I guess I just have a.. umm... lazy appraoch to learning. I just learnt lots of songs and was always concience of whats being played and why. I cuold write a guitar solo and it would sound like slash.. why?... because I know everything hes ever played, I know the tricks he does, how he structures his solos, the tones he uses, the scales, the 'special moves'. I tihnk by learning everything an artist/band has done you are giving yourself invalid skills. The trick is to do that with a few bands until you have your own style.

I see style, and how bands sound, as really them being a mixture of there influences styles.

Oh, and 'special moves'... thats what I call these...

----------------12-----
--------15p12---------
---14b-----------------
-----------------------
-----------------------
-----------------------

OR

-----------------------------
------7--8--9--10-----------
--9b----------------r9---7~~
-----------------------------
-----------------------------
-----------------------------

The first one is a series of notes that sound cool when repeated. SLash uses them in countless songs as do so many other guitarists.

The second one is in hotel california and patience by GnR, it so is a famous lick.

To me thats all music really is... just a case of building up an inventory of ideas that you can put places.