Is John Mayer a better guitar player than Dave Matthews?

Trippin Hillbilly · Unread post by **Trippin Hillbilly** » Tue May 13, 2003 3:54 am

You can't really say who has more talent because they have completely different styles.
Dave's been playing guitar and a bit of piano since he was a kid....dont you think there is a possibility that there is alot that he's not showing us.
I also read somewhere I while back that dave hate's guitar solo's because they're just an ego boost for the guitarist.....but then again...Tim..hmm, dunno.

Anyway, I just think that if dave really wanted to rip it up, he could.

Oh and as for the comment about strumming being easier then soloing... depends how you strum. There is a lot of diferent ways to strum, watch an acoustic Tim show and you'll see what I mean.

DustyDave · Unread post by **DustyDave** » Tue May 13, 2003 7:20 am

Yeah Dave probably has some stuff hidden still , but i don't think its all that magic .. As many people on these boards seem to dislike the Everyday album , why didn't he use some of his " hidden " skills , instead of dissapointing these people lol ?

I think it really is becoming quite rediculos , all this talk about who's better than who .. Its all different styles , and you happen to see some good songs only based on 2 chords sometimes , now that ain't exactly the most skillful writing ya know , but it takes a good musician to make a good song out of only 2 chords , some people likes alot of those songs , including myself because its all about gaining more knowledge , playing abilities and so on , and then some people dislike a song containing 10 chords or more even though that so much harder writing to make it all fit together ..

Just my opinion :lol:

ihopeyoulockedthedoor · Unread post by **ihopeyoulockedthedoor** » Tue May 13, 2003 9:25 am

personally.....mayer is just a cross between dave and jeff buckley....
doesn't originality and musical impact have to play into the mix?

grock · Unread post by **grock** » Tue May 13, 2003 11:55 am

Maybe dave is just more humble about his playing. Every tour the band has guests all along. dave could play a solo if he wanted to. but he likes to showcase his friends' talents.

i look at john mayer and he is so cocky and is all about himself. and every song is about some girl. let's get creative here, john. but i think the great thing about dave is that after all the wonderful imaginative lyrics he wants the other guys to step up. He's a lyricist and a rhthym guy and that's what he wants to focus on.

and once you know the scale, soloing is not that hard. and playing a melody (like lover lay down) is also pretty easy. i've recently been listening to a bluegrass band that covers dave and they got banjos and mandolins and fiddles wailing away with the melody of the lyrics and then they get bored and have to up the ante with some crazy solos.

so on solos john wins by default. dave just doen't play solos. but on rhythm, which they both play, Dave wins. and since that is where their playing styles overlap it is the fairest comparison.

billywestom · Unread post by **billywestom** » Tue May 13, 2003 1:47 pm

It seems to be a major cop-out when someone says "You can't compare them - they have different styles..." :roll:

Is this just something to say so you don't have to admit that Dave isn't the best guitar player ever? Come one, we all know that someone is better than another. We as guitar players and music listeners know that skill IS NOT based on how much you like them. If you have an opinion, whether you like it r not, then say it and give a reason. Don't just say that two can't be compared, or there is no reason for arguing. If you reply with an honest answer and give reasons for it, then that is actually a valid response.

DmbFanJason · Unread post by **DmbFanJason** » Tue May 13, 2003 2:04 pm

have you seen the way mayer plays the rhythm guitar on his songs?...i saw "why georgia" on TV, and his hands just look sloppy, they dont flow well...it looks like a quick struggle to get to the next chord, whereas dave's hands just flow like the ocean baby...it looks like hes doing a dance with his guitar, rather than strumming the guitar like mayer...I guess one way to put it would be "the guitar seems like it's a part of Dave's body and soul, mayer just looks like he's playing or a guitar", get it?...I would say that dave is a better rhtyhm guitar player hands down...john can play lead better I guess, but dave hasnt ever tried, so....john couldnt play daves songs with the proper rhythm.....saying that, I would say that I AM a better rhythm guitarist than mayer!!!YAY!!!

sbhanot · Unread post by **sbhanot** » Tue May 13, 2003 3:33 pm

I gotta say that while I prefer Dave's music and guitar work, John Mayer is a more talented guitarist. Dave's style is rhythmic, like Jack Johnson (but better :lol:

) while John is more solo-based, however, John is clearly more adept with playing challenging stuff.

TOMAMI · Unread post by **TOMAMI** » Tue May 13, 2003 4:10 pm

The real question is can Superman beat up Batman? I will worship only one god and all of you who turn your back on him will burn in purgatory playing Tny Tims tiptoe threw the tulips for eternity.

Trippin Hillbilly · Unread post by **Trippin Hillbilly** » Tue May 13, 2003 4:18 pm

billywestom wrote:It seems to be a major cop-out when someone says "You can't compare them - they have different styles..." Is this just something to say so you don't have to admit that Dave isn't the best guitar player ever? Come one, we all know that someone is better than another. We as guitar players and music listeners know that skill IS NOT based on how much you like them. If you have an opinion, whether you like it r not, then say it and give a reason. Don't just say that two can't be compared, or there is no reason for arguing. If you reply with an honest answer and give reasons for it, then that is actually a valid response.

Billy your comment is full of holes.. the reason I said you can't compare the two is because they play in different styles. Therefore you have no basis for comparison, it's like saying Michael Jordan is a better basketball player then Pete Sampras is a tennis player.
They're both excellent at what they do, but how can you say one is better then the other? You can't.
I think they are both incredible guitarists, yes I do like John's music.
His lyrics are up to shit but his guitar skills are amazing.
Dave is a good guitarist but he is not the best obviously.
That was not a cop-out....just my opinion

MWR · Unread post by **MWR** » Tue May 13, 2003 4:25 pm

his hands just look sloppy, they dont flow well...it looks like a quick struggle to get to the next chord, whereas dave's hands just flow like the ocean baby

I agree, Mayer looks like a goofy bastard when he plays. Better guitar player yes, but a better songwriter never. At least from what I've heard(yes I have heard him do LLD). Then again I didn't like Dave when I only knew of his studio stuff. But after hearing "wonderland" I think he needs to be shot. That song bugs the crap out of me more than any song Dave has written.

Speenis · Unread post by **Speenis** » Tue May 13, 2003 4:31 pm

I agree with Hillbilly. Saying Dave isn't the best guitar player ever is common sense and I highly doubt anyone here thinks that. I never tried to play Mayer before, but I'm sure its hard. I personally, like Dave, enjoy playing rhythm cuz I find it more fun. They do play quite different styles, and you are copping yourself out if you cannot see that. From what we've been shown, I guess Mayer has more harder type songs to play, for his style. Not many guitarists nowadays use all the crazy chords Dave does. So IMO I think Dave is a better guitarist because he is more creative IMO.

ticohans · Unread post by **ticohans** » Tue May 13, 2003 9:29 pm

For those of you who say that John can't play Dave stuff, you just haven't heard him play it. If you haven't check it out. He can blow Dave away at some of his own stuff. And Mayer is clearly a better lead guitarist. I don't buy all of this "oh well Dave can do it, he just doesn't want to." That's empty and idle speculation, which is fair enough. But you can't use such baseless speculation to suggest that Dave could play a good lead next to Mayer. And who cares how Mayer LOOKS while playing the guitar? The question is who is the better guitar player, not who is the better guitar model.

Dave is a great player who has been very successful with his style. But quite honestly, Dave is a bit of a one trick pony. It's a great trick when it comes to guitar style, but a lot of it is the same thing over and over again. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but Dave has his ways and he sticks with them. Lots of closed voicings up on the neck, basically no fingerpicking (stuff like Christmas Song and Where Are You Going don't count as tough finger picking), and very percussive and repetitive licks. But he's fairly diverse in terms of the actual rhyhtms used: he puts his trick through a LOT of different hoops. And that's where Dave really shines, and that has EVERYTHING to do with his songwriting, which leads me to my conclusion. Mayer is head and shoulders above Dave in just about every way possible as a guitarist, but Dave is a far superior songwriter. John Mayer has a lot more guitar tricks, but for now, he's only putting them through a few hoops. Both are wonderfully talented. At the end of the day though, if there were a guitar contest between Mayer and Matthews, Mayer would tear it up.

I like Dave a lot more, though, precisely because of his great songwriting. Mayer's not anywhere close in that department, at least for now. We'll see what happens in the future, but Dave definitely takes the songwriting cake.

ticohans · Unread post by **ticohans** » Tue May 13, 2003 9:33 pm

Bigspeen, Mayer definitely uses complicated chord voicings, too. I'd say Dave's uniqueness falls more under the songwriting capabilities than guitarist capabilities. I've known many wonderful guitarists with all the skills in the world who were't all that original. That doesn't make them bad guitarists though. It just means they write bad songs.

chuck_d14 · Unread post by **chuck_d14** » Tue May 13, 2003 9:44 pm

I don't think this question can be answered. You will always find something John does better than Dave, and you will always find something Dave does better than John. Lets just give them both the credit they deserve!!

:arrow:

There will NEVER be another Dave and there will NEVER be another John, as simple as that.

DmbFanJason · Unread post by **DmbFanJason** » Tue May 13, 2003 9:50 pm

ticohans wrote:For those of you who say that John can't play Dave stuff, you just haven't heard him play it. If you haven't check it out. He can blow Dave away at some of his own stuff. And Mayer is clearly a better lead guitarist. I don't buy all of this "oh well Dave can do it, he just doesn't want to." That's empty and idle speculation, which is fair enough. But you can't use such baseless speculation to suggest that Dave could play a good lead next to Mayer. And who cares how Mayer LOOKS while playing the guitar? The question is who is the better guitar player, not who is the better guitar model.

=

I wonder which post this comment was directed towards?

lol...I hear ya tico, but watching john play makes me think that he doesnt have the rhythm dave has...so I can't say that John can't play dave any more than people say dave cant play lead...I havent heard either attempt at either and I really dont think they will, because it's not there department....nothing that I have seen from john has made me think that he is as good a rhythm guitarist as Dave. NOTHING.

DMBTabs.com

Is John Mayer a better guitar player than Dave Matthews?

Who is online