What happended to the shredding guitar solo?

[Kinetic]

You'd be hard pressed to see any real good guitar solo in rock these days from popular music channels. Now thats not to say it does not exist still in rock and metal bands that are undergroud perhaps, but does the masses really care about great rock solos or shreds (aka 80's solos) anymore?? I know I do.
In the blues realm, it still has life, but in modern metal and rock, is minimal...??

[Ride on a Pony]

"does the masses really care about great rock solos or shreds?"

No, of course they don't. Most guitarists don't even care about that shite, let alone the general public.

[logen99999]

here's a cool solo from a current band i like

You Tube

You Tube

(warning extremely awesome tone)

[chequepoint]

Originally Posted by paleo

You'd be hard pressed to see any real good guitar solo in rock these days from popular music channels. Now thats not to say it does not exist still in rock and metal bands that are undergroud perhaps, but does the masses really care about great rock solos or shreds (aka 80's solos) anymore?? I know I do.
In the blues realm, it still has life, but in modern metal and rock, is minimal...??

You'll find the best rock guitar solos on the radio these days in country music.

[logen99999]

i'd love for the classic angus young style solos to come back. if you think about it angus' solo's were amazing. short, sweet, and they had a way of building up and really complimenting the riff they were played to. like the solo from you shook me all night long. that solo is perfect in every single way. wish we heard more of that today.

[lovnik]

Originally Posted by chequepoint

You'll find the best rock guitar solos on the radio these days in country music.

You make a good point.

[Xavier_32]

Grunge killed the guitar solo, remember? Besides, pop rules the airwaves now. It's all about looking trendy and singing angsty lyrics in popular 'rock' music today. Who gives a shit about guitar solos?

[dazzypig]

They'll come back.

Fact of the matter is, most guitarists don't have the taste to listen to many of the bands who made them back in the day to gain the right ear and inspiration.

The bigger point though is that most kids starting the instrument simply can't be arsed to put in the the time woodshedding to be technically and musically able to either conceive or play great solos any more.

Most (but not all) popular guitarists now'a'days suck... IMHO

[SoloDallas]

Originally Posted by logen99999

i'd love for the classic angus young style solos to come back. if you think about it angus' solo's were amazing. short, sweet, and they had a way of building up and really complimenting the riff they were played to. like the solo from you shook me all night long. that solo is perfect in every single way. wish we heard more of that today.

This is it. This is it for me. Very well expressed.

[Asterix]

Originally Posted by dazzypig

They'll come back.

Fact of the matter is, most guitarists don't have the taste to listen to many of the bands who made them back in the day to gain the right ear and inspiration.

The bigger point though is that most kids starting the instrument simply can't be arsed to put in the the time woodshedding to be technically and musically able to either conceive or play great solos any more.

Most (but not all) popular guitarists now'a'days suck... IMHO

This - well said mate.

The way I look at it is that to play even a simple original solo well, you need to understand your craft. Most of the solos that grab us and smack us round the face are not often the most technical or fast (Angus Young as mentioned is a great example) and most people have no love for a 5,000 note per second shredmeister (myself included) but you need to know your craft - that takes time. Neil Young would have been out of a job in the 60's if that had been the case.

Less is very often more BUT you need to know that.

Led Zep as an example - twin guitar tones in Ramble On, after 2nd verse I think. Awesomeness distilled, so simple. Drum fill close to the end of Stairway, single hit on each tom, just perfect.

Nearly every musician I know that consistently overplays, hasn't learnt that simple lesson.

[RobP]

+1 Couldn't agree more!!!

[twangydave]

We have Nickelback - everthing is going to be ok.

[PINKBITS]

Originally Posted by SoloDallas

This is it. This is it for me. Very well expressed.

And I too

Perfectly put and couldn't agree more.

[chequepoint]

Originally Posted by dazzypig

They'll come back.

Fact of the matter is, most guitarists don't have the taste to listen to many of the bands who made them back in the day to gain the right ear and inspiration.

The bigger point though is that most kids starting the instrument simply can't be arsed to put in the the time woodshedding to be technically and musically able to either conceive or play great solos any more.

Most (but not all) popular guitarists now'a'days suck... IMHO

Calling bullshit on this. The lack of solos is a MUSICAL decision. I'd say 95% of the guitar players you hear on the radio are both technically and musically proficient. They are well versed in multiple styles and at least in this town, they have to be able to read a chart. They're all capable of throwing down if the producer asked for it. The same goes for most of the guys in backing bands these days.

The real fact of the matter is that radio programmers place a high dollar figure on every second of airtime, so much as to speed most pop records up at least a half step because it "sounds more exciting" and lets them squeeze in an extra couple of commercials a day. Radio, A&R, and Producers don't want to waste any airtime on guitar solos when they could be emphasizing the real "stars", the singers. The guitar player on the record isn't going to be the guy on the road this year, and that guy probably won't have the same gig next year, so why devote time to the solo?

[kmrumedy]

The new Ozzy seems to be doing really well.

[Asterix]

Originally Posted by chequepoint

Calling bullshit on this. The lack of solos is a MUSICAL decision. I'd say 95% of the guitar players you hear on the radio are both technically and musically proficient. They are well versed in multiple styles and at least in this town, they have to be able to read a chart. They're all capable of throwing down if the producer asked for it. The same goes for most of the guys in backing bands these days.

The real fact of the matter is that radio programmers place a high dollar figure on every second of airtime, so much as to speed most pop records up at least a half step because it "sounds more exciting" and lets them squeeze in an extra couple of commercials a day. Radio, A&R, and Producers don't want to waste any airtime on guitar solos when they could be emphasizing the real "stars", the singers. The guitar player on the record isn't going to be the guy on the road this year, and that guy probably won't have the same gig next year, so why devote time to the solo?

You've spoken about session players by the sounds of things - of course these guys are technically great, they have to be, but they don't write or make decisions of how the song will be arranged. I'm also going to throw it out there that yourself, being from Nashville, is likely to be surrounded by a slightly different breed than most other places in the world.

It doesn't sound like you've really spoken about a long term band type thing.

Why haven't solos been written into the latest chart music? Because it was probably written by Paula Abdul. On this point I fully agree with you.

[planks]

Not minimal at all. It's all over the place. Might not be on "popular music channels", i wouldn't know, 'cause i almost never watch those. Millions of people care deeply for it (the solo).

YouTube - Jorn - Song For Ronnie James (Official video)

YouTube - Jorn - Song For Ronnie James (Official video)

[planks]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coBzy-tPdws

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coBzy-tPdws

[Thanos]

Originally Posted by Ride on a Pony

"does the masses really care about great rock solos or shreds?"

No, of course they don't. Most guitarists don't even care about that shite, let alone the general public.

I care very much, and am trying to make the transition from bassist to lead guitarist.

Then again, I don't listen to popular music.

[chequepoint]

Originally Posted by Asterix

You've spoken about session players by the sounds of things - of course these guys are technically great, they have to be, but they don't write or make decisions of how the song will be arranged. I'm also going to throw it out there that yourself, being from Nashville, is likely to be surrounded by a slightly different breed than most other places in the world.

It doesn't sound like you've really spoken about a long term band type thing.

Why haven't solos been written into the latest chart music? Because it was probably written by Paula Abdul. On this point I fully agree with you.

What record doesn't have session players on it? The concept of a band is pretty foreign these days, even if there is one on the album cover, even if the producer let them track for a day or two, in Nashville, NY, and LA, the real guys get called in to play in the end.

When a "Band" gets signed, the label signs the singer, and possibly the guitar player if he's considered a key guy.. the rest of the band is put on salary and cut out of the business. I'm in Nashville this week, LA next week, it's the same either place. If the producer wanted a ripping guitar solo, all he'd have to do is say "go".

There was a session I was on last year with a pretty big name "ripping" guy on the leads, and he let him off the leash in the studio, then buried the leads under a pile of ad lib vocals and the outro choruses.. That's how it goes.

Hell, Todd Youth played more guitar on the last cheap trick record than Rick Nielsen.

[Asterix]

If you say so - not my experience but I guess I don't know so much.

[Skintaster]

"Shred" guitar is doing just fine if one knows where to look. Bands like Dragon Force and Avenged Sevenfold are fairly popular with people, and there are tons of metal bands (Jeff Loomis and Nevermore come to mind) that "shred". In my opinion, most of the best guitar rock and metal just isn't on the radio.

In fact, I think that an appreciation of technique in guitar playing is higher now than it has been since the 80's. You just have to know where to look.

[JBranch]

I'm not really hip to new music these days. But I really dig Avenged Sevenfold, their solos really remind me of alot of the music I listened to as a teenager in the 80s. The shredding solos are still around, if that's what you're into.

[Akadave]

They havent gone out of style in Europe. There is a genre called "Hero Metal" that is alive and well. Hammerfall, Symphony X, Ark, etc. They still do the shred thing. Michael Romeo is one of the best guitarists I have ever heard for shred.

Nirvana killed the solo I think. God if I hear one more lazy, semi-in-tune, half assed attempt at a guitar solo from a US band I will start collecting ears!

Most of the players much younger than I use the term "Shredder" as a derrogatory term.

[zap2012]

I completely agree that there are too few solos in modern music nowadays. Of course, nearly all modern music sucks, so I'm not too surprised. The new music I'm listening to most nowadays is indie-type stuff like The Decemberists and Arcade Fire. Great bands, but no solos.

I have to say, though, that shredding kinda sucks. Guitar solos should serve the song first and be technically impressive second. The two best guitar solos ever, in my opinion, are the second one from "Comfortably Numb" and the one in The Smashing Pumpkins' "Soma." Both of those are moderately difficult at worse but they're so melodic and fit the moods of the songs so perfectly that any more pyrotechnics would have completely ruined them and the songs. Even Kirk Hammett's more impressive solos, which are also some of the best out there, aren't really shredding.

Originally Posted by Xavier_32

Grunge killed the guitar solo, remember

Well, that's just not true. Billy Corgan was firmly in the grunge camp, and he played solos like a mofo. Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains have excellent solos in some of their older songs, too. So does Soundgarden. Even Kurt Cobain played solos. They mostly sucked, but that's not the point. Grunge and rockin' guitar solos are not at all mutually exclusive.

[Kinetic]

I do think Nirvana and the Grunge movement changed everything though. Before them it was Metal and shredding all over the place.

As far as pop is concerned and what rock and metal we hear on the radio, I do agree that most young musicians do not learn the ways of the force and become technically inclined guitar wizards. IT's not important for them or their fans. It's much easier to make a simple pop song with a simple heavily feedback-bendy solo that is loosely based on Pentatonic then to whip out a solid, structured melodic and complimentary solo like Angus, Van Halen, Hammet or Slash would.

Of course it exists in underground metal bands and rock bands, but why doesn't the music industry support it anymore? Why dont they push it out again? Because there is no shortage of talent; it all comes down to what the major labels, radios, and TV want to support....

Unfortunately, shredding and solo's have a bad rap for many people. I have had debates about this with other folks and they look at me like "What the hell are you talking about?? Nobody likes solos anymore; nobody likes big show off guys that look like chicks up on stage anymore; you might as well stroke you own D$&ck if you want to play a long complex, technical solo!"
I'm like, "no man, you got it all wrong". I usually find those who are anti-solo/shredding are usually the ones who dont know shit about rock or metal and are ones that can't play guitar worth a shit. Its really easy for a crappy guitarist to fall back on music and support music that is non-technical.

Some of the BEST rock/metal music and pop music in general were born out of 70's and 80's rock that was saturated with solos; people have forgotten that. People have forgotten how damn cool it was when a guitar wizard gets up on stage , shreds like a wild man, but with skill and melody and impresses the hell out of their fans by complimenting the song, extending the song, or throwing a fast ball at them that made it even more impressive.

[Akadave]

Originally Posted by zap2012

I completely agree that there are too few solos in modern music nowadays. Of course, nearly all modern music sucks, so I'm not too surprised. The new music I'm listening to most nowadays is indie-type stuff like The Decemberists and Arcade Fire. Great bands, but no solos.

I have to say, though, that shredding kinda sucks. Guitar solos should serve the song first and be technically impressive second. The two best guitar solos ever, in my opinion, are the second one from "Comfortably Numb" and the one in The Smashing Pumpkins' "Soma." Both of those are moderately difficult at worse but they're so melodic and fit the moods of the songs so perfectly that any more pyrotechnics would have completely ruined them and the songs. Even Kirk Hammett's more impressive solos, which are also some of the best out there, aren't really shredding.





Well, that's just not true. Billy Corgan was firmly in the grunge camp, and he played solos like a mofo. Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains have excellent solos in some of their older songs, too. So does Soundgarden. Even Kurt Cobain played solos. They mostly sucked, but that's not the point. Grunge and rockin' guitar solos are not at all mutually exclusive.

Comfortably Numb has a classic solo true. But all shredding is not created equal. There are a lot of solos from times past that qualify as shredding that are tasty and totally fits the song. For instance the solo in Megadeths's Symphony of Destruction. Tasty, not overly long, not overly technical but fits like a glove. Lots more than that too.

[EEF13]

Right now I am in a commercial type of band. I am not into the music we play, I am just an extra guitarist. My other band is a hard rock/metal band. I can play a cool solo but I can't in the pop band I am in. A lot of musicians get sucked into bands they don't really like because it's better than nothing so they live with it. A lot of guitarist are really metal heads and can rip your face off with a kickass solo but they are tied down to the commercial band so they can't.

[zap2012]

Originally Posted by Akadave

Comfortably Numb has a classic solo true. But all shredding is not created equal. There are a lot of solos from times past that qualify as shredding that are tasty and totally fits the song. For instance the solo in Megadeths's Symphony of Destruction. Tasty, not overly long, not overly technical but fits like a glove. Lots more than that too.

I actually just went and listened to that. I would definitely agree that that's an example of a solo that fits the song. Neither the song nor the solo are my favorite, but the solo definitely serves the song rather than the other way around. It's a good example of how you can do that in a metal context and while displaying a decent amount of technical ability.

[TheImmaterial]

I watched a programme on the BBC along the lines of 'guitar heroes' and it said they were a dying breed but could this guy (Matt Bellamy from Muse) perhaps be a new incarnation. I don't know how true that is but he can definitely play (in a slightly synthy, avant garde kind of way).

You Tube

You Tube

YouTube - Matt Bellamy guitar solo

YouTube - Matt Bellamy guitar solo

You Tube

You Tube