The level of skill posessed by rock groups has gone downhill since Jimmy Hendrix, I'm afraid.

As for the network guy, get him a "SAMS teach yourself" book - his training obviously consisted of pressing the power button. Maybe a grounding in troubleshooting (checking that it's plugged in), if you're lucky.

Concur yr analysis on what is called "modern rock" now. Seems it's mostly comprised of whiny adenoidal boys who can't actually sing, they just shout their complaints about how they're so misunderstood and full of anger at everything, in something just short of in-tune with the asstastic plinking their brother's former roommate is doing on his thrift-store guitar.

Also have to agree with your opinion on Aerosmith's latest. Honkin' on Bobo is one of the best albums they've put out in ten years, IMHO. For a while they were sliding downhill just like the Stones, but it sounds like they got back to their roots and started cranking out that good ol' blues-rock that worked so well with them. "I'm Waitin'" and "Jesus is on the Main Line" are two of my all-time faves!

--TwoDragons

The latest Rush album, Vapor Trails, has a lot of problems (not least of which is staggeringly bad engineering) but Lifeson shows there are still a few REAL guitar players out there. He deliberately chose not to do any solos on the album and yet still shines out as the unquestioned star, every damn song. I was impressed.

Toren - But Rush is one of the old rock bands. Lifeson is a good guitarist. I'm talking about all the new bands. I couldn't name a single guitarist in any of them. In the 70's, 80's and the early 90's most rock bands had a decent lead guitarist and I knew most of their names. Now? Nada.

Keith Richards never could play quitar very well. Jesus! He had a capo on an electric guitar! Whassa matter Keith? Having trouble playing bar chords? Yeah! Yeah! He's a millionaire so what do I know? He still sucks.

Excuse me? Denny, you disappoint me.

Barre chords are for suckers, actually very rarely used by pros, generally speaking. Jimmy Hendrix did not play barre chords, btw, but used his thumb to play the low E string like many others.

The whole Keith Richards sounds revolves around the "open G" tuning (DGDGBD), which is a barre chord in itself but sounds much better for the Rolling Stones sound (he doesn't even use a low E string). "Conventional" barres are not needed, only a capo, for different songs in different keys, allowing the fingers to play relatively simple but very subtle rythm patterns. Fairly easy to do, but no one can do it like Keith can...

Just my two cents worth.

Gerard - I have played the guitar for over forty years. There are only two uses for a capo (also called a cheater): the guitarist is too lazy to transpose or the finger picking he is doing only works with certain open chords. For example, when I play Sad Lisa by Cat Stevens, I put my capo up to the sixth fret. Keith Richards does not finger pick.

I have been known to use my thumb to grab the E-string on occasion. I have also been known to play a four string F chord (and G and A etc up the neck.) I have also cheated on taking the B-flat position up the neck by only playing the B,G, and D strings barred with my third finger.

The open G chord is not a bar chord! Anyway, rock guiitarists do not play open chords. When all you are doing is playing chords on an electric guitar, there is not much dfference between an open and a bar chord. Bar chords are preferrable because the chord changes are quicker. Find me another rock guitarist, rhyhthm or lead, who uses a capo.
Ron Wood (Rolling Stones) - no
Hendrix - no
Jimmy Page - no
Clapton - no
Jeff Beck - no
Johny Winter - no
Joe Perry - no
Eddie Van Halen - no
George Harrison (actually an overrated guitarist) - no
Any of the Beatles - no

I still maintain that Keith Richards is an overrated guitarist.

Well... I wouldn't call Keith Richards "lazy" but the capo in his case with open G is just part of his sound. You're right that not many rock rythm players don't use it much. Also, among your list of (excellent) guitarists, none use barre chords that much, don't need to with an electric.

True, Keith Richards does not qualify as a "guitar God" a la Jeff Beck, but he doesn't have to. Same with Pete Townsend (to me, underrated).

p.s. What happened to Johnny Winter?

Gerard - Of course rock musicians play bar chords! I've seen 'em do it. And you're wrong about Jimi Hendrix playing the low E string with his thumb. He played a right handed guitar left handed so it was upside down and his thumb was actually on the high E string.

They do, but many don't (OK, I'm being ambiguous here), Jimmy Page for example once said he never used a barre chord in his life!

regarding Hendrix, good point, but I beleive he re-strung his guitar the "normal" way.

Denny,

Here:

http://www.historylink.org/output.CFM?file_ID=2498

Saw him in a film playing "Purple Haze" and you can clearly see him hitting the open E string on top. Used to tune down 1/2 step too, like Stevie Ray Vaughn (saw him 3 times in concert, what a musician he was...).

Regards.

why did hendrix and srv tune down a half step