Duff McKagan Pushes Back on the “Machine” Label: Feeling Over Formula

Slash has spent decades atop rock’s visual landscape — top hat, sunglasses, and a Les Paul that is instantly recognizable. But a criticism that has followed him into later career years is the idea that his playing has become mechanical rather than emotional. Duff McKagan — his Guns N’ Roses bandmate of several decades — has offered a counterview grounded in first-hand experience.

McKagan argued that the idea of machine-like performance does not match what he has felt while sharing stages, rehearsals, and sessions with Slash. He said that his own reaction has remained physical, not analytical — that every note still resonates in a way that is visceral rather than routine.

He also drew a boundary between iconography and musicianship. The recognizable hat, he suggested, is branding — not the essence. What matters is the relationship between player and guitar, and Slash’s long dedication to that connection.

For McKagan, the consistency is not a signal of automation — it is a signal of craft that has remained centered on expression rather than image. The exterior may be shorthand to the world. The interior, he argues, still carries intention and feeling.