Hendrix vs The Edge

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WithOrWithoutYo

The Fly
Joined
Oct 13, 2002
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Ok, I have been a guitar player for 8 years, and have idolised both Jimi Hendrix and The Edge ... but who is better and why?
And none of this "They play completely different styles ..." bullshit ... your either better or your not, no matter what style you play.

Personally, I'm gonna tip Edgey Boy, because of the raw emotion he puts into his guitar.

Everyone can give an opinions ... guitar veterans or air guitar veterans, it doesn't matter.
 
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Hello,

The Edge and Hendrix lived in completely different times. Hendrix defined what a guitarist can do and say with his instrument. Hendrix painted the colours and let emotions have a sound. The Edge is an exponent of the Hendrix school, not in the way of playing solos, but in the ability to say something through the guitar.
While The Edge has composed some of the best music there is, I have to say Hendrix is the better guitarist. For all of the reasons I stated above and I want to add that the raw emotion Jimi puts into his guitar is incomparable. No one has reached his level yet.

C ya!

Marty (who's coincidentally reading a Hendrix biography at the moment)
 
Edge wins hands out. Hendrix was only good during his time. Hendrix was good because no one else was good. Just like how Michael Jordan won his championships because he faced run-of-the-mills who played with no heart (Payton, Malone, Barkley, Ewing). Jordan never had to face Magic, Bird, or Irving in their primes. Hendrix had no contemporary. Edge's guitar playing is timeless, it will be studied by many guitarist afficionados for generations to come. Edge has managed to stand out in an era with many great guitarists, from Paige, to Clapton, to Van Halen, to Vai --- Edge has managed to outshine them all and create timeless riffs whose songwriting genius have baffled leagues of guitar experts ("that is so easy to play, yet it rings with expressiveness and brilliance - how did Edge think that riff up?")

Cheers,

J
The King Of POP
 
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You see, thats exactly it Jick, the edge plays some minimalist riffs, that are easy as hell to play, but manages to pour his feelings into them making him, I think, the better player.
 
It's completely apples and oranges, not only because they had completely different playing styles but because Edge has outlived Hendrix by about 15 years, he's had the opportunities to learn and grow and experiment with his playing that Hendrix never had. If Hendrix had lived into his 40s, or even 30s, the possibilities are endless for what he could have accomplished musically.
 
Jack In The Box said:
is a stupid comparison
Click to expand...

I'm going to have to agree. I think even The Edge would get a big laugh out of this comparison himself.

Honestly though, when it comes to flat out playing, Hendrix crushes everyone. I personally wouldnt even put Edge in a list as one of the top 20 guitarists ever. Hendrix will probably be ranked #1 in every guitar publication/book/article you ever read about the best of the best, and deservedly so.

I still personally like Edge's style far better than Jimi's though, Edge is indeed my favorite guitarist. Who's better or not doesnt really matter, personal preference means everything.
 
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Jick, you also need to brush up on your basketball knowledge.

:down:

Guitar playing is not all about talent... any automaton can create riffs that are extremely difficult to play. Both of these guys have emotion, no doubt about it... but the comparison is very short-sighted. If you really want to declare a "guitar champion" or guru, you have to get pretty technical. After all, not everyone measures abilities with the same scripts... Edge vs. Hendrix is a very open-ended question... and it usually comes down to preference.

I enjoy both. There's no need to discuss their pros/cons... just listen to the music. Maybe even try to learn it. Through playing riffs and solos, you get a better understanding of the author... maybe that's the road you want to take in comparing the two.
 
Edge is completely different from any guitarist. So was Jimi in his day. They are only the same in that way, but i give the edge to, well, Edge.
 
i dont like hendrix, but it doesnt take a rocket scientist (or a guitarist for that matter) to know that this thread is rediculous and be put to sleep. painfully. in ways that arent comfortable.
 
jick said:
Edge wins hands out. Hendrix was only good during his time. Hendrix was good because no one else was good. Just like how Michael Jordan won his championships because he faced run-of-the-mills who played with no heart (Payton, Malone, Barkley, Ewing). Jordan never had to face Magic, Bird, or Irving in their primes. Hendrix had no contemporary. Edge's guitar playing is timeless, it will be studied by many guitarist afficionados for generations to come. Edge has managed to stand out in an era with many great guitarists, from Paige, to Clapton, to Van Halen, to Vai --- Edge has managed to outshine them all and create timeless riffs whose songwriting genius have baffled leagues of guitar experts ("that is so easy to play, yet it rings with expressiveness and brilliance - how did Edge think that riff up?")

Cheers,

J
The King Of POP
Click to expand...

OK, where to start with this comment.

Edge is a good guitariast. Not great.

Your Jordan comparisants are laughable.

You put the Edge in front of Hendrix then to add injusy to insult you topped him over Clapton-Paige-Vai!!! These are three of the greats. With Paige being one of the best along with Clapton. You say that the Edges music will be studied well the student wouldnt get to far seeing as the Edge doesnt have a extensive arsonal of riffs.

Between Jimi and Edge it goes to Jimi simply for innovation and how high he was while playing.

One last thing, when was the last time you seen the Edge do a twenty minute solo and make it new and inventive every time? Exactly!
 
Edge wins hands out. Hendrix was only good during his time. Hendrix was good because no one else was good. Just like how Michael Jordan won his championships because he faced run-of-the-mills who played with no heart (Payton, Malone, Barkley, Ewing). Jordan never had to face Magic, Bird, or Irving in their primes. Hendrix had no contemporary.



I first thought I was comming into this thread to laugh at the sillynes of this thread... but now i must make a very diamond-esque stand...

knicks_ewing.jpg


RUN-OF-THE-MILLS WHO PLAYED WITH NO HEART?!?!?!?!?!?!

please please please... don't make stupid comments. first off... big pat ewing WAS the knicks... the second best player on those knicks teams was charles oakley. not exactly top 50 of all time material, like jordan's running-mate in scottie pippen. ewing, malone and barkley with no heart? please... and check your stats... Jordan did play against bird's celtics early in his career, could never beat them. it took the development of a great young player in scottie pippen just to get the bulls past the bad boy detroit pistons. and once they did finally get past the pistons, who did htey play? magic and the lakers... and magic was still very much in his prime.



on to the matter at hand. you're right... hendrix had no contemporary. he was on a level all by himself... this is true. but it's not because there weren't any other guitarists out there... bb king... jimmy paige... that clapton guy. but hendrix set himself apart from the pack... because he was the king. he did things that have never been done before. he changed the way the guitar is played. he made sounds that people still have trouble figuring out how. hendrix is the apex... everyone else is below him. now i love edge. i think he's a great all time guitar player. but to put him up with hendrix really isn't fair to the edge. there are those who'd argue edge isn't even the best guitar player out there today... honestly i think tom morello and mike mccready are superior. but what makes edge great is that when you put him in with the rest of u2, there's just something there that brings everyone's level up a considerable notch.

to sum it up...
edge is great...
hendrix is a god.

fire.jpg
 
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who do i think are the top four guitarists in the world today?

john petrucci (dream theater), yngwie malmsteen, joe satriani and steve vai.
who do i think are the four most boring guitarists in the world
today?

john petrucci (dream theater), yngwie malmsteen, joe satriani and steve vai
 
all of you need to stop kissing edges arss.edge is a good rhythm guitar player.(I think no delay pedal no edge)(ES solo sucks, well its actuall not a solo)
jimmy h is a guitar legend.

whats edges best solo?(uteotw,the fly, ebttrt)

put them against voodo child(jimmy h)
or just for the biggest laugh stairway to heaven,:lol: hahahahahahahahaa. ok can edge shred or play any licks ?
edge is a simple guitar player but a good one.
 
OMG, I can't believe there's even a discussion here! Its so obviously the Edge!

Don't let ur love for U2 cloud ur judgement, I mean cummon! have u heard all those old bootlegs, and sum new ones as well, when Edges completely fucks up a song?! not even a very challenging song! HAve u ever heard that in a Jimi recording?!

I presonally prefer 2 listen 2 the Edge, because I prefer his style of composition, but if u gave played sum U2 2 Jimi, he wud play it easy - do it the other was round, I think Edgey boy wud struggle!
 
Ok, my question has taken a bashing ... I apologize, and, of course, will hang myslef above a pack of ravenous wolves, as is required in situations such as this.

Please don't post on this thread anymore, unless you feel the need to to (and quite deservedly so) bash my question around it's feeble head.
 
WithOrWithoutYo said:
Ok, my question has taken a bashing ... I apologize, and, of course, will hang myslef above a pack of ravenous wolves, as is required in situations such as this.

Please don't post on this thread anymore, unless you feel the need to to (and quite deservedly so) bash my question around it's feeble head.
Click to expand...

Dont sweat it bro :up: We all get bashed on in these threads, it's all good.

You should check out the section of Lemonade Stand in these forums called "Just the Bang and the Clatter". It's the general music section. Also, Even Better Than the Real Thing is the section to talk about playing guitars/musical instruments and such, I think you'll like both of em! Hope to see ya there.
 
GODDAMIT IT'S SPELLED JIMMY PAGE.....NOT PAIGE.



....and there isn't another guitarist that would ever compare to hendix ever. edge is completely different....and wisely so.
 
Both Jimi and Edge make neat funny noises with their guitars.. Well, Jimi did, but he's kind of dead now. I don't know. Technically who is better? Maybe Jimi is better naturally, Edge does rely a bit on technical gizmos and all and studio layering.
 
JOFO said:
GODDAMIT IT'S SPELLED JIMMY PAGE.....NOT PAIGE.
Click to expand...

Thank You. I didn't have the gumption to say it.

:up:

I think Yertle said it best. Most of the technically adept guitarists are emotionally inept. I could listen to Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughn for hours... but their music is mostly intricate and verbose instrumentals. Edge is just as talented in the evocative sense, as well as the rhythm sense... the only difference between him and the so-called Trinity of Rock Lead Guitarists is the fact that he doesn't fill all the voids time-wise. Sometimes an eighth or sixteenth note is just as sufficient as a "thirty-secondth" or "sixty-fourth" note. It's all preference and perspective.

I enjoyed this thread... it revealed a lot of the misconceptions people have about guitar playing. Even my own.

:up:
 
Jimi is better but with that said, I prefer the Edge over Jimi. I like what the Edge does sonically with his guitar and the ideas behind it. It all comes down to one's taste in the end.

Jimi was great but guys like Beck, Clapton, Page, and even Townsend, makes it very difficult to say Jimi was the absolute best (even with the praise that these guys give Jimi).

I'm listening to some Beck and Clapton from Cream and there is a little noodling (IMO) but its awesome stuff. The virtuosos are amazing Buckethead, Vai, Satriani, Eric Johnson, Malmsteen... and I think the guitar faces they make are extra cool (except for Johnson and Buckethead). I can't stand over-shredding and the over glorification of technical prowess but its really annoying how the virtuoso is belittled for creating new sounds and doing things speed wise/ technique wise that the avg. schmoe rock guitarist could only dream. Vai and Satriani are great guitarists and great artists.

My favorite virtuoso at this point is Eric Johnson and I think shred music is way cool and way too much downgraded by some but too elevated by others.
 
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