Again, there are guys who can play virtually anything, who get paid to be invisible.

If you want a rock star, who writes diverse songs, and plays stellar guitar with emotion, that's another conversation entirely.

In no way m I comparing anyone to Prince when it comes to guitar skills

But I have an Honorable Mention:

The late Andrew "Magic Maz" Mazzilli......

what a gifted musician, he palyed fiddle too;

google him!!!

I love you Andy......and I miss you!

https://www.facebook.com/221211834575484/photos/a.221216181241716.70229.221211834575484/221216194575048/?type=1&theater

chriss said:

In no way m I comparing anyone to Prince when it comes to guitar skills

But I have an Honorable Mention:

The late Andrew "Magic Maz" Mazzilli......

what a gifted musician, he palyed fiddle too;

google him!!!

I love you Andy......and I miss you!

• Darn i forgot how to link a photo to this site
• but if you copy and paste the above address you will see Andy (Remind you of anyone?)

EddieC said:

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.

Yes, he seems to love it, and he is pretty versatile. Brad Paisley is really good, as well, though he seems more traditional country chicken-pickin and Keith's playing is more rock

treehouse said:

Again, there are guys who can play virtually anything, who get paid to be invisible.

If you want a rock star, who writes diverse songs, and plays stellar guitar with emotion, that's another conversation entirely.

Understood. So which conversation is going on here? Based on most of the responses, I think it's actually the one about "the rock star... " I understand completely the idea that Prince would not make a great (or maybe even good) session player. But is that what the original poster meant?

EddieC said:

treehouse said:

Again, there are guys who can play virtually anything, who get paid to be invisible.

If you want a rock star, who writes diverse songs, and plays stellar guitar with emotion, that's another conversation entirely.

Understood. So which conversation is going on here? Based on most of the responses, I think it's actually the one about "the rock star... " I understand completely the idea that Prince would not make a great (or maybe even good) session player. But is that what the original poster meant?

I don't know, but I do think that's what they meant. They mentioned craft, speed, feel, touch, and sound, not performing or songwriting or being a star.

I agree with what you're saying, lots of session players are better on their instruments, but none of them are Prince. But Prince would still be Prince even if he never played the guitar.

pureTsexy said:

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.

This.

Being an inventor and innovator is one thing, but in my opinion Hendrix was a rubbish player.

Somebody mentioned Historical context ?

Why would I want that ? It seems it is totally clouding your objectivity by including that in your opinion...

Simply as a player, Prince kills Hendrix...

not saying he is better or not, and he's not a 'lead' performer like many mentioned in this thread.

But I was watching Steph B(lead guitarist) from Sheila E's Glamorous Life tours and that guy is wicked on the guitar. More specifically listening to 2 Sexy dude went serious metal, serious control

FunkyStrange said:

FunkyStrange said:

Simply as a player, Prince kills Hendrix...

Oh lawd ....

FunkyStrange said:

[...] but in my opinion Hendrix was a rubbish player.

[...] Simply as a player, Prince kills Hendrix...

Ofcourse everybody is entitled an opinion, but FS cannot be taken serious with comments like these.

I can only think of blind zealotry that can produce such nonsense ...

Prince is however an amazing guitarist, no doubt.

Prince is imo the most entertaining and effortless guitar player imo. His guitar sound speaks to me in a way that I can relate too. It doesn't mean he is the best ever. Technically there's probably thousands better. And some people really think that there's no players out there that can play as many styles as Prince. One of my friends can easily play blues, all kinds of rock music from soft rock to black metal, different styles of jazz, different styles of funk, acoustic singer songwriter weird finger techniques... whatever. He just don't have that superstar ego that will make him one of the greatest. But as a session musician he will do well for the rest of his life in any genre, and if the right band gets in contact with him... then we're talking history!

There's thousands of guys like him out there that we here nothing about. Music nerds that love dissecting music down to the smallest pieces like they suffered from authism.

Prince wins because of his ego, belief in himself and because he always has something to say atleast with the instrument

Replica said:

Prince is imo the most entertaining and effortless guitar player imo. His guitar sound speaks to me in a way that I can relate too. It doesn't mean he is the best ever. Technically there's probably thousands better. And some people really think that there's no players out there that can play as many styles as Prince. One of my friends can easily play blues, all kinds of rock music from soft rock to black metal, different styles of jazz, different styles of funk, acoustic singer songwriter weird finger techniques... whatever. He just don't have that superstar ego that will make him one of the greatest. But as a session musician he will do well for the rest of his life in any genre, and if the right band gets in contact with him... then we're talking history!

There's thousands of guys like him out there that we here nothing about. Music nerds that love dissecting music down to the smallest pieces like they suffered from authism.

Prince wins because of his ego, belief in himself and because he always has something to say atleast with the instrument

Because of ego, one can only lose in the end ...

pray4rain said:

Replica said:

Prince is imo the most entertaining and effortless guitar player imo. His guitar sound speaks to me in a way that I can relate too. It doesn't mean he is the best ever. Technically there's probably thousands better. And some people really think that there's no players out there that can play as many styles as Prince. One of my friends can easily play blues, all kinds of rock music from soft rock to black metal, different styles of jazz, different styles of funk, acoustic singer songwriter weird finger techniques... whatever. He just don't have that superstar ego that will make him one of the greatest. But as a session musician he will do well for the rest of his life in any genre, and if the right band gets in contact with him... then we're talking history!

There's thousands of guys like him out there that we here nothing about. Music nerds that love dissecting music down to the smallest pieces like they suffered from authism.

Prince wins because of his ego, belief in himself and because he always has something to say atleast with the instrument

Because of ego, one can only lose in the end ...

It's a difference between having an ego and being egoistic.

you forgot one.... ME

nursev said:

none...yes I said it

kidmelody2012 said:

Prince was a session player for Pepe Williams and his first manager before he became the superstar he is now...........and remember he impressed the music executives (who i am sure have seen great musicianship before) when he was barely out of his teens.....Its not ego he actually had and keeps getting better with time

Shawn Lane and Guthrie Govan at their very best probably better than Prince, don't really care for any of the other virtuosos, all overrated.

Prince is on a par with Jimmy Page and Frank Zappa and that's about as good as you get.

Jeff Beck is one player who doesn't always get mentioned becasuse his music is a little outside the mainstream. But his blend of creativity, technique, and powerful expression is about as good as anyone.

And Rhonda joined his band straight out of Prince's, which says something about the level of all three of them!

pray4rain said:

FunkyStrange said:

[...] but in my opinion Hendrix was a rubbish player.

[...] Simply as a player, Prince kills Hendrix...

Ofcourse everybody is entitled an opinion, but FS cannot be taken serious with comments like these.

I can only think of blind zealotry that can produce such nonsense ...

Prince is however an amazing guitarist, no doubt.

LOL @ blind zealotry .. yeah right..

so many better technical and emotional guitarists....but Prince hs the showmanship and songs too. So he is a complete package. He does some great plating, but he is not a "go to" guy for guitar for me. Though his rhythm work is awesome.

For me, none.

Caveats -

1 - I'm not particularly interested in technical brilliance so you can argue x/y/z are technically better than he is and I wouldn't / couldn't argue.

2 - Guitar solos - in general - bore me.

There's a fluidity to Prince's playing that I don't hear with anyone else and an understanding that the guitar parts should complement the song not overpower. Case in point the WMGGW solo at the RRHOF induction.

prince is a lil less good than eddie hazel which is pretty good

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

Then I suggest you check out Richie Kotzen. Seriously this guy reminds me so much of Prince when it comes to versatility that it´s a shame he hasn´t got any mention in this thread.

stolenlove said:

How Many Guitar Players Are Better Than Prince?

0

I liked Peter Frampton back in the day i don't know if he was better just different.

This post is clearly written in poor judgement. Prince is a really good guitarist, and I enjoy his playing immensly. But to say there is NO ONE better than him is like believing FOX NEWS is fair and balanced.

Hendrix overrrated? Ahh, Prince (and thousands of other guitarists would not play the way they do without his innovations)

A SMALL list, but not limited to:

Eddie Van Halen

Steve Vai

Joe Satriani

Nuno Bettancourt

Andy Mckee

Jeff Beck

Stevie Ray Vaughn

Andy Summers

Mark Knopfler

Albert King

Jimi Page

Al Di Meola

I put this on the Jimmy Page diss thread...

All this "who is the best guitarist" is a load of tosh. Surely it all comes down to personal taste (in music) and whether you like the stule of one guitartist over another?

Can anyone really say that Page is better than Gilmour, or Santana or Hendrix, or Clapton or BB King for that matter? No! Because all of them play in a different style and predominently different types of music.

So, for example, I am not a big Led Zeppelin fan. I can understand their relevance, impact and influence and how groundbreaking they were in their day BUT personally out of their contemporaries I prefer Pink Floyd and therefore Gilmour's style versus Page. Is one better than the other?

Ultimately though I am a massive Prince fan (go figure I am on the ORG) and as such *I* prefer Prince's guitar playing BECAUSE I prefer Prince's music. One thing *for me* that sets him above the others that always appear above him in "greatest guitar player" lists is his versatility and ability to play very different styles of music and therefore guitar styles. I may well be wrong but for me Page is a rock guitarist and Clapton is a blues guitarist whereas say Prince has crossed many genre's in his career, inc rock, blues, jazz, pop, latin, funk, soul and so on.