Clapton couldn't smoke Prince, I have seen Prince play in person. He and Clapton have different styles and to say Prince was without soul is simply wrong.
I don't like the comparing thing about guitarists, because they ALL incorporate something they heard from someone before them that inspired them. For Clapton it was Robert Johnson, BB King, Muddy Waters, Albert King. For Prince it was Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Little Richard, etc.
You take what you liked in them and you make it your own. I have seen guys that are gear freaks. Their setup is exactly what their hero has, but they miss the mark trying to sound like them. Why? It takes you being able to HEAR how they play. How they use BOTH hands.
You can take any electric and when you can match their technique, you can totally sound like them unplugged.
I found though, it is far better to sound like yourself.
Eric, Billy Gibbons, Steve Miller,Jimi, Eddie, Larry Carlton, Jeff Baxter, Prince and SRV were my biggest influences.
They are ALL different and ALL the same, they LOVE playing that damn thing with six strings.
THAT, is what they truly did that inspires me.
