What is an iconic guitar solo that should be played note for note?

[FRoss6788]

This right here is the one I thought of immediately. In my opinion, this has got to be the greatest guitar solo of all time, and to not play it note for note, at the exact tempo is an absolute injustice.

Yep.

Really, damn near everything Gilmour has done. He's such a tasteful musician, all of his solos are composed and perfect for the piece they accompany.

He's one of my favorite guitarists, no shreddy wanking, just tasteful badassery. Lots of lessons there for the wankers who think fretboard gymnastics is musicality.

 

[Pauly 4001]

Anything by Allan Holdsworth.
If you can......!!

But first try "Devil Take The Hindmost"

How about this one? Though please refrain from asking Allan to play it like the recording god forbid and RIP

 

[Swizzledoop]

Thissun! And it's the best lead tone ever recorded to date.

I agree it is an incredible lead tone. I feel compelled to share this version that Phish played last weekend though. Definitely not note for note but it did not disappoint.

Phish.in

 

[thewildest]

Considering my limited English vocabulary, I really don't know what "note for note" means, as if taken literally… all solos are played note for note. Taking this into consideration, the solo in Allan Holdsworth's "Devil take the hindmost" is encyclopedic in nature; in there he captured all what could be and will ever be done with that instrument, for eternity.

 

[thewildest]

@Pauly 4001 beat me to the punch!!!

 

[Rib 13]

I consider this an iconic guitar solo and really should be done as close to the original as possible

 

[Smooth_bass88]

let me guess... someone showed up to the gig not having done their homework

 

[Gluvhand]

let me guess... someone showed up to the gig not having done their homework

...again.

 

[funkmaster p]

Limelight by Rush.

 

[Ggaa]

Cinnamon Girl.

 

[BlueTalon]

My longtime friend who plays guitar insists that solos should be spontaneous and never repeated. And to illustrate his point, he used Stranglehold, saying Ted Nugent never played it the same way twice.

Ted Nugent plays Stranglehold exactly the same way every time. When I pointed that out to him, my friend then said he was speaking metaphorically, and that the only reason Ted plays the same way on Stranglehold is because the solo is so iconic. I told him he sucks at choosing examples.

Anyway, Stranglehold should, IMO, be played note for note.

 

[mrjim123]

None. "Should" and artistry are mutually exclusive.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Joe Walsh and Don Felder on Hotel California. Especially the harmonies!

 

[Isaac_James]

The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated



Straight 8th notes, all the same note. Perfectly captures the boredom the song is conveying. Anything other than note for note would detract from that.

It's so dumb it's perfect.

 

[Topkat13]

Being a bass player I'm stumped.

 

[Captain Chaos]

That one from tornado of souls

 

[Blueinred]

I don't know about the solo, but the intro to "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC pretty much requires note for note.

The ascending arpeggio coming out of the guitar solos in "Whipping Post" by
The Allman Brothers should be note fer note, as well.

 

[DaveParker39]

Comfortably Numb.

Funny, Comfortably Numb would be near last on my list. The original solo on the album was alright but it got soooo much better in the live iterations in the 80's/90's.

Hotel California

Panama by Van Halen

Painkiller by Judas Priest

Tornado of Souls by Megadeth

 

[JACKSON JS1XM]

Stranglehold - Ted Nugent

 

[2F/2F]

Speaking of solos that were originally improvised, there are very few – if any – that would benefit from being played as a prepared solo. A very strict tribute band is another matter, but for "just covers," doing an originally improvised solo note for note is incredibly lame, and about the least impressive solo a guitarist could play. Any idiot can learn a pre-existing solo note for note; it's not really a sign of talent. It takes a real musician to make up something great on the spot, every time.