Everybody wants to be the lead guitarist?

K

Kraku

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The stereotypical guitarist what people think about is someone who wants to be the lead guitarist in the band. How many of you fall into that category? Are you more into playing leads and solos, or are you more of a rhythm guitar type musician?
 
Its true for me. Don't get me wrong Malcolm was great but I wanted to be Angus.

And to take it a step further, I wanted to be the only guitar player in the band. I really loved how when Eddie or Randy went into a solo the rhythm guitar dropped out. You could hear the solo better and it just sounded right.
 
Hendrix for the win! That's what we wanted in the early 70's if you had an electric guitar. Some Claptonites, but Hendrix was the man!

Lead was the thing, unless you played your grandpa's guitar.
 
I hate it and have always had to do it in every band I've been in. In my current band, we are a three piece and I'm the singer, guitarist, and then have to remember when to hit my damn boost for solos and shut if off, etc.
 
If you don't love playing rhythm as much as lead you probably suck at lead. I like playing leads but I like laying down a nice interlocking rhythm part just as much as I do cutting a nice solo. If rhythm is boring to you then you just suck at rhythm.
 
I have always wanted to be a lead guitarist, that's all I care about when it comes to guitar. When I'm practicing at home, it's 90% lead playing. It's just what does it for me. I'll play rhythm parts as well when I'm just playing a whole song over a backing track, but all I've ever cared about is just playing cool guitar solos.
 
In my gigging life I was mostly the only guitar in the band, so by default also a lead player but the most fun I had, music wise in a band was in a two guitar band where we would trade leads and do harmony stuff. I dig the size of the sound on stage with two guitars.
I’ll play leads but I enjoy rhythm just as much. Anything causing a Marshall (or the like) to bark makes me happy.
Played for a short while in an AC/DC tribute as Malcolm and my God, the sound on stage was the most dynamic and glorious thing. I only hope it translated through the P.A.
 
Been the only guitarist in bands forever. Would be fun to have a keyboard player to jam with. Sometimes there are solos to play and sometimes not.
It’s odd we spend 90% of time working on skills that are used maybe 10% of the time.
 
Kraku said:
The stereotypical guitarist what people think about is someone who wants to be the lead guitarist in the band. How many of you fall into that category? Are you more into playing leads and solos, or are you more of a rhythm guitar type musician?
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Early on, I wanted to be a lead guitarist; e.g., I wanted to be like Ace but ended up being more like Paul...took me years to appreciate what Paul did for the band.

in my first band with my first paying gig at 14, I was the only guitarist so I played all the guitar parts; band was 4-piece with bass, drums and a very good, older, vocalist.

I quickly learned there were many more guitarists who played lead better than I did, so I focused on rhythm guitar, then singing, and eventually bass.

The singer left to get married, we got a lead player, and I played rhythm and sang lead, for maybe another 2-3 years, the band broke up early senior year in high school, but we had a good run with many gigs the 3 years the band lasted.

I was in several more bands after that, playing rhythm guitar, sometimes singing lead, or bass; I played my last paying gig, and left my last band at 32 when I got married; I played bass in that band.


TL;DR; when it comes to guitar, I'm a rhythm guitarist.
 
I couldn’t care less if I ever play lead. I do when I need to and I’m reasonably competent, but I’d rather be laying down a thrashy rhythm. Hetfield was the reason I picked up a guitar in 1984 and rhythm players have been my main inspiration ever since.

If a lead fits it is great ( think Pantera, Floods….freaking awesome lead work), but a lot of them just sound like wanking to me.
 
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