The longest guitar solo ever

Longest guitar solo ever by Thom Kubli



Who played the longest guitar  solo ever?

Does one ever get an answer on questions like: "who's the best guitar player", "what's the greatest guitar solo", or "who's the best rock guitarist",
I don't think so. Read the discussions on the internet! But what about the "longest guitar solo ever", that should be easy answered, right?


Thom Kubli longest guitar solo

On the 4th of october 2012, Thom Kubli, a German guitar player from Heidelberg, who studied jazz guitar, performed his attempt to hit the first world record in the catagory "longest guitar solo ever played". His performance took place in Gijon, in the North of Spain, and his goal is to get listed in the Guiness Book of records. Thom played for 17 hours, 21 minutes, and 2 seconds, monitored by a notary. This information I read in a little article in a Dutch newspaper. So far so good.

When surfing the internet, I Googled "the longest guitar solo ever", expecting to find the same information I read in the newspaper.
Surprise! Google not only showed Kubli and his record, but also came up with articles (Time magazine) about David DiDonato, an Austin, Texas, guitarist who broke the world record for "longest guitar solo", schredding for 24 hours and 55 minutes in may 2012. Both players claim to have broken the official world record for "longest guitar solo".

david didonato longest guitar solo

Thom Kubli works with WSM, World Records in Sound and Music, but the website does not seem to be up to date.
The setup and regulations of his attempt can be found here (PDF).
As I understand, his performance will be presented to the Guinness Book of Records.

What is the official world record for the "longest guitar solo"?

So the question still remains: "who played the longest guitar solo ever", and what is the official world record!
The authority on world records is Guinness World Records.
If a record is not in the book, it's not an authorized world record.
When searching the Guinness site, I found no record listed for "the longest guitar solo". For me, it's not clear what the official record for "longest guitar solo" is, or was, or who holds it.
But does it really matter? Discussions are more about the "best guitar solo" than about the "longest guitar solo", and "the best" can't be measured!