Absolutely correct. In my opinion, honorable mentions should go to well known Strat players like Ritchie Valens and not pioneers like Buddy Holly, who absolutely inspired a generation, who would then go on to inspire all players after that.

Totally. And in Australian terms, Ian Moss was the master in dingo country.

This.

Buddy Holly started out playing a Gibson, and left this world too soon!

I’m biased since I grew up right next door to Lubbock, but I completely agree.

Rory needs more respect , one of the greatest ever !!

Yep! He was top notch!@@miknev5

I saw him at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago in 1976, one week after my 14th birthday.

When Jimi Hendrix was asked, who was the greatest guitar player, he replied: No idea, ask Rory Gallagher. Its incredible what variety of sounds and dynamics he got out his famous strat with only a minimum of effect gear. No one else of the presented here players achieved that. Still one of the most underestimated musicians in R'n'R.

@Philtration Da Aragon "Brawl"room! My 1st concert there was a young Def Leppard opening for the Scorpions.

My son bought an early 90s Japanese Strat in Denmark Street last week.

great memory....I met Rory In a elevator

Thanks Hypes!

This video made me go and play my Strat . A Strat is were it's at .

Hi Rick👋🏻😁🤗

@santosmadrigal3702, I once owned a fat Strat and played it wearing a white hat for an audience of just one black cat. That was a great Strat.

Same here. Saw him 2nd row in Austin last September. I still get the chills just thinking about that performance.

@@davidpepper442 your both soooo lucky to see him when I was a kid i n the imid 70s my brother got me blow by blow and wired he was trying to set the five finger discount record of 64 I benefited with two of each one to save and one to play I cut up the album to hang both sides on my wall guitar has never been the same thanks Timmy

Why do so many musicians live short lives?

I came to say the same.

It was amazing at 78 he was better than ever. I was shocked when I heard he had died. Still haven’t gotten over it.

You got that right!

…sho got that right

@@ryangunwitch-black glad a Skynyrd fan got my reference.

@@CraigHollabaugh Steve Gaines and Ed King were both absolute beasts on a Strat. Steve even more than Ed honestly but man they're both a part of my musical DNA and will be for all of eternity. My favorite Ed solo is probably his Workin' For MCA solo, and then his solo on Am I Losin' but don't even get me started on Mr. Banker! Not to mention he wrote the riff to Saturday Night Special and played that cool honky tonk Strat stuff on Whiskey Rock A Roller. When I was a teenager I was OBSESSSSED with Skynyrd and Ed used to chat on AOL in the late 90's under the name Humbuck54 and I got to talk to him a few times on there. He was an absolutely great guy and super down to earth and generous with the fans.

@@SimpleManGuitars1973 That's a great post. I too was a massive Skynyrd fan in the 70s. I went to Georgia Tech in the late 80s, saw a movie at the fabulous Fox Theater. My friend was excited because that's where "Gone With the Wind" premiered. I was excited because that's where "One More from the Road" was recorded. Play it pretty for Atlanta. I take it you've seen the Muscle Shoals doc?

top3

Ritchie was my favourite guitarist for many years but watching KZfaq since the start, and having watched many videos of Ritchie over the years, has shown that he was far too loose far too often. Made In Japan was his peak (and what an awesome peak!) but IMO he never reached that level again. At his best he was IMO second only to Hendrix but he was rarely at his best

@@gummballI know where you are coming from but I wonder if it is a an era of Blackmore you are referring to rather than generally. I think when that may be true of 80’s Blackmore onwards but I don’t think 70s Blackmore. I also feel it might be unique to 80s deep purple and less so 80s Rainbow.

My first concert was Deep Purple with my Dad who recently passed. The most enduring memory was Blackmore playing slide with a beer bottle.

Thank you for the compliments. I do love playing, and I've always put my all into it. Thanks Ritchie

Blackmore is top 10 for certain, possibly top 5.

​@@misterschubert3242 I would say top 3 in the world in his day.

Should certainly he higher than wanna be Yngwie. Ritchie and Iommi are the 2 real metal inspirations

@@hulldanfan I agree with that!!

No 1!

So true. I often call it a guitar players guitar

My experience has been completely opposite - I had a great strat for a couple of years before I sold it, took it out to jams and all, but never used it for recording my original music - whenever I played it, I couldn't shake off the hendrix, srv, mayer etc. influences and it felt unoriginal to me. I'm gravitating more towards more neutral colored guitars that just feel like a blank canvas, not giving you that glassy ring when you hit it too hard.

@@Kosinus912 I totally agree with you. I still love my Strat and use it in recordings (usually little feature bits here and there), but I use other guitars to try and find a more original voice. Unfortunately I'm currently obsessed with a Telecaster style guitar and I'm beginning more and more to gravitate towards cliches in that area as well.

@@Kosinus912 Definetly, it just depends on whatever gives you the sound you genuinely want. It's just wood, your personality is what you put into it.

I think that what Gilmour said is largely true even though I am a Tele guy. The native sound and dynamic range of a Strat, the trem, its combination of warm and woody sounds and metallic sharp attack, and the fact that it can so easily be layered on top of with effects, makes it’s a more expressively nuanced platform than other guitars that I think lets the emotion and soul of the songwriter and the song come through in the most pure way. Nothing against Les Pauls or other humbucker guitars because I love them for what they do, but despite being having more output and tube-compressing ability, to me they somehow do not have the same effectiveness at capturing and expressing a mood or feeling as the Strat. Neither do Teles, SGs, or anything else. But maybe it’s all in my head because I’ve listened to too much of Gilmour, Knopfler, SRV, Mayer, Beck and other bluesy-type players rather than the out-and-out rockers that tend to primarily play other guitars. Peter Green would be the exception but ironically that’s because his LP was more open and Strat-sounding due to the out-of-phase and inputted microphonic pickups.

Thompson is a fantastic player, singer-songwriter and lyricist, unique, a 1 of 1, equally skilled on acoustic and electric. A confirmed Strat player, though occasionally seen with a Strat-like custom Ferrington electric, or very rarely with a Telecaster. His right hand utilizes hybrid picking technique with pick and fingers, and sometimes he palms the pick and just uses thumb and fingers. Also, he *never* plays blues cliches. Never. I've seen him many times over the years, both with a band and doing solo acoustic shows, and at age 74 he is still playing and singing at the top of his game.

@@goodun2974 Great guitarist as well as unique singer and songwriter, but this list is about the most influential Strat players and I wouldn't put him in that category.

Vincent Black Lightning was amazing song, I was in the middle 70s, the Boss of his generation!

Hendrix was Johnny B. Goode.

Berkeley was one of his best captured performances. I was there, we didn't have tickets but brought our guitars in cases and conned security into letting us in saying we were roadies for Jimi. 😅 I was dating the girl who made a lot of his clothes.

@@davidcollin1436 That is awesome!

Buddy Holly

@@NolanVoid-dr1ch I saw him at Winterland in SF in 1968. It was a trip 😵‍💫!

It got to top 3 and I thought hmm I bet he puts Clapton at 2….result! And well done that man for recognising the obvious.

'universally obvious No.1 Hendrix; ' Not 'universal' if simply because I put SRV #1.

@@cgtarga1 Good for you pal.

@@cgtarga1 How can a guy who made hits out of slavishly copying the sound of another player be #1? Hendrix played Little Wing and Voodoo ChildAll SRV had to do was figure out how to play it. Go listen to Pali Gap and tell me Stevie could ever create something like that as a jam.

I think Gilmore influenced more styles, but Jimi influenced more hearts to become players. But they both influenced the use of Strats.

“Robert” has a problem with Clapton. I have a problem with boring Robert. No Small wonder that broad left him in his only charting song.

Cory Wong is another cat who's carved out a space for himself playing a lead/rhythm hybrid style while using a clean sound.

Gary Moore - Emerald Aisles. Live In Ireland wow! no mention

Oddly enough it's rumored that he played the opening of Cliffs of Dover on a 335. I'd love to know if that's true. Either way it sounds amazing.

My first exposure to the best Eric on a Strat (Clapton has been a hack since his "I Shot the Sheriff" Marley ripoff) was in 1978, when he opened for UK at the Univ. of Houston on their first tour of the U.S. He was a member of the Austin-based Electromagnets, whose work is available on this platform. The solo Eric had his breakthrough on Austin City Limits in 1984, and then played Rockefeller's in Houston (my hometown then) at least three times in the next few years (caught two of them). Friends kept insisting he was better than Beck, and I couldn't go there. Still, Johnson's immaculate, crystalline style is unmatched by the vast majority of guitarists on any axe of their choice.

#13

Yes sur. Another so underrated Genious. Rip bro.

One of my biggest influences! Heard the record Calling Card at 14 y/o and that was it! 🎸

After all these years the Surf music is still seeking a little respect, even though it is the most "purely" guitar genre.

Dick Dale's cousin doesn't live to far from me, and I've talked with him on a few occasions. He told me that Dick was one of Leo's guinea pig Strat players. Even though Leo didn't play, he knew a lot of up and coming, great musicians he would give his latest "experiments" out to (guitars & amps). Mostly to country artist, but Leo liked that young surf guitar player, that swept up around the shop. The cousin told me that Dick had a tendency to blow up Leo's amps, by "shredding" on those Stratocasters. Funny thing he said was, Leo liked that he played them so hard !

Leo made the Showman amp for Dick because he kept blowing out the other Fender amps. He also worked with Leo to develop the first reverb units. Truly one of the greats!

Dick Dale bought an airplane from where I worked at the Fresno Airport, and we became friends for many years. I have played his original 1961 Strat that Leo Fender gave him, and he signed and played my Strat, which I still own. Absolutely he should have been on the list as he was a friend and mentor to Jimi Hendrix. Also half the surf bands of the early 60s played Strats because of him.🎸

I would have liked to have seen Richard Thompson in there too, superb songwriter and stunning guitar player. I must admit I associate him more with his old sunburst Strat with the loose pickup. Perhaps there should have been 21 entries!

Hank Marvin's guitar playing has influenced many famous musicians and they went on to develop their own styles.

Hank Marvin's guitar playing has influenced many famous musicians and they went on to develop their own styles.

Wonderful video. None argues Jimi being the number one and SRV being among the top five. Eric did not reaches SRV level as a guitar player, but commercially and as a writer is far ahead from the texan player. Gilmour style is majestic and deserves his position. Jeff style was unique and very recognizable, another badass artist. If Gary Moore had not been a Les Paul guy it deserves one of the top positions... however he sometimes beautifully played a Stratocaster.

I think Stevie has to be number2. He is honestly even more ripped off than Hendrix and I truly believe he single handedly created the whole "relic" guitar thing, which has made the Custom Shop an absolute fortune, because EVERY kid (self included) desperately wanted a beat up Strat as a result of him. Oddly enough that guitar originally belonged to Christopher Cross who is actually a really great player himself and when Stevie discovered that guitar at Ray Henning's store in Texas Ray tried to talk him out of buying it because he thought it was junk! If ever "one man's trash is another man's treasure" has been true it HAS to be that moment right there. LOL!

I agree about Buddy. Hendrix said in an interview that he liked the sound that Buddy made with the Strat, and that he wanted that sound too. That comment alone is reason to have included him on the list.

The reason more people play like SRV is because they CAN... Not too many people can play like Jimi! And if anyone started the "relic" style it has to be Rory Gallagher!!!

Buddy Holly should definitely be in the top 5. His influences to so many is undeniable. And Blackmore should definitely be above Malmsteen. Way more influential.

I bought a stock, 95-97% mint fender strat. Triple sunburst, white pickguard, full maple neck, tremolo, 1993 strat with a skb travel case and insured shipping for $540 some years ago. EVERYONE and i mean it, that has seen, touched or played the guitar wants to buy it from me. It is a remarkable instrument.

He was hugely influential for my generation. A Fiesta red Strat was the dream of thousands of young guys, including me!

Amazing first concert...I dont care about his personality, I'll never have to deal with that... love his music, especially the early albums.

@@MetalMaineiac I hear you. I was hooked on YJM for years after I got his plastic "Black Star" single in the Guitar magazine (circa 84-85 I think); and years later I suspected he had a huge ego; but when you think about it, perhaps his aggressive and gigantic playing style was probably a product of his personality.

@lolly_bread compared to someone like Buckethead who personality wise is the polar opposite. Giant talent who is far more humble.

My favorite Tele player ever is Jimmy Page. My favorite Zeppelin tones were achieved with his Tele and I've actually got the Mirror Tele and man that thing is AMAZING! Best "production" Tele ever.

I’m not 100% sure but I believe Dave Murray’s strat has a humbucker in the bridge which would disqualify him from being included in this list.

@@davidestes9971 you are correct. I'd say almost every strat Dave has played has probably had a bucket. Nonetheless the guy has had at least 2 different signature strats which says to me he is a major strat player. But I guess Keith had to put some limits on the list otherwise it would have been very hard to narrow it down.

Absolutely Dave Murray. Nailed it. I could be inspired and compelled to play Strat only by the two Daves. Both on my Mt Rushmore of guitarists. Excellent call.

Dave only replaced the bridge pickup, as others in this list did, too... But he playes a Fender Strat, that qualifies him for the list. BTW Jannick Gers also plays Fender Strat.

When davey arrived just newly in our band & plays all our songs flawlessly in just a mere 5 years -steve harris.

🎸That album….. Lord almighty blasting out of the radio 1974 …. James Dewar casting soul crushing lyrics over the spell of that Strat in Robin’s hands. He may tour again yet and again Lord almighty….. still has the goods… killer tone for days‼ His wife passed away, then plandemic and he’s taken a pause. All his albums are special…. Live ones show his prowess …. He was in early Procal Harum as well.

In my earlies, day dream blew my mind...México

First song I ever heard when I was able to buy a stereo in 72 was Robin Trower- My Love, Burning Love. He’s got a new disc coming out in October

Great album.

How cool that you found BOS at whatever age you are. Robin's playing is so trippy and his vocalist, James Dewar (bass player, too) is among my all-time favorites.

But I think fender used to use stuff they had laying around because some of the parts from 59 carried over to 60 in the factory ...they didn't waste..I heard this happened often might have a 61 body with a early 62 neck or something

And Gary Moore in the hard rock years

I thought he played a Squire..

@@johnrusselman1364 good point. I think he did play Squire.

Jimi also made all of the great players of his era better. He was a challenge to everyone to push their limits.

That is a memory of a lifetime. Life the phrase ‘shook Sinatra’s hand’ there’s a special cred / respect for those who have seen Hendrix.

@davidhouprimecom: When Jimi first played in London, all the guitarists of the day were so awe struck, they couldn't believe their eyes and ears. Beck, Clapton and possibly Page were ready to through their guitars in the Thames...he was that impressive.

Rory Gallagher No.1

Add David Gilmour, and I think you have the 4 best!

I missed out on Hendrix, but I saw Gilmour twice to make up for it. SRV was fantastic, too.

George played a Futurama Grazioso early on. I believe there was an embargo of American guitars in England and the Futurama was the closest thing to a strat.

@@stikcler I should have specified: George's first professional guiitar was almost a Fender Stratocaster. When John got his Rickenbacker, George was determined to get himself a good guitar and that was when he first heard about the Strat that ended up going to Johnny Guitar Bryne.

Hey nice to see a nod to Uli. I dug him years ago and of course his Sky guitars allowed for those unique, soaring solos.

Richard Lloyd ❤! Good call

I'm 62, born in 60... When I was about 12 or 13 my older brother gave me two 8-track tapes of Hendrix... In The West and Band of Gypsys... I just remember listening to those tapes over and over again and looking at the pictures of three dudes onstage... I couldn't believe 3 guys could make those sounds!!! Still incredible today 50+ years later...

Yes vote for Sumlin, good call. Saw him in 1975 here in Chicago playing with Howlin Wolf who was really on his deathbed, and Sumlin carried the day.

Thanks!

Thank for taking the time to write Jim. Feel better man.

I was mentioning this in an above comment. Actually Stevie's MAIN Strat was originally owned by Christopher Cross and he traded it to Ray Hennig in Austin and that's where Stevie got it. Ray actually tried to talk Stevie OUT of getting it because he said it was junk. Imagine trying to convince someone these days to NOT buy a 59 Strat. LOL!

I feel the same way. Plus, how many players in this list did he influence to get a Strat? Many.

I honestly think of Edge as more of a delay player than a Strat player. LOL!

@@SimpleManGuitars1973 I obviously have a different way of thinking than you. Of course The Edge can't be compared to virtuosos like EVH, Steve Vai or Stevie Ray Vaughn. But I think he has done something that only a few guitarists were able to achieve: create a unique, distinctive trademark sound. I don't think you can explain that simply by him using delays.

@@ChrisTian-rm7zm Oh I didn't mean that as being dismissive. I just associate him with that effect more than his guitar. I also associate him more with an AC30, which I play on every video I make myself and is my favorite amp ever. I'd honestly maybe associate him with an Explorer more than a Strat. An Explorer was my first guitar because I grew up obsessed with Skynyrd and Edge got VASTLY different sounds than Allen Collins.

@@SimpleManGuitars1973 his signature guitar is a Strat. He recorded the vast majority of his most famous riffs/solos on strats. I saw U2 in 2017, and he played strats most of the evening. EVH played an Ibanez version of an Explorer, but do you associate EVH with that guitar?

Couldn't agree more, never been more disappointed in a 5-watt list.

Love Steve Miller Rock'n me".

I literally was 15 when Hendrix burst on the scene. By pure luck I'd seen one of Cream's last concerts in the US. From the fifth row. Didn't what I'd seen and heard until I listened to Wheels of Fire. I convinced a friend with a driver's license to take me and a friend to see Hendrix and the Experience. Wasn't his best night IMO, as I confirmed by a KZfaq recording of the show. During the pandemic, I decided to get serious about playing the guitar. I started with four heroes. Hendrix, Clapton, Jerry Garcia, and John Mayer. (Come to think of it, why not Robbie Robertson or Dylan himself. ) Anyway, I found that I was casting the net too wide. I ended up, not exactly sure why, focusing on Garcia and the Dead. Which has connections to Strats - Alligator - and Mayer, even though Garcia is not primarily a blues player. Mayer once said learn songs and riffs, then reverse engineer them to figure out why they work. I've been doing that and making incredible progress. I like Gilmour's comment. I will never be a speed demon. And I certainly will never be able to play like Jimi. Clapton, to the extent that I could (and have learned to) play blues riffs is theory doable at a low level. But Gilmour and Garcia have something else in common. They are melodic players - I love the idea of a song within a song - and aren't worried about playing the same thing every time. And ultimately you learn from everyone. I'm exploring Freddie King's minor-major composite scale in hopes of understanding Garcia. Whether it works or not is irrelevant, as long as I'm learning.