Oh, you can get close. Damn close, like SoloDallas on YouTube. He’s an Italian guy who’s absolutely obsessed with AC/DC and specifically Angus Young. He can pretty much cop any of Angus’ licks and solos. He’s about the closest I’ve seen anyone get to Angus’ sound. BUT he still sounds like himself.
One of the greatest compliments I ever got was when a gentleman walked up to me at the restaurant I used to play at and told me my playing reminded him of Eric Clapton’s style. It was so cool to hear that. We talked a bit and I found out that he was also a guitar player and during the conversation he said, “I’ve found it’s pretty easy to play like another musician, but it’s an entirely different matter to sound like ’em. But even though the sound’s important, the emotion is more important.”
Wiser words could not have been spoken.
How we approach our playing and how we ultimately sound depends less on our gear and so much more on our emotional investment in what we play. And those emotions affect how we manipulate our instruments. So while it is possible to get pretty close to the sounds of our guitar heroes, there will always be something of ourselves that make us sound different; that is, like ourselves.
So true, emotion and feel is 85% of playing if not more! 🙂