Let me start off by saying "that's great that you like to share your opinions'" because that's what this forum is all about. But let me go ahead and correct you in a few places since I am a Vai, and Satch fanatic. Satriani was fingertapping and doing a lot more w/ the whammy bar than "dive bombs" before Van Halen even released a record. Also, I can't even begin to conceive how you think that Satch and Vai sound similar. Vai is always trying to stray away from what everyone else is doing. So if you think they sound similar, you're not listening very closely. As far as Eddy goes... he's a great guitarist, no doubt. But he does know what he's doing when it comes to music theory and such, considering he was a disciplined piano player before he even picked up a guitar. He doesn't just throw stuff together when he's finger tapping. Listen to some of "Eruption" and you'll see that he uses a lot of music theory. And to answer your topic, no I don't think that '80s guitarists' suck. They were doing the same thing that guitarists always do. Look at what's going on now, everyone is trying to sound like Korn, Limp, etc. In the '90s it was everyone trying to sound like Nirvana. Sorry for the long post, but I just wish people would be a little more careful when they use the word "suck". Thanks!

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BadHorsie, holdin' it down like Gravity!