wally19 said:

Prince's versatility puts him at the top. He can Rock Da Bang or most cuts on the Lotus Flower album......do Jazz Fusion like NEWS or the Rainbow Children such as the title track or Digital Garden.....Funk it up like Kiss or Sexy Dancer......get Progressive like "Alexa de Paris.......and pretty like Dinner with Deloris...Bluesy like the Ride....most of the other guitarist mentioned only do one genre or music....Prince has done several

That is really what sets him apart from most others guitar players: the man can play anything and get away with it!

I personally think Prince shines most in his rhythm guitar playing, but he is definately more than proficient when it comes to solo's.

EddieC said:

Nobody showboats like Prince, that alone is probably why i like him more than any other guitarist. He drew my attention to the instrument. he's so effortless. He backs that up by certainly being technically great too. Lead, rhythym and bass. Plus he's a fantastic musician on other instruments.

Keep your Clapton, May, Vai, Knopfler, Page and even Hendrix. They never did the splits or span around holding a guitar!

I vote Prince!

.

[Edited 2/16/14 17:29pm]

I humblely agree. prince is great! I'm just a little bit better cuz i can do all he can do and Play country guitar! prince cant!

EddieC said:

Just one guitar player is better than Prince--

Kidmelody2012.

And you all know it.

kidmelody2012 said:

I humblely agree. prince is great! I'm just a little bit better cuz i can do all he can do and Play country guitar! prince cant!

EddieC said:

Just one guitar player is better than Prince--

Kidmelody2012.

And you all know it.

See, that's what I'm saying! Prince cannot play country--we've heard him try, we know he tries to act like he's joking around, but the simple fact is--he can't do it.

Country music really?.......Crazy You from first album FOR YOU, THE TRUTH ALBUM, THE ONE YOU WANT TO C

that aint no real brooks and dunn country

wally19 said:

Country music really?.......Crazy You from first album FOR YOU, THE TRUTH ALBUM, THE ONE YOU WANT TO C

air said:

Classical guitar? Beethoven and Bach? Can Prince (on acoustic) sit down with YoYo Ma and duet?

...who cares....that little mo'fo can do the splits and play guitar...at the same time...the straight up splits bro!! Hot damn!

FunkyStrange said:

stolenlove said:

I haven't seen many... althought others disagree. I think he became way better than Jimi.

So ? There are hundreds, if not thousands of people better than Jimi Hendrix

Jimi is and will always be HUGELY overrated for some reason totally beyond my comprehension.

Hendrix cannot be overrated. He invented modern rock guitar. You have no sense of historical context.

Better? Pah!

I just know what I like...

Ernie Isley

Prince

Carlos Santana

Buddy Guy

Stevie Ray Vaughn

Henry Garza

In that order,

steakfinger said:

FunkyStrange said:

So ? There are hundreds, if not thousands of people better than Jimi Hendrix

Jimi is and will always be HUGELY overrated for some reason totally beyond my comprehension.

Hendrix cannot be overrated. He invented modern rock guitar. You have no sense of historical context.

Absolutely. IMO this is beyond dispute. Jimi's greatest recordings clearly show he was the greatest electric guitar player of all time and, due to having vast amounts of feel, soul and natural technique, incredible and unique lead and rhythm playing, being the greatest pioneer in sheer volume and feedback and having the most enormous hands, chops and imagination of any electric guitar player I've ever heard. He was also a great songwriter, arranger, producer and singer; his place in history as the pre-eminent electric guitar player and stylist is assured forever.

SuperSoulFighter said:

Okay, here's mine in no particular order: JJ Cale Santana Keith Richards Jimi Hendrix John Lee Hooker Prince Frank Zappa Charlie Sexton Curtis Mayfield

Cool list, I don't know who Charlie Sexton is (my bad probably ), but I would add Chuck Berry as a electric rhythm and lead guitar pioneer and stylist. And George Harrison for his slide work.

Al De Meola can kick his butt.

DaveT said:

air said:

Classical guitar? Beethoven and Bach? Can Prince (on acoustic) sit down with YoYo Ma and duet?

...who cares....that little mo'fo can do the splits and play guitar...at the same time...the straight up splits bro!! Hot damn!

Why does Prince have to meet Ma on classical ground? Why can't Ma prove his versatility by working out a useful role in a performance of something from Prince's ouevre?

Seriously, what's the point of that question. I also wonder how many of Air's list can play flamenco or speed metal, for that matter--and beyond that, can play either in such a way as to impress even good (much less great) players who dedicate themselves to the forms in question.

I am curious though, and would like a real recommendation as to where I can hear Jellybean's guitar chops? I realize I may already have heard them, and just not have known it.

MarshallStacks said:

SuperSoulFighter said:

MarshallStacks said:

Cool list, I don't know who Charlie Sexton is (my bad probably ), but I would add Chuck Berry as a electric rhythm and lead guitar pioneer and stylist. And George Harrison for his slide work.

Yeah, those too! Charlie Sexton was in Bob Dylan's band for his recent tour and did some good work there so I included him.

I think Sexton's been playing with Dylan for quite a while now (actually, I just looked. He played for a few years around the turn of the century, then again the last few years). He got all sorts of buzz back in the 80's (when he was still really a kid), as a sort of protege (or something) of the Vaughns, apparently appeared with Bowie some (he's on the Glass Spider home video release). Several solo/band things, lots of production. I don't really pay much attention to guitarists (as guitarists), but he's been around for awhile.

Milty said:

There are probably a ton of better players than Prince but whether you like his playing should be a preference.

He's my favourite guitarist. I just simply really like the way he plays. Can he play? For sure. He's awesome but I bet there a ton of much more proficient players out there.

This is pretty much the answer, it's subjective.

I prefer Prince over all other guitarists, he is definitely a tighter player than Hendrix, though Hendrix's influence will never be eclipsed.

I am a reasonable guitar player myself, but Prince sometimes astounds me with his playing.

SuperSoulFighter said:

MarshallStacks said:

Cool list, I don't know who Charlie Sexton is (my bad probably ), but I would add Chuck Berry as a electric rhythm and lead guitar pioneer and stylist. And George Harrison for his slide work.

Yeah, those too! Charlie Sexton was in Bob Dylan's band for his recent tour and did some good work there so I included him.

Yeah Charlie Sexton is really good. I saw Dylan, and this guitar player seemed to be a bit of an attention hog. Then they introduced the band and it made a bit more sense.

NDRU said:

"Why can't Ma prove his versatility by working out a useful role in a performance of something from Prince's ouevre?" ......... Maybe because Yo Yo Ma's versatility isn't in question, and the point was to say Prince has limitations? He's a songwriter, performer, and composer, but his muscianship is not on par with "the best". There are guys who are technically flawless, who can virtually play anything in any style. They can't sell a record, or write a pop song though. Different talents. Some, like Yo Yo Ma, mix personality with ability, and step out of genres often to do it, but by and large guys like Prince with good chops, still get by mostly on style, and if you want a battle of "While my guitar gently weeps", he wins, hands down. The best example of what I mean is on Youtube, if you search for Eddie Van Halen instrumentals from the early days. They're amazingly average, shockingly sloppy, and you can even hear how the blues influence isn't even all that creative. The arrangements, and that extra something are still there though, because even as a guitar accapella, you can hear a full flushed out song.

guitar solo by Prince a the end of 'the Unexpected' by liv warfield is the kind of sound i've wanted from prince for ages - a very mature, bluesy rock sound --shame it's so short!

[Edited 2/17/14 13:59pm]

SuperSoulFighter said:

NDRU said:

Yeah Charlie Sexton is really good. I saw Dylan, and this guitar player seemed to be a bit of an attention hog. Then they introduced the band and it made a bit more sense.

That's true! When Bob retired behind his grand piano, it was Charlie who was centre-stage and he stood there being cool as is if everybody came to see him. But the playing between Charlie and Bob was really good. Especially on Early Roman Kings.

I also noticed what an amazing collection of guitars he had! I was so jealous, they kept bringing him one after the other.

Prince's versatilty is not in question particularly for people like me who acutally listened to practically everything he has released. I mentioned in previous messages his pristine guitar playing in songs and albums he has released.......I think he does not get enough credit because of more superficial distractions FOR perceived arrogance or "showboating". The man is ONE of the best period........Of course you can find other muscians on this planet who can play better but from the standpoint of pop, funk, and rock musicians who have left a mark on this musical landscape...........It's about Prince and his playing is JOY IN REPETITION

treehouse said:

"Why can't Ma prove his versatility by working out a useful role in a performance of something from Prince's ouevre?" ......... Maybe because Yo Yo Ma's versatility isn't in question, and the point was to say Prince has limitations? He's a songwriter, performer, and composer, but his muscianship is not on par with "the best". There are guys who are technically flawless, who can virtually play anything in any style. They can't sell a record, or write a pop song though. Different talents. Some, like Yo Yo Ma, mix personality with ability, and step out of genres often to do it, but by and large guys like Prince with good chops, still get by mostly on style, and if you want a battle of "While my guitar gently weeps", he wins, hands down. The best example of what I mean is on Youtube, if you search for Eddie Van Halen instrumentals from the early days. They're amazingly average, shockingly sloppy, and you can even hear how the blues influence isn't even all that creative. The arrangements, and that extra something are still there though, because even as a guitar accapella, you can hear a full flushed out song.

I guess I didn't see the point in the initial question about Prince's ability to go classical--I have rarely seen any duets involving someone from the classical world and more popular forms (I exclude jazz because I know nothing about it) in which either participant has shown any great feel for the other's realm (if ever--I'm just leaving the possibility that I might have forgotten an example). If anyone that's been brought up were really any better suited to this situation, than maybe there would be a reason to bring Yo-Yo Ma into the whole conversation.

Who is really "technically flawless, [and] can virtually play anything in any style"? (I mean guitarists, since that was the original subject. Even leaving guitarists, though--I see Ma trotted out all the time, but I really don't care for what he does when he's being "versatile". Maybe, for a classical artist, he is relatively able to cross genres, but it always seems like at best an interesting experiment). I haven't seen anyone mentioned so far who can "play anything". Many probably can outplay Prince in some genres, but don't touch others that he's good in; others are way better in certain forms than Prince could ever dream to be, but maybe not as good in others.

Look, Prince is fairly versatile. He can't play everything (I meant it when I said he couldn't play in country forms--but hardly any of the people that have been mentioned can either--at least not at a really high level). I have no idea how you would compare levels of versatility, and I don't know how technical virtuousity is rated, and I don't know how individuality is rated, and I don't know how all of those things would be added up to determine an overall rating of how good a player is. I can't stand to listen to more than two or three tracks in a row of many of the "great" players--so I don't guess it much matters what I think.

pureTsexy said:

I'd have to say, Keith Urban can give Prince a run for his money. Prince is an incredible player. Comparing him to hendrix...well... Hendrix was more of an innovator. He wasn't the greatest player, regardless of what the "Top 100 lists" say. Back to Keith urban... i have seen this guy live, and the things he can make a guitar do are simply amazing.

One thing about Keith Urban--he is one guy who really seems to enjoy those "put a couple of guitarists together on an award show and let play to each other" type of situations. He seems to just really love playing right at some other guy for awhile. He's just seems like he's having so much fun at those times.