Author Topic: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?  (Read 11183 times)

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Offline Evai

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #35 on: January 15, 2017, 09:12:02 AM »
I didn't say anything about playing
Jordan took Moore's boring, pedestrian parts and elevated them considerably to take them from barely palatable to stellar.

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #36 on: January 15, 2017, 09:24:07 AM »
I didn't say anything about playing

So you were talking about the beard?

Offline Evai

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #37 on: January 15, 2017, 10:58:41 AM »
I mean, image is definitely part of style IMO. I don't know any other player that resembles John (although I don't keep up to date so there could be...)
Jordan took Moore's boring, pedestrian parts and elevated them considerably to take them from barely palatable to stellar.

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #38 on: January 15, 2017, 03:15:35 PM »
I think if all the guitarists mentioned in this thread walked into a room full of non-musicians, Petrucci would be noticed the most. The others would kinda blend together a bit

Nothing against Petrucci but I think he would be recognized the least

Offline mikeyd23

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #39 on: January 16, 2017, 07:08:30 AM »
He has a style, it's just not as narrow as most other people's.

Yup, this is the biggest difference between JP and some of the other guys mentioned in this thread. Even a guy like EVH, who is obviously a monster player, has never been as versatile as JP, his playing is more narrow and defined, largely because VH plays a specific style of music that doesn't cover as much ground in stylistic variety as a progressive metal band like DT.

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #40 on: January 16, 2017, 07:15:42 AM »
Among the players I mentioned in my original post, JP is more versatile than Oliva, Bettencourt and EVH. But not compared to May and Steve Vai. Especially Vai.

Offline mikeyd23

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #41 on: January 16, 2017, 07:28:25 AM »
Among the players I mentioned in my original post, JP is more versatile than Oliva, Bettencourt and EVH. But not compared to May and Steve Vai. Especially Vai.

I'd say he is easily a more versatile player than May. Vai on the other hand is pretty versatile, so I'm not sure I could make that statement about him I guess.

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #42 on: January 16, 2017, 07:39:32 AM »
Define versatile in this context?

I've been a JP fan for years but I don't think he is a versatile as Vai or Guthrie Govan. He is a phenomenal player but he sticks to a lot of tried and true things that he is comfortable with, especially as he gets older.

That's not a blast on JP in anyway, every guitarist has their comfort zone but people like Vai and Guthrie tend to try new things out over the years.

Offline mikeyd23

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #43 on: January 16, 2017, 07:44:48 AM »
I guess the dictionary definition would apply in this context right?

"able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities."

I think all these guys get locked into a style to a certain degree, to me, it's just who moves around within that style more. Like I said, I don't think I can argue that JP is more versatile than Vai. But some of the other players mentioned in this thread like EVH, for sure.

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #44 on: January 16, 2017, 08:22:17 AM »
Among the players I mentioned in my original post, JP is more versatile than Oliva, Bettencourt and EVH. But not compared to May and Steve Vai. Especially Vai.

I'd say he is easily a more versatile player than May. Vai on the other hand is pretty versatile, so I'm not sure I could make that statement about him I guess.

How can he be easily more versatile than May who has done hard rock, metal, folk, pop, blues, acoustic ditties, with some jazzy licks in between? I'd grant you that Petrucci got May beat in the shred department.  :lol

Offline mikeyd23

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #45 on: January 16, 2017, 08:25:28 AM »
How can he be easily more versatile than May who has done hard rock, metal, folk, pop, blues, acoustic ditties, with some jazzy licks in between? I'd grant you that Petrucci got May beat in the shred department.  :lol

Because, excluding maybe folk, JP has pretty much incorporated all of those elements into his playing as well. Rock, hard rock, metal, pop, blues, acoustic, jazz, etc... all has popped up in JP's playing at some point.

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #46 on: January 16, 2017, 08:35:23 AM »
How can he be easily more versatile than May who has done hard rock, metal, folk, pop, blues, acoustic ditties, with some jazzy licks in between? I'd grant you that Petrucci got May beat in the shred department.  :lol

Because, excluding maybe folk, JP has pretty much incorporated all of those elements into his playing as well. Rock, hard rock, metal, pop, blues, acoustic, jazz, etc... all has popped up in JP's playing at some point.

But he has not tried to play and sound like a full Dixieland jazz band.  :lol

Offline Stewie

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #47 on: January 16, 2017, 08:37:42 AM »
Petrucci is easily as versatile as Vai...they both come from a similar background, and have a lot in common. Having said that, since his name was brought up, neither one of them can touch Guthrie Govan. All those years Guthrie spent teaching and transcribing turned him into a total freak of nature. He's essentially the pinnacle of versatility in electric guitar playing. Blues, jazz, rock, shred, country, bluegrass, fusion, slap guitar?! Fretless?! It's like, alright dude, we get it - you're untouchable lol. He definitely wins up against most in the versatility department.

That being said, I prefer Petrucci and Vai's music over Guthrie's, seven days out of the week. To my ears, they are way more lyrical, and their compositions are way more interesting to listen to.
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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #48 on: January 16, 2017, 08:39:47 AM »
I disagree on the Guthrie front. I'm biased because Guthrie is my favorite player but his guitar work Steve Wilson and The Aristocrats is far more interesting.

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #49 on: January 16, 2017, 08:41:22 AM »
Petrucci is easily as versatile as Vai...they both come from a similar background, and have a lot in common. Having said that, since his name was brought up, neither one of them can touch Guthrie Govan. All those years Guthrie spent teaching and transcribing turned him into a total freak of nature. He's essentially the pinnacle of versatility in electric guitar playing. Blues, jazz, rock, shred, country, bluegrass, fusion, slap guitar?! Fretless?! It's like, alright dude, we get it - you're untouchable lol. He definitely wins up against most in the versatility department.

That being said, I prefer Petrucci and Vai's music over Guthrie's, seven days out of the week. To my ears, they are way more lyrical, and their compositions are way more interesting to listen to.

I don't think Petrucci is as versatile as Vai, with all the new age and Eastern influences Vai use in his records. Heck, he even did a full album writing songs in the style of the country the song is played in.


Offline Stewie

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #50 on: January 16, 2017, 08:41:48 AM »
I disagree on the Guthrie front. I'm biased because Guthrie is my favorite player but his guitar work Steve Wilson and The Aristocrats is far more interesting.

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Offline Stewie

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #51 on: January 16, 2017, 08:53:25 AM »
Petrucci is easily as versatile as Vai...they both come from a similar background, and have a lot in common. Having said that, since his name was brought up, neither one of them can touch Guthrie Govan. All those years Guthrie spent teaching and transcribing turned him into a total freak of nature. He's essentially the pinnacle of versatility in electric guitar playing. Blues, jazz, rock, shred, country, bluegrass, fusion, slap guitar?! Fretless?! It's like, alright dude, we get it - you're untouchable lol. He definitely wins up against most in the versatility department.

That being said, I prefer Petrucci and Vai's music over Guthrie's, seven days out of the week. To my ears, they are way more lyrical, and their compositions are way more interesting to listen to.

I don't think Petrucci is as versatile as Vai, with all the new age and Eastern influences Vai use in his records. Heck, he even did a full album writing songs in the style of the country the song is played in.

Hmm...pretty sure Petrucci has used the harmonic minor scale (and has incorporated eastern influences) in DT and on his solo album. Honestly I haven't heard anything from Vai that Petrucci wouldn't be able to do. Vice versa...not so much. The only thing I can think of that might put Vai slightly ahead in the versatility game is the fact that he composes for orchestras as well. I'm sure JP could do that if he were interested, but who knows. If we are talking stylistically, maybe Vai is ahead, by a smidge...if we are talking technique, definitely Petrucci.

All this is really moot, however, as I've never really cared to compare players like this. Guitar playing is not a sport, at least, not to me. And, if it were, Guthrie would win. Hands down. Fortunately, music falls under the arts, and not sports. Here we were talking about whether or not JP had his own style, and now we've seemed to degrade into the inevitable "who's better than who" argument. Vai and Petrucci are probably my top two influences as a guitarist, so I really don't care who can out play the other. I doubt they'd care either, seeing as how they're close friends.
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Offline mikeyd23

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #52 on: January 16, 2017, 08:55:47 AM »
Yeah, I'd say in terms of versatility Guthrie is a beast, but like someone else mentioned, I'd much rather listen to JP's music. Outside of his couple albums with Steven, none of Guthrie's stuff has really interested me that much.

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #53 on: January 16, 2017, 09:01:37 AM »
This turned into some sort of a 'who's better than who" argument when somebody pointed out that what made Petrucci distinct from the other players I mentioned in my original post is his versatility. I just countered in behalf of May and Vai who in my ears has easily touched on more styles in their discography than Petrucci.

As I said earlier, I think I sort of got now what makes Petrucci distinct after listening to his discography again after I made the original post. I think it is his phrasing.


Offline mikeyd23

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #54 on: January 16, 2017, 09:03:17 AM »
This turned into some sort of a 'who's better than who" argument when somebody pointed out that what made Petrucci distinct from the other players I mentioned in my original post is his versatility. I just countered in behalf of May and Vai who in my ears has easily touched on more styles in their discography than Petrucci.

As I said earlier, I think I sort of got now what makes Petrucci distinct after listening to his discography again after I made the original post. I think it is his phrasing.

Well I can tell you that wasn't my intent. I simply recognized that Guthrie is more versatile than JP, but I enjoy JP's music more. Not trying to pull the conversation away from the OP, just saying.

Offline Stewie

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #55 on: January 16, 2017, 09:04:37 AM »
Yeah, I'd say in terms of versatility Guthrie is a beast, but like someone else mentioned, I'd much rather listen to JP's music. Outside of his couple albums with Steven, none of Guthrie's stuff has really interested me that much.

Yeah, I said that. Guthrie is a chameleon, and superbly good at imitating - ever watch that old YouTube video back in the day? It was him playing "in the style of" all these different well known players. I can't recall who all was on the list, but it was dead on. Like I said, all those years Guthrie spent teaching and transcribing turned him into a monster. He's like one of those alien parasites you see in a sci-fi horror flick where he infiltrates the host and then replicates them lol.

I have nothing but respect and admiration for Guthrie, and I strive to be that well rounded as a player, even though I probably won't ever get there haha. I think Guthrie's strengths are for sure versatility (stylistically well-rounded), and improvisation. No matter what you throw at him, he seems to be able to comfortably improvise over it, and it's scary. But, all that said, I don't think he's anywhere near as adept at writing his own music, the way Vai and Petrucci are. At least, for me. His music tends to bore me, and while I'm blown away by his sheer skill, there's nothing there artistically that moves me, or that is memorable.
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Offline lucasembarbosa

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #56 on: January 16, 2017, 10:18:50 AM »
Oh... Come on... GG's solo in Steven Wilson's Regret #9 is a piece of art, he can write a lot of beautiful things as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaH2C2Qe97Y

And talking about JP's style, I can recognize it miles away. It's very distinctive! On the other way, I can't really say when I'm listening to Steve Vai or Joe Satriani, maybe because I'm not really familiar to their work.

Offline mikeyd23

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #57 on: January 16, 2017, 10:21:20 AM »
Oh... Come on... GG's solo in Steven Wilson's Regret #9 is a piece of art, he can write a lot of beautiful things as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaH2C2Qe97Y


Yup, it's an amazing solo, but like I said earlier, his work with Steven (read - music he didn't write just contributed to as a session player) is the only stuff that really holds my attention. None of his other stuff has really ever had staying power with me.

Offline Stewie

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #58 on: January 16, 2017, 10:54:53 AM »
Oh... Come on... GG's solo in Steven Wilson's Regret #9 is a piece of art, he can write a lot of beautiful things as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaH2C2Qe97Y

It's all subjective, man. That's a nice solo, but it didn't move me in the way that Vai's or Petrucci's often do. But if it clicks with you, that's all that matters! We are all different, and connect with things differently. Like I said, I have nothing but respect and admiration for Guthrie. He's a monster player.

The other thing to keep in mind is, he doesn't have nearly the body of work that the other two guys have. Maybe with more releases, I'll start to connect more with his music. So far, I really only like a couple songs off his solo album (erotic cakes), and the third Aristocrats album. Everything else hasn't really clicked with me. But that doesn't mean it's not good or anything; just means I haven't really connected with it, for whatever reason.

As far as Vai, I can instantly recognize when it's him playing, but then again, I've been listening to him since forever, so that definitely helps. There are so many quirky things in his playing that really only he does, so it's not hard to tell.
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Offline Architeuthis

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #59 on: January 16, 2017, 11:14:22 AM »
JP to me has a very distinct style. If I was blind folded in a room full of virtuoso guitar players taking turns playing solos, it would be easy to tell when JP is playing. He's got a great balance of technique and emotion, and a very unique tone.  :metal
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Offline rumborak

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #60 on: January 16, 2017, 11:47:20 AM »
That GG solo is one of the best solos I am aware of. It's top shelf.
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Offline mikeyd23

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #61 on: January 16, 2017, 11:50:58 AM »
That GG solo is one of the best solos I am aware of. It's top shelf.

It is, it's really, really good. Just curious though rumbo, are you into other stuff GG puts out?

Offline rumborak

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #62 on: January 16, 2017, 11:53:32 AM »
I like Aristocrats as well, yeah. That stuff is really good too. Ok, maybe minus the squeeze chicken interlude :lol
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Offline mikeyd23

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #63 on: January 16, 2017, 11:55:27 AM »
I like Aristocrats as well, yeah. That stuff is really good too. Ok, maybe minus the squeeze chicken interlude :lol

Hah, yeah I checked them out before and they didn't do anything for me. On paper, I should love them, in reality I didn't.

Offline rumborak

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #64 on: January 16, 2017, 12:06:55 PM »
It's probably a bit of an acquired taste, yeah. I particularly like this tune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3mNzPkCY_s

EDIT: And this one:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1yQPhGCjPg
« Last Edit: January 16, 2017, 12:29:27 PM by rumborak »
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Offline pcs90

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #65 on: January 16, 2017, 12:27:12 PM »
The last Aristocrats studio album is definitely my favorite. For those who haven't heard it and didn't like the others, I would at least check it out as it does have a lot more variety.

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #66 on: January 16, 2017, 02:39:07 PM »
Bad Asteroid is my favorite Aristocrats song. I'm disappointed they didn't play it live when I saw them.

Offline bl5150

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #67 on: January 16, 2017, 02:46:51 PM »
In terms of the Vai/Petrucci discussion .......well before I give my opinion they are both Top 10 guitarists for me of all time , so we're talking degrees of greatness.  Having said that I would have Vai ahead on both diversity and technique, just IMHO.


I went and saw the two of them together in G3 with Satriani (must've been around 2005)  and at that time in my life I was far more into Petrucci and Satriani than Vai.   I had been a big fan of Satriani since Surfing and Vai since his time with David Lee Roth.   But for some time (post Fire Garden) I had been finding Vai just way too "out there" and went along mostly to see Satch and JP.   I walked out with renewed admiration for Vai.   He absolutely slaughtered both of them with his technique, improvisation, stage craft ...you name it.
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Offline jsbru

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #68 on: January 16, 2017, 02:58:03 PM »
JP does have a unique style.  It's very scalar and arpeggio-based super fast alternate picking.  Very melodic and moody, but with as much classical influence as blues/jazz.  He does tapping, but not as much as Vai or EVH.  He throws in a bit of sweep picking occasionally, but not as much as Yngwie.  He plays horizontally on the neck (across strings 1-6(or 7)) at least as much as he plays vertically (lots of hammer-ons, pull-offs, etc.), and I think a lot of guitar players tent to play vertically a lot more.  He doesn't repeat himself very much at all, and instead prefers to roam the upper and lower depths of the scale.

The tone he gets from his LiquiFire neck pickup is so smooth, fat, and sweet at the same time, and it goes really well with his harmonic and melodic playing.
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Offline Stewie

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Re: John Petrucci: Does he have a distinct style?
« Reply #69 on: January 16, 2017, 05:00:18 PM »
In terms of the Vai/Petrucci discussion .......well before I give my opinion they are both Top 10 guitarists for me of all time , so we're talking degrees of greatness.  Having said that I would have Vai ahead on both diversity and technique, just IMHO.

Vai's alternate picking is nowhere near as proficient as Petrucci's. Not even in the same league, really. Just watch the G3 from Tokyo. When they're up there trading licks and having a blast, there are a few times where JP does a quick alternate picking lick, and then when it's Vai's turn, he tries something similar - but you can tell it's really a struggle for him. Petrucci can alternate pick up there with Yngwie, Paul Gilbert, Govan, etc. I wouldn't put Vai in that category though.

Vai's flashy fast stuff is mainly legato based, ala Satriani, as well as tapping...both of which Petrucci can do just as cleanly. That's why I said earlier in this thread - I haven't heard Vai do anything that Petrucci can't, but the same isn't true the other way around.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2017, 07:33:50 PM by Stewie »
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