Supernova said:

Here ya go! Someone with some sense!

funkydoo said:

LOL dive bombs....very true. And no it isn't unusual....just a little odd since seeing him do it at the Fillmore. And I can always tell when he's using it even when I can't see it. Like I said, I still love his playing, but it's just very obvious when he's using the whammy bar instead of his hand.

Giovanni777 said:

I actually think it enhances his playing on N.E.W.S. And no, he definitely doesn't seme like he depends on it for everything. I guess I posted this because of exactly what you said; I LOVE the way he bends and his vibrato. Guess I should have posted this in the "Musician" section!

Tom said:

LOL...see? This was so creative Tom! How long did it take you track down this pic? Thing is, I've been posting all week with a few different names, same type of posts, and no BS from you "mods". I wonder what makes you jump on this name? Hmmmmm.....

"I'm BnR, bitch!"

Don't be silly, his use of whammy is methodical and tasteful.

BlackandRising said:

You've never watched the show Press Your Luck?



Your screename was blocked for a few days for flaming other users, not because it says "BlackAndRising".

Tom said:

[flame snipped -Tom]

OK... I'm back now, and WTF??!!

BlackandRising brings up one of the few important guitar related topics, and everyone's all up in his grill...

YES... It was tastefully used in N.E.W.S.

Again, being a fixed bridge player, this is a major change in Prince's guitar playing.

4 the people who don't care about this: Stop listening 2 Prince's guitar playing.

I'm surprised about the use of a locking nut system... I'd rather use locking tuners, Wilkinson bridge, and a roller nut...

NOW... all U non-guitar-playing muggs can diss all U want.

Peace 2 Black and Rising, and others who care about guitar.

~G~

BlackandRising said:

Holy shit....this is funny. You went thru the trouble of snipping what I wrote? Good Lawd! Fickle and sensitive.



So, is this considered a flame or what? If I tell you to shut the fuck up with an emoticon provided by the site, is that a flame?
Now, mind you...I'm asking a question. This is allowed, correct?
[This message was edited Thu Apr 8 16:48:22 2004 by BlackandRising]

Giovanni777 said:

Thanks man....at least I know that there are a few rational people here. Most of what I read here reminds me of what I see and hear waiting in line to get into a Prince show, if you follow me.
Anyway, it is a major change to his playing, albeit not a terribly bad one. It's just that to my ear, it's obvious when he uses it, and it takes away some of the emotion he's able to elicit using his hand for the vibrato and bends as opposed to the tremelo bar. But as I said, on N.E.W.S., I absolutely love it. I can't put my finger on what the difference is.
Peace

Come on guys.

Tom- stop taking the bait.

Black and Rising- bad boy, dirty boy, in your bed.



Whammy bar? Well, purely based upon NEWS alone I'd say I'm happy about this recent change. As was said already though, Prince does change his guitar sound and style slightly on a regular basis so it shouldn't be too long before he's on to something else.

Side note: Surely we can talk about guitar playing without people getting hostile? It is relevant, interesting and P related after all. Good thread, don't ruin it.

...
[This message was edited Thu Apr 8 17:10:57 2004 by fauxnewbie]

ThreadBare said:

My thoughts EGGZACKLY!

Great topic... deserves to be discussed.

Folks need to chill... including the author of this post.

Report flames don't add fuel to the fire.

Any further flaming - thread will be locked.

Play nice, thanks.

- June7

June7 said:

Yo yo yo man....I'm as chill as a cucumber!!! I posted a legitimate question, and people got all up in my shit. I feel compelled to call people on it. Isn't that just?

Peace

BlackandRising said:

Oh yeah, you were one of those who got deactivated because IceNine was/is a racist!



Anyway, great thread.

BlackandRising said:

Cool... but, if people bait you, don't respond. Let us handle it... that way everyone's still in the game.

What the hell is a whammy bar? Is it metal that thing Prince puts on his finger and slides it up and down the guitar?

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

No, it's a "handle" you grab with your strummin' hand and "jerk it" creating that wavy (wah-wah) sound you hear on extended guitar notes.

June7 said:

OK Sometimes I'm really glad I'm not a musician. My musician friends are usually too busy examining the technicalities of the song that they forget to enjoy it. Then what is that meta lthing called that fits on the finger???

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

A slide bar?

I dunno...

I know it's used when you play 'slide-guitar' a la Bonnie Raitt.

He's always used them on records i think.How bout the solo dive in 3 chains o gold?
Or the end of computer blue even.
His risk in using one live is the high risk of breaking strings.

AaronA said:

Good looking out...I totally forgot about the 3 chains solo. Again, sometimes he uses it so well that it doesn't jump out at you, other times, he uses it to the point that it's very obvious.

Interesting topic here.
I'll admit that my critical listening to his playing dropped off after Lovesexy but no spectacular use of the bar comes to mind. And no i'm not one of those that says everything he did after that period blows. Just started listening to other things.

After strong doses of Hendrix and Holdsworth, his use of the bar on N.E.W.S. sounded rather...amateurish by comparison. Dig his playing though, just found the bar usage on those tunes a bit odd.

Then again, I could be going deaf.

Shields up.

Tribal Disorder

Tom said:

Now see, I had to read on when I saw the title cuz that show was won of my favorites! I thought that Prince had somehow incorporated the Whammy sounds into a song (don't laff -- heard a song today that has a great use of PacMan and the Blue Ghosts) Anybody remember the little dances the whammys would do?

As for the instrument, P is always gonna experiment, be into something for awhile, practice it til he gets it right (rappin' -- got rid of Tony P -- and realized that he was "right there" all along...I've heard him compared to Snoop and I hear it: rappers who are going creatively with the groove...that kinda rap connects us to our past as well as to other cultures; reggae -- the break in Life of the Party actually had me feelin' irie -- cuz there was a song he did years ago where I wasn't feelin' very irie at all...but still loved the man for going there.).

Remember when (does he still?) he used...gasp...drum machines?

Now, for us nonmusicians, what's a whammy? I'm not a professional musician cuz I didn't stick with it but I love music and love musicians when they're all up in it. And I love when I can hear music in mundane things. The rhythms and such...

Anyway, thanks for the whammy! Miss that show...also Joker's Wild "Joker, Joker, JO-KER!" And love the fact that I've been watching Jeopardy so long that I'm old enough to know lots of clues...especially when they have to do with Prince!

Peace y'all

Never listened to Steve Vai, but have heard some of his stuff and found it to be for the 'heads...very technically awesome but the melody did nada for me. And melody is what gets me. And it's what leads me to listen to and appreciate things that aren't traditionally melodic...to see the melody in the back or the side and in the

Prince has got a different technique to Vai, Prince uses pulloffs and hammer ons more than the machine gun picking that Vai does (plus much more).

Vai has always used the whammy bar for all sorts of sound effects with great technique, whereas Prince to me sounds as if its something he tinkers with now and again. Prince has got his own sound and style so i dont hear any benefit by his use of the whammy, apart from experimentation live.

It takes lots of practice to get creative with it (just like using a slide), not just as an alternative to adding vibrato on a string. Listen to jeff Beck to hear what can be done with its use.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Tremolo/Vibrato/Whammy Bar




Tremolo/Vibrato/Whammy Bar on the guitar



Tribal Disorder
[This message was edited Fri Apr 9 13:29:43 2004 by theAudience]

I'm pretty sure on 3 Chains O' Gold he's using the Digitech Whammy pedal.

Peace,

G.

Listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Lenny," "Little Wing," and "Riviera Paradise," I've finally figured out what my gripe with Prince's whammy usage is: He doesn't bring the same sort of originality I'd expect from him. It's ragged, choppy, sophomoric.

Stevie Ray Vaughan could use it subtly or for divebombs. Steve Vai does some wacky things with it, too. But it works without sounding contrived or forced. Maybe Prince is still trying to grow with it, incorporate it in a way that works. I'll listen to NEWS again soon (it's a rare spin), and see whether I want to update my opinion. But, that's where it stands for now.