Joe Bonamassa Vs Kenny Wayne Shepherd

admin    Duels     Blues, Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Recently, Guitar World readers voted Joe Bonamassa the best Blues guitarist over Kenny Wayne Shepherd. So, I had to investigate to see why. After listening to a few albums, I don’t know why Joe is classified as a Blues artist. As Frankie pointed out, it seems to be more like fusion instead.

But whatever.

While I like both, I have to say that I am biased towards KWS, being that Frankie and I just caught him playing in Pittsburgh recently – and it’s been announced that Joe Bonamassa is arriving to the Burgh soon as well.

I don’t don’t the talent, I just question the labeling. Regardless, from what I have seen and heard so far, Kenny still gets my vote.

What say you?

Joe Bonamassa

Frankie: Joe Bonamassa – He is getting a really killer tone out of that Les Paul. Wonder how. Very good tune, go to about the 3:55 mark to see the smoke start flying. He uses a lot of virtuoso in his solo to get the tone I think, and then when he switches to a rhythm section still has that low end crunch you get with a Gibson to sell the rhythm.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Stu Hamm Vs Les Claypool

admin    Duels     Joe Satriani, Les Claypool, Primus, Steve Vai, Stu Hamm

This match is the first time two bass guitars go at it here on GuitarDuels. Stu arrives from the likes of playing with Steve Vai, and more notably, Joe Satriani. Les is the founding member of Primus and has done many offshoot gigs including perhaps his most famous one, as the theme song for South Park.

Both are un-conventional players in their own right. Where Stu brings a finesse and fusion style to his playing, Les is more of a groove/funk/weird type of sound. And yes, he has a friggin WHAMMY BAR on his bass!

Regardless, both bring some unique elements to the table. Which one would you want for your band? Which one do you think is more influential? Which one do you like best?

Stu Hamm:

Les Claypool:

Slash Vs Kirk Hammett

admin    Duels     Guns N Roses, Kirk Hammett, Metallica, Slash

Another great battle between two of the most successful guitarists of the last 20 years. While Kirk has remained in Metallica for the entire stint, Slash started with GNR, and due to Axl being a complete phucktard, has moved on to solo projects.

At one point in time, these two bands toured together, and I was fortunate enough to see them play. I’ve seen Metallica many times more than Slash, and from a performance perspective, Kirk certainly has had more chops to play.

While they have both brought their style to their music, which one do you think has been more influential? Which one do you think is the flat-out better player? Which one would you want to party with? Which one do you think could deliver a knock-out solo on the spot?

Slash:

Kirk Hammett:

Steve Vai Vs John Petrucci

admin    Duels     Dream Theater, John Petrucci, Steve Vai

Here are two masters of their craft facing each other to see who can claim the title of the most soulful shredder. Each have placed their signature on Rock guitar history – and continue to do so today.

Both are amazing in their own right – of the two, who do you think is best?

Steve Vai:

John Petrucci:

Kim Thayil Vs Mike McCready

admin    Duels    

Here we have two of the more famous Seattle bands of the Grunge era facing off against each other with their respective axe men. McCready has always been a player who knew when to unleash the wails during a song and in the solos. Kim, on the other hand seemed to construct every song as it’s own solo in regards to that while there were certainly the same tone for most songs, each song had it’s own signature lick…

So, who do you think is the better guitarist?

Kim Thayil:

Mike McCready:

Kirk Hammett Vs Synyster Gates

admin    Duels     Avenged Sevenfold, Kirk Hammett, Metallica, music, Synyster Gates

So here we have the heavy metal juggernaut of Metallica’s Kirk Hammett up against the thrashing and blazing speed of Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold.

While Kirk has a bigger body of work to review, the influence of each onto the genre can’t be underestimated. Where Hammett has been clearly established for quite some time, Gates represents the new generation of potential Guitar God whose playing delivers a nod of respect to the past players while also forging his own style into his solos.

Who is the better guitarist?
Who is more influential?

Kirk Hammett:

Jump to the 3:17 mark to hear his version of “Little Wing”

Synyster Gates:

Randy Rhoads Vs Zakk Wylde

admin    Duels     Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Randy Rhoads, Video Games, Zakk Wylde

While there is no doubt that these two are the best shredders to play for Ozzy, there is still the old debate on who is better. Rhoads has the advantage of being first and leaving a nearly impossible path to follow. Zakk has played the longest for Ozzy in his solo career, and has distinguished himself by his style and relentless output of material.

Both are clearly cemented in the Osbourne legacy – but who is the better guitarist?

Randy Rhoads:

Zakk Wylde:

Randy Rhoads Vs Eddie Van Halen

admin    Duels     Eddie Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Randy Rhoads, Van Halen

Another epic battle here. Randy Rhoads burst onto the scene as the axeman for Ozzy Osbourne, after trying out while as a member of Quiet Riot. Eddie as we all know, comes from the band after his surname, Van Halen.

Both brought the shred style into vogue, making it the absolute way to get known during the late 70′s and early 80′s. Where Eddie had the luck of using the Floyd Rose to introduce the dive bombs to the world, Randy’s classical style blended with his precision speed picking demonstrated only parts of how far these two guitarists could go.

For my money, I’d take Rhoads…

Eddie

Randy

Who would you rather see live? Who was/is more influential?

Jimmy Page Vs Pete Townshend

admin    Duels     Jimmy Page, Led Zepplin, Pete Townshend, The Who

Here we have an old-school battle coming from two masters of their craft. Both have had tremendous impact on music even today, and both were parts of epic bands – Led Zepplin for Jimmy and The Who for Pete.

Both displayed a sense of style while playing on stage that truly set them apart from their contemporaries. Both play with seemingly reckless abandon, yet it’s entirely under control due to their years of practice.

Jimmy:

Pete:

Who was more influential? Who is the one you’d want to hear play live?

Angus Young Vs Ace Frehley

admin    Duels     ACDC, Ace Frehley, Angus Young, KISS

Here we have two of the thumpiest guitar players around. With AC/DC, you know that you’ll get pounding, driven riffs with blazing solos from Angus. When Ace was with KISS, besides creating all the killer licks and leads, there was the “entertaining the crowd” element always present.

While Ace enjoyed some success with his solo projects, he is still primarily remembered and regarded as part of the original KISS line-up.

Angus:

Ace:

Who do you think is the better guitarist?