Who the fastest guitar player of all time?

Answer 1

According to Guitar One mag, that would be Michael Angelo Batio.

Answer 2

Malmsteen, Vai and Howe are obvious candidates - but there are some who haven't been mentioned.
It could be John McLaughlin. He was "shredding" in a jazz-rock-fusion context before it was considered acceptable let alone fashionable (check out the albums "Between Nothingness and Eternity" and "Love Devotion Surrender").
Or Al Di Meola (more fusion). Or Paco De Lucia (switched from flamenco to jazz!). Frank Zappa could "shred" just as well when he wanted to.
But remember what Charles Shaar Murray said: judging a guitarist by how fast he can play is like judging an author by how fast he can type!

Answer 3

Alvin Lee who was in 10 years after.In his time which wasw the clapton hendrix era he was rated fastest rock guitarist of course many of the jazz guys would leave the rockers standing.

Answer 4

Clapton was nicknamed 'slowhand' for his slow style. The fastest guitaris I've seen was Michael Schenker, Steve Howe was amazingly dextrous. Mike Oldfield no slouch either. Almost impossible to say, there are so many around.

Answer 5

Jimmy Hendrix , Eric Clapton

Answer 6

Guitar One magazine did an article called The Top 10 Fastest Shredders of All Time. Whoever said Clapton or Hendrix obviously never listened to their music; or the question. We're talking fastest here right? Here's who toped Guitar One's list:

Yngwie J. Malmsteen

Born into a musical family in Stockholm, Malmsteen was the youngest child in the family. At an early age, he showed little interest in music. It wasn't until September 18, 1970 when at age seven he saw a TV special on the death of Jimi Hendrix that Malmsteen became obsessed with the guitar. To quote his official website, "The day Jimi Hendrix died, the guitar-playing Yngwie was born".

He claims that Yngwie (pronounced "ING-VAY") means "young Viking chief" in Swedish. Actually, it is a variation of Yngvi, who founded the House of Yngling, which is the oldest known Swedish dynasty.

Malmsteen was in his teens when he first encountered the music of the 19th-century violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, whom he cites as his biggest classical influence. It has been rumoured that Yngwie believes himself to be the reincarnation of the temperamental, often criticized,and widely misunderstood violinist from Genoa.[citation needed] Through his emulation of Paganini concerto pieces on guitar, Malmsteen developed a prodigious technical fluency. Malmsteen also cites Jimi Hendrix, Steve Hackett of Genesis, Brian May, Uli Jon Roth, and Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple as influences.

Malmsteen's contributions to the evolution of modern rock guitar, particularly his embracing of modal progressions and classically-influenced techniques not widely used in rock music, broke new ground and Malmsteen is often credited, along with virtuoso guitarist Randy Rhoads, with the creation of the neoclassical metal genre, inspiring a new generation of virtuoso electric guitarists including Paul Gilbert and Tony MacAlpine.

His appearance on the guitar scene in the early 80's was notable in that he brought and popularized techniques quite different from the Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads- typified style then considered the ultimate in metal guitar technique. These new techniques included fast lines using rapid alternate picking of every note (as opposed to extensive hammer-ons and pull-offs), which had previously only been featured by jazz fusion guitarists (such as Al Di Meola and John Mclaughlin), as well as very rapid sweep picking of arpeggios (typically in Malmsteen's characteristic harmonic minor).

Answer 7

Eddie Van Halen

Answer 8

I would say any of the shredders - maybe Kerry King? Almost all the guitarists in the black metal field can play at lightspeed (as can the drummers!).

Answer 9

hendrix, probly but the guy from system of a down can play guitar SO fast its not even funny

Answer 10

I'm not sure...

Michaelangelo OR Yngwie Malmsteen OR Alexi Laiho