The official David Gilmour thread....

[Bryant]

Well..... since we hijacked another thread, I figured, best to allow the Ozzy guitarist thread to stay as such and make one on Gilmour.

"Dark Side of the Moon" remained on the billboard top 200 chart for 15 years........ 15 years in the US.

If you as 100 people who the greatest prog/art-rock band is of all time, how many will say Pink Floyd ?

David Gilmour is a wealthy man, but he has literally given away millions of dollars doing his reunion with Waters show all to charity... amongst many many other charity shows.

Guitar, vocals, steel guitar, bass, keyboards, synthesizer, saxophone, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, drums, talk box, percussion, programming,....... the list goes on and on. This is what David can do.

Gilmour is the owner of Strat #0001. However, this is not the first Stratocaster ever made, but the first to be given a serial number. Obviously, Leo thought quite a lot of Dave.

All of this is not too bad for a guy who doesn't get mentioned nearly enough as one of the greatest figures in rock music to have ever lived.


Bryant

 

[poundingmetal74]

Ironically, I hear David's name mentioned all the time when it comes to favorite rock guitarists. In the Toronto area, Pink Floyd are probably the most popular rock band. Likely moreso than the Beatles, Stones or Zep.

I like his playing, but Pink Floyd has never really "grabbed me". I like them, but have never been able to become enamored with a lot of their music.

 

[Wyvern]

Great thread Bryant. Definitively a huge fan of Gilmour's work with PF and I love his solo debut album.

Sadly underrated guitar player, usually overlooked when it comes to praise technique, skill, composition and performance. Not to mention a very distinctive voice that undoubtedly put him in the pantheon of the prog gods.


My favorite songs are 'Dogs' from "Animals" and 'Mihalis' from "David Gilmour" when it comes to his playing of the axe.

 

[SickBoy]

Very few can match Gilmour's tone, expressiveness and sense of melody!
When I see suckers such as Hammett being praised over and over and over again and kids looking up to him I get a lump in my throat...
If I were a guitar teacher I'd make sure the pupils learn every tiny bit of Gilmour's soloing. Everyone can learn technique if persistent enough, but no one can teach you to be musical, but one can realise the importance of playing from the heart not the mind - that's where Dave stands as a shining example.

To quote Will Ferrell - if you don't think Shine On You Crazy Diamond is the greatest song ever, I will fight you! And that's no lie...

 

[Psychonaut]

One of the most emotional players ever. I could watch him play for days.

 

[Stormwatch]

I love Gilmour's playing although I don't really like Pink Floyd much. The coolest thing about DG is that black strat with the white pickups and controls, that thing is fucking sweet!
I made a Squier version of it, but it was a poor imitation.

 

[ElectricWiz]

Gilmour is the tone king. Like Clapton, he has this vibrato that is just beautiful (I don't much care for EC, but I'll give him that much).

As much as I love the later PF classics, and I do, his true greatness can be witnessed between Umma Gumma through Obscured by Clouds. His mark on the band at those points is undeniable. A friend of mine is quite the vinyl collector, and he has mutliple boots from that era. There are EPIC versions of Fat Old Sun from that era, and Gilmour is like a God on them. Loooooong solos, but with no wasted space - dramatic, beautiful, improvised. Dave's the man.

 

[delize]

I like a lot of Pink Floyd, but not all. I also like Gilmour's "On An Island"!

 

[zeppelin]

Personaly I'm more of a Gilmour fan than a Rogers one. My favouritte PF album will probably be Momentary Lapse of Reason followed by Wish You Were Here. I believe he is mostly responsable for their unique sound and fully deserves whatever kudos komes his way.
I'll agree that he's not the most technical guy out there, PF songs are easy to cover, all the cords are usually very basic but the structuring and the timing are pure genius thanks to this guy.

 

[SickBoy]

I don't get it - "PF songs are easy to cover"?!
Yes, if by that you consider strumming the basic chords on an acoustic guitar PF's music is very layered and has a big dynamic range. What's most important, the whole band has to breathe (in the air) as one to make those songs come alive. And by golly, those Aussies sure made it!
I saw them last year and it's the closest thing to real PF there is, I was amazed and hypnotized at the same time!

And the technique isn't just about endless hyperspeed noodling - there's a thing called "never miss a note, never skip a beat"
Some could say "how can he miss anything, he's playing so slowly" - it's all to easy to miss a note even then... Dave knows what to play in each and every moment of performance, but he surely doesn't think about it at all, the music flows from within him - that's his charm and magic.

Many people (not necessarily you, Zep!) drop their jaws at the sight of mindless boring shredders like Michael Angelo but think they can put Gilmour in their pockets - oh how very wrong they are

 

[zeppelin]

Most guitarists can play some or other PF song or rif, and yes I mean strumming "Wish you were here" or "Brain damage" on an accoustic guitar and making it sound good.
The thing is you don't have to tune your guitar open or down or clamp a knot or any of those things. You also don't have to know alot about 5th's and 7th's with added notes etc. A PF song is easier to immitate than most Beatles songs when coms to strumming and cords imo.
Perhaps calling him less technical is not the right term, I agree. He does however have a "less is more" approach which is perfectly OK.
Besides, I learned how to play PF because I really like their music and his style, I'm not putting Gilmour in my pocket in any way.
...and yes I do drop my jaw watching Michael Angelo shred \m/

 

[SickBoy]

The thing is you don't have to tune your guitar open or down or clamp a knot or any of those things. You also don't have to know alot about 5th's and 7th's with added notes etc. A PF song is easier to immitate than most Beatles songs when coms to strumming and cords imo.

Okay, now it's clearer

...and yes I do drop my jaw watching Michael Angelo shred m/

Like this?

 

[zeppelin]

No .... Like This!!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rutyA12z3Ok&feature=related[/ame]

 

[Bryant]

Very few can match Gilmour's tone, expressiveness and sense of melody!
When I see suckers such as Hammett being praised over and over and over again and kids looking up to him I get a lump in my throat...

I actually both agree and disagree with you here in a way........ I think Hammett would make a very good AOR guitarist, but is a very average (at best) metal guitarist. When Hammett does a slow melodic solo, he isn't on the level of Gilmour or anything, but actually he sounds quite good. When things speed up, he just plays a bur of notes in key. I like his melodic stuff, but not enough to classify him as a great guitarist. I don't even classify his faster stuff to even classify him as a good guitarist though.

Bryant

 

[SickBoy]

IMHO Hammett's playing is totally unmusical, has a stiff vibrato and his feeling for the instrument is pretty much absent.
Just see that Metallica's video where he struggles to lay down a solo for some song, plays totally off-key, horrible.
Yeah, his band is among the biggest ever and he's just plain lucky to have that job cause Hetfield slays him not just in rhythm but in solo department as well!

His solos actually aren't bad, but I somehow think the producers pissed blood while making them sound good in god knows how many takes...

I mean, this is really embarrasing:

 

[METALDUDE]

This song is EPIC!

 

[Bryant]

While I would agree that playing various Floyd songs are fairly easy.... as I myself am known to strum "Wish you were here." However, I can't play it as well as this guy does and certainly can't create music as well as this.

Bryant