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both are great, no question. different styles. eddie could do it all, speed,unique sound all his own, creating a sound and stlye all his own, copied a billion times over by guitarist world-wide. eddie is no doubt number 1 !
jimi was great , eddie was just better, remember when jimi came out there was no one out there to compare him to,,so ofcourse he was king at that time. if the 2 played side by side eddie could shoot him down with ease.,just look at videos of both---2 diff. artists--different styles-- no fence riding here--eddie van halen number 1 on many lists of all time great rock guitarists!
this is in a reply to my previous post: i was a little unfair to jimi, so here it goes, voooo child, and red house--simply unreal,,,,in all fairness,,,who could even come close to copying those tracks--- i think people can play those songs, but i doubt anyone can make those songs come alive like jimi could,,,and yes not even eddie. i still stand by by previous post above, but lets be real ,,if any of us could come close to those guys we would not be posting and sending replies all over the place,,,, god bless jimi and eddie,,2 truly great talents of our time-----and for the record,these guys are my top 2 guitarists of all time !!! as a kicker to ther talent, i believe these 2 guys absolutely contributed the most. imagine if jimi were alive and playing now!!