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Location: Michigan |  i think jimmy had a more natural built in playing style than clapton. it seemed to me clapton had to work at it more to sound good than jimmy did. GWB |
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Location: Thredbo, NSW, Australia | They're both great, but Eric has been the better of the two for decades now. 
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Clapton is over rated. Hendrix was an innovator, but there are better guitarists. SRV, Peter Green and David Gilmour come to mind, but all 5 have very different styles and strengths. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | The best thing that Jimi Hendrix did for his career was die young...
Yeah that is cold... But true.
Much like how many Americans fondly remember John F Kennedy...
Our vision gets clouded by what we wish might have happened.
As to Jimi's talent... There are MANY guitarist who can play like Hendrix, or better.
Stevie Ray Vaughn comes to mind. Frank Marino (Mahogany Rush).
And that 14 year-old kid that I saw with the Gibson SG Custom at Guitar Center back in 2012.
Don't get me wrong, Jimi was a very talented guitarist who practiced all day long.
But so is Orianthi, Lita Ford, Bonnie Raitt and Nancy Wilson.
(my mind drifted to women guitarists for some reason)
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Location: Flahdaw | arthurseery - 2015-03-31 5:45 AM
As to Jimi's talent... There are MANY guitarist who can play like Hendrix, or better.
But at the time???? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Difficult to compare musicians. Talent is an emotion that one brings out in people, not an analytical measurement of quality.
Personally I hate verything I've ever heard Hendrix play. But he certainly has talent. I'd put him in the same category as Kaki King. Clapton I could take or leave. Doesn't raise my pulse rate but a tad more listenable than Jimmy or Kaki.
For me? I could listen to Jimmy Page, David Gilmore, Richie Blackmore and Steve Howe all day long. I would ignore the warnings to see a doctor if it lasted more than 4 hours. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I agree with Muzza. Jimi was an innovator and pushed the limits. Clapton settled down and became hugely popular because he was good at playing what consumers liked. I think I have more Chet Atkins recordings than either of these two. And as to innovators, I think Les Paul was phenomenal. Listen to anything from anybody else in 1951 generally that features a guitar, then listen to his work in How High the Moon. He was an artist and engineer extraordinaire. Sorry. I took this thread in a little different direction. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | it is spelled Jimi
Duane Allman was better |
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Location: Flahdaw | James M. Hendrix, as he is known to his friends. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | That might be the first time Beal corrected someone else's spelling. I never cared for Jimi's stuff much. I didn't hate it as much as Dave did, but I just didn't enjoy listening to it. Clapton was easier to listen to back then, but I didn't get into him until a few years after Jimi died. I just never appreciated electric guitar players, except for a few solos, like the one in Stairway to Heaven. |
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Location: Michigan | actually when you look up jimi hendrix on wikipedia his real birth name is johnny allen hendrix .
sorry for the misspelling beel   |
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Location: Canada | I always thought that Frank Zappa was the top electric guitar guy. Hendrix did nice experiments and Clapton is a decent blues noodler, but they're just among many, many others who made great music way beyond my level of skill and talent. |
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Location: Jet City | Apples and Oranges. Neither are 'better', they're just different. Different things move different people in different ways. For some, there's nothing better than a good Polka... 
Edited by Damon67 2015-03-31 12:27 PM
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Location: Orlando, FL | Totally differently styles and who is better questions are kind of pointless, apples and oranges. That said Jimi did take his influences and built on them to create something different at the time. He inspired others to try something different and changed the way a lot of people played. SRV was a better guitarist, but Hendrix was definitely among his many influences.
Clapton is a great guitarist too and I enjoy listening to him. These days I think he's very comfortable and just plays whatever the hell he wants. |
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| Just use this simple OFC test...which of them played on Ovations...done. |
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Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | Nobody moves me like Glen Campbell. And as far as passing the Ovation test?? Enough said!! |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | When I watch the old videos of Glen and Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins or some of those guys from the day, it's hard to think of Hendrix or Clapton in the same category. |
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Location: Yokohama, Japan | I remember many years ago, during an interview, Clapton was asked who he thought was "the best guitar player." I don't remember the exact words of his response, but he said something like, "On a good night, nobody plays better than Jeff Beck." I went out and bought "Wired" and "Blow by Blow"...apples vs. oranges for sure, but I've never stopped listening to both! But then, nobody plays like SRV...Although he had a killer Guild 12-string, I never saw him play an O, hmmm. |
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Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | +2 for Mark's comment!!!!! |
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Location: Muenster/Germany | You can recognize all the real great players from the first few notes with eyes closed. That´s what makes them great. |
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Location: Tennessee | Jimmer - 2015-03-31 1:47 PM Just use this simple OFC test...which of them played on Ovations...done. 
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Location: Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire | I love Clapton and Hendrix for different reasons. Clapton is talented at writing songs and probably has written more songs than anyone in his category (no research to back that up, just thinking back of all the bands he's had and songs he's created). Hendrix a phenomenal player, limited only by his short life was a pioneer to many great rock players who were all blown away by his style, playing ability and creativeness. Many players quickly point to Hendrix as their inspiration, not Clapton. If we want to discuss some of the best all around guitar players, that's a thread that will never end. Agree with Mark on Reed and Chet. Some of their recordings are some of the best but in the country category. There was plenty of Chet and Jerry played in my house as my dad was a country guitar player his whole life who got much inspiration from those two guys. |
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Location: sitting at my computer | damon67 - Apples and Oranges. yup. or pineapples and hand-grenades Different things move different people in different ways. For some, there's nothing better than a good Polka...
Woohoo! Gus Polinski ...and the Kenosha Kickers!! |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | As a Pole who was born in Milwaukee and played a clarinet, John Candy hit a little too close to home. I only learned the Clarinet Polka to please my Dad. I never liked Polka. The only reason I played clarinet was because I wanted to play sax when I was a little kid, but signed up for clarinet lessons by mistake. |
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Location: Jet City | stonebobbo - 2015-04-01 10:35 AM Jimmer - 2015-03-31 1:47 PM Just use this simple OFC test...which of them played on Ovations...done.
I used to have one of those. I do miss that one. It lives with Riccardo in Italy now. The thing's a cannon. As to which one played O's, yeah I've seen the ad, never saw him with one though. Besides, it's not like Hendrix had much time to warm up to 'em. He was out of the picture long before you could even plug one in. |
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who was a better guitar player eric clapton or jimmy hendrix???
