My Top 5 Greatest Guitarists

1) Jimi Hendrix

In my opinion Jimi Hendrix is without a doubt the best guitarist of all time. This incredible musician has inspired generations with his songs and incredible guitar solos. Many current musicians have take inspiration from Hendrix's unique tone and ability to engage a world audience with his innovative style. The expression and emotion he conveys in his music puts him in a different league to many other guitarists. Some stunts that he pulled in his career such as setting his guitar alight and playing with his teeth amazed audiences and are aspects of a life that was tragically ended too soon.

Whether you agree or not with popular opinion that Hendrix is the greatest guitar player alive, it cannot be argued that his unique style and sound has been an inspiration to many musicians around the world and if his life had not been so tragically ended at such a young age, he would be continuing to amaze people with his incredible playing. Jimi Hendrix will be forever mimicked but never matched.

2) Chuck Berry

A pioneer in the rock & roll genre; this exceptional musician has inspired generations with his individual sound and engaging stage presence. Songs such as 'Johnny B.Goode' and 'Maybellene' developed Rhythm and Blues into the genre that we recognize today. Berry's captivating stage presence delighted a world wide audience and made him into a a true entertainer as well as an incredible musician.

Chuck Berry established Rock & Roll as a musical genre and wrote songs and riffs that influenced millions of musicians, for that accomplishment his name will be forever remembered.

3) Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton's outstanding guitar riffs and solos have influenced numerous musicians within his lengthly career. Songs such as 'Layla' and 'Cocaine' adopt a unique, gritty tone that guitarists still attempt to recreate to this day, while his inspiring 'Unplugged' album takes a wonderful acoustic spin on his electric hits. Eric Clapton has been involved with many other bands such as 'Cream' and 'Derek and the Dominoes', he has written and performed some amazing songs with these bands which are worthy of the credit they enjoy.

Eric Clapton's exhilarating solos and riffs will go down in history as some of the finest ever.

4) Jimmy Page

Jimmy Page was the founder of the legendary band 'Led Zeppelin'. With this incredible band, he, along with the other members, wrote some exceptional songs that have been broadly influential. One of those many songs includes 'Stairway to Heaven'; in my opinion one of the greatest songs of all time. It includes a slow, delicate acoustic guitar part which builds up to a truly inspiring guitar solo which is widely considered as one of the greatest ever. Jimmy Page has written some other incredible riffs such as that in 'Whole Lotta Love' and 'Kashmir' which has inspired a breed of musicians to aspire to be like this great guitarist.

Jimmy Page has written some truly exquisite riffs and solos that will go down in history as some of the most impressive ever.

5) BB King

This expressive guitarist, along with his companion - a Gibson ES-335 he named 'Lucile', have written and performed blues licks which almost every blues guitarist since has taken inspiration from. His passionate soloing rooted around flowing string bending and soft vibrato combined with tender vocals make BB King a truly unique and unequaled musician who will continue to inspire and influence the blues world for many years to come.

John Mayer - A True Inspiration

The guitarist, John Mayer is a big name in America, while over in the UK he doesn't appear to be such a household name. However i believe everyone should know the wonderful works of this amazing musician.

The first time i heard John Mayer's music was when a friend sent me his live acoustic cover of Tom Petty's 'Free Falling' from his live album 'Where the Light Is'. As soon as i started listening to the song i was truly memorized by the beautiful, rich tone to John's voice, also the way he has changed the electric guitar parts adopted in the original version into ones that perfectly suited the acoustic guitar and steel guitar blew me away. The occasional backing vocals from the two other guitarist gave the song a very mellow and calm feel while adding strength to the lead vocals. When it comes to the bridge, the guitar is strummed clearly on the ofbeat of the 4/4 beat with little fills from all the guitarists in turn which creates a professional and experienced aura between the 3 musicians on stage.

After hearing 'Free Falling' i went out and brought the whole 'Where the Light Is' Live in Los Angeles CD. A particular favorite of mine being the song 'Gravity'; the way the song builds up gradually throughout the blissful 9 minutes into a truly memorizing guitar solo and ending with a prolonged drum crescendo takes my breath away.

John Mayer is a truly amazing guitarist worthy of one day being considered a musical legend in the same category as Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, 'Free Falling' along with other acoustic songs on the live album such as 'Neon' and 'Stop this Train' inspired me so much with its steel string guitar playing that i later went out and brought a Cort Steel String Acoustic of my own in an attempt to recreate the same enriching sounds as heard in the album, it's not the same standard guitar as Mayer plays on stage, however Ive fallen in love with its the rich and gutsy tones the steel strings creates.

John Mayer has been the biggest inspiration to me as a guitarist and if i had not discovered this amazing musician the guitar as an instrument would not have such a broad appeal to me.

Glastonbury Line-up Released

With only 2 months to go until the 40th Anniversary Glastonbury Festival, the line-up has been officially released. With musical legends such as U2, Muse and Stevie Wonder set to play on the Pyramid Stage, this epic festival promises to deliver on it fortieth birthday.

Tickets went on sale on October 4th 2009 and were sold out within 24 hours, proving that Glastonbury is one of the biggest and most popular festivals to attend. However, Glastonbury had some rivalry with line-ups from the well established festival T in the Park. The line-up for T in the Park was announced before that of Glastonbury’s and included some impressive acts such as Jay-Z and Eminem. For some time fans were sceptical as to weather Glastonbury could match the remarkable line-up of T in the Park, however a couple of months later they responded with a line-up to be jealous of, promising 4 days of captivating musical acts that everyone would be delighted to see.

So as fans count down the weeks till the big weekend, Glastonbury organizers are working hard to give the estimated 140,000 festival-goers a weekend of musical heaven they wont forget.

Gibson Dusk Tiger - Another Attempt at a Super Guitar

Gibson’s most recent musical contraption is the rather attractive-looking Dusk Tiger. The most obvious design feature is the stunning marblewood top and chrome tailpiece which fits around the pickup and snakes around the bridge; giving it a flowing display and some of the untamed character suggested in its name. The appearance of this guitar may not be to everyones taste but personally i think these features give it distinct persona that no other guitar i have seen holds.

Unfortunately for many people hoping to experience this guitar, it comes with a costly price tag of £2,799 and is limited to a reserved 1000 production line, the Dusk Tiger will be an instrument available to only a minority of guitarists.

The Dusk Tiger inherits the same Robot technology as Gibson’s last attempt at a super guitar – the Dark Fire. This means it acquires the redesigned Master Control Knob, the MCK II, which, when activated, allows you to access a range of 11 tunings. Although apparently it’s much quicker and more precise than the one on the Dark Fire, it still fails to achieve 100% accuracy on all tunings.

A neat feature on the Dusk Tiger is that you have multi-function toggle switch which allows you not only to change between the magnetic pick-ups, but also has a blend function which means you can embrace the perfect ratio of magnetic to piezo tone in the guitars output.

If your one of the lucky few who will be getting a Dusk Tiger, it also comes with Gibson’s edition of Ableton Live 8 and a Robot Interface Pack (RIP) which is everything you need to connect your Dusk Tiger to your Windows or Mac and record your ideas , it will also give you access to hundreds of effects and amplifiers and the ability to create backing tracks.

The initial signs from Gibson look positive on their 4th attempt of a super guitar, however, when it comes to using the Dusk Tiger for heavy gigging and long hours in the studio will it perform to the high standard we all expect from one of the most famous guitar makes in the world?