I ve Seen Wendy & Sonny T both state that Prince became a virtuoso guitar player later in his career

?? exactly what time was that? only virtuostic peformance I can remember was the 1st Montreaux jazz festival?? enlighten me please?

Say "virtuoso" three times and click your Keds together.

Then, listen to "Get It Up" at high volume.

Even though it is cliche, he took it to another level with the Purple Rain solo. Arguably, his best solos were on Get It Up and 7779311 prior to Purple Rain.

steakfinger said:

funkman88 said:

masaba said:

masaba said:

masaba said:

Better question is when was Prince at his best on guitar? Or when did we him advance technically on the instrument? I think it's a difficult one to answer, cuz you'll hear the 02 shows and be blown away but then you hear some solos from the early 80s and they're like his best on record. He's always been good, I think there was just times he tried harder on guitar or it was more at the forefront of his music.

nothing from early 80s was mind blowin.....just long as hell and people think the solos good cuz they so long

Boydie said:

As a guitarist of over 30years myself I would completely agree with @thebanishedone and say that 1988 has my personal stand out performance Go find “If I Had A Harem” from the Lovesexy tour, 1988 in Dortmund His playing is slick, and the “one note teasing” is great However, for me it is the “timing” of some his runs - and the long jazzy lick is just sublime My first live Prince concert was the Wembley arena gig from 1995 - and not being a huge fan prior to this I didn’t appreciate his guitar chops... ...but from the moment I saw him shred out a rock solo on the symbol guitar, throw it across the stage, pick up an arch top jazz guitar, and then sit down and play a solo jazz guitar piece for about 5mins had me COMPLETELY hooked!

yeah but he was no Eddie van halen

funkman88 said:

The solo of "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad" still sends shivers down my spine. That's the first moment of virtuosity in my book. Doesn't mean he had the technical chops of xyz player at that stage, but he already had the soul of a master. From there he only got better and better until, by the time of the R&R HOF performance, there was no one better alive.

paraded said:

thebanishedone said:

paraded said:

The solo of "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad" still sends shivers down my spine. That's the first moment of virtuosity in my book. Doesn't mean he had the technical chops of xyz player at that stage, but he already had the soul of a master. From there he only got better and better until, by the time of the R&R HOF performance, there was no one better alive.

That solo have 1 fast run thats not easy 2 play.

Virtuoso just means, a person who is extremely skilled at something. So yes, Prince was a guitar virtuoso. As to when he became one? I don't know, reasonably early on, I would say.

steakfinger said:

Prince was never a virtuoso. Not even close.

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how the F*#k you going to defend that statement?

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savagedreams said:

steakfinger said:

Prince was never a virtuoso. Not even close.

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how the F*#k you going to defend that statement?

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vir·tu·o·so

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noun

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1. a person highly skilled in music or another artistic pursuit.

   "a celebrated clarinet virtuoso"

People tend to think that virtuoso actually means something more than it really does.

funkman88 said:

TheEnglishGent said:

savagedreams said:

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how the F*#k you going to defend that statement?

.

.

vir·tu·o·so

.

noun

.

1. a person highly skilled in music or another artistic pursuit.

   "a celebrated clarinet virtuoso"

People tend to think that virtuoso actually means something more than it really does.

This. Google the definition of "virtuoso" and by all definitions Prince was a virtuoso (not just in guitar, either).

Prince was a great, great guitar player . . . but he's not recognized as having "invented" or "revolutionized" any guitar techniques. Maybe that's the hangup?

Se7en said:

thebanishedone said:

Se7en said:

This. Google the definition of "virtuoso" and by all definitions Prince was a virtuoso (not just in guitar, either).

Prince was a great, great guitar player . . . but he's not recognized as having "invented" or "revolutionized" any guitar techniques. Maybe that's the hangup?

Edge from U2 revolutionized guitar but he is far from virtuoso.Virtuoso is somebody who can play difficult guitar parts with easiness

Edge is a virtuoso. You're making up your own definition, The Edge is a highly skilled, expert guitar player.

This may sound stupid, but I'm OK with that... I've been on the Purple Bus since I saw the videos from 1999 on the MTV. I bought Purple Rain and saw the movie in a theater and have been an obssessive collector ever since. I've always had every piece of Prince music I could get my hands on in whatever format I could get it. I always thought Prince was a really good guitar player, able to play many different styles. And the man could always lay down a great FEELING guitar solo. His feel for what a song needed in that regard was always stellar. Still, like others in this thread I'm not sure I would have called him a virtuoso. He spent too much time playing other instruments, for one thing. But for me, honestly, the Musicoloty tour and afterparties were the first time I remember thinking, "damn, he's gotten way better!" So I guess my answer would be sometime around 2004, although I would bet that's later than what Wendy and Sonny would say.