Since we had an entire thread for the best frontman it seems worth to have one for our instrument players.
I used etc. because you might also have an opinion on the best pianists, violinist, keyboardes or koto players.
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maybe(?) this is a controversial opinion?
But Sugizoās the only violinist whose violin i want to hear more of in songs lol
Nothing against Mana or any other actual violinists - but i really like that sad whale reverb sound, how he approaches the instrument as an effects-heavy guitarist rather than a virtuoso or traditionalist.
It reminds me of if a theremin had a floyd rose, which is a cool sound i donāt hear too much elsewhere & wouldnāt mind hearing more of!
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I said it before and Iāll say it again, Satochi ex. MUCC will always be a reason for me to pick up a drumstick someday (after i got my leg surgery)
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Iām on mobile so somewhat limited, but I can offer one of each real quick to get us started.
One of the best guitarists in the scene is someone whose style I hope to emulate one day. Leda is an absolute monster on guitar. He has the ability to do some really advanced guitar techniques with enviable speed and clarity. But on top of that, he has the sense to know when to rein it in. One of the reasons why I named Leda over someone like Meku, Hizaki, or Sena is because while all of them can go fast, sometimes it would be nice to hear them slow down and focus on melody in a song thatās not necessarily a ballad. After learning guitar, Iāve totally changed how I think about music and to me, a catchy chord progression that is played at regular BPM resonates more with me than a super fast, intricate solo.
I really like Toshiya from Dir en grey as a bassist. I like how he plays along with the melody while not simply mirroring the melody one octave lower. You can hear how that adds a sense of movement to even heavy songs like MACABREās Rasetsukoku, but as I consider Diru masters of ballads, look for the bass heavy songs like Mushi, Bottom of the Death valley, or Itoshisa wa fuhai ni tsuki. I feel like he approaches the instrument as a guitar and a bass simultaneously. I need to tap into that kind of understanding by playing his licks over and over. Imagine that, bass lines so juicy I wanna play them on acoustic!
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Thought I should mention, but we had already similar topics for Bassists and Drummer
Bass topic
Favorite Drummer
There should be one for guitarists too
Edit:
I guess the guitarist kind of had their thread with the soloās
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Iād argue that favorite solos donāt have to be from the person you think is the best bass/guitar player. And your favorite drumer is not necessarily the best one. I thought about asking favorite guitar/bass/drums but that would not be the related question to ābest frontmanā.
Your favorite drumer might be your favorite because he is your favorite bandomen instead of his musically skills.
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Well your topic wasnāt merged, was it? 
But I thought linking them off is still a fair game
Also ābestā in something like music is quite often subjective, so there is often a bias from the favorite corner. 
Mana plays violin? Somehow thatās new info for me, cool stuff
He is a good Frontman as a guitarist thou, or more was? I mean he is barely active.
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Oh i assumed it was Mana doing violin for Malice Mizer but i could easily be wrong!
I have no idea tbh
Where are the MM fans to educate us 
As a former bass player myselfā¦in vk I would go with Toshiya and Yukke (though I prefer his old times with Mucc when his melodies stood out much more than now) and in J-rock, Ue-Chan (for being sometimes a mix of Flea and Justin Chancellor) and Haruki Hirai.
As for drums, my choice would be Sakura aka the guy of the thousands bands and Kazuyuki Kuhara.
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Sakito has got to be one of the best guitarists in VK? The guy oozes talent and his playing is just brilliant to watch and listen to!
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2 choices for me by post. Best Guitarists : Takumi (RENTRER EN SOI, Sukekiyo) and Hiro (Laācryma Christi, Creature Creature). Best bassists : Toshiya (Dir En Grey) and Yukke (MUCC). Best drummers : Nero (Merry) and Mika (RENTRER EN SOI, Sukekiyo).
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For a band thatās spent 20 years never taking one step away from intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-chorus - Sakitoās actual guitar parts get avant-garde if not outright bizarre
The whole album To Be or Not to Be has some of the downright strangest guitar parts iāve ever heard, like maximalistic minimalism with crazy syncopation and half-rhythms being tossed between him & Hitsugi
For a guitarist who canāt stand guitar solos, every once in a while thereās one like Fly Me to the Zenithās to change my mind (~3:44)
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@rsm_rain I am a layman listener with no technical background nor understanding of music, but I am here to listen and learn from everyone who speaks of Sakito 
please do share more of your technical insights!! I know that heās a wild experimenter/composer and Iād love to know a little bit more of his genius (or whatever we shall call it
Also I realised that I should put everything in one post to save people from reading multiple of my comments, but I canāt quite navigate or delete posts oops so Iām just gonna append something else here!
@blacktooth saw your post in the drummers thread! And Iām so happy to see Sakura being the first guy mentioned! A bit embarrassingly I learnt about Sakura in a rather retroactive fashion, when I saw some of the younger Vkei drummers referring to this guy as their ādadā. I realised that quite a few of them hold him in high regard, and finding out that heās still active and teaching fills me with a lot of wholesome joy. Naoto of D=Out pretty much tries to emulate his vibe (though of course the bandās sound is quite different)
Also heās quite a silly goofball too, I absolutely love his merch. He had an ice cream spoon that sold out I think?
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Sakitoooo mentioned I canāt believe that so many of their hits were composed by him, Iām in awe of his abilities! and am so proud that esteemed seniors (Sugizo called him an excellent guitarist? and heās supporting Morrie now and then too) hold him in high regard. 
iāve always thought nero was a fantastic drummer! guitarist i was quite fond of uta from 9gbo. as for bass, i agree with someone on this thread previously, ue-chan is unmatched. love his energy
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Syu has always been number 1 for me as a guitarist. Even though my fav to listen to is Hizaki
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From a purely technical point of view, Syu (Galneryus), Leda (DELUHI) and Hide (X Japan) are all beasts.