Top 10 Guitarists Who Can Play Both Fast and Slow
There are lots of fast guitarists, Michael Angelo Batio, Yngwie Malmsteen or Steve Vai. There are also a lot of slow guitarists, BB King, Eric Clapton. But this list is for those guitarists who can play both fast and slow very well. Sometimes their solos are mix of fast and slow licks.
Joe Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. When he was only 12 years old, Bonamassa opened for B.B. King. He was born 8th May 1977. He is known to be one of the greatest blues guitarists ever. Hey play's fast and slow, he really is the best.
Mark Freuder Knopfler is a British singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer and film score composer. He is best known for being the frontman of the British band Dire Straits. Not a very fast guitarist. But he can play fast with his fingers. His slow solos sound better. Sultans of Swing is a combination of fast and slow solos. Brothers In Arms is entirely a slow solo.
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work in the hard rock/metal bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. He was ranked number 16 on Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time" in 2004, and number 50 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2011. In 2016 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of original members of Deep Purple. Slow solos, Son of Alerik, Soldier of Fortune. Fast solos, Highway Star, Stargazer etc.
Eric Patrick Clapton is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and Cream. He has also been a member of Derek and the Dominos. He is known for "Slowhand". But when he was in Cream, he had many songs with fast licks. Not too fast, but fast enough.
Brian Patrick Carroll, known professionally as Buckethead, is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist who has worked within many genres of music. That makes one of the most skilled guitarists. Cause he has both emotion and techniques in his songs.
Most of his songs are fast. But he can play slow songs too. Sail on Soothsayer or Too Many Humans etc.
Robert William Gary Moore was a Northern Irish musician, most widely recognised as a singer, songwriter, and virtuoso rock and blues guitarist.
James Patrick Page is an English musician, songwriter, and record producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. He mostly used combination of slow and fast licks. But he has notable slow guitar solos. Since I've been loving you is a good example of slow guitar. Heartbreaker is an example of fast solo.
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist, songwriter and producer. Best known as lead guitarist and founding member of the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, he has been the band's sole continual member and primary composer. At age 17, he accidentally lost the fingertips of his middle and ring fingers on his right hand, and considered giving up music. His boss encouraged him to continue playing by playing a record of the jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt who became famous even though his fretting hand was limited due to an injury. He carried on and down tuned his guitar for easier playing, which helped give birth to heavy metal music. Slow awesome riffs, sometimes speedy pentatonic solos.
He mostly plays slow, but he also can play fast. Fast for comparing his time.
Roy could tear you to shreds then gently tuck you into bed,tastefully in a single solo.
Steven J. "Steve" Morse is an American guitarist and composer, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs; and since 1994, the guitar player of Deep Purple. Uses both fast and slow licks in most of his songs.
Alvin Lee was an English singer and guitarist, best known as the lead vocalist and lead guitarist of the blues rock band Ten Years After. The Bluest Blues is a good example of both fast and slow solo.
Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956) is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, with many of his former students achieving fame, such as Steve Vai, Larry LaLonde, Rick Hunolt, Kirk Hammett, Andy Timmons, Charlie Hunter, Kevin Cadogan, and Alex Skolnick; he then went on to have a successful solo music career. He is a 15-time Grammy Award nominee and has sold over 10 million albums, making him the biggest-selling instrumental rock guitarist of all time ...read more. Slow solos are solos like If I Could Fly, Searching, I Believe etc. But he is mostly known for a fast guitarist.
James Alan Hetfield was born on August 3, 1963. He is an American musician, singer and songwriter known for being the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Not on very top cause he isn't a lead guitarist. But he has skills for both slow and fast guitar.
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is an American guitarist, composer, singer, songwriter, and producer, born and raised on Long Island, New York. Whispering A Prayer an example of both fast and slow.
David Jon Gilmour is an English singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He joined the progressive rock band Pink Floyd as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1968.
Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and songwriter for the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus.
John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, producer and composer.He is best known for his time with the Funk Rock California based band the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He was also part of the Mars Volta, Swahili Blonde, Ataxia and more.