Time 2 say somethin' somethin' here in this department. 4 me Hendrix will always be the best guitarist. But after him, and similarities aside, P is the man 2 beat. He is just so versatile in what he can play. He could even play in his sleep. Ofcourse there is no forgetting Santana, Zappa and others, but P is different because I believe he can adapt and play anything and his own signature still comes thru. Sometimes i wish he would stick just 2 the guitar. Ofcourse without it he is still great. Yes i luv P. 'He is a god among insects'.

agentmonday said:

in short - NO prince is not even in the top 20 greatest guitarists ever. IMO.

I don't really like Hendrix that much. I like Prince a shit load more.

Well, he's my favorite guitarist because I love his style, feel and tone. But if you're talking greatest guitarist ever I'd have to go for names like Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, Eddie Hazel, George Benson, Randy Rhoads, B.B. King, Albert King, Albert Collins... there've been so many truly incredible guitarists...

In short NME? u can do bette' yo'. Not even in the top 20??? No offence but on what grounds do u base ur decision? Not even in the top 20? That's outrageous. He is in the top 10 4sho. Both artistically and technically. He is right up there. He can play and play and do it brilliantly. Instead of quotin' my shit, take the time 2 xpalain the 'why' behind ur reason. Maybe then i can c ur reasoning and have some of this Wild Turkey with u lol My top 5: Lay it on, i wanna a discussion here, not shitty 1 liners and quotes.

Hendrix
P
Santana
Jeff B
Frank Zappa

fuck yeah BB king...oh yeah...luv...but 2 not include P in the top 20? That's harsh. Perhaps its how u judge on what merits. Lay it on people. i love P's style 4sho. Perhaps that has an influence on pref. No doubt.

ok. here's my top 20. is prince better than any of these...?

Jimi Hendrix

Eric Clapton

Slash

Angus Young

Jimmy Page

Joe Satriani

Eddie Van Halen

Dave Gilmour

Kirk Hammett

Steve Vai

Brian May

Carlos Santana

James Hetfield

Tom Morello

Kurt Cobain

Gary Moore

Jeff Beck

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Mark Knopfler

Zakk Wylde
[This message was edited Wed May 28 8:13:18 PDT 2003 by NME]

great list but he is just as good if not bettter than slash. good thing you placed Eddie Van Halen in there...lucky u...or no Wild Turkey 4 u lol Where's BB anyway dude?

well ive seen quite a few top 100 polls and prince aint even in most of them and yet you get noel gallagher in there and i basicly no for a fact that he technically is no where near.

yeah yea yeahh...i have read some of these polls...i have seen Noel in there...no doubt he is good...but P is good 2 the xtent where he could play just about anything. I would like 2 c some1 like slash play somethin' else apart 4rom the rock stuff. P could do it. I have no doubt. Look 4 him on the tribute album 2 Hendrix.

In the opinion of this guitarist, Prince is as good as Eric Clapton (but more diverse) and Slash and better than Angus Young. As to James Hetfield and Kurt Cobain, fine musicians in their fields, but very rudimentary guitarists, no match for Prince.

Concerning Dave Gilmour: he's about on par with Prince as a guitarist who may have his limits but is just a great overall player: his soul, finesse, style, phrasing etc all score way above average. Whereas Zakk Wylde for instance scores very highly on speed but poorly on most other fields. Knopfler is another great "overall" player. I think the only weak point Prince has is that he hasn't contributed to the development of the instrument in the way that many other greats have. His style is sort of a 'best of', including Hendrix, Santana and a little Benson.

I am always very surprised about how people idolize rock guitarists and turn a blind eye towards jazz players. On a purely technical level as well as in terms of harmonic complexity, Pat Martino, George Benson and Wes Montgomery could/can easily outplay anyone in that top 20.

NME said:

Oh and of course, The Chronic waxed P's ass during a soundcheck on 'Bambi'. But then, he IS in a league of his own...

I think Prince is a fantastic rhythm guitar player (the best I know) and a reasonable lead guitarplayer. On albums he did some great solo's but I don't think his live solo's are very good all of the time, he is kind of sloppy sometimes I think. Also his sound is often too processed live, in my opinion...

a clear and reasonable contribution. thanx hectim. I agree mostly with all u say. As a personal fave P is what shines 4 me, but i realise that 4 others it will b different. At the same time if 1 was making a top20 list, and considering all merits, P would have 2 b in there somewhere. Perhaps there are many who are as good as each other, at least technically, but he would tie somewhere in that top20 list. As to him contributing 2 the dev of the guitar...well i cannot argue there...but what he does is draw on others with his own blend of style, or twist, if u like...and versatile he is...make no mistake about that. Wild Turkey 4 u then?

sorry. i wasn't trying to be argumentative. i think Prince's style of playing is great. but i was just saying that i think my Top 20 list wouldn't include him. He's a great all rounder, yet doesn't excell or 'lead the way' in any particualr form of guitar playing. anyway it's all opinion, but as for Noel "three chords" Glalagher - DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH.

NME. Man, don't b sorry. These threads r 4 talk afterall. My Wild Turkey is urs anytime - if theres any left tonite. It is ofcourse opinion. Ur right. The list was good btw. Yeah Noel may b good but not very...good 4 oasis...lets just leave it at that...and that's not saying he is bad...but...he should stick 2 takin' other peoples' lyrics...and changing them somewhat:)

I agree, only Phelps "Catfish" Collins is better. But hey, Prince "payed tribute"to Catfish's lick on JB's Soul Power on both Kiss and the long version of U Got The Look.

funkaholic1972 said:

As a huge fan of guitar-heavy funk, hard rock and blues, here is a list of my favorite (in some cases, the best) lead guitar players of all time (in no particular order):

TOP 25

Stevie Ray Vaughan
Jimi Hendrix
Billy Gibbons
Angus Young
Jimmy Page
Joe Satriani
Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Hazel
Michael Hampton
David Gilmour
Prince
Santana
Johnny Winter
Buckethead
John Frusciante
Tom Morello
Joe Perry
Keith Richards
Zakk Wilde
Kirk Hammett
Jeff Beck
Vernon Reid
George Benson
Frank Zappa
Steve Vai

Do I hear any amens!?

Scott

the thread says "Prince the second greatest guitarist eva or better or worse?"

To even mention Prince's name in the list of top 20 greatest guitar players EVER, much less the top TWO means you all don't know JACK SHIT about guitar players.
nuff said.


[This message was edited Wed May 28 9:35:58 PDT 2003 by BlaqueKnight]

just a few more for thought ...

THE NEXT 25

Eric Clapton
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Buddy Guy
Roy Buchanan
Albert Collins
Ted Nugent
Trey Anastasio
Jerry Garcia
Sugarfoot
Drac (from Slave)
Steve Morse
Randy Rhoads
Slash
Stevie Salas
Garry Moore
Robin Ford
Warren Haynes
Dickey Betts
Derek Trucks
Duane Allman
Jeff Healey
Ernie Isley
Jesse Johnson
Blackbyrd McKnight
Billy Duffy

I'm sure I omitted someone ... such is the frailty of the human mind.

Peace,
Scott

hectim said:

you so right.
a matter of taste.
without influence there`s no purple guitar playing.
i remember a show i have seen in 93 and he kept saying "dear influence...you influenced me"
he said that over and over again. he knows exactly where he`s coming from. he just sooo good at creating his own style from the vocabulary he learned from others.
there will never be the best guitar player in the world.
never.
i can`t stand any kind of poll. they just don`t make any sense. pick something you like, turn the stereo up and have fun. how could you ever put 2 geniuses like wes and carlos on the same list when they do something entirely different?
nah - even herb ellis and grant green should not be compared.

enough.
[This message was edited Wed May 28 9:51:57 PDT 2003 by TonyWilliams]
[This message was edited Fri May 30 9:08:54 PDT 2003 by TonyWilliams]

HardcoreJollies said:

good list but whatchu know 'bout
mark "drac" hicks-slave
jesse johnson
joe walsh-james gang/eagles
louis johnson-brothers johnson
albert collins
leroy "sugarfoot" bonner-ohio players
brian may-queen
jeff "skunks" baxter patrick simmons-the doobie bros.
walter becker-steely dan
johnny "guitar" watson
steve stevens
reb beach-winger
nuno bettencourt-extreme
steve lukather-toto
gary richrath-reo speedwagon
terry kath-chicago
marlon "the magician" mclain-pleasure

Yes i don't know anything about guitar players...yes nothing at all...happy blaque? Just because i c P in the list over say some1 like Slash makes me wrong does it? And who said that any list by anyone is the correct and definite 1? It is all opinion. Do not forget. Urs is not necessarly the right 1 mr bloody xpert.

agentmonday said:

I wasn't specifically referring to you. This is an old thread on a new day. Since music is so subjective, the lists will vary greatly, but there are guitar geniuses like Stanley Jordan (whose name wasn't even mentioned on anyone's list) who do things that Prince is incapable of doing (or has yet to prove he's capable of doing) that seem to be exempt from observation. Using the word "eva" means counting the entire history of guitar players. Classical, etc.? COME ON! Let's be real. Prince? Not even close. Let's leave it at this and call it a day: On Prince.org, Prince is the second greatest guitar player "eva", aight?[/b]

ok it's a day then. c u in hell boy where we fight it proper style:) ol' thread??? what is ol' 2 u?

Hendrix, Santanos, Moore

agentmonday said:

Old is:http://www.prince.org/msg...msg_203473
and
http://www.prince.org/msg...msg_109489
or
http://www.prince.org/msg...#msg_35682
or other countless number of lame discussions that lead into attempts by the purple kool-aid drinkers on this board to make Prince out to be the "greatest guitarist eva". Its an OLD topic.

See ya soon!

NME said:

You forgot the late great Eddie Hazel.

Nobody mentioned Nuno bettencourt from extreme?
the guys is diverse and ecletic too. He could outplay most of this rock guys you all mentioned.

fair 'nuff...but if we all looked 2 what was we would do nutin' mo'..and that would b it...there would b no threads...because we would just sit there and say it's all been done b4...it probably has...but let's c what we can do with it..