Fretsmith makes a good point. People will be impressed when you can mimic something, but it's fleeting...both for the audience and the player.

As far as Buckethead goes - I would by far rather hear him play his own stuff than imitate Slash. I do like Slash by the way...no offence to him.

I've experienced this myself...though surely I don't consider myself in the league of these guitar gods. Back in January, I posted a recording of a spot on totally nailed solo in Let it Be, recorded to a backing track that was the original Beatles version without the solo. The same night, I posted a recording of me improvising blues over a backing track, which included some warts...it had its moments, but there we some not-so-stellar moments too.

Nobody really commented on my Let it Be solo, but I got TONS of positive feedback on my blues jam. I was puzzled more than you could know. A musician friend of mine explained that people would rather hear you play like you than like somebody else. I still don't completely understand it, but I just go with it.