List of hybrid picking guitarists
Encyclopedia
This is an alphabetized list of guitarists who are notable for their use of the hybrid picking
technique in live performances or studio recordings. Musicians are listed here only if their use of this technique has been especially significant.
Hybrid picking
Hybrid picking is a guitar-playing technique that involves picking with a pick and one or more fingers alternately or simultaneously. Hybrid picking allows guitar players who use a pick to perform music which would normally require fingerstyle playing. It also facilitates wide string leaps Hybrid...
technique in live performances or studio recordings. Musicians are listed here only if their use of this technique has been especially significant.
A-E
- Gustavo Assis-BrasilGustavo Assis-BrasilGustavo Assis-Brasil is a Brazilian jazz guitarist. Based in Boston, he is considered a major pioneer in organizing the study and development of the hybrid picking technique for guitar. In 1999 he received a full scholarship to get his Master's degree at Berklee College of Music and The Boston...
(born 1973) is a jazz guitarist and author of three instructional books on hybrid picking. - Chet AtkinsChet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
(1924-2001) - James BurtonJames BurtonJames Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 , Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...
(born 1939) is probably the most-recorded hybrid picking guitarist, appearing on more than 360 albums with Ricky NelsonRicky NelsonEric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
, Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Merle HaggardMerle HaggardMerle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
and many others. Burton uses a Fender Medium flatpick between thumb and first finger and a National metal fingerpick on his middle finger, and has influenced many other guitarists during his long career. - John ButlerJohn Butler (musician)John Charles Wiltshire-Butler or John Charles Butler is an Australian musician, songwriter, record label owner and producer...
(born 1975), leader of the platinum-selling John Butler Trio, uses acrylic fingernails for both hybrid picking and fingerpicking. He developed his own hybrid style on acoustic dobro and guitar while growing up in Australia. - Glen CampbellGlen CampbellGlen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
(born 1936) - Roy ClarkRoy ClarkRoy Linwood Clark is an American country music musician and performer. He is best known for hosting Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969–1992. Clark has been an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and helping to popularize the genre...
(born 1933) - Jerry DonahueJerry DonahueJerry Donahue is an American guitarist and producer primarily known for his work in the British folk rock scene as a member of Fotheringay and Fairport Convention as well as being a member of the rock guitar trio The Hellecasters.-Biography:Donahue was born in New York, the son of big band...
(born 1946) - Tommy EmmanuelTommy EmmanuelWilliam Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...
(born 1955)
F-J
- Brett GarsedBrett GarsedBrett Garsed is an Australian guitar player. He plays with, among others, John Farnham and T. J. Helmerich and is a former member of the band Nelson...
(born 1963) - Wayde Cooper (born 1971)
- Danny GattonDanny GattonDanny Gatton was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography...
(1945-1994) - Billy GibbonsBilly GibbonsWilliam Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
(born 1949) - Guthrie GovanGuthrie GovanGuthrie Govan is a guitarist known for his work with the bands Asia , GPS, The Young Punx and The Fellowship as well as Erotic Cakes...
(born 1971) - Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
(1942-1970) Hybrid picking was used in his song The Burning of the Midnight Lamp - Brent HindsBrent HindsBrent Hinds is an American guitarist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor....
(born 1974) - Greg HoweGreg HoweGregory "Greg" Howe is an American guitarist and composer. As an active musician for nearly thirty years, he has released nine studio albums in addition to collaborating with a wide variety of artists.-Recording career:...
(born 1963) - Steve HoweSteve HoweSteve Howe is the name of:*Steve Howe , progressive rock guitarist*Steve Howe , former major league pitcher...
(born 1947) - John JorgensonJohn JorgensonJohn Jorgenson is a US musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, Jorgenson is also proficient in the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel, piano, upright bass, clarinet, bassoon and saxophone...
(born 1956) - BucketheadBucketheadBrian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
(born 1969)
K-P
- Jorma KaukonenJorma KaukonenJorma Ludwik Kaukonen Jr. is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist, best known for his work with Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna.-Biography:...
(born 1940) - Wayne KrantzWayne KrantzWayne Krantz is an American jazz fusion guitarist. He has played with top artists such as Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham, and others, but is most active as a solo performer.-Biography:...
(born 1956) - Albert LeeAlbert LeeAlbert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
(born 1943), English country guitarist who plays Music ManMusic Man (company)Music Man is an American guitar, and bass guitar manufacturer. It is a division of the Ernie Ball corporation.-Early years:The Music Man story began in 1971 when Forrest White and Tom Walker talked with Leo Fender about starting a company they would call Tri-Sonic, Inc...
and Fender TelecasterFender TelecasterThe Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
guitars equipped with B-BenderB-BenderB-Bender is a guitar accessory that enables a player to mechanically bend the B-string up a whole tone to C-sharp. There are several different designs, but all use levers or pulleys inside or outside the guitar body that are activated by a pull or push of the guitar neck, body, or bridge...
s. While hybrid picking, Lee holds his Ernie Ball heavy gauge flatpick with his thumb and one finger. His usual pick grip at other times is with thumb and two fingers. - Lonnie MackLonnie MackLonnie Mack is an American rock, blues and country guitarist and vocalist....
(born 1941) - Brent MasonBrent MasonBrent Mason is an American session guitarist and occasional songwriter. He is known primarily for his work in the field of country music. In addition to releasing two instrumental studio albums, he holds several credits as a songwriter...
(born 1959) - Roger McGuinnRoger McGuinnJames Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
(born 1942) - Steve MorseSteve MorseSteven J. "Steve" Morse is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his work in the hard rock band Deep Purple since 1994. He began his career to form the unique styled instrumental rock band Dixie Dregs in the 1970. Morse's musical inspiration comes from country, funk, jazz fusion, and...
(born 1954) - Simon NicolSimon NicolSimon John Breckenridge Nicol is a guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founder member of British folk rock, or electric folk group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in the band...
(born 1950) - Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
Q-Z
- Will RayWill RayCRAIG is a long-time American session guitarist and current member of the Hellecasters. CRAIG has also released a number of solo albums. He is considered an influential player of the Fender Telecaster line of guitars. Fender made two CRAIG signature models in the late 1990s: the Jazz-a-Caster...
(born 1950) - Jerry ReedJerry ReedJerry Reed Hubbard , known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, innovative guitarist, songwriter, and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films...
(1937-2008) - Robbie RobertsonRobbie RobertsonRobbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
(1943) (Heavy use of hybrid picking when with The Hawks. Played Telecaster when backing Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan.) - Arlen RothArlen RothArlen Roth is an American guitarist. His first solo album won the Montreaux Critics' Award for Best Instrumental Album of the Year in 1978. He was Guitar Player magazine's top columnist from 1982 to 1992...
(born 1952) - Brian SetzerBrian SetzerBrian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...
(born 1959) - Marty StuartMarty StuartJohn Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
(born 1958) - Ron "Bumblefoot" ThalRon "Bumblefoot" ThalRonald Jay Blumenthal , better known by his stage name Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, is a Jewish-American guitarist, songwriter, recording artist and producer. Thal adopted the name Bumblefoot from the bacterial infection of the same name, which he learned about while helping his wife review for her...
(born 1969) - Richard Thompson (born 1949)
- Vinnie VincentVinnie VincentVincent John Cusano, better known as Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist from Bridgeport, Connecticut and songwriter known for his brief membership in the band Kiss.-Replacing Ace Frehley in Kiss:...
(born 1952) - Clarence WhiteClarence WhiteClarence White was a guitar player for Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels. His parents were Acadians from New Brunswick, Canada...
(1944-1973) - Zakk WyldeZakk WyldeZachary Phillip Wylde , best known by the stage name Zakk Wylde, is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory,...
(born 1967)