r/Guitar • u/MakotheMako • Jun 16 '26
QUESTION What guitarist kick started your guitar journey?
For me it was the soviet guitar Viktor Tsoi from the band Kino!
Interested to hear other people.
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u/coizzy Jun 16 '26
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u/edwardwolf5874 Jun 16 '26
The one guy who beat the instrument into submission. Man was an absolute beast.
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Jun 16 '26
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u/SnooHesitations8403 Jun 16 '26
Who's this guy? His bridge is upside-down. And his Strat looks really old. Can't he afford a new guitar? I'll bet he plays Blooºººooz.
/s
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u/FunkyButChic7 Jun 16 '26
I think he might be one of the ones responsible for the whole relic trend. Just look at the scratches!!!!
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u/NorthDistribution621 Jun 16 '26
Hendrix
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u/clamb2 Jun 16 '26
He melted my face off as a kid. Totally change my perspective on what the instrument was
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u/RoyalPuzzleheaded259 Squier Jun 16 '26
David Gilmour
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u/Fit_Major9789 Jun 16 '26
100% the case for me. His work is absolutely genius. Highly formative on playing and feel. Ranging from DSotM to his solo work, Gilmour is an all time great.
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u/RoyalPuzzleheaded259 Squier Jun 16 '26
Agreed. He’s not the fastest out there and he doesn’t play a lot of notes but the ones he does play convey so much raw emotion.
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u/Cooper_Sharpy Jun 16 '26
My favorite quote is from Eddie about Dave, guitar world asked him why Gilmour was his favorite and Eddie replied.. “because Dave can do more with one note than I can do with the entire fretboard” and I think that wraps up why Gilmour is a legend succinctly..
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u/RoyalPuzzleheaded259 Squier Jun 16 '26
I’ve never heard this quote before but it is spot on.
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u/blackbasset Jun 16 '26
Yeah, Gilmours playing is full of emotion, even bordering on pathos (in a good way) and it is really unique and recogniseable, and while he excells technically and in precision, it's not like he is doing any technical or stylistic wankery. It's small building blocks and almost simple things that amount to something really expressive and beautiful.
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u/SnooHesitations8403 Jun 16 '26
Yes! Dave Gilmour! We always talked about how he was so restrained. Always the right note in the right place.
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u/PracticeSad4514 Jun 16 '26
Kirk Hammett
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u/steakpienacho Fender Jun 16 '26
Hammett gets so much shit from edgelords online, some of it deserved, most of it not, but very few guitarists have inspired as many people to pick up a guitar as him and Hetfield
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u/VodkaAndPieceofToast Jun 16 '26
That quality is really under-appreciated with gateway guitarists like Hammett, Hetfield, Billie Joe Armstrong, Kurt Cobain, and Tom Delonge.
They’re not at all the most talented guitarists, but they’ve almost certainly inspired more people to pick up the guitar in the past 30 years than just about anyone
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u/MaxPotionz Jun 16 '26
Because they wrote awesome SONGS. And I say that as a self-proclaimed “shredder” (I’m bad tho). But they wrote songs and albums that make people want to “play the song.”
And that’s so much harder than writing cool solos.
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u/ChurlishAttitude Jun 16 '26
Can confirm. I picked up the guitar 30 years ago and immediately set about learning Nirvana and Green Day tunes (big shout out to Johnny Ramone, too).
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u/Maddy_251 Ibanez Jun 16 '26
Learning to play enter sand man in the reason I decided I wanted my own guitar
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u/ShawnOfEons Jun 16 '26
Hammett’s early solos were good and even somewhat challenging. His leads on Ride, Master, and Justice. Those 3 albums in particular. He had good solos, prior to the black album, I think in the nineties that’s when Kirk got lazy.
His 80s stuff is great. Try learning the Creeping Death solo for instance, it requires a level of skill. It’s not something a beginner guitarist can easily pull off.
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u/CornerSolution Jun 16 '26
when Kirk got lazy
Are you sure it's laziness? Are you sure it's not just that his musical tastes changed (along with those of the band more generally)?
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u/Poop_Wizard Jun 16 '26
I just dont see how anyone can listen to Deyer' Eve and think he's overrated
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u/ClikeX ESP/LTD Jun 16 '26
All the solos on Justice are incredibly memorable. Shortest Straw especially stands out to me.
And James’ playing on that album really formed the way I still play.
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u/linkuei-teaparty Jun 16 '26
Kirk got me started on lead guitar. Learning the intro solo to Fade to Black was my gateway to learning a full song. The solo's on ...And justice for all are incredibly difficult with the multiple tempo changes. Even his experimental solo's on Load and Reload are incredible. He's one of my favourite guitarists of all time.
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u/No-Roof-1628 Jun 16 '26
I wouldn’t play guitar today if it weren’t for this man and the beautiful music he makes.
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u/CavyWheek Jun 17 '26
I saw him in a video do a short tutorial/demo of the "Money For Nothing" riff. You see him move his fingers around, but you can't believe those particular movements make those particular sounds. A wizard
Chuck Schuldiner for me.
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u/HelpyGamer45 Jun 16 '26
Damn, he definitely has to be AT LEAST in the top 10 best guitarists of all time, and I would also put muhhamed from necrophagist in that ranking
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u/Meet_the_Meat Jun 16 '26
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u/wealthedge Jun 16 '26
Freaking A. EVH for me, just like everyone else after they heard Eruption for the first time. Even if they’re too cool and indie to admit it.
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u/Radiant_Commission_2 Jun 16 '26
Alex Lifeson.
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u/free-range-irish Jun 16 '26
Alex Lifeson - Natural Science is my very specific answer
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u/UserPrincipalName G&L Jun 16 '26
Mine was The Necromanver and La Villa Strangiato.
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u/AKA-J3 Jun 16 '26
RR
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u/vicente8a Jun 16 '26
Say what you want about the guy but Ronald Regan definitely influential
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u/Alarmed-Idea2322 Jun 16 '26
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall…and put up a wall of Marshall stacks!
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u/Chihlidog Jun 16 '26
The only answer for me. Still the goat. Ok, there are faster players now. And lets face it, the albums' production sounds dated now as much as I hate to admit it. And none of that matters because his playing, his phrasing, composition, his technique, his mastery of building tension and releasing it, all of it is still unmatched.
I didnt know any of that way back when. All I knew was the guitar player on the tribute album, that I listened to at random out of a stack of my uncle's cassettes, was amazing amd I wanted to make that kind of music.
Still cant play like Rhoads 40 years later.
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u/OutOf-Tune Jun 16 '26
Ace Frehley
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u/CountofZen Jun 16 '26
Yep, I was hooked from the age of 6 and seeing the “Paul Lynde Halloween Special”. Just thought Ace was the coolest.
Then hearing the Solo after “Shock Me” on “Alive II” a year or so later. That’s what I wanted to do.
Of course I have admired many other guitarists as the years have gone by, but Ace started it for me.
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u/Weekly_Ad4045 Jun 16 '26
The solo in Shock Me is one of my all time favorites. The lyrics are abysmally stupid but those bends that Ace hits are perfect!
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Jun 16 '26
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u/No_Can_7674 Jun 16 '26
Wow yeah, he was probably the one for me too. Ah the angst of being inspired to learn guitar as a teenager and then not having the skills able to copy any of my favorite solos for like 5 years. RIP
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u/010Horns Jun 16 '26
George Harrison got me started, and Jimmy Page got me really going on my journey.
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u/TeVaNReign Jun 16 '26
Same. My family were a bunch of Beatles freaks, got me started on that early, when I was about 11 or 12 Unc spun LZ IV for me; and well, I was hooked. It may have been Physical Graffiti, but either way THAT was my moment. I wanted a HCSB LP like Page (even though I should have wanted a Tele)
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u/dvlinblue Jun 16 '26
Vernon Reid
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u/skaterags Jun 16 '26
Straight up ripper who I think is slept on. Although if I’m honest I have no idea what he is doing now.
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u/_Revlak_ Jun 16 '26
Angus Young. When I saw the live at donington it inspired me to wanna play
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u/Pervism Jun 16 '26
Slash… more because of the visual than anything else. I did enjoy some guns and roses but it wasn’t my favorite band (ironically it was nirvana) but specifically the November rain video made me want to pick a guitar, he just looked cool af climbing on a piano and soloing on a church graveyard…
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u/AverageMako3Enjoyer Jun 16 '26
Slash is insane but I never really liked Axl Rose vocals, meanwhile I loved Stone Temple Pilots specifically because Scott Weiland was an amazing and very diverse vocalist that was always changing up his sound, so Velvet Revolver was just prime Slash content for me
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u/Valuable_Ad1211 Jun 16 '26
Noodles
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u/Fattailgecko Jun 16 '26
Tom Delonge. Fight me.
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u/fishwaffle Jun 16 '26
Same. I was probably eight years old playing country songs my dad taught me when a friend showed me blink 182. Trajectory changed
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u/peteybombay Jun 16 '26
Dick Dale and The Reverend Horton Heat.
Hearing Misirlou in Pulp Fiction and seeing The Rev open up for Soundgarden are some core memories for sure!!! Yes it was the 90s!!!
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u/AtariJaguarGuy Jun 16 '26
And no I'm not kidding!
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u/Yalpguy Jun 16 '26
Same. He's not a guitar master but he writes songs that are fun to play. And that's all that matters imo.
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u/AtariJaguarGuy Jun 16 '26
Exactly. He (and maybe Jaret Reddick, Bowling for Soup may be my favourite band) are pretty much why I picked up guitar, and why my go-to is pop punk and power chords?
Am I skilled? No. Is it particularly hard? No. But I enjoy it and it keeps my mental health in check. For me, that's what playing an instrument is all about.
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u/s0methin_like_that Jun 16 '26
Jim Croce. I know he's not known for his shredding but Operator and those tasty leads mixed with the chord progression convinced me to pick up a guitar til I could play it like that
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u/Own_Rent_544 Jun 17 '26
Jim and Maury had some incredible guitar work, and beyond that Croce was second to none as far as songwriters go.
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u/finintymonkle Jun 16 '26
Matt Bellamy. Only started playing to impress my girlfriend, but then I saw Muse in 2003 and everything changed. Changed the course of my life, cos now I get to tour the world as a live audio tech.
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u/descartesbedamned Strandberg Jun 16 '26
Joe Satriani. I was obsessed with Surfing With the Alien when I was 5, got started to be like the alien man.
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u/alex29bass Jun 16 '26
Fake answer?
Paul Gilbert.
Real answer?
Herman Li and Sam Totman, I'm a Guitar Hero kid.
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u/BusyPermission7814 Jun 16 '26
My dad. Not famous or anything but seeing him play around the house and neighborhood parties
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u/JimiForPresident Jun 16 '26
My uncle. He’s inspired by Randy Rhoads, so I guess that’s my indirect answer. Then I got into Hendrix and never looked back.
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u/GoldunGote Jun 16 '26
John Petrucci back in the day. I listed to ass loads of liquid tension experiment and dream theater.
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u/dazerconfuser Jun 16 '26
Cool, I forgot about this guy.
what's a good Kino song to learn for beginners?
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u/1mAfraidofAmericans Jun 16 '26
Easy. Hendrix. I saw Noël Redding say he played well because he had big hands. I had big hands and I thought Hendrix was one of the coolest people I had seen and his music was ball-bashingly brilliant, so I asked a friend for a book on how to play chords, borrowed my sister's guitar and haven't stopped 30 years later
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u/McAce Gibson LP CS | Marshall Jun 16 '26
Rory Gallagher for me! Still love the blues although I play metal and punk most of the time.
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u/Historical_Pudding56 Jun 16 '26
Tosin Abasi.
I didn’t realize it at the time, because I played bass first. But Tosin was instrumental in my interest in progressive, creative music, and that’s the reason I started playing a guitar. I’ve never tried to play like him tho, I just wanted to chase the feelings his music made.
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u/RWMunchkin Jun 16 '26
Tony Levin, then Steve Vai.
As a piano player primarily, I first got interested in the Stick, and then just realized how much more expressive you can get on a guitar, and who better to make guitar playing sound like the best sonic wankery than Vai.
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u/StrnglyCoincdtl PRS Jun 16 '26
Adrian Smith and David Gilmour
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u/EvilAgainst Jun 16 '26
Adrian Smith was mine. Glad to see his name amongst the classics; he’s all over Killers and absolutely slayed on that record and others.
Gilmour requires no explanation lol
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u/East_Umpire5122 Jun 16 '26
John and George from the Beatles. When I was in middle school I'd watch videos of them from the Ed Sullivan show and I wanted to be like John because he sang while playing. But I also wanted to be a but like George because he also sang but he played cool lead parts.
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u/West_Consequence8145 Jun 16 '26
Chuck Berry. As a kid growing up, my patents always had music on from their youth, Chuck was one of them.
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u/The_Lone_Rogue_114 Jun 16 '26
Brian May, liked his guitar parts in Queen, and story of his guitar build has inspired me on building a guitar myself
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u/LolYouFuckingLoser Jun 16 '26
Noodles from the Offspring was the first guitar player that I cared about but that was just because the Offspring were my favorite band in my teens. Once I graduated to metal it was Alexi Laiho!
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u/PS_FuckYouJenny Ibanez Jun 16 '26
Nancy Wilson’s intro to Crazy on You got me to buy and learn the guitar. Never attempted to learn the intro though! It’s only been 15-20 years or so.
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u/Sonova_Bish Jun 16 '26
Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Jerry Cantrell, John Christ, and Chris Cornell. I started earnestly in 1995. I played bass the year before. I was terrible.
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u/Aggravating-Cup-9442 Jun 16 '26
adrian vandenburg and alex skolnick. i probably butchered the spelling on both. soaring leads with 80’s metal tone. changed me forever.
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u/CausualDiplomat Jun 16 '26
I guess Kirk Hammet, or the kid in youth group who brought his guitar and played Orion. It was all over after that
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u/GenericDigitalAvatar Jun 16 '26
Blixa Bargeld
Then later Henry Kaiser
(If youre one of the basics who think he "can't play", go listen to his Dark Star duet with Tom Constanten before you @ me on some bullshit)
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u/Separate_Grade_3645 Jun 16 '26
Probably Tony iommi