Guthrie Govan Mimics

Deijavoo

This still makes me laugh.

No Clapton.....make of that what you will.

Bucket

I posted that here a few months ago, it got a mixed reaction. Lots of people seemed to be very offended by it for some reason...

I think a lot of it is actually very accurate. He really is bloody good isn't he?

The best thing is that he can quite convincingly mimic many different guitarists, but when he plays his own stuff he has his own very distinctive style and sound - I can always tell it's him. I always love listening to him, whatever he's playing.

Deijavoo

Yeah, Guthrie is King for me in that type of player. Always loved his lessons in GT when I were a lad. 

This is more comedy than to be taken seriously by listeners though surely?   

ICBM

It makes me laugh too… but I suspect not for the same reason. I really hope it's meant to be comedy because most of them are miles off, even though you can mostly tell who they're meant to be. (Although the Hendrix one fails even on that.)

The Townshend and Edge ones in particular are typical of technically capable players who think they can play in the style of ones who supposedly aren't, and are a perfect illustration of why they can't.

Actually I think all the ones of players I'm quite familiar with are pretty far off. He seems to be able to play the notes and approximate the sound but with absolutely no feeling or any sense of what it is which makes those players interesting. So presumably the same is true of the ones I'm not so familiar with...

Deijavoo

Yeah we are laughing for different reasons. 

I'm laughing because if I don't look at the list or video then I can pick out most of who the impressions are. He's not going to faithfully reproduce each one for mic placement, room etc...perfectly demonstrated by the Gilmour one but his bends let you know who he is so to speak. 

The BB King one could be any blues player and you can only pick out Jimi right at the very end of that section fair enough but generally you can tell who each one is if you are familiar with them.

The point is, it's only supposed to be a giggle and not disected for 100% accuracy and in that he mostly achieves target. 

I'd challenge absolutely anyone else to do a better job of the same list.

Bellycaster

That was great, not seen that before. He is a bloody impressive player and it was a good little parody, in a tongue in cheek way.

I don't make anything of the fact that Clapton isn't there though, Brian May wasn't in there either, who is most definitely a "great" IMO, plus Pete Townshend is there, who is no more technically gifted than Clapton, but lets not get into all this crap again.

dafuzz

I found the magazine the other week - what is missing from the audio is that each guitarist was a winner in a different category: James Taylor best fingerpicking, BB King best vibrato (iirc). The point is Guthrie isn't just aping various guitarists he's trying to emphasise certain aspects of their playing.

Anyway I think it's awesome and always have - name another guitarist who could do all that!

EDIT: it was a readers' poll in case that's not obv

Bucket

He can actually do a better Hendrix than that clip would have you believe, btw:

racefaceec90

to be fair to guthrie,he never claimed to mimic the greats,he was just asked to do a short soundbyte by guitarist magazine i think to emulate famous guitarists (i read an interview about his reaction to the above video,and he basically said (what i rubbishly tried to convey here). 

any way you look at it though he does do a hell of a job of it imho ;-)

DrJazzTap

I was going to say, he personally despises this. It was some piece of fluff he did for a guitar magazine (i actually remember buying the mag). And that was that, now obviously his career has rightfully blossomed so anything GG related has been dug up.
His fake slide guitar is what impresses me the most.

ThePrettyDamned

Great player, and every now and then, I'll listen to his own stuff but despite playing very interesting music, it tends to bore me quite quickly.  He's definitely a player worth listening to, though, and he's very humble and very nice chap. 

That is one hell of a showcase of his diversity, though.  I can pick most out - the Paul Gilbert wasn't quite there, but Yngwie was perfect! 

I really enjoyed his EVH thing, too - which illustrates why I rate EVH as a rhythm player more than lead really ;p 

ChrisMusic

Astonishingly good bit of "slide" on that video, but then it is Guthrie, so astonishing technique goes with the territory I guess.

His comment about Jeff Beck singing the music and contorting the guitar to perform that way, is just the way that Guthrie does it.

I am enjoying the thread, nice one  

racefaceec90

i'm gonna have to fit my whammy bar to my ibanez lol ;-)

Bucket

That Jeff Beck video is astonishing.

I want to be able to do that.

ChrisMusic