The World's Fastest Guitarists

[@Milehighshred]

I'm that John Taylor you mentioned, and no, I did NOT play FOTB at 600 bpm. What Guinness said I did is WRONG. I never played that fast, and nobody can. Did I try? Yes! I relied on Guinness to verify what I actually played. I was hoping to get the 400 bpm I tried (which I also did NOT do). Count my pick strokes in those videos and you'll see I did not play fast enough. In the original performance to break the record you can see I no longer pick fast enough past 300 bpm. The fastest I've officially been clocked at is in a video Troy Grady (Cracking the Code) did with me, and it was at 24 notes per second on a single string, which is a LOT different than playing all over the fretboard. 24 notes per second is a FAR cry from the supposed 40 notes per second Guinness said I did. That fastest guitar player world record is and was an absolute joke, and shame on me for thinking I even came close to those absurd speeds. I'm embarrassed by that record nonsense, and now do my absolute best to focus on accuracy instead of speed, and preach accuracy above speed to my students all the time.

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Honored to see you here John! And obviously Troy wouldn't have just anybody on his shows so it speaks volumes, let's start there. I've seen a lot of the entries for bumblebee, and the only one with a notes were truly defined at such a high speed (some hundred BPM above 250) was your entry. Of course Guinness doesn't know what the hell they're talking about anymore than, I'm sorry rolling Stone, but I don't think it is bad press anyway. Nevertheless I appreciate your humble clarification - and since you were kind enough to grace my channel I should definitely be sinking my teeth more into some of the stuff you've done so this will definitely warrant a trip down the rabbit hole. But I really am honored to have you here, thank you John and good to meet you man!

[@MrClassicmetal]

Vinnie Vincent isn't part of that "club". His playing at a higher speed is very sloppy.

[@guitarmeetsscience]

No not necessarily, but he was going for it got to give him that

[@McGheeOH]

jason becker paul gibert and buckethead are killer speed players

[@guitarmeetsscience]

They definitely are, and Paul Gilbert in his younger years definitely would be able to make this list on a Mark consistent basis. Jason Becker was different in that he had this mastery of sweeping that was second to none. That would be a whole other area of study, and this one I am tackling just pure speed picking. But you're right all three phenomenal players

[@NickManJams]

Roy's a very interesting dude. Got to speak with him several times and his philosophy around his techniques and way of living is very refined. Dude has everything down to a science and his practice schedule is insane. Man barely gets any sleep. Nice chap.

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Very cool!!!!

[@magnumopus511]

I love speed guitar players as well as my friends, who cares about emotion.🤭playing fast and faster is really impressive..More is More! 😂🤘

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Have I got a guitarist recommendation for you: Richard Benson 🤘🤣🤘

[@NickManJams]

Also, honorable mention to Michael Paouris. His playing is absolutely absurd. I'd even go so far as to say he's our modern day Shawn Lane, though he's primarily an acoustic and classical music performer. His speed is absurd, his phrasing is incredible, and his endurance is nothing like I've ever seen. He's truly remarkable and deserves a video of his own.

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Sheesh man.... Just went and checked him out. Absolute beast of a player!!!! On acoustic nonetheless.... Thanks for the recommendation!

[@JaMeshuggah]

When is the video on the John Petrucci Psycho Exercises incident coming???!

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Good call - between those and Steve Vai you're talking some serious workout routines

[@historyofmusicchannel]

Davide Lo Surdo is a Music Legend. He has been honored with a Bronze Statue in Denmark last week.

[@guitarmeetsscience]

That is awesome - his name is definitely getting out there!

[@ImByAbdul]

Thanks for the very beautiful compilation indeed

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Johnnysmithy24]

The comments in these kind of videos never surprise lol

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Hahaha I'm expecting a ton of those lol

[@Johnnysmithy24]

90s Buckethead was really freaking fast too, though not as much as these dudes

[@cooljp1531]

More importantly Buckethead writes some great stuff. Guys in this video don't even know what it means to actually write a song.

[@Johnnysmithy24]

@@cooljp1531 That’s not a fair assumption, people made that same assumption about Bucket himself. Michael Romero writes some great neoclassical stuff, and SHAWN LANE is literally Buckethead’s favorite musician ever, he is a WONDERFUL composer AND melodic improviser

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Definitely, and bucket heads interesting approach adds so much intensity to it that a lot of these players have to work hard to get. Buckethead is a natural

[@therealandrecorbin4050]

You mentioned Vinnie Vincent in the same sentence with those other names and made me spit my drink everywhere. Blasphemous at the very least. To focus on the speed misses the whole point of the greats when they light it up. Most super fast guitarist sound horrible, and most can't wait to turn it off.

[@ponya3.66]

Ooohhh Michael Romeo is a f*cking beast! So happy he's mentioned here! 😍🤘

[@guitarmeetsscience]

He really is, though man it's hard to find a decent recording of him just by himself. Most are very low quality unfortunately but the playing certainly comes through

[@cosasDEguitarra]

man! shaun Lane was an insane guitar player... speedy, full of technique and great phrasing and feeling when playing! Guitar world lost one of his most valuable soldiers when he passed away... DEP Shaun.

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Exactly right brother!!! Shawn was a humble genius all the way 🤘🤘

[@Ottophil]

Fast doesnt impress me. and super boring slow doesnt either. Wanna impress me? Blow my mind at a medium speed

[@kthulhukif]

This is what I told my wife before she married me 🤷🏻‍♂️ I've yet to impress her, but lots of stuff happens. Sometimes I'll even light a candle for effect.

[@MrClassicmetal]

Ah, a video like this one wouldn't be complete minus that usual comment.😆

[@captainshiner42]

Good for you?

[@Ottophil]

@@captainshiner42yep

[@guitarmeetsscience]

It's true - that really is actually probably the most technical level of playing is that medium speed.

[@LSGunter]

Tosin Abasi

[@123612100]

I like Tosin but he's not that fast.

[@guitarmeetsscience]

He is a beast of a player in his own right. He doesn't make the speed list, but in terms of actually putting together phrases, the guy is off the charts

[@delanoarts3703]

Agreed I'm so glad your giving respect to shawn who is just amazing I learned his 5 string hammer on technique absolutely no pull off going to the lower notes instead of high ones nothing like sweep picking but you get it fast there are seriously millions of different things you can do with it in any scale because it's all hammer ons it has a smooth sound that people will confus thinking it's sweep but its not you actually pick 3 times every 2 strings just fucking amazing the way shawn did was insane super long reach but for me the technique changed so much of my shred playing it's not something I do all the time but I still love to shred sometimes and shawn was the best

[@claudecloutier3082]

WOW! Tu as presque l'air de savoir de quoi tu parles, shreddit

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Oh you got really deep into his technique - very freaking cool man!

[@SonicGrace]

Dude , This is Awesome , Glad you put yourself in there , Dude your a shredder !!!

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Thank you brother man!!! Hahaha had to slip that one in just for the fun of it lol. Much appreciated!!!

[@jamesmccormick875]

Vinny played a ton of chromatic stuff. At least the other guitarist you mention, especially Randy, played beautifully. He used speed like Composers use speed. To tell a story.

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Randy was in his own class

[@TheMetalHeathen]

Finally! Someone has recognized the amazing skills of Shawn Lane! R.I.P. Thank you!

[@TheDarkmore]

"Natural born musical demon!" absolutely.

[@guitarmeetsscience]

🤘🤘

[@hugoleonardoamaral586]

An honorable mention goes to ROBERTO BARROS. The guy plays insanely fast with the most economy of movement I've ever seen. His work with Edu Falaschi is out of this world

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Just checked him out.... Dude is a beast! Thanks for the recommendation!!!

[@captainshiner42]

That bit about Shawn Lane was SO perfect. He played fast as shit ONLY because he was passionate, and not because of ego. So many people get that shit twisted. I can not stand snobby-ass, jealous assclowns who down other players just because they suck compared to them.

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Bam - you said it right there bro. That's exactly how I feel about a lot of these people who slam those players. It's kind of weird because if they were really making the point about enjoying slow playing more, there would be more substance to their arguments. But yeah - you totally nailed it man!

[@StephenTrunkwalter]

Although these players may be faster, none of them play as beautifully as Randy Rhodes

[@Johnnysmithy24]

Shawn Lane did

[@themechanix8804]

Vinnie Vincent rules! All that crazy stuff he does still impress me everytime I heard it. Using that crazy chicken picking stuff during the fast solos it's impossible to replicate. That guy was a genius!

[@guitarmeetsscience]

He really is - I like how he just goes for it... highly underrated player

[@Mr.Goldbar]

How in the actual fuck can Davide play this fast while actually maximizing movement? There has to be some bionic precision in his arm or something

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Haha Man you got me..... Because he really gets that hand moving back and forth extremely fast, and somehow it works for him. Totally went across the grain in terms of when they talk about minimizing movement. I wish I could tell you honestly man but I can't.... Totally boggles my mind

[@umbandamusic7559]

very nice

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Thank you kindly

[@jamesmccormick875]

Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker and Joe Stump are all masters of speed. One thing, Speed isn’t everything. Randy did it right. He mixed speed in to create tension. His solos were more of a classical composition than a guitar solo.

[@evilstalkerhorne]

To play anywhere close to these guys you need less than 1mm gap at any fret and no buzz. You don't got that you will never be that fast. The closer the string to the fret the less tension is on the neck and truss rod also distance is decreased making you faster even if your actual speed of movement stays the same. Again, this is not arguable it is simple math which can be proven. I.E if you drive 55mph and go 55 miles, now drive 27.5 miles at 55mph. News flash it will take you 30 min exactly half the time! Reduce resistance and your car using the same energy goes faster and farther as well. The closer you hold a load to the supporting body (in this case the neck) the resistance is exponentially reduced.

[@owlperchedsilo3745]

Shawn Lane is numero uno, that's for sure.

[@andrewhess2415]

Are you able to do a video on Jeff Loomis please?

[@synhet84]

What about SPIRO?

[@Stephen.na6]

Shawn lane. That’s all you needed to show no one else is half as fast.

[@Johnnysmithy24]

Roy is technically faster than

[@gwapongrommel]

The only first 4 guitar player are the real deal not just sort of showmanship of speed, but they played and composed real music, but the rest I don't know or heard about them but based on these video seems that are not accomplished musician like Shawn Lane, Rusty Cooley, Michael Romeo and Chris Impellitteri who are underrated. They're not playing speed for the showmanship but with a purpose.

[@zigzag8949]

Shawn Lane

[@MystNLMusic]

Anyone remeber glen proudfoot?

[@nacuda9]

Like buying a fast car...there's always another one faster, ha. I'm sure there's someone thats hit the fastest a human can. It's actually mundane at this point. Dave Shankle ex Manowar smokes.

[@richarddizon8889]

Definitely for a buck pound for pound shred guitar player that can rival the likes of Paul Gilbert, these guitar players you feature none other than Andy James

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Andy is a beast as well and of course so is Paul

[@TheLochs]

I grew up on 80's hair metal and loved shred guitar. I went to MI in 1986 and had one on one lessons with Paul Gilbert, Frank Gamble, Don Mock etc. Everybody wanted to shred back then. I'm now 56 and it just doesn't interest me anymore. I still like fast playing but it has to be interesting. Playing fast for the sake of speed is boring to me. Mancuso, Govin are more musical than Batio or Cooley. Just my .02c.

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Guthrie govan and mancuso both are really at the top in terms of all around players.. beasts. That is awesome that you got to study with Paul and Frank - I'm a huge fan of both of them. That must have been a lot of fun

[@jhonnyulivelli5696]

RUSTY coley è il chitarrista più veloce al mondo!!! Mettetevelo bene in testa

[@owlperchedsilo3745]

0:2 ? guy needs to learn how to relax and play fast at the same time or he's in for a heart attack. silly.

[@Loverboy6027]

I'm tapping 1000 bpm while running downhill at 60 miles per hour😂Anyway, solos should have a meaning and a soul and not to be boring.I loved Malmsteen for a while, but not anymore.He became boring after a few good albums, and he became a jerk.On a fretboard, also as a person.

[@GuitarTotality]

John Taylor is a fraud. He admits it himself. He says in a video that he wasn't accurate even at 350 bpm. He goes on, "Guinness gave me the record for fastest guitar player for playing Flight of the Bumblebee at 600 BPM, and then 620 BPM. After learning more about my playing, I decided to take a look at the original footage sent to Guinness. I did not pick every note in my performance. Therefore, I did not break a world record. I truly believe that any guitar speed record needs to have every single note being picked. Because I did not do what I said needs to be done, I want to tell everyone the truth." Troy Grady clocked John Taylor at 24 notes per second tremolo picking. Let's do the math: 16th notes - 4 per beat 24 notes per second 24÷4=6 beats per second 6 beats × 60 sec = 360 bpm Even if he played the song at his max tremolo speed accurately, he could only reach 360 bpm. Sorry, Truth is Truth! 🌎✌🎶🎸

[@guitarmeetsscience]

Now THIS is the type of comment I was hoping to get. Love the breakdown, and you are welcome to come geek out on my channel anytime. Love that stuff man Thank you!!!

[@Jackson-b8j4l]

I never liked fast guitar playing, give me one note and I can put more emotion and it can be heard, then someone playing a million notes a second.

[@christiancordaway2181]

Some sounds like shit. It's like after Vietnam when they had to take the full auto switchoff the M16. Wasteful nonsense. The articulation has died, the feeling is not there.