Would Phil stay it Richie came back

No Phil X is not better than Richie, not at all...I do however thank Phil for helping out and making my 2 shows go ahead, and he did a brilliant brilliant job at the same time.

I am no where near qualified enough to judge who is technically better as to me they both sound great. I enjoyed Phil's playing and would not hesitate to go and seem him again if Richie does not come back. Having said this given the choice i would obviously go for Richie.

Trying to say if a guitar player is better than the other basically depends on what you value most about the playing since it's really all based on personal preference/taste. technical ability? Emotion? Variety? I bet they both could play anything the other plays, Richie is just a master at conveying emotion with his playing, that's why I became his fan.

That being said, the roadies should put Phil higher in the mix....

richie is by far better than phil x imo as well...sambora has better phrasing/tone/musicality/etc...sambora plays every single one bj solo better than phil x and bobby...phil x can at least make them sound decent while bobbys bad name solo is a disgrace....
richie had that wild factor 10-15 years ago when he was more or less at phil xs age...i was watching once again shows from wembley 95 and more specificaly runaway and i m blown away each time....richie is great but was on another level back then...take for example the runaway second one note solo, richie plays the easiest lick and makes it sound so great.,..out of this world...
phil x is a great guy and musician but he needs to write 15-20 great songs to be compared to richie...and i m not talking about sales success but the ability to compose sth like wanted/dry county for example...i know we are talking about technical ability here but i trully believe the way a note is chosen and played means the world...technique isnot only speed is what i m trying to say...otherwise phil x would be better than clapton and jeff beck for example...
anyway, phil is better than average but needs to accomplish way more things to be better than richie...

Phil appears really young but he's actually 47 so not that much younger than Richie.

I read that recently and was surprised. Maybe the rock & roll hair threw me.

Wow now that did surprise me !

I think Phil X is a great guitarist and a phenomenal stand in. Hearing him not totally live up to to what we are all use to doesn't make me think any less of him, but rather more of Sambora.

Phil's got some pretty big shoes to fill (hehe). He's playing pretty much note for note on many solos including the beloved Dry County and Always solos... but they're not the same. He's playing them correctly (taking a few liberties), but he doesn't have Sambora's tone.... which is why RS has always been my favorite guitarist. His style is rich, cultivated, and unique only to him.

Phil is an excellent guitarist. I doubt there's many guitarists out there that could come in and do what he's done, as well as he's done it, in the short amount of time he had. But there's only one RS.

I find it funny that people are attributing the difference between Richie and Phil as being down to a difference in tone considering everybody has been saying Richie's tone has sucked for years now. I think what it boils down to is nobody could do the job Richie does simply because they aren't Richie. It doesn't come down to technique, ability or tone - it's a simple case of familiarity and loyalty.

Agree... Richie is a great example of that emotion and tone and my other fav guitarist in the world John Frusciante is an even more extreme case. He can play a 1-2 note solo and it sounds like pure sex! Its all about that tone and that pure emotion that he expresses, and that also goes for Richie compared to many other guitarists that may play faster licks etc but (for me that is) lacks that pure soul.
A great example is STBI back in 1996 (Helsinki boot, just sayin!!!!!!) where he really made the guitar SQUEAL, and he hasnt done that in later versions but still... Gives me goosebumps every time and thats still a 'simple' thing to play.

Edit: and I have to add despite all this I was very happy with the way Phil played things when I saw them, not complaining... my post was merely a technique & fast riffs versus soul and feeling. And Richie has lacked some of the passion at times, we all know that.. but he still has that sound thats hard to recreate- possibly because we KNOW it's him. But it doesnt matter.. its the overall experience.