Who is better guitarist?

[Smash punker]

It´s easy, Dexter, Noodles or Mr. Greg K?

[Mechagodzilla2]

Noodles. Not even a question.

[mrconeman]

Noodles. Not even a question.

Actually it's not as simple as it might appear. Sure Noodles is the lead guitarist, and takes most of the solos, but he's also a really sloppy player. Watch any live version of TKAA, I'm sorry, but the dude basically can't play that solo. For a punk guitarist Noodles is a gem, most of them are fucking terrible, Noodles is a solid punk player.

Take Dexter though, in the very few songs where he takes a solo (What Happened to you, Dirty Magic etc), the solos are simpler than the ones Noodles plays, but Dexter never makes a mistake, he plays the part just like the record most every time. At least every time that I've heard.

So do you want a more advanced solo played sloppily, or a simple solo played cleanly?
I'm not really saying Noodles is sloppy EVERY time either before anyone freaks out, but he definitely doesn't hit the notes like on the record most of the time.
Also, who knows what else they can play like outside of the Offspring? I also just remembered that one video where Noodles is (very sloppily) playing some classical sounding guitar piece, which I doubt Dexter could play.

Also Greg is a bassist, and almost never comes off the root note, so he just shouldn't be included in the poll.

[Mechagodzilla2]

Noodles is just spicing it up for the live shows.

[mrconeman]

I knew somebody would say that, and sometimes it's the case, and other times it's just not.

I don't mean sloppy in that he changes the solos, from the record, which he does sometimes, but mostly he just misses the notes he's meant to play.

Comparing *any* guitar player to Joe Satriani, or Paul Gilbert, or Steve Vai, or Tommy Emmanuel is completely unfair, but I'm going to use them as an example, they never ever play a song the same way twice, there's always changes, always. However they're probably the most technically perfect guitarists in the world, I'd never call them sloppy for changing a song, because they play changes, not miss notes.

[Sara MZK]

Mrconeman is absolutely right. It's also worthwhile to note that whilst Noodles does play the bulk of The Offspring's solos, there's lots of little lead sections peppered about in many Offspring songs, and most of these are actually played by Dexter. Such as the eastern lead riff in "Come Out And Play", the lead during the main riff of "Genocide", and the main lead melody in "The Kids Aren't Alright", as well playing a small amount of actual solos himself. Noodles actually plays rhythm a lot behind Dexter's leads.

Noodles is definitely more sloppy, though this could just be in the live setting, where he moves a lot, and also jumps around. Contrast that with Dexter, who always seems deep in concentration when he's playing his guitar live, and he also doesn't move very much, even when he's not singing. Dexter never sounds sloppy live, but that could be because of things I've just mentioned.

And yep, to compare them with the likes of Michael Romeo, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci and the like would be entirely unfair. Dexter and Noodles play punk rock, and there's definitely room for sloppiness in that genre, so it's not a problem at all. I guess whether you prefer Noodles or Dexter comes down to whether you prefer the high energy intensity but sloppy playing that Noodles provides, or the more solid, clean precision of Dexter's playing. I love Noodles, but I have to say, I think Dexter is underrated as a guitar player. I don't think I've ever heard him screw his playing up live.

[dff_punk]

The thing with Noodles' solos live is imho that he's not really much TRYING to play them perfectly. He's having fun most of the time and maybe also the 3-beer ritual makes for the sloppiness itself(yeah, you can say 3 beers is a little, but I have been in a band and I know what I'm talking about). Anyway, beer or no beer, my point is that he's not trying as much probably anymore. I remember really older videos where he played much better, maybe it's an age thing, I dunno, to each his own.

[NoGuessing]

I agree with much of what has been said, but I must say I love the little noodles Noodles adds to Gotta Get Away.

Smash songs sound way better live than they do on the album (in contrast to RAFRAG).

[mrconeman]

The thing with Noodles' solos live is imho that he's not really much TRYING to play them perfectly. He's having fun most of the time and maybe also the 3-beer ritual makes for the sloppiness itself(yeah, you can say 3 beers is a little, but I have been in a band and I know what I'm talking about). Anyway, beer or no beer, my point is that he's not trying as much probably anymore. I remember really older videos where he played much better, maybe it's an age thing, I dunno, to each his own.

If anything, dude, I'd say Noodles has actually gotten better in his old age. He's still a little sloppy, which as mentioned by Sara, for a punk guitarist is completely acceptable, but he's definitely less sloppy than he was a few years ago live. Weather he's given the beers a little bit of a rest or is just a better player I don't know, but he was a little sloppier in previous years.

I've also been in bands, and gone on stage mashed, generally I find that, If I'm very drunk and go to play guitar, I'll be sloppy, but if I've already been playing guitar while I'm drinking, it doesn't affect me. So if I go on stage sober and drink a couple beers up there, it's no effect at all. I'm sure Noodles can hold his beer, so no I really doubt it's due to his consumption of 2/3 beers during a gig.

[Sara MZK]

Again, I think mrconeman is totally spot on, and I also think that while he is a little bit sloppy, he definitely is more technically proficient than Dexter. I'm not sure for instance that Dexter could play solos like the ones in "I Choose" or "DUI". They both have different styles, and both compliment one another perfectly. Dexter is a more solid player, whilst Noodles is more loose, but has more tricks up his sleeve. The twin guitar element (especially twin lead guitars!) in The Offspring's music is definitely quite unusual in the world of punk rock, but that's just another reason why I love The Offspring.