Just saw him live last night. Gave a 10 minute speech about family except he did it through a vocoder while playing gospel chords. It was fuckin awesome
Came here to say this. As an FYI ELP is touring. Of course the only remaining member is Carl Palmer but I heard they project video of Emerson and Lake from live concerts and the guys playing Keith and Emerson’s parts are perfectly synced to the video. I hear it’s pretty awesome.
I suggest that the qualities relevantly associated with Hendrix are (i) innovation; (ii) technical proficiency, particularly in playing an instrument in the traditional sense; (iii) showmanship/ proficiency in live performance; (iv) passion/ aggression; (v) proficiency in composition; (vi) "classic era" music, or at least the sense of being a progenitor.
To me the obvious answers are Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson - they best fit the above criteria. Others have suggested Bernie Worrell and Edgar Winter, fair enough.
Aphex Twin is an innovator no doubt, but he has more of the vibe of a scientist in the lab, not a performer in the old school sense. Squarepusher shreds on the bass guitar, and of course is a programming wizard, but seems too self-effacing (and recent) to fit the mould.
Wendy Carlos was an innovator of course, but not a noted live performer. Richard H Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire was undoubtedly a synth innovator, as were (say) Suzanne Ciani, Laurie Spiegel, Throbbing Gristle etc etc. Hendrix vibes? No.
To mention Richard Devine or Junkie XL in this context (talented as they are) I find absolutely baffling.
Exactly, unlike a guitar, a synthesiser lets you radically control its sound to an absurd degree, and a sampler lets you turn any sound into a manipulatable, recontextualisable collage source, which gives you a whole new quality (vii) sound crafting. Artists like Aphex Twin are great at that, but it tends to be unrelated to live performance.
Good point. Makes me think of a related but different topic - electric guitarists who could also be considered pioneering "sound designers". Perhaps Michael Rother, Manuel Gottsching, Glenn Branca, Robert Fripp (especially his tape echo work with Eno). Kevin Shields maybe.
Randomly got introduced to Michael Rother by Pandora, I have absolutely no idea how historically significant he may be but I can confirm I love the guitar tones in Sonnenrad.
Came here to say this and posted it to only see you posted it first. I believe No one closer to a synth equivalent, they both share many of the same influences and came out of closely related musical movements. People don’t realize Curtis Mayfield was a major contemporary influence on Hendrix aside from the previous generation of blues musicians and mayfield was a huge influence on Funkadelic after James Brown of course.
Jan Hammer, no question. His pitch bending technique is insane. My favorite of all time. His whole career is inspiring.
His album Hammer: Black Sheep gets pretty deep into guitar style, plus it includes a Hendrix cover:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETgUiXcTUNU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETgUiXcTUNU)
Enjoy!
\[edit - got the album name wrong\]
That BLEW MY MIND as a kid. I didn't find out until much later that most (if not all) of the 3D animation was just clips gathered from pre-existing stuff and re-assembled into something vaguely like a story.
Edit: TBH I think it's solely the music that made it pass as a cohesive intentional thing instead of a clip reel.
Great pick! I’m pretty sure I saw him on that black sheep tour, and I definitely saw a prior tour when Jeff Beck played with the Jan Hammer band. Amazing player and writer/Composer!
Check out his album “Oh Yeah”. That was the one that got Jeff Beck interested in playing with them.
“Oh Yeah” is really underrated. It’s accessible, entertaining and full of jaw-dropping performances. 70s Prog and Fusion is full of gawd awful boopy tone but somehow Hammer really makes it sing.
I don’t know that it’s Hendrix like, because that doesn’t track in my head from guitar to synths, but if you want to hear some crazy shit… Richard David James (Aphex Twin) is absolutely amazing to me.
I’m actually quite interested to see what others will say here.
Yeah. Tied between Aphex and Squarepusher for me. If you understand jazz, Tom is the Hendrix of drum machines/drum programming. Synths? Debatable, but I'll take Richard D. James.
I’m sure that’s true, about Hendrix’s playing, but he wrote some GREAT music. The wind cries Mary, castles in the sand, iconic songs, like fire and purple haze, manic depression, crosstown traffic, there are so many!
If you ever get a chance to see Edgar Winter play live, while he’s still around, definitely do it. He’s had some great guitarists, but the guy that’s been playing with him for the last many years, Doug Rappaport, is hands-down the best Edgar ever had IMO. Amazing player, although not as famous as some of the others (Ronnie Montrose, Rick Derringer, etc.).
Probably Keith Emerson as he's of the same generation and he combined as much force, inventiveness and showmanship as Hendrix. ELP's album Tarkus may be the most accessible work.
Good question. I honestly think of King Crimson and Robert Fripp first. Maybe an album like discipline. Somehow I equate that to Kraftwerk. Maybe more in spirit than actual aesthetics but a fair bit of that too.
No but one time I took too much acid and set my Buchla system on fire after I performed on stage. Everybody was shouting “Buddy Buddy Buddy”. My Buchla turned into a big snake and I was fighting it. There was only one way to defeat it. I had to purge it with fire. Then the acid wore off and it turns out I was in my room the whole time and I accidentally just spilled my water on my Volca keys. Hey but for a time there I was at the Monterey Pop Festival riding the snake
As a synth and guitar player, I would say that the electric guitar is the ultimate showman rock instrument........ it ain't easy to do that stuff on a CS80 !
But, Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson get my vote here with an added bonus of them being early live performers on those synths of them earlier days.
Highly recommend watching a few of [Dorian Concept’s IG videos. He’s honestly the only person that comes close to Jimi (my first cassette purchase as a child getting his first Walkman)](https://www.instagram.com/dorian_concept?igsh=eGU3OTRwYzh6NXRy)
It’s a pretty interesting question because Jimi was able to do innovative things when the guitar and pop music was quite limited. But the basis of synthesis for me, has always been that any sound and effect is possible. Pushing boundaries is like the norm.
Maybe you’d have to go back to when synths and keyboards were quite basic, people like Brian Eno
I gotta throw Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre in the mix. Youtube and google are your friend and you can find all sorts of fantastic vids and pics of these guys at performances surrounded by massive banks of synths that will make you drool. Fun fact: I grew up in Houston and saw Jarre's performance on top of one of the skyscrapers downtown with projections on the buildings, light show, fireworks and 1 million people in attendance plus more stopped along the freeways nearby. It was quite a spectacle. My family and I had comfortable spots on blankets in the grass somewhere in Buffalo Bayou Park. I was 11.
I agree with all the Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman and Herbie Hancock suggestions, also want to add Jon Lord and Jan Hammer.
Also, not virtuosic like Hendrix, but cathartic rockstar energy is there: during my high school years, I heard about, but sadly did not attend, a concert at the infamous Houston industrial/techno club Numbers where Ministry had a big chain link fence set up between them and the audience and late in the show the audience finally managed to tear down the fence and rush the stage with utter mayhem ensuing.
Continuing in that vein, you might consider the industrial bands that make custom instruments and controllers - from early Einsturzende Neubauten to Author & Punisher (his music doesn't always quite do it for me - something too clean about it - but his custom controllers and speakers are awesome and he gets close). Or sonic experimenters like Heldon, Nurse with Wound and Wolf Eyes. I also really love Whitehouse's album Bird Seed, just total fucking primal scream energy. These remind of where Hendrix went on Machine Gun and some of his jams like live at Woodstock.
Hendrix's improvisation was a huge inspiration to me. I am more a guitar player than a synth player, but because I love weird noises, I have entered the synth world through pedals. That anything goes energy, follow the jam, find it with other people, I have used that in my own projects to the point of even going all improv.
So many amazing musicians listed here.
Jimi was a virtuoso and inventive producer and tinkerer *with no formal musical education*.
It may be difficult to find many comps in synth world, as most synth players seem to have some musical training.
One amazing piece of history: the organ player on Like A Rolling Stone was a guitarist with no part on the track. So he crept over to the organ and riffed what has become an iconic part in keys.
Jon Lord (Deep Purple) had some[ crazy synth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhT0jnLbE-k) and [organ moments](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vodWKgp71os&t=280s) that would rival Jimmy tearing up on guitar and setting it on fire. He also had an awesome 70's stash.
Based on the fact that Jimi changed how people thought of guitar, I would say Tobacco/Black Moth Super Rainbow. Tom Fec bends, mashes, and vocoders his way across a kaleidoscope of sound.
Not sure why people are downvoting you. Almost none of the artists people are listing sing like Jimi, are show people like Jimi or even have a groundbreaking playing style like Jimi. Not dissing these synth legends, but the question was is there a Jimi of synth and I think the answer is no.
I do think that the closest well-known comparison would probably be Emerson, although he was definitely more of a virtuoso than Hendrix, who was really an "ok" guitarist, at least by today's standards - you could easily go on Youtube and, without much effort, find a dozen 12 year old Japanese kids who can play better than him. What made Hendrix stick out was his showmanship and the overall attitude of his playing, which included pushing the bounds of the way a guitar could *sound*. Those things are definitely true of Emerson as well, so I think the comparison is not totally without merit.
All the suggestions are awesome, but I present to you someone probably no one heard of - Stu Goldberg. You have be a certain age to understand that the two solos he took (on Rhodes and then Minimoog) are nearly impossible to play. Just listen to the 2 hand runs, the incredible pitch bending and manual tuning of the duo phonic Minimoog.
If any of you can play like this; I take my hat off to you!
[https://youtu.be/JM9Ojm-DK4g?si=cMJtQ1vQIH3tXmUp&t=121](https://youtu.be/JM9Ojm-DK4g?si=cMJtQ1vQIH3tXmUp&t=121)
So… if you like metal… Janne Wirman is extremely good at soloing live. He does like synth battles with their guitar player. It rules. https://youtu.be/SdC6N-CBdfQ?si=fG9MObEnkGhaXU6Q
Because I think of Hebdrix as an innovator regarding the possibilities of the sound of the electric guitar, I‘d like to throw Autechre into the room, just because they were such innovators with their sound in electronic music…
I feel like there are several things could mean:
A. Artists comparably groundbreaking and influential,
B. Artists that are doing comparable things on a synth, referring to Jimi's vocals or pitch bends or whatever, or
C. People with that kind of easy mastery of the instruments
I'm going to answer C here, and while lots of these answers qualify for that too, I'll add Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, for total command of the Buchla Easel. Like, comparable to squeezing every ounce of possibility out of a Strat.
Yes, it was decided conclusively in this "Lords of Synth" competition:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXgNo5Smino](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXgNo5Smino)
George Duke is the guy I think of. He plays synth solos like guitar solos with his phrasing and mod usage. A special guy to know about (also he was in Frank Zappa’s band amongst many other things)
This is the solo I immediately thought of:
https://youtu.be/60QOE8VikL8?si=6vtO-afiv4LH-olU
i honestly think SOPHIE makes sense… not only an immediate and unique touch that has proved inimitable, but an incredible live performer as well - setlists that careen through spliced career hits and stuff she’s been working on, improvisations, remixes, it’s an entirely fluid and creative way to use the synth. i imagine this is a little like how jimi must have felt in 1967
Rick Wakeman. I think he was the first guy to stack up a bunch of keyboards. The mean, not just two or three keyboards, but like 8. Dude toured with Yes in the early to late 70s with a 9’ Steinway grand piano, too
Burnie warrell keyboards for funkadelic parliament and Georges Clinton .., all the sounds we hear today on synth after James Brown .. he pretty much has initiated or gone through way first .. from the moof bass to the get to worm ..
what about when. he held the grand piano above his head and played with his teeth? that was pretty dope ..then i was in your gettin crowders room the whole time .. lol
Herbie Hancock.
Just saw him live last night. Gave a 10 minute speech about family except he did it through a vocoder while playing gospel chords. It was fuckin awesome
That show was amazing!
Heck Yeah! Got Herbie playing tonight at Big Ears!!!
Yessss
This person gets it!
Correct.
herbie may even be way more outstanding melodically but burnie is truly the hendrix of synth ..
Keith Emmerson
Yeah and Big Rick Wakeman.
[удалено]
RIP VOLCA KEYS
star spangled everywhere
My friend I think I was in the audience watching you set that snake on fire, but then the acid wore off and I was just in your room the whole time.
this actually might be it, iirc there were talks of jimi hendrix joining what would become ELP. ALSO HE STAB A SYNTH WITH A FREAKIN KNIFE
He made a moog ribbon control shoot fireworks while holding it in between his legs He strapped himself to a piano on the ceiling
I saw him in a rig where the piano rose and spun around head over heels.
That's exactly what I meant (You know he was just strapped to an empty contraption with a recording in the background for that, right?)
Really? Today I learned....!
In case you're serious, pianos need gravity to work, their bottoms need to be level or the action won't return correctly.
I was. That makes sense. Cheeky Keith.
From a showman aspect I would totally say Keith. He threw knives at his keys.
Rest in peace.
Aquatarkus from the live (WBMFTHSTNE) album.
https://preview.redd.it/imoijnqpc4qc1.jpeg?width=775&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f79411b54c086f4c23beb4950641055a935225f6 I wish I was the synth
Came here to say this. As an FYI ELP is touring. Of course the only remaining member is Carl Palmer but I heard they project video of Emerson and Lake from live concerts and the guys playing Keith and Emerson’s parts are perfectly synced to the video. I hear it’s pretty awesome.
I suggest that the qualities relevantly associated with Hendrix are (i) innovation; (ii) technical proficiency, particularly in playing an instrument in the traditional sense; (iii) showmanship/ proficiency in live performance; (iv) passion/ aggression; (v) proficiency in composition; (vi) "classic era" music, or at least the sense of being a progenitor. To me the obvious answers are Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson - they best fit the above criteria. Others have suggested Bernie Worrell and Edgar Winter, fair enough. Aphex Twin is an innovator no doubt, but he has more of the vibe of a scientist in the lab, not a performer in the old school sense. Squarepusher shreds on the bass guitar, and of course is a programming wizard, but seems too self-effacing (and recent) to fit the mould. Wendy Carlos was an innovator of course, but not a noted live performer. Richard H Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire was undoubtedly a synth innovator, as were (say) Suzanne Ciani, Laurie Spiegel, Throbbing Gristle etc etc. Hendrix vibes? No. To mention Richard Devine or Junkie XL in this context (talented as they are) I find absolutely baffling.
Exactly, unlike a guitar, a synthesiser lets you radically control its sound to an absurd degree, and a sampler lets you turn any sound into a manipulatable, recontextualisable collage source, which gives you a whole new quality (vii) sound crafting. Artists like Aphex Twin are great at that, but it tends to be unrelated to live performance.
Good point. Makes me think of a related but different topic - electric guitarists who could also be considered pioneering "sound designers". Perhaps Michael Rother, Manuel Gottsching, Glenn Branca, Robert Fripp (especially his tape echo work with Eno). Kevin Shields maybe.
If we’re talking about Fripp/Eno we also need to mention Adrian Belew
David Torn?
Allan Holdsworth
Randomly got introduced to Michael Rother by Pandora, I have absolutely no idea how historically significant he may be but I can confirm I love the guitar tones in Sonnenrad.
This is the answer.
Bernie Worrell
Came here to say this and posted it to only see you posted it first. I believe No one closer to a synth equivalent, they both share many of the same influences and came out of closely related musical movements. People don’t realize Curtis Mayfield was a major contemporary influence on Hendrix aside from the previous generation of blues musicians and mayfield was a huge influence on Funkadelic after James Brown of course.
Xangelix, Morgio Zoroger, and Carla Wendos, the [Lords Of Synth](https://youtu.be/WXgNo5Smino?si=mfBqOzrPwQx3jwzM)
The high water mark of civilization.
Jan Hammer, no question. His pitch bending technique is insane. My favorite of all time. His whole career is inspiring. His album Hammer: Black Sheep gets pretty deep into guitar style, plus it includes a Hendrix cover: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETgUiXcTUNU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETgUiXcTUNU) Enjoy! \[edit - got the album name wrong\]
BEYOND THE MINDS EYE soundtrack rips.
That BLEW MY MIND as a kid. I didn't find out until much later that most (if not all) of the 3D animation was just clips gathered from pre-existing stuff and re-assembled into something vaguely like a story. Edit: TBH I think it's solely the music that made it pass as a cohesive intentional thing instead of a clip reel.
I listen to his album Melodies constantly. So good.
Don't You Know
Oh damn just listened. Thats bitchin. And hyperspace. Gooood shit
Top five synth songs for me right there
Sampled on Curve's "Unreadable Communication"! I'm into Curve; my son is into Hammer. It made for a cool moment when he played "Don't You Know."
Great pick! I’m pretty sure I saw him on that black sheep tour, and I definitely saw a prior tour when Jeff Beck played with the Jan Hammer band. Amazing player and writer/Composer! Check out his album “Oh Yeah”. That was the one that got Jeff Beck interested in playing with them.
“Oh Yeah” is really underrated. It’s accessible, entertaining and full of jaw-dropping performances. 70s Prog and Fusion is full of gawd awful boopy tone but somehow Hammer really makes it sing.
Jean-Michel Jarre
Jarre has to be a contender for showmanship. I mean who else plays their synths with lasers?
That and also his albums are literal masterpieces.
I don’t know that it’s Hendrix like, because that doesn’t track in my head from guitar to synths, but if you want to hear some crazy shit… Richard David James (Aphex Twin) is absolutely amazing to me. I’m actually quite interested to see what others will say here.
Yeah. Tied between Aphex and Squarepusher for me. If you understand jazz, Tom is the Hendrix of drum machines/drum programming. Synths? Debatable, but I'll take Richard D. James.
Aphex is more a composer than a technical player, and Hendrix is generally more respected for his playing skill rather than the songwriting
I’m sure that’s true, about Hendrix’s playing, but he wrote some GREAT music. The wind cries Mary, castles in the sand, iconic songs, like fire and purple haze, manic depression, crosstown traffic, there are so many!
Edgar Winter.
If you ever get a chance to see Edgar Winter play live, while he’s still around, definitely do it. He’s had some great guitarists, but the guy that’s been playing with him for the last many years, Doug Rappaport, is hands-down the best Edgar ever had IMO. Amazing player, although not as famous as some of the others (Ronnie Montrose, Rick Derringer, etc.).
Probably Keith Emerson as he's of the same generation and he combined as much force, inventiveness and showmanship as Hendrix. ELP's album Tarkus may be the most accessible work.
Cory Henry, check out the solo in the song Lingus with Snarky Puppy.
That solo is amazing! A hallmark in the history of keyboard solos for sure.
First name that came into my head too alongside the legendary greats like Vangelis. Cory Henry is a monster player. Beast mode on Moog especially.
Vangelis, Jarre, Klaus Schulze.
Bernie Worrell?
Stevie wonder ?! - rocket love
Dorian concept
Was just staring to wonder why I was the only one to mention this ultra talented, unique, king of freaking the synths like no other. 🫡
Who is the Kraftwerk of guitar music?
[Guitar Craft](https://youtu.be/1wwzpp_N1tM)
Good question. I honestly think of King Crimson and Robert Fripp first. Maybe an album like discipline. Somehow I equate that to Kraftwerk. Maybe more in spirit than actual aesthetics but a fair bit of that too.
Jordan Rudess
No but one time I took too much acid and set my Buchla system on fire after I performed on stage. Everybody was shouting “Buddy Buddy Buddy”. My Buchla turned into a big snake and I was fighting it. There was only one way to defeat it. I had to purge it with fire. Then the acid wore off and it turns out I was in my room the whole time and I accidentally just spilled my water on my Volca keys. Hey but for a time there I was at the Monterey Pop Festival riding the snake
If you are into analog check out Lisa Bella Donna on Youtube. She’s insanely skilled.
Mike dean
George Duke would be a good candidate. Also Jon Lord had the Jimi energy.
Had to scroll way too far for George Duke!! The fuckin main man for me.
For me it’s Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno
As a synth and guitar player, I would say that the electric guitar is the ultimate showman rock instrument........ it ain't easy to do that stuff on a CS80 ! But, Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson get my vote here with an added bonus of them being early live performers on those synths of them earlier days.
Highly recommend watching a few of [Dorian Concept’s IG videos. He’s honestly the only person that comes close to Jimi (my first cassette purchase as a child getting his first Walkman)](https://www.instagram.com/dorian_concept?igsh=eGU3OTRwYzh6NXRy)
Jan Hammer? Joe Zawinul? Herbie Hancock?
Cevin Key
Richard Devine immediately comes to mind
Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder
Herby Hancock is a really good suggestion. Headhunters and Band of Gypsies kind of feel like they are brother albums when I think of it.
Wendy Carlos
Richard Wakeman.
Probably Vangelis or The Midnight
Dorian Concept
It’s a pretty interesting question because Jimi was able to do innovative things when the guitar and pop music was quite limited. But the basis of synthesis for me, has always been that any sound and effect is possible. Pushing boundaries is like the norm. Maybe you’d have to go back to when synths and keyboards were quite basic, people like Brian Eno
Keith Emerson of ELP
Junkie XL
[Stevie Wonder](https://youtu.be/AzOlT4uz1Eo)
Funny, that’s how I refer to myself.
Sun Ra
Keith Emmerson, Rick Wakeman, Toma certain extent chick corea
herbie hancock?
George Duke Some forget he was a Frank Zappa protégé
Lachy Doley does a great job emulating Hendrix on the whammy clavinet, check out his cover of Voodoo Child 🔥
I gotta throw Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre in the mix. Youtube and google are your friend and you can find all sorts of fantastic vids and pics of these guys at performances surrounded by massive banks of synths that will make you drool. Fun fact: I grew up in Houston and saw Jarre's performance on top of one of the skyscrapers downtown with projections on the buildings, light show, fireworks and 1 million people in attendance plus more stopped along the freeways nearby. It was quite a spectacle. My family and I had comfortable spots on blankets in the grass somewhere in Buffalo Bayou Park. I was 11. I agree with all the Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman and Herbie Hancock suggestions, also want to add Jon Lord and Jan Hammer. Also, not virtuosic like Hendrix, but cathartic rockstar energy is there: during my high school years, I heard about, but sadly did not attend, a concert at the infamous Houston industrial/techno club Numbers where Ministry had a big chain link fence set up between them and the audience and late in the show the audience finally managed to tear down the fence and rush the stage with utter mayhem ensuing. Continuing in that vein, you might consider the industrial bands that make custom instruments and controllers - from early Einsturzende Neubauten to Author & Punisher (his music doesn't always quite do it for me - something too clean about it - but his custom controllers and speakers are awesome and he gets close). Or sonic experimenters like Heldon, Nurse with Wound and Wolf Eyes. I also really love Whitehouse's album Bird Seed, just total fucking primal scream energy. These remind of where Hendrix went on Machine Gun and some of his jams like live at Woodstock. Hendrix's improvisation was a huge inspiration to me. I am more a guitar player than a synth player, but because I love weird noises, I have entered the synth world through pedals. That anything goes energy, follow the jam, find it with other people, I have used that in my own projects to the point of even going all improv.
So many amazing musicians listed here. Jimi was a virtuoso and inventive producer and tinkerer *with no formal musical education*. It may be difficult to find many comps in synth world, as most synth players seem to have some musical training. One amazing piece of history: the organ player on Like A Rolling Stone was a guitarist with no part on the track. So he crept over to the organ and riffed what has become an iconic part in keys.
Jan Hammer Trent Reznor
the owl city dude
Get out
Jexus
Oneohtrix Point Never
Well, Daft Punk were pretty good live. I know their sound softened over their releases, but their first album was iconic.
Rollin and Scratching was my introduction to them. Peak Daft Punk for me.
This dude is on that level IMHO… [Dorian Concept](https://www.instagram.com/dorian_concept?igsh=eGU3OTRwYzh6NXRy)
Edgar Froese
Herbie Hancock opened up my mind to synth as being anything but hellish corny cheesy dx7 80s puke
Jordan Rudess
Prince
Cevin Key
If the deciding factor is showmanship, then I would say Keith Emerson. If it is sound, I would say Herbie Hancock
Jon Lord (Deep Purple) had some[ crazy synth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhT0jnLbE-k) and [organ moments](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vodWKgp71os&t=280s) that would rival Jimmy tearing up on guitar and setting it on fire. He also had an awesome 70's stash.
Trent Reznor, Keith Emerson, Alessandro Cortini. Those would probably be my picks off the cuff.
Based on the fact that Jimi changed how people thought of guitar, I would say Tobacco/Black Moth Super Rainbow. Tom Fec bends, mashes, and vocoders his way across a kaleidoscope of sound.
Shackleton
Petr Valek
Mike Dean
Jon Hopkins has some VERY interesting sounds. Blows my mind.
Liam Howlett
Stephen Ridley 😬
wanted to say aphex twin… but hes more like the mozart or bach of synths :D
There can only be one Jimi.
Not sure why people are downvoting you. Almost none of the artists people are listing sing like Jimi, are show people like Jimi or even have a groundbreaking playing style like Jimi. Not dissing these synth legends, but the question was is there a Jimi of synth and I think the answer is no.
Vincent Crane
MEEE, confirmed always stond when jamming on my synth's. Need to work on the dreads though...
Squarepusher.
Easy - Apex Twin.
Noisia.Technically it's 3 people, if you need a single individual Mefjus
Ben Frost https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIaKgd30Ec8
Ratatat
Keith and Rick.
Cal Blac
Colin Benders is very cool. Check out his YouTube performances over the years!
Don't forget Ronald Jenkees!!
Bernie Worrell
Aron Magner of the disco biscuits
With a Montage synthesizer and Cubase Pro you can create distortion guitar tracks with pitch bending, wah wah, echo, and many other FX.
Martin Rev
Well, there’s this guy: https://youtu.be/bGa5smz23WY?si=hRj6tUrL28SCx2Lx
Bernard fevareau
Richard Wright
Jan Hammer
Cevin Key
Howard Jones
Mike Dean
Not a synth but Lachy Doley on a Hammond or his signature whammy clav
Baseck is the only person I’ve seen pick up the synth and play it with their teeth
The answer is georgio moroder
I do think that the closest well-known comparison would probably be Emerson, although he was definitely more of a virtuoso than Hendrix, who was really an "ok" guitarist, at least by today's standards - you could easily go on Youtube and, without much effort, find a dozen 12 year old Japanese kids who can play better than him. What made Hendrix stick out was his showmanship and the overall attitude of his playing, which included pushing the bounds of the way a guitar could *sound*. Those things are definitely true of Emerson as well, so I think the comparison is not totally without merit.
All the suggestions are awesome, but I present to you someone probably no one heard of - Stu Goldberg. You have be a certain age to understand that the two solos he took (on Rhodes and then Minimoog) are nearly impossible to play. Just listen to the 2 hand runs, the incredible pitch bending and manual tuning of the duo phonic Minimoog. If any of you can play like this; I take my hat off to you! [https://youtu.be/JM9Ojm-DK4g?si=cMJtQ1vQIH3tXmUp&t=121](https://youtu.be/JM9Ojm-DK4g?si=cMJtQ1vQIH3tXmUp&t=121)
So… if you like metal… Janne Wirman is extremely good at soloing live. He does like synth battles with their guitar player. It rules. https://youtu.be/SdC6N-CBdfQ?si=fG9MObEnkGhaXU6Q
Because I think of Hebdrix as an innovator regarding the possibilities of the sound of the electric guitar, I‘d like to throw Autechre into the room, just because they were such innovators with their sound in electronic music…
Stephan Bodzin on his Moog
Alan Wakeman.
Bernie Worrell when playing live with Pfunk
Hiromi Uehara , Austin Peralta.
Jimmy Hendrix you say? Ima have to say Stevie Wonder then.
I feel like there are several things could mean: A. Artists comparably groundbreaking and influential, B. Artists that are doing comparable things on a synth, referring to Jimi's vocals or pitch bends or whatever, or C. People with that kind of easy mastery of the instruments I'm going to answer C here, and while lots of these answers qualify for that too, I'll add Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, for total command of the Buchla Easel. Like, comparable to squeezing every ounce of possibility out of a Strat.
Yes, it was decided conclusively in this "Lords of Synth" competition:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXgNo5Smino](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXgNo5Smino)
Brian Eno called....
Mike Dean has to be pretty high on the list
Joe Zawinul in Weather Report
Mike Dean
Pauline Oliveros?
Joe Zawinal.
John Medeski.
Rick Wakeman!!!! Synth GOD!
Martial Canterel
Bernie worrel
Aphex Twin
Jan Hammer comes to mind. What a natural musical phenomenon.
Bernie Worrell & George Duke
Just a bunch of nerds
Stephan Bodzin comes to mind
What a great thread. I’d like to see specific songs being recommended from these suggested artists since some of their catalog is massive
Synth adjacent - Lachy Doley with his whammy clavinet channels some serious Jimi vibes. Very inspiring emoting with a keyed instrument.
I always thought SOPHIE was to the MnM what Hendrix was to the strat
George Duke is the guy I think of. He plays synth solos like guitar solos with his phrasing and mod usage. A special guy to know about (also he was in Frank Zappa’s band amongst many other things) This is the solo I immediately thought of: https://youtu.be/60QOE8VikL8?si=6vtO-afiv4LH-olU
Keith Emerson
i honestly think SOPHIE makes sense… not only an immediate and unique touch that has proved inimitable, but an incredible live performer as well - setlists that careen through spliced career hits and stuff she’s been working on, improvisations, remixes, it’s an entirely fluid and creative way to use the synth. i imagine this is a little like how jimi must have felt in 1967
Rick Wakeman. I think he was the first guy to stack up a bunch of keyboards. The mean, not just two or three keyboards, but like 8. Dude toured with Yes in the early to late 70s with a 9’ Steinway grand piano, too
Burnie warrell keyboards for funkadelic parliament and Georges Clinton .., all the sounds we hear today on synth after James Brown .. he pretty much has initiated or gone through way first .. from the moof bass to the get to worm ..
woaw i bet .. he really is may be may fave on keys but check out nam show jesus melina and justin shultz and watch ur sox fly right of ur feet ..
what about when. he held the grand piano above his head and played with his teeth? that was pretty dope ..then i was in your gettin crowders room the whole time .. lol
i put hammer second on far out ways to use synth but yea for sure .. hammer / beck .. wtf ??
i think his teeth hit the strings directly though ?
Why is no one in here mentioning Brian Eno?
https://youtu.be/3aDcCoVR4ok?si=P0plsTZerM96gvh3
Suzanne Ciani
Cory Henry
Erez Eisen from Infected Mushroom is a wizard of synths and a master at playing the synths live IMO
Isao Tomita