-emmanuel79
I think a guitarist as become a great guitarist when he his accepted by some of his peers. I know it's impossible to be accepted by everyone but when other guitarists respect your talent, you are a great guitarist.
Let's be totaly honest here. Everyone of us as played off key in the middle of a solo in front of a crowd once in our lifetime. How many people knew you were off key? The ones who knew were probably musicians. I mean would you really ask who is the best guitarist to your average joe on the street.
I think you can say someone is a great guitar player when you know something about guitar. And as guitarist we are much more demanding on performance.
The best recipe would be, for me, a good mix of precision, diversity but most important soul. I hate hearing someone play a solo with no emotions. I love Yngwie Malmsteen but sometimes find that he lacks emotion and goes into a fast empty solo. I mean the guy is great but there's a limit where speed becomes too much. I Hope I make some sense.