Well, it’s my last day at the helm and although I was warned not to post any porn, I couldn’t help myself.

A JET Guitar. A hand-made custom guitar. Spalted flame maple and wood accoutrements throughout. This is fine art.

A Jaros guitar. I lust for this guitar. Walnut body. Ebony fretboard. Double helix inlay. If I never had to worry about money, I would own a room full of Jaros guitars.

Morgan Monroe Tempest. This is my guitar, or rather, a picture of the exact same guitar that I own. I shopped around a bit for guitars and fell in love with this Morgan Monroe. It is very similar to a fixed bridge Paul Reed Smith. It’s mass produced, the pickups aren’t quite as good, but I actually prefer the tune-o-matic style bridge and the 24-fret fingerboard. I would have preferred nickel-plated hardware, but I’m just being picky. It plays every bit as nice as any PRS I’ve ever picked up and this cost about a third of what I would have paid for a PRS that looks this nice. Unfortunately, Morgan Monroe no longer makes electric solid bodies.

Just look at them. How are they not beautiful?

But what I really want to talk about is guitar players. I mean, there are guitarists out there that lay down the licks so sweet you swear it’s sin. You know what I’m talking about. Sometimes it’s just a lick, sometimes an entire phrase, sometimes it can go on seemingly forever. It’s aural sex.

Who I prefer to listen to, the guitarists that give me the biggest chills, changes often. But there are a few constants. Listed here are just a few of the string slingers I, and others, can’t wait to hear.

Dave Gilmour

Pic circa July 2005
I can only imagine what the Live 8 show must have been like. To see Waters and Gilmour together again … wow! Gilmour is the master of understatement. Voicing more in a note than many do in several. He accomplishes this in a couple of clever ways. First, his tone is killer, classic Fender Strat with just a bit of its edge softened. You can always tell it’s Gilmour playing from tone alone. But then there’s his choice of phrasing. His solos always stay on pretty comfortable ground. For all the praise of Pink Floyd being an experimental band, progressive, Gilmour’s guitar has always been solid blues-based rocking. And it’s exactly this anchor that allowed the band to play with so many other sounds. We may have always been able to “hear in our heads” what Gilmour was going to do next, but it’s this that makes him so important to the band. And few guitarists out there can articulate his solos as he does.

Recommended listening: Comfortably Numb, The Wall; Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part I-V, Have a Cigar and Wish You Were Here, Wish You Were Here.

John Petrucci

Pic circa late 2004
I am such a huge fan of Dream Theater. I cannot imagine a band comprised of more talent than this. Each member is a master of their instrument. I could wax poetic about the entire band, but Petrucci is the main focus of my admiration and I’m primarily a guitar fan. The exact opposite of Gilmour, Petrucci plays fast and has a “more is more” attitude toward notes. Bassist Tony Levin played with all the members of Dream Theaters (sans singer) in a side project called Liquid Tension Experiment. He said of the project (paraphrased ’cause I’m too lazy to look it up right now), “If we’d been paid by the note it would have been my best paying gig.”

Dream Theater (and all Petrucci projects) is truly a progressive band, fusing many different forms of music somehow into an immensely enjoyable hard rock experience. Petrucci is a master of quick time changes, beautiful guitar tones and eclectic scale choices. His sheer knowledge of music would earn him a place on my list, but he also executes each and every style like the master he is. When you first listen to a Dream Theater piece, it can be difficult, because you don’t know what’s going to happen next. I admit that it took me a while to get into this. But as my appreciation for jazz grew, I found myself more attracted to Dream Theater also. They are now my favorite band.

Recommended listening: The entire Scenes From a Memory concept album; Octavarium, Octavarium; Misunderstood, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.

Steve Vai

Pic circa 2005
Well. Steve Vai is just one of these guys, you know? I can’t say that I agree with his Zen philosophy about the guitar, but whatever works for him. One thing that can’t be disputed is his sheer mastery of everything guitar. Anyone who says that Steve Vai is an emotionless robot or something like that is someone who hasn’t really listened to him. From his days with Frank Zappa to his solo stuff today, Vai is a chameleon. He has the ability to fit into any style and his solo albums showcase a musician who loves to play a wide variety of stuff.

His eclectica has probably worked against him to some degree. It’s hard to nail him down to a genre, though surely hard rock is his bread and butter. Anyone who’s heard the Fire Garden Suite knows how jazzy he can be (and how well he also plays the piano and bass). I would class him as a progressive just as I do Petrucci or Rush. I love his playing, you can tell how spiritual he feels about it - it shows. There is nothing on the guitar that this guy cannot do. Give up, you’ll never be better than him.

Recommended listening: The Infinite Steve Vai Anthology (especially the Fire Garden Suite).

Lastly, I wanted to throw a bass player in here because they deserve some respect as well:
Tony Levin (w/John Petrucci)

Pic circa 2001
There’s not much that can be said about Tony Levin that’s not been said before. He is the emperor of bass. He’s played with so many folks. He’s King Crimson’s bassist. He’s been Peter Gabriel’s bassist ever since Gabriel went solo. He’s done so much work it’s amazing. Seriously, this guy’s done everything. From fusion to pop, from folk to hard rock, he’s been everywhere.

He’s also got a fantastic website that can really tell you more about him that I ever could. Make sure to check out the archives and his bit about coffee. www.tonylevin.com

Just a taste, here’s a list off his main page of recent things Tony has played on:
Jim Weider, Percolator.
Steve Thorne, Emotional Creatures part one.
Bari Koral, Confessions of an Indiegirl.
Gap Mangione, Family Holidays.
Peter Gabriel, Encore Series.
Simon Apple, River to the Sea
The California Guitar Trio, White Water
Jon Durant, Things Behind the Sun
Rachel Z, Everlasting
Susan Robkin, Surfacing to Breathe.
Susanna Parigi, Indifferenza.
Veronica Lock, Come un satellite che va.
Carl Hupp Project, Hyper Statue.
Anthony Curtis, Book of the Key.
Sarah McLachlan, Afterglow.

Recommended listening: Thrak, King Crimson; THRaKaTTaK, King Crimson; Liquid Tension Experiment 1 and 2, Liquid Tension Experiment; Brothers in Arms, Dire Straights; So, Peter Gabriel.

This has truly been a pleasure to write. I certainly hope someone gets something out of it. I’ve been jamming to much music by many of the artists I’ve listed here while writing. What better way to spend a lazy morning? Coffee, great tunes and pontificating on music.