most recently michael bland said that prince is virtuoso on guitar.
do you agree???
i think prince is one of the rare virtuoso guys who only plays what his background tracks needs to be played.

seems that most important thing to him is sound.that is the reason why prince almost never gives his maximum on guitar.

he dont play tapping tehnics like eddie vaN HALEN BUT prince shreads also sometime(see his ultra fast ultra clan run on hong kong rocks version of shhh.

also i find him to be virtuoso since 2002.
on rave 2000 dvd he was average.but latter he improved very much.

FunkMistress said:

thebanishedone said:

you gotta explain that shit...

thebanishedone said:

I think Prince was a virtuoso way back in '84 around the Purple Rain time. His performances and soloing on Purple Rain on the tour was amazing. I've seen footage of him way back on some awards show (AMAs?) performing Purple Rain which was a killer, and he plays it pretty much the same all these years later on the Brits performance.

He doesn't always feel the need to show it, though, because he's got so many other irons in the fire. Eddie Van Halen kinda lives or dies by his soloing ability, he's not famous for anything more than that, so of course he's got to be good at it and do it everytime he performs. But Prince is famous for doing so much other stuff his awesome guitar work actually gets under-credited. Yes, the over-all sound of his songs is far more important than simply showing off his guitar skills. He fits it in sometimes and other times he doesn't need to do much more than basic rhythm guitar.

The solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps and the Brits performance are jaw-droppingly good examples of his ability when he really unleashes as good as anyone.

If you're going to mention particular performances - FURY on SNL is probably the best display of his skill and showmanship...

I've heard from a few insiders that he holds back big time and that he is much more into the 'whole picture' than showing off.

thebanishedone said:

What the f is virtuoso?????

luv4all7 said:

Hell yes. He has been since day one. "I'm Yours", "Bambi", "Lets Go Crazy" and the list goes on....

thebanishedone said:

Hes a Fecking wizard on the guitar - noone like him around - everytime I hear him do one of his solos I practically turn into one big goosebump - hair standing on end!!!!!

virtuoso-musician who plays hard to play music pieces ,without putting much effort because it's easy for him/her to play .

when i said he wasnt virtuoso before 2002,
well i always had find prince a great buitar player.but not virtuoso one.not until 2002 i noticed more complexed playing from prince,he become more tehnical,his notes become much cleaner when he plays fast runs on guitar.
on rave 2000 dvd we see a man who was only average ,maybe he didn't practise.
check out strolling from germany 2002 .u couldf swear its george benson buty its prince

metalorange said:

Completely wrong about EVH. Solos,Rhythm or Lead....a god...Hands down...
Prince is strong on all 3 also...most guitarists I know are impressed with how he smokes all over the neck...it was a joke for him to be left off of the Rolling Stones greatest 100...he would blaze half of the guys on that list.

Prince is not a guitar god, beause he has yet to put any album showing such, or any performance showing such

Prince is an all around guy

I mean really, What's so virtous about his playing?

Prince is a guitar legend, but no guitar god

guitar, drums, bass, piano, skin flute--you name it, that bitch can work it!

I've gotta say that Eddie Van Halen is one of the great rock n' roll rhythm guitarists. I remember Levi Seacer Jnr saying in Guitar Player magazine a few years ago that he loved EVH because he was funky in a hard rock context.

As for prince being a virtuoso on guitar, no he's not. he's one the great guitar players in my opinion but virtuosity is about technical proficiency and Prince has a limited technique. Its his ears and imagination that make him a great guitar player. I'm sure Prince could become a virtuoso if he locked himself away and practiced for a year...but he's got better things to do.

Yes he is. Being a fam since 1982, I knew he was really good. I have been to all the concerts.

However, I didn't really absorb "Lovesexy" because it was so hectic in the arena. After viewing the concert at the "quake" site, it was a fact that Prince is indeed a virtuoso on guitar. Why you ask?

He plays a bluesy bit "If I had a Harem." He plays a clean electric guitar and starts with a easy lick. The camera pans out and comes back, Prince is now sitting down preparing to jam. To every guitar player's surprise, Prince runs through a couple phrases on the guitar that could only compare to when I went to this jazz club and the player knocked it out. That confirmed it. Not just a rock player God, but in fact a highly skilled jazz player, what we players call a "virtuoso."

The answer is yes. Check it out for yourself on that site. Its #2 or #3 I believe. 1st song.
[Edited 6/14/06 21:47pm]

Rockability said:

I know the part you're talking about, its nice playing but the couple of fast runs he does aren't that tricky (even I can play them) and he actually fucks up at the end of one of them and gives up on the flashy stuff. The stuff he does play is really tasteful though.

Don't get me wrong, the guy is a great guitar player but a virtuoso is something different - George Benson is a virtuoso...Prince isn't quite in that league.
[Edited 6/14/06 22:08pm]

luv4all7 said:

did you complete high school??

dolphin1974 said:

Don't yall forget about computer blue . . .

No. Not a virtuoso. A virtuoso has by definition outstanding technical ability. Prince is a great player, others are far better technically.

did somebody use "fam" up there?

he's a good guitarist.
but Slash he aint.

muirdo said:

You could put it the other way and say, Slash is a good guitarist - but Prince he aint!

A lot of the musicians that people have mentioned are known for only one type of music - rock, jazz, whatever. The whole reason why Prince isn't regarded better as a guitar virtuoso is because he doesn't bang away on one type of music his entire life - he fits his guitar playing to the type of song he's constructing rather than purely showing off his own abilities for the sake of it. If you're not a fan of Eddie Van Halen you'd only know him for 1 or 2 good rock tracks with Van Halen and the guitar solo on MJs Beat It!

One on one, Prince may not be as good as some of those reknowned artists in their own fields, but they don't have the range of abilities and styles that Prince has, EVH isn't going to do some jazz noodlings, Slash isn't going to do some latin-flavoured vibe like at the start of Te Amo at the Brits. Overall his abilities and techniques would beat them in a competition taking in different styles.

A virtuoso is only good technically? What, if he can pass grade 50 on some guitar exam? The only thing that matters is if the sound works, and to get that sound to work there as often as Prince does clearly there is technical mastery behind it.

And workingupahiyellasweat, no album that shows off his rock guitar playing? Is Purple Rain not good enough for you?! Or a combination of 30-odd albums with individual guitar solos, rythm guitars, jazz, blues, rock, funk, etc etc.

metalorange said:

That is truly looking at things through purple tinted spectacles, my friend.

It's laughable to say that Prince is more versatile as a guitarist than Slash. More versatile as an musician, sure - by a country mile. But as a guitarist, Slash is streets ahead of Prince. I can't even see how it could be a moot point.

I hate these threads.

metalorange said:

good answer and thanks to the effort you have put in.
I love guitar music and could listen to solos all day.I think Prince is really good on guitar but at the end of the day the likes of Slash,who i was just using as an example,can probably win in a "Crossroads" type battle(not the britney flick )
I know people who play guitar and they have said that,albeit it is good playing,it is quite basic and he hides that with effects such as distortion.
The same guitars players have been more impressed when they see him play bass.
I saw Jack White a few months ago at a Raconteurs gig and i was blown away by his ability.
I have seen Prince live 5 times and i have seen Jack White/The Whites Stripes twice and i came to the conclusion that Jack White was the superior guitarist.But thats just my opinion.

Omadon said:

Well, send me a link to an mp3 playing of Slash playing jazz or latin or anything other than rock and I may agree with you. How you can argue Slash has more versatility than Prince on guitar I really don't know. And it's not that I hate Slash, I think he's amazing, Sweet Child O' Mine is one of the best songs ever written and I've seen Guns n' Roses live in their hey-day. But left to his own devices, Slash just plays rock pure and simple, great rock though it is.

muirdo said:

Crossroads - must see that film again, only seen it once but it was cool, the karate kid in full effect. Always thought the guy he battles with at the end was based on Prince...

I think Prince is so good and effortless on his guitar you can mistake it for simplicity - which it isn't. I've also spoken to guitarists who are blown away by Prince's ability. If it was that easy your guitarists friends would surely be famous rock stars by now, no? Easy to say, hard to prove. Prince does use a lot of effects to enhance his performance, but the skill has to be there underneath to make it sound good. Certainly he's just as good when he plays acoustic guitar with no effects. I think Jack White is fantastic too, but I'm pretty sure he uses effects and pedals just the same - and again, Jack White has yet to prove he has the versatility to play different musical styles as well as Prince has done.

the bad guy at the end of Crossroads was Steve Vai who has often given props to Prince.