I imagine this question has been asked and argued for a good 50 years by everyone, but I liked this guys take on it.
Who was a better guitarist: Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix?
David Stern
Updated Nov 14
I have been playing since 1968. Crossroads, from Wheels of Fire, is the song that made we want to play lead guitar. After 50 years of playing, I could probably play anything Clapton ever played, because his playing isn’t particularly challenging.
There are still many things that Hendrix did that I find challenging.
So, here is my evaluation:
Clapton had great tone, but he wasn’t particularly creative. He had limited ideas, mostly based around blues boxes. Because of that, the last 45 years of his playing has been mundane. He has been unable to break out of the style he first developed.
Hendrix knew his way around a chord far better than Clapton. He would add a 9th, flat a 5th, use a substitution and hit a passing chord, and would finger a melody while he was chording.
Hendrix saw the electric guitar as a wholly different instrument. You can play a Clapton solo on an acoustic guitar, and it will sound, more or less, like Clapton. Hendrix created a synthesis of guitar, amp and talent that was new.
The use of whammy bar swoops, feedback, hammer-ons, legato runs and all the things later developed by more technical guitarists were all first used by Hendrix.
Hendrix was a compelling physical figure, far more entertaining to watch than Clapton.
None of this is to say Clapton is a bad guitarist. He has entertained a lot of people, and influenced my early playing quite a bit. But, in his style, Duane Allman had better phrasing and Jeff Beck surpassed him in creativity and technical ability.
But, if you choose to differ, that’s OK - De gustibus non est disputandum