MajesticOne89 said:

Have a look at this Eric Johnson video:

http://www.youtube.com/wa...AF2b6fcAQc

I haven't seen Prince do anything that compares when it comes to rock guitar.

coolcat said:

Give Prince about 15 or 20 minutes with that clip, and I guarantee U he could do something in that vein easily, and just as impressively, if not moreso. Eric Johnson is impressive, but not 2 my taste. Not enough passion, and 2 many effects.

Let's talk about Jeff Beck. There's one of the greatest, and also a huge Prince fan.

coolcat said:

Give Prince about 15 or 20 minutes with that clip, and I guarantee U he could do something in that vein easily, and just as impressively, if not moreso. Eric Johnson is impressive, but not 2 my taste. Not enough passion, and 2 many effects.

Giovanni777 said:

I agree, Jeff Becks outstanding. Its not about how fast you play or how many notes you use its about playing what feels right. George Harrison wasn't the greatest technician but I bet most of his playing is remembered more than any Eric Johnson solo.

jami0mckay said:

So is George Harrison better than Jeff Beck because his playing is more remembered?

Giovanni777 said:

I agree, Jeff Becks outstanding. Its not about how fast you play or how many notes you use its about playing what feels right. George Harrison wasn't the greatest technician but I bet most of his playing is remembered more than any Eric Johnson solo.

Giovanni777 said:

Have you seen Prince do anything in that vein? Prince uses loads of effects too...

coolcat said:

i was using him to illustrate my point that you can play at 400mph but it doesn't make you a great guitarist

jami0mckay said:

Did U see my earlier post about expression?

There are better and more accomplished out there in all genres of music. Believe it or not...

Etorres said:

Exactly! When you break Prince down into all the different sub categories such as Rock, Blues, Soul and Jazz, there are so many other artists that do it so much better. No disrespect to Prince, it's just a fact. Prince is a genius because he is so proficient in ALL of these styles of music...which is why he has such a mass appeal to so many people. Check out some of the OTHER artists mentioned here on the org to see what others are talking about if you have never heard of them. I alway do just to see if I can pick up or feel what others do. Broaden your horizons outside this Purple Passion we all have. I guarantee Prince does...which is why he is the great musician he is!
[Edited 7/10/07 9:28am]

NWF said:

Hendrix isn't the holy grail of guitar you know.

Doesn't this have to do with timing and promotion?

Timing--Prince came out of the late 70's early 80's when his style of guitar playing had been around for 10-20 years at least. Hypothetically he could be as "good" a guitar player as Hendrix or Santana, but would never get the same props because he was not 1st.

Promotion-- Until more recently, Prince was never promoted as a just a "guitar player". He never sold himself as a exclusively a guitar guy--and for a long time it wasn't widely known how good he was on the guitar. Unlike Van Halen, or Jimmy Page--Prince didn't focus mainly on rock guitar, or even always playing guitar. His focus, and his selling point was not focused on him a a guitar hero. He was presented and an "artist". Little boys and girls who were into suburban, hard rock, or classic weren't into Prince as a guitar player because he buries his guitar in the mix and wasn't easily put into that box.

MajesticOne89 said:

I would be very hard pressed to make a determination on who's a better guitar player than another just by listening to or seeing a vidio or two from each of the artists you mentioned above. To truly appreciate them, you would probably need to check out a full range of their body of work to REALLY get a feel for their style and technique tendencies. Two of my personal favorites are Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, As extrodinary as these guys were, they died way to young for us to realise their full potential as artists. That being said, it took me multiple listens, over a period of time, of their music collections before I could fully appreciate their style and technique of playing as truly genius. They had s style completely their own that many, even Prince, tried to emulate. Prince is a very good guitar player!!! He has progress tremendously over the years, but there's still something lacking that would distinguish him as being one of the greatest. He's had some great guitar moments live and in the studio, there's no dought about that! Perhaps someone else here can elaborate more...or even completely disagree with me!
[Edited 7/10/07 0:48am]

coolcat said:

Give Prince about 15 or 20 minutes with that clip, and I guarantee U he could do something in that vein easily, and just as impressively, if not moreso. Eric Johnson is impressive, but not 2 my taste. Not enough passion, and 2 many effects.

Let's talk about Jeff Beck. There's one of the greatest, and also a huge Prince fan.

Giovanni777 said:

Good grief!

You can't expect anyone with one lick of sense to believe that given 20 minutes Prince could dissect that tune then easily emulate playing on that level. I don't expect Prince to be able to pull off Eric Johnson runs, that's clearly not his bag. I wouldn't expect EJ dip into Princes trick bag either. You're really grasping at straws here.

If you want to make a case for the whole technique over feel argument Eric Johnson is not a good example. You don't dig him great. Don't confuse feel with stage presense which has never been one of EJ's strong suits. If you were familiar with his body of work (He has recorded work going back at least as far as the mid 70's) you'd know he's much more than a mere technician.

In regard to the comment about his use of effects, his set up isn't as involved as some folks would have you think. He uses a multiple amp set up (usually 3) to get 3 distinct tones: Clean, dirty rhythm & lead. The effects: Wah, overdrive, fuzz, delay, amp reverb. Pretty basic stuff. His pedalboard is pretty primitive compared to all the stuff currently available.

Again what is the point of comparison? Let Prince be Prince. He is not what I consider to be a monster player, I don't have that expectation of him nor am I knocking him for it. He is great at what he does especially within the context of his own music.

Here's an interesting sidenote. I've read several times over about how Prince had viewed Eric Johnson's 1984 Austin City Limits performance on tv and was so impressed that he called some folks at Warner Brothers urging then to check him out. I don't know if this was purely coincidental...but Eric was later signed to the Warner/Reprise label.
[Edited 7/10/07 12:11pm]

kstrat said:

U R missing my point completely, and it's probably because U didn't read my previous post about expression and musicianship. I was responding 2 someone who said something like "Prince could never play like that". My response U R judging says "Yes he could". I know it ain't about who's "better"... Please read my earlier post.

...and as a guitar player, I still say I don't prefer EJ's playing, even though he is impressive. I prefer passion and proficiency. That's why I brought up Jeff Beck. That's why I like Prince's playing. That's why I liked Hendrix, Santana, Buddy Guy, etc.

On this whole subject though... It's interesting that some of the greatest and/or respected guitarists love Prince's guitar playing. Jeff Beck being one of them.

Giovanni777 said:

Even the master steve vai is a prince fan; so is clapton

kstrat said:

U R missing my point completely, and it's probably because U didn't read my previous post about expression and musicianship. I was responding 2 someone who said something like "Prince could never play like that". My response U R judging says "Yes he could". I know it ain't about who's "better"... Please read my earlier post.

...and as a guitar player, I still say I don't prefer EJ's playing, even though he is impressive. I prefer passion and proficiency. That's why I brought up Jeff Beck. That's why I like Prince's playing. That's why I liked Hendrix, Santana, Buddy Guy, etc.

On this whole subject though... It's interesting that some of the greatest and/or respected guitarists love Prince's guitar playing. Jeff Beck being one of them.

If you want to make a case for the whole technique over feel argument Eric Johnson is not a good example. You don't dig him great. Don't confuse feel with stage presense which has never been one of EJ's strong suits.

coolcat said:

Give Prince about 15 or 20 minutes with that clip, and I guarantee U he could do something in that vein easily, and just as impressively, if not moreso. Eric Johnson is impressive, but not 2 my taste. Not enough passion, and 2 many effects.

Let's talk about Jeff Beck. There's one of the greatest, and also a huge Prince fan.