What's so good about petrucci?

[mt]

ok I really admire michael romeo, yngwie, steve vai. satriani, mike angelo, eric johnson are pretty good too. Its pretty much in order of preference basically..

but.. all these guitarists I know are saying how they love petrucci and he's so good and all... but when I listen to him.. his tone isn't particularly good, he doesn't have the feel nor vibrato of yngwie, doesn't have the wide range of musicality as romeo. doesn't have the tone and cool stuff vai does.

dream theater's songs aren't particularly well composed imo. too much werid noise.. too much percussion sometimes. and the progression and key changes are not too smooth and rather dull imo...

and petrucci's soloing is like.. sort of like angelo but not as technically advanced...

anyway... I haven't really digged into dream theater that much yet.. and maybe I need to listen to it more(first few times I heard symphonyX I thought it was total crap [img]graemlins/brow.gif[/img] ).
but can u petrucci fans tell me just what is so good about him?

thanks, no offense btw.

[lerxstcat]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

If you're so good that you think Petrucci is blase', then post us some mp3s because we'd love to hear your playing. You must
be a friggin' monster!

[axeman81]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

I have to agree, I can't for the life of me feel any sort of emotion (unless you can call boredom an emotion [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] ) from John Petrucci's playing.
At the same time, those weird key changes and prog style might be your thing...
Not for me though.

To me, he's like the epitomy of the old saying that all the technique and musical knowledge in the world can't save you if you can't use it to create something beautiful.
Then again, arguing over music taste is futile.

- Rune.

[Alexi7]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

learning the first solo in erotomania sparked my interest in petrucci, but i dunno, his playing doesnt have the longegivity of others im my opinion, though he does have some cool solos, and he is a fine muso, so i cant say he's overrated, just not everyone's cup of tea.
cheers

[Mordor]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

I'm with you guys,imo Petrucci is [img]graemlins/sleep.gif[/img]

I like some prog metal but I find his style very uninspired and boring.
Just my opinion.

[petedz]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

Wow, tough crowd. [img]graemlins/brow.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

On the first three DT albums, the interplay between Petrucci and Kevin Moore was sheer genius. I feel that DT has an ongoing identity crisis since Kevin left. They still have thier moments, though.

I really like Petrucci's leads, but for rhythms I wish he'd limit his use of the 7 string to say once per album. That low B mosh sound is a neat gimick, but it gets old very fast when it's on nearly every song.

[1trussell]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

See, now I'm a big fan of the weird key changes and prog style. I happen to think that his tone is quite good, especially on the new album. The complexity of his playing combined with how smoothly it is executed always impresses me. His playing is so tight, and when combined with the keyboards (from any of the three players), shows tremendous musical talent and knowledge. Wide vibrato may not be his thing, but I do sense feeling in a number of his songs. Also, I do enjoy a lot of his thick, low B-string rhythms. It just goes to show that not everyone will agree on all things, especially not music. I don' tcare for death metal, so I don't listen to it. I think it is about the music in some way speaking to you. Dream Theater's music speaks to me in a way.

[Jeremy]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

His best playing I think is on the first album. But thats awesome, and it really shows how much of a great guitarist he is.

Although this album sounds very much like a more heavey It Bites album.

Their last album doesn't do him any favours at all, but he still is an awesome guitarist.

[diffrent strings]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

Petrucci is awesome go see him live the guy absoltely shreds his playing is flawless as for ynwie I've seen him 5 times wanna talk about boring the first time was exciting but being a gluton for punishement I kept going to his shows and he kept on playing the exact same things the guy is sloppy as hell live and is a now parody of himself.Petrucci is the real deal and my favorite guitar player of all time

[Ninja Guitar]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

John Petrucci and Dream Theater are the reason I'm playing guitar today. To me, they sound like some of the most talented, inspired musicians ever.

[diffrent strings]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

amen brother

[Hyperfuzz]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

His instructional video is super. Even if you aren't into DT's music, you can definitely pick up a few things from it.

[mt]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

lerxtcat: I've been playing for almost 3 years and took no lessons. I may not be technically as solid,, but Im confident that I'll surpass him in terms of solidness in like 2 years or so. as for other stuff.. personally I dun think there's much to surpass [img]graemlins/eyes.gif[/img] and ya I'll post some after I get my kelly...

I've been listening more to DT.. home, overture 1928, erotomania.. etc. and still dun find it as inspiring, amazing as some friends say it is... its not too bad...just..

his rythm parts.. simplistic(not necessarily a bad thing)... not much variation.. repetative(boring)elongated section of the same rythm(home).. very boring..

his leads I find are either fast runs of very similar patterns(sounds like his practicing routines coming back to haunt), or slow, melodic types that are pretty meager compared to vai.

he's not as arpeggic as great musicians (players I named, wes montgomery, itzhak pearlman..etc), and when he does incorporate arpeggios, they sound out of place and weak, not really an integral part of his playing.

composition wise... their key changes dun sound good to me,. no lead ins from the melody, werid points of key changes... seems like they're changing keys just for the sake of changing keys or because they need to go back to some key. in some sections they sound more pop than pop rock... in others they sound like some serialism example... rather unbalanced in my taste..

dun get me wrong I LOVE key changes, including prog key changes. I sort of despise songs without them [img]graemlins/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] . SymphonyX has ingenious key changes, so does mike angelo and other proggers .. but DT.. hmm...

anyway... these are my opinions... and im just looking for petrucci fans who would set me in the right direction on how to appreciate DT... [img]graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img] . sort of like travis's comments.. but travis have u heard Symphony X? talk about rythm, progression and lead complexity..

yes I've heard that a few times: " DT is the reason I started playing"... but why? just what is so good about them? I dun get it... any specific reasons? nobody has been able to give me more than "they're the best they're so good arguments"..

[ March 11, 2004, 09:20 AM: Message edited by: mt ]

[the_drip]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

Dreamtheater used to do it for me.

they don't anymore. Not even the old stuff. They try too hard to be "better" than everyone else. Bunch of show off music IMO. I can't stand it. And the singer blows ass.

[Tekky]

Re: What\'s so good about petrucci?

Petrucci's technique is as clear as a bell. I think that's one of the things that sets him apart from other players. You can hear the each individual note when he's playing. His control is absolutely amazing.

It was said before about the interplay between him and Kevin Moore, I think it has continued with Rudess as well.

Like him or not, Petrucci is doing a lot to help keep the art of the guitar solo from going the way of the Dinosaur.