Top 100 Shred Guitarists

Shred Guitar

Belting out breakneck speed riffs and fast solos doesn’t come easy. All it takes is practice, practice and more practice to achieve the unimaginable. Precision and control in shred guitar is of essential importance. Although every guitar player seems to have it easy with a variety of clean and distorted patches on effects processors, its guitarists with an excellent left hand and right hand technique that pack a punch with listeners. It’s a misconception among many that shred guitar has its roots firmly in rock and its sub genres. Shred guitar techniques have been creatively used by guitar players in various genres of music. Both, technical shred guitarists and melodic shred guitarists have a huge fan following.   

Technique and method used by guitar players

Technique and style of shred guitar players varies drastically. Different playing techniques and method used by shredders are:  

• Alternate Picking
• Sweep Picking
• Economy Picking
• Hybrid picking
• Tremolo technique
• String Skipping
• Modes ( Ascending or Descending)
• Finger Tapping
• Legato
• Hammer-On
• Pull-Off
• Sweep Arpeggio
• Whammy Bar Abuse
• Speed Riffing
• Pinch Harmonic

100 Best Shred Guitar Players

1. Michael Angelo Batio

2. Allan Holdsworth

3. Yngwie Malmsteen

4. Chris Impellitteri

5. Greg Howe

6. Shawn Lane

7. Paul Gilbert

8. Frank Gambale

9. Buckethead (Brian Carroll)

10. John Petrucci

11. Marty Friedman

12. Rusty Cooley

13. Rob Marcello

14. Al Di Meola

15. Michael Romeo

16. Vinnie Moore

17. Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal

18. George Bellas

19. Joe Stump

20. Michael Lee Firkins

21. George Lynch

22. Joey Tafolla

23. Guthrie Govan

24. Tosin Abasi

25. Jason Becker

26. Steve Vai

27. Chris Broderick

28. Joe Satraini

29. Eddie Van Halen

30. Kiko Loureiro

31. Theodore Ziras

32. Tiago Della Vega

33. Marco Sfogli

34. Jeff Loomis

35. Dimebag Darrell

36.Nuno Bettencourt

37. Tony MacAlpine

38. Ron Jarzombek

39. Mattias IA Eklundh

40. Steve Morse

41. Alexi Laiho

42. Richie Kotzen

43. Alex Skolnick

44. Herman Li

45. Ethan Brosh

46. Brett Garsed

47. T.J. Helmerich

48. Jennifer Batten

49. Paul Hanson

50. Andy James

51.Takayoshi Ohmura

52. Lori Linstruth

53. Matias Kupiainen

54. Reb Beach

55. Jani Liimatainen

56. Ioannis Anastassakis

57. Neil Zaza

58. Marc Rizzo

59. Alex Masi

60. Gentaro Satomura

61. Rex Carroll

62. Ilan Ashkenazi

63. Randall Padilla

64. Syu

65. Mick Barr

66. Mike Campese

67. Zakk Wylde

68. The Great Kat

69. Danielle Gottardo

70. Akira Takasaki

71. Jeremy Barnes

72. Walter Giardino

73. John 5

74. Silvio Gazquez

75. Patrick Rondat

76. Dave Martone

77. Gus G

78. David Valdes

79. Matthew Mills

80. Greg Harisson

81. Bryan Aspey

82. Edu Ardanuy

83. Frank Solari

84. Tony Smotherman

85. Goncalo Pereira

86. Borislav Mitic

87. Tom Hess

88. Mike Orlando

89. Damjan Pejcinoski

90. Doug Doppler

91. Hedras Ramos

92. Gustavo Guerra

93. Fernando Miyata

94. Marcel Coenen

95. Norifumi Shima

96. Brian Maillard

97. Charly Sahona

98. Ignacio Torres

99. Eugene Berger

100. German Schauss

Needless to say a list can’t have them all. Apart from the above mentioned guitarists, there are several others that can floor you with their jaw dropping playing style. This list is merely an attempt at sharing a tiny portion of guitarists with mesmerizing shred techniques. Feel free to mention guitarists you feel should have made it on this list. Do share your comments and views.   

Tips for shred guitarists (Beginners)-Importance of practice

Implementing creative time intervals gives shred guitar its uniqueness. For every individual aspiring to be a good guitar shredder, it is essential to practice with a metronome. There are no shortcuts to success. Seek inspiration from your guitar idol, learn from them. YouTube is an excellent source for guitar lessons. Concentrate on clarity in picking and fingering notes before you develop speed. Practice your scales regularly, but do not use them mechanically. The art of developing mesmerizing shred guitar techniques lies in an individual’s ability to interconnect notes on a fret board effectively. The more you practice, the better you get.

Learn the right way

Remember, in any type of guitar playing, learning methodically and correctly is essential. Learning is easy; it’s unlearning the wrong technique that’s difficult. Once you get habituated to a technique or method that is improper, it restricts or hampers playing ability. Don’t go overboard with your practice sessions. Give your brain and fingers a rest. Be open to learning different guitar techniques. Every guitar player has a comfort zone, do not get stuck there. Unless you explore, you will not learn new concepts. Developing the art of phrasing is important for a guitar player. Learning new methods and techniques and incorporating it with your signature style adds dynamism to guitar playing.

Keep shred alive! Happy shredding!

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