saying...ive been to the vicar street gig myself...and it was brilliant...his stage presence was amazingly amazing!
although i like satch more....i dont think anyone is better than the other....both have their work written in a way no one would ever think of!

Karl Hungus

Jigsaw wrote:

I like a wide range of music but as I am a guitarist I am a big fan of Vai and Satch. Am I the only one who has a job convincing other people of how good they are? My mates who are good guys enjoy the proper cool and credible Indie as do I but any suggestion of Vai or Satch brings calls of "fretboard w**k" which I think is unfair they are both consummate musicians but I guess the guys I hang about with enjoy music more about th feel of and the message it conveys as oppoed to the actual music itself.

I think there's a lot of people out there who consider a guitar who's able to do more than a 3 chord trick a fretwanker. Most of the people are idiots though, and I often think they've never heard either guitarist, as Vai especially tends to get name dropped as a wanker, and a lot of people who speak of him negatively are just regurgitating an opinion.

I find both Vai and Satriani consumate musicians, and excellent songwriters. There are certainly some very tasteless speed players out there, but neither Vai or Satch are one of them.

I listen to Vai for the music, he's a big influence on me as a guitarist, and he's got some incredible melody, which is very evident in songs like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rl4l5sCUCs

There's obviously some **** in the solos, but as a songwriter, I think he's phenominal.

Sinfonia

For me, Vai > Satriani.
While they are both amazing musicians, I feel that Vai is the better composer and arranger, and writes pieces with more complex instrumentation, and writes well for the other instruments.
Satriani's tracks often sound like guitar lesson backing tracks, i.e. very basic.

To me, Vai seems more willing to explore, experiment, and take risks with his composition.

Morf

am i the only one hugely impressed at how billy sheehan got into those trousers?

i'm not really familiar with the work of vai but i think in my ignorance i prefer satch

Karl Hungus

Morf wrote:

am i the only one hugely impressed at how billy sheehan got into those trousers?h

Having owned a pair of PVC trousers (Yeah, I had a goth period ) getting into them is the easy part. Taking them off is the hard part, sweat nearly glues them too you! :eek:

Sinfonia

Karl Hungus wrote:

Having owned a pair of PVC trousers (Yeah, I had a goth period ) getting into them is the easy part. Taking them off is the hard part, sweat nearly glues them too you! :eek:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NznU_i_S-dI

Sofaspud

Karl Hungus wrote:

Having owned a pair of PVC trousers

That's all I needed to read in that post.

My life is now complete.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

SirLemonhead

Karl Hungus wrote:

I think there's a lot of people out there who consider a guitar who's able to do more than a 3 chord trick a fretwanker. Most of the people are idiots though, and I often think they've never heard either guitarist, as Vai especially tends to get name dropped as a wanker, and a lot of people who speak of him negatively are just regurgitating an opinion.

Its funny hearing that from someone such as yourself who in general likes to make posts going on about how each person has their own opinion, to each their own, can't we all just get along? etc etc can call people idiots for having an opinion about Vai being a fret wanker.

Besides, he is.

Karl Hungus

MasterOfSolos wrote:

Its funny hearing that from someone such as yourself who in general likes to make posts going on about how each person has their own opinion, to each their own, can't we all just get along? etc etc can call people idiots for having an opinion about Vai being a fret wanker.

Besides, he is.

There's a difference between an informed opinion, and talking crap. A lot of people who've said to me about Vai being a wanker in real life generally just haven't heard him, and are passing on a second-hand opinion. I remember putting on a Vai CD when a friend (Who had often used Vai as an example of a bad guitarist in conversation) was over, and him going "Wow, that's really good, what is it?", when I told him, he was bemused saying "I thought he was all super-fast crap?" So he admitted he never actually heard him before, after I pressed him.

I don't mind if someone doesn't like Vai, but in my experience there really are a lot of people who speak crap about him who've never actually heard his music, and that just is stupid.

I believe he just gets name dropped a lot, and he is basically in the public vocabulary as a tasteless speeding wanker.