Poll: I'd like EVERYBODY to respond to this if possible

Urgh I have to agree with badhorsie on this one. Speed is irrelevent. I personally am not crazy about Vai's music, (sometimes i like it, but often not) but it's not just because it's fast. I think that Vai is often overindulgent, and disregards this listener, but I do give him credit for being an impressive musician (he transcribed zappa tunes!)
To say that speedy players can't play with soul, well first of all your discounting pretty much all classical players. I doubt that you have much knowledge of the genre, so it's not fair to dismiss them automatically. And yes, it's possible to play with feeling even if you're not improvising.
I like blues players, but I would never limit myself to listening only to blues. I listen to a lot of jazz players (Barney Kessel is my fave this week, check him out you'll be pleased,) and the best ones have all the feel of the great blues players, they just use it differently. As for shred players playing with feeling, it depends on how you define shred. If shred means music that is about the technique, not the music, then i think they can't play with feeling, but that's a stupid definition isn't it?
Guys like Satriani are often called shred, but he plays blues wonderfully, if you've ever heard his self titled album you know. He doesn't sound like Buddy Guy; he does his own thing, but it's still blues and its still soulfull. One could say that John Mclauhglin shreds, and his music is some of the most interesting, experimental stuff ever made.
To say that soulfull playing is limited to 12 bar I IV V progressions, that once you break a certain speed barrier that you're not playing with feeling anymore, it's ludicrous and missing the point of music just as much as guys who like music just because it's difficult and fast.

i think that every man should stand for himself, for example rithcie blackmore was one of the fastes players in the 70's but some of his songs, are played with feel that not too much people can play with, and i think that for another example yngwie malmsteen, who is known as a man that is heavy influenced by blackmore, didnt take the part of the feel from blackmore and put higher speed, and amount of notes instead

Compared to shredders, I think most people could be said to have soul though. I think the reason shredders don't get any soul across is because it's difficult to give each note it's own "character" when the next one's coming so fast. You can't use vibrato or bend on every single note because it'll slow you down so much, which isn't what you want is it.
I think the thing that's caught Yngwie is now he doesn't know how to do anything else. I'll admit I've not heard any of his new stuff, so maybe I'm wrong and he's slowing down in his old age, but I doubt it. I think when you devote your life to shreddering, or at least you become rich and famous for shredder, it's hard to change and go for the more soulful approach. I know people've done it, but I don't think it was easy for them.
I'm beginning to think though most people aren't really all the inspired to play like Yngwie...

I've heard many times people saying: "anyone can play fast, but only the best can play slow" now in some cases it's not true because i'm sure not anyone can play really really fast, but i think it's really much harder to build a slow solo, with a small amounts of notes, than to build just a up and down solo, that will have 1000 notes, but all of them will be meaningless

Believe it or not, it is harder to play slow and stay in time. I know it sounds crazy but the reason is most people a tempted to hit the next note just that little bit too soon. I think anyone with enough practise could play resonable fast and clean, and accurately, but ask that same person to play a solo involving about twenty notes and which relays on pauses, accents, etc. I think they may struggle for a while. It may sound a little crazy, but it's true.

Let me put it this way guys like Clapton and Beck could do more with on note than Yngwie Malmsteen can do with the whole fretboard 500 times over.

Yeah, SpaceAce, its all about dynamics.
A wall of sound can be impressive initially, but runs the risk of sounding tedious, despite the obvious talent and technique needed to produce it (preferably live, not in a studio). Give me Jimi's Red House or Page's Heartbreaker solos any day.

Not at all. I respect his talent, but have never enjoyed listening to him play. SRV and Eric Johnson inspire my "woodshedding desire" the most.

[Edited by fendermonkey77 on 05-30-2001 at 04:55 PM]