Slash - The Guitarist

Tilt your laptop and a man in a top hat is smiling and winking at you. You know him as the lead guitarist for Guns n'Roses, Slash's Snakepit, and Velvet Revolver.  Fancy hats, sunglasses and cigarettes hanging out the side of his mouth, all mixed with tasty melodic rhythm work and soaring solos make Slash a guitar hero.

Born as Saul Hudson in London to an inter-racial couple, he developed an early interest in music He had a troubled childhood as his parents separated while he was very young. he grew up to be a rebellious teen, full of bitterness towards the way he was raised. He disliked school, but was drawn towards music and was inspired by a teacher to pursue music as a profession.  In 1985 he joined Guns N’ Roses and as the lead guitarist  Slash cemented his reputation as a fluid, articulate player. He earned international acclaim for riffs on songs like "sweet child o’ mine."After reaching the top echelons of rock stardom with GNR , he continued to find success as a solo artist, and other projects following his departure in 1996.

Slash's grimy, adventurous and entirely unique guitar style 

Slash the guitarist is well-known for his on-stage intensity and complex solos. Musically speaking, he does have a good idea of tone and melody, though he has never really explored either beyond a very fundamental level.

Slash’s rhythm style shows a real delicate approach, and often uses lots of open chords. His bends and vibratos are very prominent and strong aspects in his solos He just has a great sense of scales and has a positioning system in his mind

He never overplays or showcases technical virtuosity for the sake of virtuosity itself, something that quite a number of youtube guitar shredders lack. His solos might not be something that you would hear from a jazz fusion or a Joe Satriani record, but they have a very good sense of melody and manage to heighten the emotions of the song instead of ruining them. 

Slash's guitar playing has a certain "x-factor" to it. He isn't someone who solely plays extremely fast solos or slow smooth solos. He is someone who can literally do it all. We hear his amazing acoustic work in "patience." We hear his fantastic smooth playing in "knockin' on heaven's door." He plays extremely fast in many different guitar solos, but he manages to keep a certain level of clarity and smoothness where others fall apart. 

The most important quality that every guitarist should have is improvisation and he is best at it. Each concert, each show every time he plays the songs there is always a new part in the song or the solo is improvised. 

One of the reasons he is so good is that he reportedly would just play what came to him in the moment, when in the studio. So someone would hand him a song and he would just let go and play what came to him in the moment (pure inspiration) and that would basically be what would end up on the album.  

For him it's not about selling million of records or astounding ticket revenues. It is always about how to make a very distinguish art of rock music. He is not part of the popular world... He is more a legend. 

Slash has transcended both the movement and band that first made him famous. Ask him why he's, well, a guitar god and the 49-year-old is quick to point to a slew of his axe-wielding predecessors who paved the way. When asked exactly who inspired the inimitable guitarist.  he says  "just the band doing what the band does"    everyone from Joe Perry to B.B. King, and, of course, Jimi Hendrix inspired him to live out his rock 'n' roll fantasy.

He's predominantly a glamorous guitarist, meaning appearance and presentation matter more to him than content and its execution. The hat, the shades, ridiculously low slung guitar, accessories and jewellery, all of it is more relevant to his moniker than his playing. When asked where he got his signature hat  "i felt i needed some sort of signature. It just came to me to do that, and it just stuck.

The reason for slash being the best guitarist ever, is his simplicity.  He has the way of doing them simply. The soulfulness  comes so naturally to Mr Saul Hudson.  Slash is just a great guitarist, obviously he's not the fastest or the most technical but he writes amazing riffs and very melodic and passionate solos and you can hear the passion when he plays, they are not just fast scales but well thought out and genius. He's earned his place in the top 5.