What's the future for talented musicians?

Congress said:It’s quite fascinating that one of today's premier fusion guitarists, John Smith, released the album "Purple" back in 2002, which features his takes on Hendrix standards. In one interview, he mentioned that Hendrix's playing style remains a massive enigma to him, and that this album was just the beginning of trying to solve that puzzle: "Music Has its Gods , and Jimi Hendrix is One of them". It's truly interesting how a jazz musician who practices guitar twelve hours a day still struggles to define Hendrix's technique, yet here in the States, everyone who has been playing for five years thinks they've already surpassed him...

That’s so true.
I would also add that with Hendrix, it isn't merely about his technical skill, but rather that masterful musical intuition and the volcanic energy that seems to pour directly out of his instrument. When you consider that level of intensity, you could almost compare it to Cecil Taylor...

Whether people love his music or not, Hendrix is a legend. Personally, I certainly do.

P.S:
Bill Frisell also cites Hendrix, alongside Joe Pass and Jim Hall, as a major influence...

Drito Konj said:I’m honestly stunned by this comment. It’s coming from someone who clearly thinks they know everything about music. 🤣

I really want to believe you're smarter than the replies you're posting here...🙄
Honestly, I couldn't care less what you think. For you, this forum is just a stage to prove how great you are. For me, it isn't!

Merry Christmas!☕

Mcnuggetdistorzion said:Metalheads—especially those 80s hair metal guitarists—are totally gay. Just give us some punk instead. 🙂 🙂

Maybe they are, but man, they can actually shred. 🤣

Nicholas Perez33 said:Yeah, technically he's the most shreddy, but creatively he just butchers everything. Anyone who spends ten hours a day obsessing over etudes just to try and become the next Malmsteen actually will become him. Thank God, because besides those heavy metal guys worshipping Malmsteen, nobody takes him seriously.

Malmsteen has raw talent, but for some reason, he’s stuck in this one specific era. You can't say the same for Satriani, Mecalipine, and the rest.

As for Vaia, you could argue that—strictly based on my taste, obviously—his music lacks soul and I'm not a fan of his style, but you can't really claim he's some stylistically limited metalhead. They've evolved way beyond their roots, even if you can still hear where they came from.

Or, like stefanofski so eloquently told a journalist during an interview about guitarists: you have to realize that the best guitar players should be sought out in metal.👍

To me, these arguments are incredibly shallow.
Whether we're talking about guitar, any other instrument, sports, or science: you get out exactly what you put in.

Of course, someone practicing ten hours a day isn't going to be on the same level as someone just jamming occasionally with friends, just like Filipovic isn't going to be on the same level as a hobbyist.

And that has absolutely nothing to do with melodic sensibility or having good ideas. A person can have great ideas without being technical, or vice versa. One doesn't automatically imply the other. It's just like how people who want to be musicians but refuse to practice love to philosophize just to justify their own laziness under the guise of "creativity."

If you're a professional musician, you have to put in the work and refine your craft. You can't just strum three chords, act cool, and go through that adolescent phase of acting like you're too deep for the grind.

☕

Since I'm a woman, I'll go ahead and admit it—I was always a huge fan of Malmsteen 😍

rustymaker60 said:I’ll give myself a pass since I’m a woman—I actually really loved Malmsteen.😍

Nobody is saying he's bad, just that he's a total goofball.🤣

Man, I was listening to this recording from a flight once... I think someone spilled something on him, or maybe it was a flight attendant or a reporter who provoked him... I mean, the reactions were wild... 😂

Just like, "F***ing hell, I will unleash the fucking fury..." something along those lines.🤣

Satriani swears by Hendrix. Miles Davis was a huge fan. Even Prince spent his life studying him...

Amanda Fowler64 said:Satriani basically swears by Hendrix. Miles Davis was a huge fan. Even Prince has been studying him to this day...

So who can actually be an inspiration for Sach? It’s not just Hendrix; there are plenty of other names cited who are objectively much worse than him (though comparing artists is always a bit of a gray area).

The guitar is a relatively young instrument, so you can only really draw from what was available when you started playing. While Sach brought his own unique flavor to the table and pushed boundaries himself, maybe Hendrix did that first on a larger scale—so in a broad historical sense, sure, Hendrix might be "bigger." But if you ignore all that context and just hand a recording of both players to someone who is already a world-class guitarist—someone who doesn't know their history, their era, or their personal style—I honestly think they’d walk away concluding that Satriani is leagues ahead of H-a. 😎

Balkanijan Pimp said:The guitar is a relatively young instrument—it’s largely limited by whatever was available when a player first picked it up. Just as Sach brought his own unique flavor to the fretboard and pushed the envelope, perhaps Hendrix did the heavy lifting earlier in the grand timeline; so, in a broad historical sense, you could argue Hendrix is the bigger figure. But setting context aside—if you took a top-tier guitarist who had zero knowledge of their history, discography, or era, and just let them listen to and transcribe both players—I suspect they'd walk away concluding that Satriani is miles ahead of H-a.😎

😵😵😵

Balkanijan Pimp said:I honestly think those arguments are pretty silly.
Whether you're talking about the guitar, some other instrument, sports, or even science—it really just comes down to how much effort you put in. You get out exactly what you put in.

Comparing music to sports? Yeah, I guess those arguments are definitely a bit silly.🙂

Nicholas Perez33 said:You’re comparing music to sports? Honestly, that’s such a weak argument. 🙂

I’ve tried comparing apples to oranges before, but this is something else entirely. Sure, art is a unique beast, but at the end of the day, every single discipline relies on the same fundamental pillars: raw talent and hard work.

Technique alone just makes you a decent craftsman, not an artist. But honestly, if you have all the talent and ideas in the world but don't back them up with the best possible technology and knowledge available today, you’re only hitting half your potential. You really need both to make something great. 👍

Look at science the same way you look at art. You’ve got those visionary geniuses who can push boundaries and pull ideas out of thin air that nobody else has ever even dreamed of—it's pure creative inspiration. Then, on the flip side, you’ve got the "reproducers"—people who have mastered everything currently known to man, but haven't contributed a single original thought to the field.

Look, even if someone has a killer idea, they still need to actually know their stuff. Knowledge is everything.

I mean... look, not every physicist is going to be an Einstein, but even a genius needs to master their basic multiplication and division tables before they start running around chasing wild fantasies. 🤣

☕

Well, I guess you could say Hendrix actually has real talent, unlike some of these others ☕

Nicholas Perez33 said:Honestly, unlike some of these guys, Hendrix actually has real talent. ☕

The media has been hyping him up for ages, and now, suddenly, everyone’s acting like he's some kind of saint. If the press put half as much effort into inflating Mecalipine as they do now, they’d probably be swearing by his name instead of Hendrix.

Temptations ☕

Hendriks has zero talent; he’s just high on LSD and has a fried brain. 👍

Balkanijan Pimp said:The media just blows him out of proportion, and suddenly everyone is acting like he's some kind of deity. If the media hyped up Mecalpine even half as much, we'd all be worshipping him instead of Hendrix right now.

Well, look at you! You're not just a psychologist, I guess you might be a sociologist too! 🙏 🙏 🙏

Nicholas Perez33 said:Man, you're acting like part psychologist, part sociologist here.🙏 🙏 🙏

Look, I'm just an avatar—you finally realized where you stand, didn't you? Just bow down, listen, keep your mouth shut, and stop overthinking things, because honestly, it’s not getting you anywhere. It’s not even about how many idiots are out there; it’s the fact that everyone thinks their opinion actually matters.☕

I remember watching MTV Unplugged back when the network actually had some soul left in it. I saw an episode featuring Satriani and Stevie Ray Vaughan. I honestly suspect that right after that specific session, Stevie passed away. He basically got swallowed up by Satriani. Look, Satriani is talented—he pushes technical boundaries, he’s come up with plenty of clever tricks, and he's musical—but he just doesn't know how to craft a masterpiece. During that set, he played "May This Be Love," and it wasn't even close to Hendrix, especially since he messed up while trying to sing. You really feel the difference in the raw pressure of the performance on an acoustic set, and in that moment, Vaughan came closer to Hendrix than anyone else.
Man, Satriani once mentioned that his primary cultural activity was just watching cartoons. Jimi, on the other hand, was out there jumping out of planes and possessed a massive endowment that's practically immortalized in plaster.
Do you think there's no connection there? Oh, there's definitely a connection...

That looks terrible on you. Sach made a massive mistake thinking he could actually sing and churn out those little tunes of his 🤣

It’s just pure misery. Especially when Vai joins in 🤣

Woe said:Anyway, I used to watch MTV Unplugged back when it wasn't as trashy as it is today. They had Satriani and Stevie Ray Vaughan on in one episode. I honestly think right after that session, SRV passed away. He basically ate Sach alive. Look, Sach is great—he pushes technical boundaries, he’s come up with tons of cool licks, and he’s musical—but he doesn't know how to actually *create* something real. During that set, he played "May This Be Love" and you just can't compare him to Hendrix, especially since he messed up while trying to sing. You really feel that difference in pressure on an acoustic, and in that moment, Vaughan came as close to Hendrix as he ever did.
Man, Sach once said his main cultural activity is watching cartoons. Meanwhile, Jimi was out there jumping out of planes and had a massive dick, immortalized in plaster.
You think there's no connection? Oh, there's definitely a connection...

Hmm, I've got a massive dick and I watch cartoons. Maybe I should switch to being a guitarist; my future would be totally secured. ☕

Balkanijan Pimp said:Who could really be a role model for Sach? It isn't just Hendrix, but a whole list of others who are objectively much weaker than him (though comparing art is always a bit of a question mark)...

The guitar is a relatively young instrument, so one can really only draw from what was being offered at the moment they picked it up. Just as Sach brought so much to his own playing and pushed the boundaries, perhaps Hendrix did that first, which means in a broader historical sense you could say Hendrix is the greater figure... but regardless of all that context, if you took someone who is a top-tier guitarist themselves—someone who doesn't know their history or their work—and let them listen to and learn from both of them without knowing who they were or when they lived, I think they would simply conclude that Satriani is far ahead of H-a...😎

Technically speaking, Satriani might actually be more polished and advanced than Hendrix...

But with Hendrix’s guitar, actual MUSIC comes out... 😍

To me, it feels like in Satrianija, technique has become an end in itself. It's the victory of form over substance. Pure punk, as David Thomas might say...🤣

Amanda Fowler64 said:Satriani swears by Hendrix. Miles Davis absolutely adored him. Even Prince is still studying his work today...

I mean, don't get me wrong, Hendrix was incredible—truly one of a kind. But saying Miles Davis worshipped him might be stretching the truth just a little bit. If you look at Miles' own autobiography, you'll see a different story:

There’s a part right near the beginning where he says something along the lines of:

'i ever Had in my Life ( with my clothes on ) was When i First heard Diz and bird.'

Since we're talking about legendary guitarists, does anyone here have any thoughts or insights on these guys?

Wes Montgomery
Django Reinhardt
Joe Pass
Grant Green
Barney Kassel
Jim Hall
John Scofield