Where's the tone?

You can spend as much money as you want on guitars and amps, but in the end tone can be found as much in the fingers as in the equipment.

A Quick Exercise

Think of all the guitarists that play the same kit.

Do they sound the same?

Some will, but a few will stand out from the crowd. Other guitarists will want the secrets to their tone or the sustain that they're able to achieve.

Fender Stratocaster and Marshall Amplification

Guitarists from Jimi Hendrix through to your local pub/bar band guitarist have played a Stratocaster through a Marshall head, but only Jimi sounded like Jimi. If the local guitarist sounds a bit like him, then it's because he's spent time learning what made that sound. He'll probably have some of the same kit, but he'll have learnt how Jimi bent notes, picked, used the vibrato from the trem bar and so on. Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page (at least in the early days) and Jeff Beck all used Fender Stratocasters through Marshall amps and each sounded different. Each had their own signature tone, recognisable to the public at large. Add to that Buddy Guy who played strats through a Fender Bassman. Ok, not a Marshall, but if you trace the history of the Marshall Bluesbreakers, you'll see where I'm going. Again, Buddy Guy sounds vastly different to the other 3 star guitarists. Iron Maiden's Dave Murray is another well-known Strat and Marshall user.

• Fender Artist Series Buddy Guy Polka Dot Stratocaster Electric Guitar Black with White Polka Dots
• Fender Artist Series Buddy Guy Stratocaster Electric Guitar Honey Blonde
• Fender Dave Murray Stratocaster Electric Guitar Black

Style

For a different angle, consider Steve Morse. He's known for being a strict alternate picker. If you were emulating him, you wouldn't sweep pick, you wouldn't play with much legato, especially using hammer-ons or pull-offs. It's not that he can't play like that, it's just not his style. From what I've seen in his interviews, he made a conscious decision to play that way so that he had better control over dynamics. He's currently playing a Musicman Steve Morse (based on his mixed-up guitar, mainly a Telecaster) through signature Engl amplifiers. You could play exactly the same kit and sound completely different. It's his use of how to play that counts for more than what he plays. Look at the use of different harmonics in Deep Purple's Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming.

• Music Man Steve Morse Y2D Guitar with Standard Bridge D-Purpleburst
• Music Man Steve Morse Signature Model Electric Guitar Blueburst Rosewood Fretboard
• Engl Steve Morse Signature 100 E 656 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head Black

Gear Acquisition Syndrome

As guitarists, we're all probably familiar with that feeling of envy when you see another guitarist with better kit than you've got. That gear-lust is satiable. More importantly, it's ignorable. Yes, there are some major differences in kit, in their playability and the tone you can achieve from them. As a general rule, a $1000 guitar will sound better than a $100 guitar but only if the guitarist is good enough to make use of that difference. And that's where the guitarist's style comes back into play.