TOP 5 Neoclassical Shred Guitarists

In this video we look at our personal top 5 neoclassical guitar shredders. We have stuck with the "traditional" neoclassical shredder which means the likes of Jeff Loomis, Michael Romeo etc. don't feature.

That being said there is still a wide array of fantastic players. Don't forget to let us know in the comments if your favourite traditional neoclassical player is not in the list!

Here are our choices:

0:29 - George Bellas
2:37 - Joe Stump
5:23 - Vinnie Moore
8:06 - Jason Becker
11:51 - Yngwie Malmsteen

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[karlosvelazquez]

Paul Gilbert, Michael Romeo, Michael Angelio Batio, Greg Howe, Tony MacaAlpine also have played neoclassical.

[TABLSIX]

I think Michael Romeo shoud have been included. His style works well within the songs he writes. IMHO most shredders are excellent at soloing, but song writing lacks. That's just me.

[ibanezprestige]

1.Yngwie Malmsteen 2.Jason Becker 3.Vinnie Moore(prime) 4.Paul Gilbert 5.Chirs Impellitelli 6.Tony Mcalpine 7.Michael Angelo Batio 8.Kiko Loureiro 9.Michael Romeo 10.Jeff Loomis (11.George Bellas)

[isaiahneilguitaristofficia]

Man, They are all phenomenal, However I have never heard Yngwie “ Heavy E Phrygian “ before man he is on 🔥.. Theirs something about Yngwie, his melodies, his clarity, his Rhythmic phrasing, his vibrato… he is not only technically fantastic player, his compositional skill is parallel to his technique!

[andreas_XX]

1. Malmsteen
2/3 Michael Romeo/Jason Becker (pick your choice)
4. Cesario Filho (probably the best and amazing Malmsteen copy on the market)

There you have it! A complete list

[dsalbert]

ALL these guys are phenomenal! Yes, I think Yngwie has the best tone- going from warm/ hollow/ sweet to downright Wicked! That vibrato and the changes in nuance and timbre as he plays- true Juggernaut!!

[BzechuanInteractive]

What I really appreciate about this video is that the addition of the "Best Bits" allows the guitar playing to speak for itsself.

Most top videos tell you but neglect to show you.

[Shriderr]

Yngwie J. Malmsteen is the Best IMHO.👌 Every aspiring shredder should and must learn "Far Beyond the Sun" or his Alcatrazz solo "Jet to Jet" and many other songs like "Marching Out", "Brothers" and "Trilogy Suite Number 5." They are all epic.

Even Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal said that he forget how to play his songs but will not forget how to play Yngwie songs because it's "awesome stuff". While Guthrie Govan said among the 80's shredders, Yngwie is the one that really impressed him in the technical stand point.

He's our idols guitar Yngwie FTW!💯

[augmentednd]

I love neoclassical, but the more I listen to shred outside of that, like Shawn Lane and Allan Holdsworth, fusion stuff, I'm hearing stuff not only faster than Yngwie and most neoclassical shredders, but just more amazing, like huge interval stuff, use of more interesting chords and scales. Its a pretty big rabbit hole but once your onto jazz fusion its like a whole different world opens up.
A notable mention for an early classical infusion should be Randy Rhoads, as Paul Gilbert put it, while Yngwie often sounds like he is "battling pirates" Randy sounded like high aristocracy complete with the white wigs and fancy clothing. Mr. Crowley was definitely a strong contribution to Neoclassical without excessive speed, pushing the sound more towards a very dark eerie sinister vibe, especially the end chord progression that is allegedly a nod to Gary Moore's Parisienne Walkways.

[PowerBuilder]

Very well created list!👍YNGWIE MALMSTEEN is clearly the number#1 hands down . He has the X-Factor: a mix of speed, clarity, precision, vintage looseness and Godlike Vibrato that's second to none.🤘 Jason Becker cites him as influence, He also played "Blackstar" in a high school talent show.. George Bellas and Joe Stump would not admit it but they are "closet" Yngwie fanboys.😂😁copying Yng's hair, looks, fashion style and the two even have the same "Banana Yellow" Strat guitar. Joe's signature guitar looks very much like a Yngwie's Yellow Fender Strat, but he went with ESP to construct it and not make it so obvious.😁 hahaha. lastly NeoClassical sounds the best among the genres you posted here. Cheers mate!🔥

[nordicshredder]

luca turrilli definately deserves a spot considering his zelda/tolkien esque vocabulary, clean technique, orchestrative songwriting, classical training, etc

[tigerbalm]

Tony McAlpine and Vinny Moore still most underated neo-classical fusion players. Unlike other shredders, these can compose actual songs with melodies....of course YLM is the most popular and deserves to be!

[supafridge]

Yep Tony McAlpine should have been there. Joey Tafolla Out of the Sun album was also brilliant.

[Samhaim]

1. Malmsteen
2. Tony Macalpine
3. Jason Becker
4. Vinnie Moore
5. Marty Friedman

[richardembery]

Patrick Rondat is also fantastic. Rape of the Earth is a great album with great feel.

[ricardorodrigues]

Of course we must a list of 10. A list without Panos Arvanitis is not a Neolassical Guitar players list !

[georgeengelbrecht]

Traveled to Chicago from a small town in South Africa where I live to do a 7 day intensive course with George Bellas. One of the greatest experiences in my life, George is a genius and super down to earth and friendly. It was insane how fast his mind works and when he picks up the guitar all those fluent phrases just flows without any warming up or adjustment. Simply a genius, I actually think he had to dumb himself down for me 😂 I'm no dummy by any stretch of the imagination.

[Sphereal]

Next vid: neoROMANTIC shred guitarists, please.

[estelombo]

finally george bellas gets a mention!!! his entire performance on the musicians institue gig was insane!!!

[williamcampbell]

I like Yngwie but Vinnie Moore is smooth as silk.