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Here a short list of some of the fastest guitarists. NPS = Notes Per Second.

Marcus Paus 44.6nps "Caspersens Secret Fetish"
Allan Holdsworth 37nps "Fred"
Joe Satriani 32nps "Flying In A Blue Dream (live)"
Ron Thal 27nps "Hands"
Al DiMeola 25.2nps "Mediterranean Sundance"
Rusty Cooley 24.7nps "Under The Influence"
Micheal Angelo 23.3nps "No Boundaries"
Jeff Hanneman 23.2nps "Angel Of Death"
Steve Vai 21.6nps "The Riddle"
John Petrucci 21.3nps "Endless Sacrifice"
Paul Gilbert 20.5nps "Snakebite"
Chris Impelliteri 20.1nps "Race Into Light"
Frank Gambale 19.3nps "6.8 Shaker"
Yngwie Malmsteen 18.6nps "Blitzkrieg"

Jook, I was that age when subwoofers were all the rage.
At first I got them to fully optimize the Beastie Boys and Cypress Hill.
Pretty soon, I realized they sounded even better with The Doors and Neil Young & Crazy Horse.

As for fast guitarists, I can't lie. Wish I could play like that. A little. Here or there. But not for full albums or concerts. I'm holding a steady 89 bpm over here. And liking it!

like any other instrumentalist i like gtrsts who tell a story. so why would i want a story told an auctioneer's tempo?

i don't really play anything very fast. i don't have the chops... and well, i just don't "hear" things that way.

In Planet Jazz we play 6 mos as a trio w me on gtr/vbs, and a bassist, and drummer. then our snowbird saxman returns from WI to join us the other 6 mos.

he can doubletime w the best of them and often plays pretty fast "flurries" of notes. i have to make a conscious decision the first few gigs upon his return not to get sucked into "speed contest" with him and just stick to my thing.

and then we need to decide if it's cheating using hammer-ons and pull-offs? straight clean picking without a hammer on should give a person points anyhow, vs. hammer-ons.. and pull-offs

Hey, I replied this morning, and it disappeared. Music isn't about speed, it's about style!

I saw Joe Satriani in the 90s (he was the opener for David Bowie's Sound + Vision tour) and while he was good, I was not impressed enough to remember any of the songs he did. Adrian Belew was playing guitar for Bowie on that tour - and he was awesome!
Saw Eric Johnson a few years ago (opening for Steve Miller) - surprised he's not on that list. His speed playing and wankering left he unimpressed and at the end of his set, all the songs were the same and not memorable.

Back in 72 I saw Alvin Lee (RIP) - now HE was a speed player with style!

Mike

I was thinking the same thing - Alvin Lee. His bass player was hot as well.

Dayne

Wouldn't you say Hammer-ons and pull-off are simply part of playing?

Talbot

Fastest guitar..... BIG FRIGGEN DEAL!

I play drums with the WORLDS FASTEST BAND!

Check me and the boys out here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLn2O5Y8Tbs

Darrel Abbott


Actually the fastest guitar players I've ever seen were non-famous Japanese players. Back when Japan was booming, they were coming over to buy up everything at the Guitar shows. But there are some Germans who would have be a close second. oh how they love metal