What Is The Definition Of A "Shredder"?

uh, what does the "NS" of IMNSHO mean? :?

kewl, so I don't mind "shredding" when used judiciously, but I don't like"shredders". and Jeff Beck is no "shredder" but he can definitely shred.

sweet. :mrgreen:

Sorry, but this just reminds me of a silly joke.

There's one of the office staff standing at the shredder, putting sheets in, one after the other. Along comes the CFO (OK, Chief Financial Officer, or bookkeeper to you and me) and asks how the machine works. The man, that was already there, say "It's easy. I put the paper in here..... and press this button...done". So, the CFO puts a sheet in the tray, presses the button and away it goes. Feeling really good, he puts about 3/4 of the pile of papers into the shredder, then stops, looks carefully at the sheet, in his hand, and asks "I need 4 copies of this, how do I do that?"

As somebody posted on another thread John Mclaughlin doing Cherokee - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om6HDUKBbzE - was using shredding technique but it was not the whole of the song and it was musically part of the song.

Yes, it was part of the music, but totally phoned-in via muscle memory -- and to me it stands out a bit too much as a technique instead of as a 'natural' part of the tune. I always think of Cherokee as the downside of John McLaughlin's playing. When he switches to high speed mode, he tends to lose a lot of his capability for nuance -- esp dynamics. And it's not that speed turns me off, as I enjoy high speed runs in well performed latin and spanish music. In those, the blend of variable speed and dynamic intensity works all together and inspires some real excitement in this listener. I think it may be that latin/spanish music has successfully integrated shred-class technique into an accessible tension-release dynamic.

JM can do much better than this. I've heard it.

uh, what does the "NS" of IMNSHO mean? :?

'not so'

...Dream Theater is/are one I keep hearing about, but never managed to check out. Musically, not just in terms of "shredding." Could you suggest a suitable album for me to try? I've been meaning to do this for a while, and prefer trying albums than just random songs. Cheers.

I would start with Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory. This will give you a good taste of what the band is about. Althoug this album is somewhat of an opera in that each song is based on the same central storyline. However, I can't think of another band where each member is as insanely talented as Dream Theater. They combine their brilliant technical abilities with well written compositions.

The guitarist, John Petrucci, can be considered as a shredder because of his robot like technical ability. But, the guy is capable of writing bueatiful music while adding complex arrangements.

I forget the name of the album, Dream Theatre, i has an eyeball on it. black and white photo. reminded me of the well shot in the movie Ring. that is actually pretty amazing musically. the drummer is killer. one song goes on and on. an ear assaut in a good way.

Train of Thought

Great CD.

Here's my bit of Dream Theater info, my wife used to play in a band with the wife of the drummer of Dream Theater, I think his name is Mike Portenoy or something like that.

They were a HArdcore band playing out of NYC at the time in the mid-90's but I guess they lived in NJ and it was becoming a pain for her to get to the city to practice with the band so she ended up dropping out. I know they had played at CBGB's but I'm not sure if she played or not, I think so

What is a shredder??

To me, shredders are guitarists who especially focus on speed. Just my opinion, but probably the reason I do not enjoy shred guitar very much is because playing super fast is more important than the music itself. It just seems that showing people how fantastic their technique is is their motivation.

I know I will get lots of flames, but shredding is kind of a gimmick to me. It is a way to show off. It is not much different from watching guitarists who do tapping like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQPpx5rWjnA

Now obviously this guy is a great guitarist. I would even like to be able to do this, to a degree. The problem is, the technique is overemphasized. Oh, it sounds cool for a few seconds, but after 2 minutes of this I find it not only boring, but actually annoying. Really when you listen carefully, it is more noise than music.

And to me this is what shredders are. They are players who emphasize technique and ability. It's all about "look how great I can play" versus "listen to this beautiful music".

I am not completely putting shredders down, and you can't lump every shredder into a sterotype like this. But overall, most shredders are players who try to impress you with their technical ability, as opposed to a player who is trying to play great music.

Now here is a shredder that shredders would never call a shredder, the late Roy Buchanan. Now anybody who really knows guitar knows that Roy could hang with any shredder in the world. He could play just as fast as anybody, bar none.
He could do all the tricks too. Check out this video. Listen to all of it and you will hear some real shredding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z4hEjbA5Dc&feature=related

The difference to me is that this is very enjoyable. It is musical. It is not just showing everybody how fast you are, how you can double tap, do dive bombs..... IT IS ACTUALLY ENJOYABLE TO LISTEN TO. IT IS MUSIC.

Listen to Roy rip some Peter Gunn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToFoHHXdBoM&feature=related

Roy Buchanan could hang with any shredder out there. But he doesn't use massive distortion and have super-long hair.

I know this will get flames, but this is my opinion of shredding.

I like the solos that start of slow and pick up as the solo goes on, climaxing going fast aka shredding. Soloing is a lot like sex in that way. I know Steve Vai does that a lot, the soloing, with guitar.........

I like the solos that start of slow and pick up as the solo goes on, climaxing going fast aka shredding. Soloing is a lot like sex in that way.

Soloing with sex? I'm not going to go there.
Tempting . . . very tempted to . . .
Nevermind . . . .
I'll be very, very good and move on.

-An advocate of variable speed sex and . . .
doesn't want to mention sex and shredding in the same sentence. (Oops)

Sex solo.
So I HAVE been doing it right all these years??!!! :lol:

Solo sex? What about during an ensemble performance? Does it affect going fast if you have a dirty G string? And what if the bassist is always twiddling his knob? How important is correct fingering? And do you stay away from A minor in these situations?

I apologise. Honestly.

tension and release*. tension and release. tension and release. o-KAY! :P

(* or resolution for you purists)

Gonna think differently about the term "fingerboard" from now on ...

:|