He is technically very proficient.
I have heard him playing "straight" guitar and he's actually very good. Very clean technique.

Like him or not, theres no denying he revolutionised the way people thought about using guitars. He came at it from the angle of a hip hop DJ and yes, all his equipment has be around for years, and people have used killswitchs and whammy pedals and such for decades, but there really aren't any other guitarists that sound like him.

And personally, I don't even rate him that highly. He's certainly not in my top twenty guitarists. Mainly because I get tired of listening to him far too quickly. But the guy deserves credit for doing what he does, and not just being an Yngwie or Vai clone.
( PMGT -Bacon., Tue 4 Jan 2011, 20:20, Reply)