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BenEllerGuitars
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Why Do We Play Guitar?

I sat down/stood up with a bunch of my favorite shredder friends and asked last time I was at Sweetwater! It’s Guitar Month over there, and they’ve got all kinds of rad deals on. Did you all know that if you simply get to the Sweetwater page by using one of the links in my video descriptions, I get a little affiliate kickback off of ANYTHING you buy once you’re there?! It’s pretty rad, use one of those links next time you’re getting yourself something nice!

What’s the song or band that made YOU want to play guitar? I wanna know!

-BE

Why Do We Play Guitar?

Comments

I was 8 years old and heard Appetite For Destruction. I bought the tape at Kmart, my first musical purchase. I had to listen to it in secret because of the language. Rebellious and exciting, still blows my mind, and makes me want to play guitar.

Noah

Hold the Line - Toto. Steve Lukather has been God since I was in the 6th grade. High 'n Dry is still one of my favorite (and only Def album) in my catalog.

John Hallman

Which song made me pick up a guitar and never look back?... "Wasted" from Def Leppard's "On Through The Night". Classic hard rock, primal Leppard!

Pablo Flores

Van Halen Oh Pretty Woman

Pat

"California Man" by The Move (Pre-ELO) also Rick Nielsens fave!

Keefster

Thanks Big E! Fun as always!

Michael Kolaski

Tiger rag...Les Paul

Phoenix

Hold that Tiger...Les Paul

Phoenix

big guitar rules!!!

Ben Eller

Haha dude the bassline to Longview was what got me started too. I played bass for years before I ever picked up the tiny geetar

Jake Raymor

Dodge Dart - Plymouth Duster (I had one myself) Holy Diver stuck in the cassette deck...

Glenn

I was drawn to the idea for along time before I found a guitar to try. Watching Hee Haw as child to 10 years old "Life in the Fast Lane" was captivating to me. A few years later, repeated listening to Journey Escape (especially the solo from "Lay it Down") made it inevitable.

Glenn

Sanitarium by Metallica. I'd dabbled with guitar before then, but that was the moment where I was hooked and spent hours and hours on end trying to learn it

David

“Best of both worlds “ Van Halen In 86 mtv would play the “live without a net” version. I never thought I could play it. …someday… someday

Turd Fergason

Nita Strauss!

Shveta Stern

Maiden got me to pick up a guitar as well. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith are tasty players. I saw Live After Death on MTV way back in the day and it rewired my brain.

William Hernandez

Ozzy, Shot in the Dark. I saw a live video of Zak Wylde playing it. This would have been in like 88 or 89. The hair, the attitude, that fat Zak tone...been an addict since

Guitardavepdx

Rush

Thomas Cooke

album: The Ventures Knock Me Out

Sean O

Can't name a specific song , but the first time i heard Aerosmith & Van Halen I had a curiosity with the guitar. Motley Crue inspired me to start a band

Keith Fine

Me gusta la guitarra me gusta 🥰

Alexander Ehlert

For me, it was the David Gilmour delay intro to run like hell on a delicate sound of thunder.

Paul Jones

Fleetwood Mac (Rumors/Tusk era) made me pick up the guitar. Neal Schon/Journey made me *really* want to play it 🤘

Marcus Bauer

Hearing Iommi,EVH,Hendrix,Rhoads…..and especially Frank Marino and Michael Schenker.I was hooked.

Art

“Children of the Damned”, the live version in “Live After Death”. I only had a classical guitar, but I was hellbent on learning Maiden. Must have worn out the vinyl and drove my parents nuts with “satan’s music” but never looked back. Almost 40 years later it still is part of setlist in my brain.

Diogo Camacho

I started to play drums with 18. Because I failed on guitar. Today, 15 years later I still play drums but I also started to play guitar a while ago, because of As I Lay Dying and August Burns Red. AILD - This is Who we are.

Tentin Quarantino

My older brother threw in this brand new cassette of White Lion's "Big Game" while riding in his 4x4 pickup. We listened to the whole album at full blast! I was hooked on the sound of those guitars endlessly melting my brain. I'm still looking for that sound.

Gregg B.

I was 20 years old, and I’ve heard the album Pornograffitti from Extreme. Unfortunately transcriptions were so bad at that time. So to answer the question, it’s because of Nuno Bettencourt that I started to play guitar, and that’s also how I found your youtube channel.

renoln1

The moment I heard Jamie's Cryin' on the radio...I was like what and who is that!

Dave

I loved music in general growing up, but it wasn't until I heard 'Rock of Ages' by Def Leppard for the first time. That's when I knew, though it would take me another 35(ish) years until I finally DID.

Ryan Nutick

12 years old, listening to Crazy Train for the first time, I knew I had to learn how to play guitar.

Art Romo

Got my first guitar when I was 8 after hearing a ton of stuff my dad was into and getting into my band ever band on my own, Nirvana’s Nevermind album. I fiddled around picking stuff up from dad and other guitarists in my family. Fast forward to when I’m 15. I really wanted to play Metallica, especially Justice album, so I got serious about it, my guitar player dad sent me to lessons from a friend of his who was the best teacher/player her knew (I remember him telling me he taught in Austria and wrote books for Mel Bay lol) and here I am over 25 years later, still loving it and still learning

Ryne G. Schuler

The defining moment for me was hearing Master of Puppets for the first time. Hetfield was my guy.

304angstroms

Hey Ben, do you still do private lessons by chance?

ammar

The wah pedal sounds on Turn up the Night off Black Sabbath's Mob Rules album!

Todd S Evans

I was 14 when Rainbow in the dark made me want to pick up the axe. Vivian Campbell blew my mind

Joe McKenna

Nothing in particular in my case. Just the love for Metal!! :)

Stanislav Ossovsky

Blessed Black Wings opening riff by High on Fire. And if anybody is scoping out Uncle Ben's Sweetwater affiliate, take a look at Universal Audio's $99 pedals--they are the same UA quality you'd expect from their $300+ big box offering, but in a more focused application. The Evermore Reverb is calling my name...

Erik Berg

Children of Bodom, hearing Alexi Laiho rip the world to shreds on Hatebreeder way back when really got to me.

AlexBB

The first time I heard the lick on 'No Scrubs' I was hooked

Phil Darovic

Tool, but I feel that their newest album REALLY showcased Adam Jones' sonic mastery. His stuff doesn't have too many notes, but it just sounds so damn cool. I wanted to learn Pneuma and Descending, so I started learning the guitar tabs and a year later I'm kinda okay at them. Now I'm on to 7empest and some of their older stuff like No Quarter. It's been fun!

Steve Liddle

KISS... Black Diamond all the way back in 1977! That was a fun video, Thank you

Aldo Ferrari

https://youtu.be/JQFI4wKubqs?si=-VqE_QThi-thzG3F

NYCM&AHole

Man, Metallica’s black album and GNR’s AFD

César Neyra

Twisted Sister and Black Sabbath... We're not gonna take it and Iron Man. Fell in love after those two.

Chad Howell

I was 14, a friend played in front of me FunkyMonks and enter sandman, the fire and will to play was in me !

Christophe

Satriani. Hearing Surfing with the Alien for the first time in 1988 changed my life.

JD

Early 80's I was 12 year old when Dio released Holy Diver. Asked my dad for a guitar the next day.

petri iltanen

Can't pin down the song but it would definitely be something by either Sabbath or Scorpions.

Mel Jones

It's all Dave Mustaine's fault. When I see him tomorrow night, I am going to tell him off. Nerve of that guy...

John LaTour

I believe Michael Starr summed it up in heavy metal rules https://youtu.be/uvubIgC9zi0?si=QF2MhaETM4J9zLmz

NYCM&AHole

My pop played in bands and when I was 13 he gave me my first guitar, it was through him really but then I found Satch…

Kevin Jardim


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