ytse_jam

February 10, 2012 at 11:11pm

what about dave mustaine. and what about michael romeo. symphony x is a pretty rocking group. and that synyster gates is way above his pay grade.

and would it pain them to put band names in. quite annoying to have to google people to see who they play with.

tim9110

January 21, 2012 at 6:04pm

what about richie blackmore?

strat_player86

December 04, 2011 at 9:35pm

they should do a poll on who had the best vibrato

sikesusmc

November 21, 2011 at 10:25pm

synyster gates is a talented person. this list says top 50 fastest, not top 50 greatest. if you do not think he is fast, listen to "dancing dead", and/or "M.I.A" solos. very fast. i can agree, a lot of guitarists were left out, but this list is good. paul gilbert should definitely be in the top 10 along with many others. gates belongs in teens or top 10 if enough room is available. some of his new stuff is not so fast, but with more feel.

matheusgrgr

November 12, 2011 at 10:34am

You should redo this list, not by voting,but by you, because If it was really a vote, Synyster is third, because after the death of Rev, A7X is much known now, and A7x is turning fad.

matheusgrgr

November 12, 2011 at 10:21am

Still has much ground to Synyster Gates, get near the speed Batio, Steve Vai, Lane, The Great Kat, Malmsteen, Petrucci, Herman Li, Cooley, Paul Gilbert, john5, Hendrix. Where's Kirk Hammett is also faster than him?

jaxx555

November 02, 2011 at 10:26am

ehm ehm, Are we serious here on this poll? Again another waste of time flipping the slides to find another disappointing pick. Seriously, come on people, the Gates kid is not faster then the last 50th guitarist. Even Van Halen stated about himself that he is "Not a Fast Guitarist". Honestly, the shred thing is getting old, where is the creativity poll?

mira

November 01, 2011 at 7:17am

You're kidding, right?
Where's Frank Zappa?

No doubt this list was concocted by a bunch of snot-nosed kiddies.....

killsing

October 31, 2011 at 5:32pm

I used to play with a guy that was sooo fast that for some reason he intimidated all other guitarists around. Problem was he was also the sloppiest and had a horrible tone. As we get older we realize that speed without being accurate and having a great sound mean more than just speed. Maybe because we grew up??

masterbassist69

October 31, 2011 at 4:20pm

synester gates can suck my dick or cock

masterbassist69

October 31, 2011 at 4:20pm

synester gates can suck my dick or cock

masterbassist69

October 31, 2011 at 4:16pm

what the hell happend to this site?

masterbassist69

October 31, 2011 at 4:16pm

what the hell happend to this site?

dnnspay

October 31, 2011 at 6:14am

There are players here that have nothing to do with speed..!! Damn what were some voters thinking?

davidwilson

October 30, 2011 at 11:32pm

There is always controversy when these lists are published. Its debatable in regards to many on this list as to if they really are even remotely fast enough to be compared to one another. For instance comparing Jimmy Hendrix to Michael Angelo Batio is absurd. Now im NOT referring to each others talent here JUST SPEED! If speed were the only judge you would definitely say Batio is WAY faster.

Ive always refrained from posting until now because i know that Guitarworld uses these lists to get noticed and arouse debates. They know all too well that many of these players are not even suitable for the list they occupy. They will always throw in a handful of players who definitely don't belong to piss people off but in the end how can it be bad for Guitar World. :)

57 Stratman

October 30, 2011 at 6:47pm

No Billy Gibbons? No Stevie Ray Vaughn? No SLASH? No George Thoroughgood? No Ted Nugent? No Gary Moore? No Rory Gallager? No Alex Lifeson? No Steve Howe? Come on, who puts together these lists, with Joe Pass and John McLaughlin, but not the aforementioned guitarists. This list is Bullshit!! Must be a fastest Metal players list (except for a few), eh??

lord_tenchu

October 30, 2011 at 10:44am

this is the worst list I've ever seen. :/

guitarworldsucks

October 29, 2011 at 11:06pm

The fact that Allan Holdsworth is nowhere to be found on the list, shows clearly that top *anything* lists are just silly and whoever put together this list is f'ing clueless.
Guitar world magazine sucks.

mort3904

October 28, 2011 at 4:35pm

The list is so bad from #50 to #3. Some just don't belong on the list because of their style, some belong but are out of order. Somehow it got #2 and #1 right.

matheusgrgr

October 28, 2011 at 2:23pm

I think John Petrucci, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Herman Li, are much faster than Synyster Gates

old shred dude

October 27, 2011 at 4:10pm

Jimmy Page is one of the most over rated guitarist of all time.

slayerswine

October 25, 2011 at 4:28pm

Gotta post again.
A lot of GREAT comments and names mentioned here people. Music is THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. I, like some people, forget that it is OPINIONATED and not OBJECTIVE. The ONLY way to prove who is the fastest would have to involve some sort of scientific testing involving film footage and sound I would imagine.

Now as far as my first comment, after careful second evaluation I would like to respond again to some responders as well as adding a few names to the mix.

thrasher666-TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU !!! I was fortunate enough to see Gary Moore in Chicago @ Metro in 1987 for "The Wild Frontier" tour. Stood right in front of him the whole show. AMAZING !!!

erndawggy-I'd say the EPIC SOLO in "Dazed & Confused" from "The Song Remains the Same" soundtrack gets him in. It was recorded in 1973.

GatorStudio-TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU !!! I have seen the Tonemaster numerous times. He shreds as well as anyone.

2 names not mentioned in this poll are Allan Holdsworth and Mike Scaccia (Rigor Mortis & Ministry). Undoubtedly two of the fastest guitarists on this planet.

oldrhoadsfan

October 23, 2011 at 10:35am

In what reality is Synister Gates ahead of Yngwie or Steve Vai on this list? It would apear that the 80's were a bit rough on the writer of this poll.

8stringpagan

October 22, 2011 at 7:17pm

I agree with Michael Angelo being #1 as far as known guitarists go. But the Great Kat should've been right there next to him.

Were any metronomes used while people were judging?

thf24

October 22, 2011 at 6:07pm

Gus G?

rt41

October 22, 2011 at 2:39pm

I read in your own July '08 issue that Dannyjoe Carter was the fastest living guitarist around....and he's still around too! Yet he does not appear to be on this list anywhere?

TJ_A7X

October 21, 2011 at 12:11pm

Wow. All im reading is straight jeleousy that SYNYSTER FUCKIN GATES is in top three. Syn is riidiculously fast and sounds damn good while playing fast. Though i dont think syn should be number three. Maybe the high teens low twentys, but the whole poll is FASTEST. Buckethead is probably faster the only difference is that buckethead sounds like shit. Syn is fast and it sounds Damn good! if it were that kind of contest syn would grab the top spot. So with that said, all people hating on syn just cuz hes better than your idols, stfu you sound like bitches. and emo? seize the day, not ready to die, 98% of theyre lyrics dont have even the smallest hint of emo anything. So hop off. A7X foREVer

jas1210

October 21, 2011 at 11:04am

Jimi,Randy and Eddie.
That's all you ever really need.

jas1210

October 21, 2011 at 11:05am

No one has mentioned equipment.

Most guitars from the 50's had huge necks, and very small frets...quite different than a thin,flat Ibanez wizard neck with jumbo frets.

chris2507

October 21, 2011 at 10:37am

@griffin_88 it just pisses me of that all the guitar pros here are saying shit about syn just because hes 3rd here. there are 50 other guitarists in this poll so why dont you choose them? maybe because all of you are just fucking haters.

im not saying syn is better than your 40-50 year old idols with years of training, no. but there is no point to insult a - still pretty young, creative and, maybe not as fast as the others here, but good guitarist. grow up people

mrbungledisco

October 21, 2011 at 8:49am

Lol Synyster Gates @ number 3? Anyone who is going to defend that publicly is embarrassing themselves. Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix make it on every list, regardless of what the title of the poll is. Neither one should have been on this list. They are good, but the word "speed" doesn't come to mind when I think of them. These things are always a joke/popularity contest. Good for a laugh at least.

entity

October 21, 2011 at 12:14am

Stupidest idea for a poll ever. Speed isn't a matter of opinion, it's a matter of fact, measure the notes per second. I worry about the staff at GW that they couldn't think of a better, or more relevant poll based on OPINION instead of this rubbish.

aaronduerksen

October 20, 2011 at 6:10pm

i agree with the people about the syn gates thing, i think hes good but he isnt as fast as say, satch, gilbert etc. Hendrix is my idol but he isnt faster then jimmy page, Jeff beck isjust as fast if not more as page. Vai can be extremely fast and still look clean, even though i do like some sloppy guitarists. Les paul i mightve put higher in the list, and I would said whos the fastest guitarist that can still play good whyll being fast or something haha

Mxfield

October 20, 2011 at 5:07pm

SYN GATES SUCKS!!!!!!!

Mxfield

October 20, 2011 at 5:06pm

THIS POLL SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

metalupmybass

October 20, 2011 at 12:18pm

What in the hell kinda fucked up poll is this?! .....some I can agree to but Kirik Hammett isn't even fuckin on here....and out of 50? That's sayin something. Kirk, James and Dave Mustaine...at least one should've been on this list...this thing is obviously playing jokes on us!

redarrow18

October 20, 2011 at 11:48am

I would agree this list is arguable about speed, yes they all have skill but speed, I don't know about some of them

tippss

October 20, 2011 at 10:49am

Syn. Gates on the list? That's a joke! The only reason is he's in a band that is popular right now. Popular by metal fans( if you want to call them that)who don't have a clue. Just another radio freindly(popular)band/guitarist. He's got skills, but not even in the same leaque as the others on the list. The list is questionable!!!!

hedonisticink

October 20, 2011 at 10:41am

Who actually voted on this poll? I don't always agree with your polls but have never felt the need to leave a comment. This is probably the most F&%ked up poll I have ever seen. It must have mostly been voted on by teenage girls, that's all I'm sayin'.
On Second though can I vote for The Angriest Guitar Player in the world to be on the list?

GatorStudio

October 20, 2011 at 8:53am

Why is Eric Johnson never on these lists? Does GW have some kind of beef with the Tonemaster? He's never even graced the cover of GW, but stupid Courtney Love has. Must've pissed off someone in the editor's office.