I have a feeling that I am gonna get so flamed for this!
First off, let me state that I am a big Jimi Hendrix fan and I believe that he is the most innovative guitarist to have lived. He created a new sound and approached the instrument from a totally different angle than his predecessors.
Musically speaking, Jimi was extremely gifted and I would go as far as calling him a guitar genious. I don't think that you can overrate him, you simply can't say enough good things about the way the guy played.

HOWEVER...

I believe that Prince has surpassed Jimi. It's my opinion that Prince is the most gifted musician alive and that there is no-one alive or dead that can touch his mastery of the 6 string! He has mastered funk, jazz, ballads, rock, soul and blues like no-one before or since him. It's hard to compare Prince and Jimi, cuz Mr Hendrix died when he was only 27 and Prince is now almost 45 years old. Who is to say how Jimi would have developed had he been on this earth longer? But Prince took it to the next level and is the greatest guitarist to have lived! Period!

It's about time that my boy got paid some respect for his guitar mastery!

Some how I can't see Prince agreeing with this view at all.

I beg to differ, Prince is a great guitarist, but not better then Jimmi, few are better then Jimmi.
[This message was edited Sat Mar 15 16:34:21 PST 2003 by lovebizzare]

i luv prince but he just aint jimi on the guitar hes 2 conservative

Yes, I'd have to agree.
Having said that, I have just borrowed your crack pipe...

dewmass said:

prince is a great guitarist, but jimi was the greatest and if he was here today he would still be the best and the greatest.

Does it have something to do with playing it "backwards"...left handed?

JimmyNothing said:

Go back to bed. Long hard life ahead of you.
[This message was edited Fri Mar 14 15:39:40 PST 2003 by JohnnyTheFox]

I agree wit cha...

Prince can't get his props, even
among Prince fans...

He's destined to always be second-
fiddle to someone on each instrument..
Even though he's the best musician
to ever walk this earth...

Nope. Jimi was only 27 when he died. All of his amazing innovative work was done in a short period of time.

Prince is 44. Prince has had more time to practice his technique.

Prince does get his props as a gutarist...but he is not better than Jimi. And it isn't only due to technical skills etc. Not many made love to the geetar where everyone else could orgasm along like Jimi did.


.
[This message was edited Fri Mar 14 16:27:27 PST 2003 by rdhull]

Jimi was Jimi. He was un-real. I think Prince is better also.

prince is better. i love jimi and have nearly everything released official and unofficial. And jimi at 27 could certainly take prince at 27. but unfortunately jimi killed himself with barbituates. Prince today is better than jimi was. I too wish jimi made it to 45, who know how ridiculously good he could have been...I always thought jimi's crowning achievement as a guitarist was a song called Pali Gap off of Vodoo soup. Up until a year ago I didn't think Prince had hit that level. then I heard when i lay my hands on u, and habibi, then i heard his remake of his own i could never take the place of your man from the celebration. I was at the celebration watching as prince's hand moved across the fret board like they were controlled by a higher power. he never looked at what he was doing once. He just stared off into the sky like he was reading notes in the atmoshphere. He's wicked good and he has taken it to the highest level.

drclay said:

I wish I could have witnessed this

Jimi's clearly a better guitarist. (I find Prince's music more appealing though).

I agree. Prince is the best and has been for years.

JImmynothing...
i hear ya. I grew up listening to JIMI and have all of
albums and KNOW how much on influence he was to most
60-70's ROCK guitarists (including JESSE,PRINCE,ERNIE
isley,MIKE HAMPTON.EDDIE HAZEL)
yep he was a GUITAR MASTER.

however,my opinion is this-he was NOt as versatile as
PRINCE is-can not play as many instruments either.

he wasn't a better singer.(no WAY no HOW)

if people want to say he's BETTER than prince on guitar-
that's cool. but overall,which is more important to me...
prince KICKS his ass in all the other categories.

i'm saying this as an OLD school GUY,who LIVED and died
with JIMI. PRINCE gets dissed by his own fans. but sorry
people the little guys's a BAD motha. period!!!

JimmyNothing said:

what technique or style has prince pioneered?


i rest my case...

prince isn't that good


take it from a goodtar player
[This message was edited Fri Mar 14 18:00:27 PST 2003 by thechronic]

CHRONIC,i dig what you're saying...but let me hip ya on
something a lot of GREAT musicians don't read music
and are BAD asses anyway,

clapton...beck..HENDRIX,CURTIS MAYFIELD...THE LIST goes on
and on. that doesn't mean SQUAT,man.

i know musicians who read like mad and play classical and
jazz stuff fluently. but has NO SOUL.

it what ONE does with their GOd given ability.

still you sound like you're a BAD ass musician-so i
respect yo VIEWS,brotha.

prince-JESSE,ERNIE ISLEY...MIKE SCOTT..SONNY T ..eddie hazel...mike hampton...ALL are bad mothas. plain and simple!!

youngca said:

thanks..case dismissed.Everyone go home now..nothin to see here

The guitar lives and dies with Jimi...end of fuckin story.

Such silly blasphemy, all up in this here dancery.

Supernova said:

ok, i am down with jimi as i stated and i was innovative as a mutherfucker, but come on you gotta give the new technology some credit for those innovations. you know who's really underatted is the sound engineers and designers who created the whammy bar and and phaser and flanger and all the shit that jimi took advantage of. It wasn't like that shit was lying aroundfor decades. It came out right when jimi was coming up so he gets credit for single handedly inventing electric music. He certainly was the first to master it and royal props for that but i believe that sound engineers and designers should be given credit too. Jimi was on the forefront of technology and so is prince. Could you imagine how much prince would have blown people minds if he came out right when electric music was developing

drclay said:

You make it soudn like Prince came out the box with Hendrix skill--it took time for Prince to become as proficient as he has...shit didn't happen overnight.

i wouldnt say prince or jimi is better than the other cause they both cam in durin their respective eras and changed the way the world views music life and fashion...

rdhull said: