who is better guitar player ,
between 2 of them.
prince or eric johnson
i cant decide
maybe eric have more tehniq ,but maybe im wrong.
but prince have definetly more soul.
eric also have soul while playing.
so your vote goes for...?

eric johnson is better than almost anybody out there - he's just so fluid and incredible.

but it gets so damn boring by the 11 millionth note that you just want to turn him off - I left a concert of his halfway through for that reason (the show was free to me, maybe that had something to do with it)

Prince isn't as technical, but much more soulful, as you said

I think the perfect match of soul and technique is Eddie Van Halen, at least during the Roth years. Especially Van Halen I - he just roars

I don't know about Van halen, don't get me wrong, he revolutionized guitar playing, but Steve vai is a better match for being soulful while being technical. My opinion.

Please don't call me dumb...
but who is eric johnson?

no disrespect to everyones opinion but WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKNG ABOUT?

Prince as a guitar player is in a place that Eddie, Eric, Steve could only dream to be.

Soul is a given, seeing music in a bigger picture that comes from playing all of the instruments is my point.

Technical guitar playing is cold, plastic, emotionless music and way to much like masterbating with an instrument.


Unless you're Jeff Beck who did the Steve Via/Eric Johson thing in the 70s when Eddie VanHalen was "revolutionalizing" guitar playing.

IMO
(edit)
[This message was edited Tue Mar 4 19:16:30 PST 2003 by JamesMarshallHendrix]

Jem said:

Steve Vai=soulless.

JamesMarshallHendrix said:

Jeff Beck is amazing, I love "Blow by Blow". U want to talk about guitar playing though,

MIKE STERN!!!

Jem said:

Jeff Beck is awesome, I agree...and I saw Mike Stern once, he was phenomenal. Have to disagree with you on Steve Vai though...soulless plastic vomit if you ask me.

mrdespues said:

I don't have a clear understanding of what soul means to u or me, but Steve vai Has the most incrediable expression on the guitar than anyone i have heard.

I'm nmot being an ass, i don't totally understand what soul means to u.

Jem said:

Soul is a deep musical expression of feeling...painted in notes and spaces...there isn't enough space in Vai's playing and it relies too heavily on endless flurries of notes and cliched rock riffs and techniques for it to be soulful...and the backing is just cheesy and vomitous, to boot. But hey that's just my opinion.

The best thing Vai ever did was work with Zappa...but even Zappa dissed him for sounding too "perfect"...mistakes and roughness should be left in to make it more human...otherwise you may as well program a computer to play it. That may be okay for drums or synths, but when it comes to a lead instument like guitar, that's never a good thing. A solo needs to sing from the heart, not the head. Technicality is great, but you need a heart, too. That's what real talent and soul is about.

Vai is all about the head...in a very masturbatory way. Just look at his garish fluro guitars with the handles on them...and his clothes and hair. Each to their own I guess...just not MY cup of tea.

.
[This message was edited Tue Mar 4 19:40:47 PST 2003 by mrdespues]

mrdespues said:

Well, i can deal with ur opinion of Vai being flashy and perfect. But he makes beautiful music, maybe not soulful but beautiful. listen to his new stuff. I'm sure u have, u seem very educated about him.

Hendrix. Hendrix. Hendrix.

Prince is a GOD on rhythm guitar. He's great on lead.

Hendrix is a GOD on lead guitar AND rhythm. Go listen to Castles Made of Sand or Little Wing - he's awesome.

Eric Johnson is fantastic, but yeah, a little boring after awhile - he just doesnt have a lot to say.

otan said:

I agree...well almost. Prince is a god on rhythm AND lead guitar, too, just in a different way to Hendrix.

Zappa is also a god on rhythm and lead.

As is Wes Montgomery, but again in a very different way.

Eric Clapton and BB King are two examples of gods only on lead. Buddy Guy can be thrown in there, too. He's not bad on rhythm also.

.
[This message was edited Tue Mar 4 19:58:01 PST 2003 by mrdespues]

And of course Stevie Ray is badass on both, but, now we're getting way off track.

Prince over Eric Johnson, definitely.

Johnson has some of the most pristine tone I've ever heard. It sickens me, it sounds so good! But, most of the stuff he plays is so far removed from my ability, style or patience, I have no interest in trying to learn.

P, on the other hand, likes to mix things up more, tone-wise and shred-wise.

Near the end of his Purple Rain solo in the 1985 Live video, he mixes modes during what starts out as a standard blues run (right before he asks the crowd to join in the Ooo-ooo-ooohs) that sounds like it'll be minor but deviates at the last second to a major/major-7th beauty.

Or, he's liable to throw a descending scale atcha like a surprise left (I'm thinking of Crystal Ball's "The Ride," between 2:50 and 2:54) that'll make me grab my guitar and do my best to learn it.

There's an in-your-face attitude and soul that mark Prince's playing. It's obnoxious, he pulls off such stunts as if he could throw them away and never miss 'em. Yes, I'm sure he practices a lot. A lot of hard work goes into his guitar playing.

Johnson? He's good, but antiseptic and ultimately tedious. The difference with P is he always seems to be smirking: "Yeah, you might be able to learn this lick. But, you'll always remember that you stole it from me..."

Threadbare, you describe Prince's brilliance to a "T"!

wendy said:

Your not dumb at all...I don't even know and why compare I already feel in my opinion who is the best...Must I say...I think I'll hold back and keep my beleifs to myself...you know?

mrdespues said:

thanks, man. I've been stealing from/studying his playing long enough (18 years) [Cool name, by the way.]

Nice descriptions, huh? Well, Prince, should... he ... he oughtta pay me. Yeah, that's the ticket...

thebanishedone said:

My vote goes to kill these musical competitions.

CO-SIGN!
BTW, anyone else here dig Ronny Jordan?

otan said:

[This message was edited Wed Mar 5 4:33:40 PST 2003 by hectim]

hectim said:

Ronny Jordan is great live...
On album he's pretty bland...

Neversin.

pejman said:

Well...I am glad I'm not the only one who doesn't know who the heck he is ...(and I guess I won't since no one bothered to answer my question).
However I do agree totally with ThreadBare.

ThreadBare said:

I love Prince's style. Even though I know nothing about guitar playing...he has a unique sound or style that you can distinguish from everyone else.

Okay...sorry...I can't help it...it's driving me crazy.
Would someone please respond to my question?
Who is Eric Johnson?

http://www.ericjohnson.com





He's a bad mofo don'tcha know...

yamomma said:

Doesn't this picture look like Jewel?

Can someone zoom in on the teeth, just so we know for sure?

WENDY - Eric Johnson hit the music scene in the mid 80's, after practicing in his attic for 30 years (it seems like). I know he was in bands during the 70's, but in like 1986, POOF, he exploded on the guitar world with his debut album, "TONES". And TONES is exactly what he's about - his guitar tone on that album was just awesome - smooth and screamy at the same time.

His best song, by far, is "ZAP". Mind blowing shredding and rhythm and all that stuff that makes you go DAMN THAT MAN CAN PLAY!

He's put out a few albums since, toured with Vai and Satriani -- SORT of the same kind of guitarist. Just amazing and boring at the same time.
[This message was edited Wed Mar 5 8:01:35 PST 2003 by otan]

Neversin said:

I agree. I would love to hear a live album from him. My favorite studio album is actually the Bad Brothers cd with DKJ Krush (the one everybody seems to hate!), but even that doesn't come close.

Hmm - I agree with a few people on here - whilst Vai, Satch and Jonson are all amazing guitarists, their music is boring for the most part, sometimes verging on crap!

If you guys want to hear a guitarist who is just as good as the above, but makes shit-hot, interesting music then you really should wrap Ed Wynne of the Ozric Tentacles around your ears! If anyone wants an mp3 and put me to the test, send me an org. note - OTAN; I'd be particularly interested to hear what you think!

JamesMarshallHendrix said:

that's not eric johnson that is tommy barbarella ater shopping at the five and dime