Exactly! 
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That’s basically what I meant, I just said it a different way 
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So essentially Tony is the best because he made it up and Jake is the best because he’s the furthest ahead in playing. So to come to a conclusion they’re both the best. (Yes I wrote it but might not agree to it myself)
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I could agree to that. Tony, best inventor. Jake, best. …
(Was gonna add “player” but it seemed too unnecessarily wordy)
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Yeah, he sure did and that’s not common…
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I don’t know if Jake is the best in the world or not, but he’s definitely one of them. Way better than Billy Strings, and he’s the guy that everyone freaks out over😂
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Well I certainly don’t know anyone better… and definitely not Billy Strings even if I did think he was a better player although he’s not
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I was at church.
I’ll be typing up a reply hang on guys.
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Yup
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Every moment spent creating a specious pecking order of others abilities takes a moment from improving my own.
I will strive to apply criticism to my own music and not other’s unless asked by the person playing.
I will try to keep in mind the wonder of individuality in other’s performance.
Something can be learned from everyone I run across musically.
No one is better than you being you, or me being me.
Just a few of my own thoughts…
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All very true!
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Music is music, we should just appreciate it for what it is.
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You’re pretty near outnumber. Jake is pretty great, I’m personally partial to Bryan Sutton, but I guess Tony is ok too. 
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Dave said it best, which is why I think it’s kinda stupid to have this discussion. 
DISCLAIMER: I seriously don’t know why the implication exists that I’m not a fan of Jake I LOVE his playing, I’ve taken lessons with him, I love his teaching and he’s a musical genius.
Never said he doesn’t have good tone. Everything he plays has good tone, and he has a very distinctive sound as well!!
Ok here’s practically the only thing that I could say I don’t like about Jake’s picking: It kinda sounds too perfect for my personal taste. Literally every note he plays is not sloppy, and he basically has no speed limit.
“Michael that’s a bad thing???!!”
No! On paper, that’s the best thing that you could hope for. But personally (did I say personally), I’m not crazy anymore about stuff that sounds… so perfect. Like if you built a perfectly playing robot, Jake would still be cleaner
That kind of playing, combined with unique left hand decisions, is the kind that wins contests. Like this, for instance:
I’m pretty sure that’s an example of what Timothy had in mind regarding the variety in Jake’s playing. Arpeggios, scale runs, string crossings, all executed perfectly!! He’s a freak of nature.
But, I will say that I prefer guitar playing that sounds more like it’s coming from a piece of wood. For instance, this vid of Sutton playing a Blake tune:
Of course, Bryan keeps that in-the-wild sound even when playing fast:
It’s organic, it’s so raw. Like, it reminds you that he’s still playing a piece of a tree. (yes, I do know Tony made use of an Ovation… ) I probably find perfect playing a little unsettling like Mason finds the city unsettling. It’s, yeah… not really pinpointing anything inherently wrong with those metal buildings exactly, but they’re creepin me out Michael!
So I’ll be honest, Jake was my favorite, by far, for a long time. Like most kids I used to get really drawn in by technically amazing and perfect playing, and super fast playing, and I sorta remembered that Tony was a thing, and “the best, I guess”. Maybe I’d have pulled up this video and thought, “He literally made a mistake at 0:45! People overexalt Tony.”
Or maybe this video and thought “That break’s really nothing fancy or crazy. I don’t get how people think he’s the best.”
(That’s a POWERHOUSE lick at 1:13, by the way!! SON!!!)
But you know what? If you can play perfectly everywhere from 1-200 BPM, that’s awesome. If I could do that, I’d probably wanna play Black Eyed Suzie and Rawhide all the time. I love the shredding just as much as the next guy, and it makes me grin every time. Furthermore, I’m sure Jake could play that Norman Blake tune or Tony’s break to Nine Pound Hammer without blinking an eyelid.
Now here’s something I appreciate about Tony. Those breaks on NPH, he could’ve fit some super fancy jazzy contortions in there. This is the same guy who played Fish Scale, Mar West, Manzanita, Shenandoah, and Wayfaring Stranger A Minor jazz intros for 3 minutes. He’s no slouch… He had everything and more to stand up to the demands of modern bluegrass. He could’ve played stuff in Nine Pound Hammer that would just blow your mind; believe me.
And you know what??
He didn’t. He was aware that he is not there to shine, even though he’s Tony Rice and the pioneer of modern acoustic flatpicking.
No, he’s a musician. He’s there to serve the music!
The name says it best: he’s part of a UNIT! He’s gonna play and do his best, but he’s gonna play what moves you, not what makes you go “wow!” at his picking. Sometimes, those two can coincide, and that makes for some epic music! For instance, Wayfaring Stranger. Or, some of his more advanced renditions of Nine Pound Hammer, or Shenandoah, or well I could be here all night.
And I’m not saying that’s not present with Jake, I think a fine example of this is the video I posted the other day. That was a GROOVE! I mean, that’s technically amazing and it made me feel something! Same thing with Jake’s playing on Fiddle Patch, for instance. Now, it’s usually not making me feel a sentimental kind of emotion (exception: Hickory Snow); it’s usually making me feel more of a gritty “aw yeah” kind of emotion (I enjoy Jake’s playing the best in a groove scenario; second best in a shred-that-thing-son scenario). And, of course, different players tend to make you feel different things.
But no other guitar player, and I mean NO other guitar player, does this to me more often than Tony. That perfect balance of technicality and emotion, THAT is why Tony Rice is the best.
So to each their own, if you find that you prefer the feeling you get while listening to Down in the Dirt or Rawhide, I’m glad you found your thing.
I’m gonna put on Blue Railroad Train for the 1,000th time, and marvel at how deceptively awesome that intro is. Can’t put it into words, I’m too busy hitting the replay button anyway.
Oh yeah, and Tony Rice was the classiest player ever. No no no, don’t even try to fight that.
(I also didn’t really go back and reread and edit this post, so forgive me if my thoughts are more disjointed than Gunnar’s)
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So you’re basically saying that you don’t like a player who’s practically perfect and there has to be mistakes?
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