For Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith, Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix wrote the book in which every electric guitarist follows.
Smith recently appeared on the YouTube program The Metal Voice and was asked for his thoughts on Eddie’s October 6th passing.
“Probably him and Jimi Hendrix, certainly in my lifetime, had the biggest effect on the electric guitar,” said Smith. “I loved his playing, although when he came out, I had already been playing five or six years. If I had been starting out when I heard him, I would have just copied him, you know, like 99 percent of the other guitarists did.”
“I’d love to have met him,” Smith added. “I came close a couple of times, but I never met him. And I love his guitar sound. If I’ve got a guitar and an amp and I’m just trying to get a sound, I’d probably use him as a reference point.”
Below is Smith’s entire interview: