Just to prove a point
@inna
Guthrie Govan is one of the greatest living guitarists on the planet Earth.
Here is a short video demonstrating some of his talent.
(8) Incredible Emotional Solo By Guthrie Govan - YouTube
And here are some excerpts from his Wiki page
Govan is known for his command of the guitar, due to both his technical ability and proficiency in various styles. A 2006 interview hailed him as the "virtuoso's virtuoso" and said of him, "Guthrie Govan is recognised by his peers as possibly the scariest guitarist alive. Combining an unparalleled technical ability with a mastery of almost all styles, Guthrie is comfortable comping in a traditional jazz combo as he is performing death-defying 'shred' guitar. Coupled with some seriously funky grooves and an encyclopaedic knowledge of popular music styles, a wonderfully developed slide style and improvisational abilities to match anyone, he may just be the most complete guitarist out there".
Govan's earliest influences were
Jimi Hendrix and
Cream-era Eric Clapton; as such he describes himself as coming from a "blues rock background".
[2] While he is "wary" of 1980s technique driven guitar music ("shred") he cites the imagination of
Steve Vai (as well as
Frank Zappa, with whom Vai played) and the passion of
Yngwie Malmsteen. Jazz and fusion elements are an important part of his style: he cites
Joe Pass,
Allan Holdsworth,
Jeff Beck and
John Scofield as pivotal influences in this respect.
[3] He also admires a lot of modern guitar players with different styles such as
Derek Trucks and
Alex Machacek. Although a very able player in a diversity of styles, Govan has a distinct playing style typically characterised by long, smooth runs often using chromatic notes to "fill in gaps", his fast and fluid tapping up and down the neck, funky slapping, and occasional use of extreme effects. Govan has said that the guitar is simply a "typewriter" for getting a musical message across. Due to his experience in listening to music and working out riffs, Govan states that he is often able to visualise playing in his head without even playing and said that he pretty much has all of the notes in his head before writing something or learning to play something to produce the sounds that he wants.
