The Greatest Modern Blues Guitarists

The greatest guitarists of all time - a long-standing and inflammatory debate, and not one which can be presented and settled within the paragraphs of this short blog. Instead; here are four trailblazers who pioneered, reshaped or moved the bar - giving players around the world cause to reassess the instrument and raise their game.

Taking the time to understand and truly listen to the finer nuances of the greats is also the perfect way to influence your own playing and stay motivated.

Here are four such modern blues guitarists who are making waves in the guitar community; their style, influence and some good reasons to immerse yourself in their music before grabbing your guitar and crafting your own path to greatness!

It is rare that, in the oversubscribed noise of blues guitarists, a player can stand out from the pack. Josh Smith is the epitome of a blues game changer. Having become good enough to perform alongside pro players at well-known blues hangouts around his childhood Florida home by the age of 12, he swiftly became part of a new wave of child prodigies. Josh attributes much of his speedy development on the guitar to his consistent habit of surrounding himself with older and more superior musicians. He also states that he put in the hours; practising non stop from the moment he came home from school until he went to bed. By the age of 14 local blues, heavyweight Jimmy Thackery was quoted as saying that Josh was ‘Three heartbreaks away from being a true blues genius’

By the time he hit the age of 22, Smith had released a number of albums (his third offering ’Too Damn Cold’ was produced by Jim Gaines who worked with artists such as Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughan) and in 1998 supported BB King on a run of theatre shows. His frustration with the tough journey as an independent artist saw him relocate to L.A. where he became a hired gun, playing for touring artists such as American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and backing Mick Jagger during an award ceremony. Smith has cited these experiences and musically diverse situations as having a big impact on his approach to the instrument.

So what makes his playing so great? Well, aside from perfect time feel and phrases which seem to ‘bounce’, he takes a fresh look at the simple harmony of the standard 12 bar blues, being a big exponent of playing ‘through’ the chord changes. He often uses altered tonalities to anticipate chord changes and add tension. He has also mentioned the superimposition of other progressions within his lines, for example; overlaying a II-V-I between changes. His country influences very much stand out and it's not unusual to hear cascading open string and double stop licks intertwined with his blues lines. Hybrid picking makes up a large part of his style and Smith uses it to add dynamics and coax a wider range of pick attack in addition to runs which sound impossibly fluid.

Smith has also given the guitar world a much-needed return to the primary focus of melody first. Prior to a recent interview, he stated the importance of, note only singing what you play, but practising the reverse; singing a line and being able to instantly replicate it on the guitar. He has also given credence to the idea of creating lines which non-musicians will enjoy. A revolution, considering so many of our worst moments as guitarists come from trying to impress other players.

Josh’s tone and his prolific presence as an online gear demonstrator have created a buzz amongst many modern players. He has often stated that he uses the gear which is appropriate for the gig but his main go-to amp is his signature Morgan AC40 named ‘The GOAT’ (Greatest.Of.All.Time) often used alongside a standard AC40. The model number suggests a Vox influence, however, the amp is voiced much like a Fender Reverb. He favours a Tele style guitar as he claims it brings out all the nuances of his picking hand. He has a signature model black Chaplin T-Bird which is loaded with slightly hotter pickups than a standard Tele. Pedals, again, are interchangeable but Smith has a regular appearance of a Lovepedal Tchula drive and a custom made Believe octave on his board.

The young Welsh virtuoso has taken the guitar world by storm in recent years. Having received accolades from top players such as Slash (with whom he appeared alongside on stage in 2012 following the Guns n Roses guitarist being fed performance videos of Chris by Slash’s manager Alan Niven). If this is not endorsement enough; Chris was voted ‘Best New Guitarist Of 2017’ by UK publication ’Total Guitar’. His atmospheric and heartfelt tribute video to Tom Petty following his death in 2017 gives a perfect example of Chris’s amazing sense of touch and connection with the music. His playing is very much steeped in creating atmosphere and comes from an entirely ‘feel first’ approach which is both refreshing and unique amongst emerging players. The video went viral and gained Chris much attention from both players and non-musicians alike. He has that rare quality of being instantly identifiable within hearing a few notes or chords.

So what can we hope to learn from Chris’s playing? From a lead point of view his style is all about inflections and nuance; combining extremely lyrical slides with vocal-like bending melody lines, his playing is a masterclass in making the simple sound majestic. I’m certain the comparison has been made before, but there is a definite fair similarity with the lines and dynamic playing of slide virtuoso Derek Trucks (minus the slide itself). From a rhythm perspective Chris melds Hendrixian chord voicings with double stop lines and somehow adds the same vocal quality to his chordal ideas. His playing with his band ‘Buck & Evans’ takes on a new dimension and see’s Chris open up his soloing with searing blues leads and hugely soulful, melodic passages. With a style that fuses rock and should with a modern vibe, Buck & Evans give Chris the ideal platform to showcase how a solid blues guitar player should function within an ensemble; leaving space, supporting the vocals and reacting to the other instruments.

Chris uses pedals wisely with a very much ‘tone is in the fingers’ approach. His guitar of choice is a Strat, although, for sometime he has had a good relationship with Yamaha Guitars and is often seen playing his Yamaha Revstar 502T which gives him the tonal variation of P90s. He has also been linked to Blackstar amps with the Artist 30 and LT Boost being amongst his arsenal.

This gentleman may not be new on the scene, having pioneered the blues since the late 1960s. The Grammy-nominated guitarist is arguably, still one of the most sophisticated blues players in the world. With a style which encompasses jazz, funk and blues, he is diverse as he is creative. A prime example of his broad musical strokes is his solo work on the 1982 KISS album ‘Creatures Of The Night’. His work as a guest player is better known, however, as featured on Miles Davis’s 1988 album ‘Talk To Your Daughter’ which many consider the finest examples of his playing. It seems that even in his heyday, Ford was achieving a modern and progressive sound whilst still maintaining his traditional blues sensibilities.

As players, there is much we can glean from listening to Ford. His skills as a rhythm guitarist actually sit at the fore of his playing, favouring jazz shell-like voicings when comping the blues, Ford approaches his role as a rhythm player more like a pianist would. He is known for his use of minimum movement, ‘rootless’ chord inversions which breath new life into even the most stock progression. This approach extends to his funk playing where his comping is so refined that it adds a whole new dimension to the music.

As a lead player Robben Ford really pushed the boundaries of covering the changes within a traditional blues. His superb use of diminished scales, chromatics and voice leading results in lines and licks beyond the standard box position standards and justifies his position as guitarist every aspiring player should study. He is also renowned for his note choice and sense of musicality, often using space touch and rhythm to convey an idea. His use of a hybrid pentatonic scale is also widely discussed - achieved by replacing the b7 with the natural 6th (in Am - swapping G for F#) to give a modern sound.

He has used a myriad of pedals and guitars over the years but his amp of choice is an 80s Dumble paired with Celestial G12-65s. Is also known to favour a Fender Super Reverb. Unfortunately for us much of Robben Ford’s tone comes from the man himself!

If his Grammy awards and multi-Platinum albums don’t impress you then it’s worth considering the standing Mayer has as a blues guitarist. In 2005, following his successful tenure as a primarily acoustic songwriter, Mayer decides to reconnect with the blues music which had shaped his playing and been his primary motivation as a young player. His skills as a guitarist were developed at a young age and his obsessive practise and single-mindedness even earned the teenage Mayer a couple of trips to the psychiatrist courtesy of his concerned parents.

His grounding as a contemporary songwriter translates profoundly to his work as a blues guitarist with a strong focus on melody and note choice against the underlying harmony. Much like the aforementioned Robben Ford, Mayer’s rhythm playing commands much attention. His acoustic chops are renowned and he utilises a percussive technique which involves a downward ‘flick’ with a single finger whilst simultaneously striking the dampened bass strings. The resulting technique gives bounce and groove to any rhythm part. Mayer’s use of extended chord voicings and moving bass lines within chordal parts gives his playing a modern R&B influence which separates his approach from many of his contemporaries.

Mayer’s melodic use of double stops and adornments to the Hendrix style chord shapes hint at a more ‘CAGED’ system approach. When it comes to lead playing, it is hard to rival Mayer’s mastery of simple pentatonic phrasing and he seems to breath new life into the stock first position pentatonic lines which we all know. His phrasing is very soulful and melodic, but much of his uniqueness comes from his use of rhythm. Often creating tension by dropping behind the beat or using rhythmic tension in place of speedier runs.

Due to his incredible tone, brands have never been reluctant in supporting Mayer. In 2007 Two Rock released a Mayer Custom Design amp which Mayer later replaced with a move over to PRS and his signature model the J-Mod 100. His choice of guitars is harder to pin down as he is known as an avid collector. Prior to his affiliation with PRS guitars, Strats were very much Mayer’s mainstay. One notable Strat is his Fender Custom Shop Signature ‘Black1’; a heavy relic’d model with (at Mayer’s request) a similar spec to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s preferences. His move over to PRS began with an initial signature series the ‘Super Eagle’ of which there were two versions. In 2018 PRS launched the ‘Silver Sky’ which remains Mayer’s number one guitar. He also has a long-standing relationship with Martin acoustics who produced his signature OM-28 model and the recent limited signature D-45 acoustic of which only 45 pieces were produced.