Prince can play guitar and because he uses technology to his advantage, thus the hybrid is unique by default.

As a technical guitarist, the only thing that would make him THE MAN would be if he was ambidextrous (a scary trait owned by Mr. Blackwell).

this is where I stop.

'dre

p.s Levi Seacer Jr. played Bass on the Madhouse I don't care what anyone says!

Damn right you better stop, you tart. Technology indeed. Oooh you really make me want to slap you when you talk like that.

Prince is a great guitarist, and dont make me give examples cos you know theres plenty. Hes not just good, hes brilliant. He doesnt do tapping or other physical techniques (but who knows, maybe he can do a bit), but as a rhythm and lead player, hes tighter than a whatsit, and hes fast and accurate and funky and as others have said on here, theres a ton of emotion in his playing at all times. Hes got an unmistakeable sound (i mean just his style, not effects or anything like that) and hes fluent and versatile, and hes very good at many styles.

Ok so he sometimes uses effects and stuff, but not as a substitute for real skill. You cant say that because he uses a flanger or whatever that hes not a great guitarist. Its just his sound, and he doesnt hide behind it or overdo it like many others do. In fact there are plenty of songs, in fact most of them, where the effects are very minimal if theres any at all.

Hes just a brilliant guitarist, and its a crime that hes not recognised for it. Just because he plays other things doesnt mean that hes mediocre at all of them. Hes a very good (although perhaps limited, but certainly not without rhythm) drummer, an excellent pianist (i mean amazing), a very good bass player, and hes got to be one of the best guitarists around today, and probably one of the best of all time.

people overlook his talent as a guitarist i think because of other things about him which confuse the issue (ie hes a multi instrumentalist, hes weird, he did purple rain, hes a midget, hes a sex god or whatever, etc etc) but make no mistake about it, Mr Dwayzone, hes one of the best, and ill kick yo ass at the bus stop, you know what im talkin about.

He's my favorite guitarist, which is really all that matters.

I remember on the "Why U Wanna Treat Me So Bad" performance on American Bandstand (I think), Prince tapped part of the solo on the Hohner's neck. Of course, that wasn't live so I don't know if he tapped it when recorded.

I imagine he can do anything he wants on the guitar, but so can 1,000's of others. It's the melodies he plays that makes him my favorite.

prince is in the same emotional class as

ernie isley
eddie hazel
michael hampton
george benson

leafar said:

GustavoRibas said:

Yup. That's why I wouldn't put him up there with Page, Hendrix, Richard Thompson or Marc Ribot. Van Halen's all flash though, and Prince at least has an edge on him for playing more varied sounds.
[Edited 12/2/05 9:47am]

diamondpearl1 said:

*cough* *cough* *bullshit* *cough*

diamondpearl1 said:

I'd agree with that.

BlaqueKnight said:

Thanks Blaque....My sentiments exactly.

-kstrat-

AsianBomb777 said:

Yeah, it's both of you.

kstrat said:

bullshit huh? that man can make a six-string scream just like eddie and ernie used 2 and can get jazzy on u like george does...

Prince doesn't play to show off. He plays want he wants!

diamondpearl1 said:

BlaqueKnight said:

why u wanna treat me so bad?
live 4 love
pink cahsmere
the rainbow children
when doves cry
purple rain
i'm yours
all of his acoustic sets at his shows
his soul sacrifice duet with carlos santana on one nite alone...call 'em bullshit if u want but those who know best know that prince still is and always will be a bad muthafucka....

Man oh man, has this topic been beat to death with a seriously big ass stick. It's always a matter of opinion. Usually, you have 3 catergories of folks;

1)People who aren't musicians and also don't listen to many other genres of music BUT they adore the hell out of Prince usually will say P is the master of guitar. The best ever! And will try to kick u in the throat if u think or say otherwise.

2) People who ARE musicians and do listen to many differnt genres of music usually will say that P is an above average to a very good guitarist. He has their respect as a guitarist.

3) Then u have the folks who secretly admire P not only as a guitarist but as a performer, but for some reason, they don't want to admit it cuz of his image.

Me, I'm definately a #2. P is a very good guitarist. Is he a Hendrix? No, but who is? Folks make their mistake when they compare him to Hendrix. They are as different as day and night. Has P imitated Hendrix? Hell yeah. Made his early career off of it, imagewise. But so has many others. P has so many other elements going on that Hendrix didn't fuck with. See P for the hella talent that he is and don't trip off of where he is regarding other guitar legends. U can believe this though; Santana, Clapton, Vai and Edddie VH all have said they dig P as a guitarist. So, that should tell ya'll something.

I am not one to line up to get down on my knees to give prince a rim job, but having said that I say this.

What is it to play music?

I think each and everyone needs to do some soul searching on this topic to be able to truly judge who is the "best".

For ME: great guitar playing isn't ability to do what others can do. It is to be able to transpose the souls rythem from within to an outter instrment, and thus to be able to express things words may not be able. To be able to have a phyical item express a spiritual stream of consciousness, that is to me what makes a great musician.

I believe Prince is masterful at this task, both in his playing and songwriting.

Now, I must go brush my teeth.

diamondpearl1 said:

What I don't understand is this need for some folks to constantly attempt to validate his playing skills by comparing him to other musicians.

Alot of times this seems to be solely on the basis his chops or lack therefor of. I'm quite happy to say Prince is great at what he does, so the comparisons are pointless in my opinion.

But c'mon mentioning Prince in the same breath as George Benson(especially his work when he was in his prime) is bordering on criminal! (LOL)

As much as I dig Princes playing I've yet to hear anything that approaches the work of the heavyweights he's been compared to, and I'm perfectly cool with that. Everybody can't be a monster on their given instrument.

Lastly, one poster described the RRHOF performance as draw/jaw dropping....you're kidding right?


-KSTRAT-

Better than Madonna!!!!! LOL!

diamondpearl1 said:

- Every GREAT guitarist is ´emotional´ and Prince is no exception...

kstrat said:

- Not really. I used to think it was overrated, but if u listen to ´While my guitar gently weeps´more times u will notice it´s a real good solo. Ok, not flashy, not innovative, but a great solo. That song didnt ask for more than great melodic bends and vibrato, and Prince did a great job.

blackguitaristz said:

- Great post. I didnt know EVH digged him as a guitarist, that´s cool, since I love Eddie also. I know that Jeff beck praised When doves cry solo also.

GustavoRibas said:

Thanx.

diamondpearl1 said:

This is the best post I've read thus far on this topic...Prince excels in the emotional category...He's a beautiful player to hear and witness...Technically he's not on the groundbreaking level of Hendrix, Eddie V, and Jimmy Page...But he smashes Page and Eddie V when it comes to his rhythm guitar abilities...And he's also proven himself to be a vastly underrated solo player....In short he is not a top 10 player, but he deserves mention among the top 50 or so...Now ask me who has been the greatest musician over the past 25 years (Prince); that's a whole other topic

blackguitaristz said:

Great post as well....

kstrat said:

I agree that people on the org tend to over-praise the man's guitar skills as if he's Eddie Hazel, Jimmy Hendrix and Santana all rolled up in one...Prince is a good player; no more, no less...But to dismiss his solo on RRHOF fame is a little questionable...To me, this is when most of the people that have dismissed the man as an average ax man over the years changed their minds about P...That was a truely memorable showing...Dude was truely on fire...Just take a look at Tom Petty's face...
[Edited 12/2/05 17:29pm]

He's got to up there in the Top 5. If the court will allow me to submit into evidence:

1) Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Probably the most jaw dropping guitar performance every in front of a crowd of musicians who make their living on the axe. I imagine most people there shit themselves at the absolute brillance of this performance (with the exception of Keith Richards, who shit himself as soon as the Open Bar started). If you have not seen this footage you are missing Prince at his best.

2) Some time ago BET broadcast an afterparty concert of Prince in Germany at a small club that held maybe 400 people. He played "The Ride" with some amazing guitar work. By the time it was over every German person in there promised to never listen to another David Hasselhoff record as long as they live.

jonnymon said:

Top five is REALLY pushing it...But I give the cat his props...He's definitely underrated and deserves status in the guitar department...

jonnymon said:

These threads are always sad/amusing at the same time. Thank goodness for fams like BlaqueKnight, Kstrat and my man Blackguitarist to add some good 'ol fashioned objectiveness to the discussion.

JesseDezz said:

Ditto...

toejam said:

the emotion is the main thing. If someone's playing gives you feelings, that's it. IMO!!!!! Scofield & Vai are in that sense quite cold and sterile players. Just listen the best work of Clapton or Miles and you know what I'm talkin' about...Musicianship is much much more than just cheap circus tricks. The greatest technic doesn't make you the greatest musician in the world...

BTW rating musicians is disrespectful towards musicianship in general.
IMO real musicians knows that well...
[Edited 12/2/05 20:00pm]