It's funny--the thread was started to dispel myths concerning how fast the fastest players play.
I never once said that my education at Berklee predisposed me to name who everyone should like and who they should not. ((Yes, I do feel that the term virtuoso is one that is easily defined and that it is WAY overused---so do most musicians, to be honest))
Satch and Wylde, if you want to talk about a virtuoso--do not have a particularly advanced skill level on guitar. When you say something like 'someone who is highly skilled on a musical instrument' you have to remember to compare the skill displayed by Zakk Wylde with the skill displayed by Al Di Meola, Paco De Lucia, Allan Holdsworth and several other guitar players---genre doesn't matter, only the fellow players of the instrument.
Put Zakk Wylde next to guys like that and he simply doesn't measure up to that caliber. Same thing with Satch.
A virtuoso is someone that you could mention to a professor of music theory, director of a classical orchestra, guitarist in a rock band, jazz musician, and session guitarist---and they'd all agree that the person is indeed a virtuoso. Ask any of those guys about Yngwie---they will tell you that, while Yngwie overplays--his ability is almost beyond compare and that he is a virtuoso. Ask them about Holdsworth---they will say the same thing, provided they are musically informed enough. Ask them about Paco, they will say the same thing.
What is subjective here is whether or not you 'like' the musician and/or feel that they are very accomplished in terms of technique. Yet, the term virtuoso isn't one that's made to be tossed around so freely.
These are my views only---just explaining myself more clearly
Back In Black isn't a song. It's a divine call that gets channeled through five righteous dudes every thousand years or so. That's why dragons and sea monsters don't exist anymore.
