I went to see a good buddy of mine the other night play, Damon LaScott, who is an excellent guitar player and while listening to his playing I also really marveled at his guitar tone. Then it dawned on me... while I have heard some great guitar players that to me, did not have a great "sound" I don't think I have ever heard a great tone that wasn't being produced by a great guitarist. It is common said, although for the most part people don't REALLY understand this til they experience first hand, that most players guitar "tone" actually comes from how they play. Sure, every little piece of the chain plays into it...the guitar, the amp, pedals (obvious choices), the strings, picks, cables (yes, often debated but trust me....cables make a difference). But the REAL difference is the player. Again, hard to understand until you actually experience it but for example, I could plug Eddie Van Halen's guitar into Eddie Van Halen's amp and even play Eddie Van Halen licks and trust me, I am NOT going to sound like Eddie Van Halen...I am going to sound like Chris Dunnett trying to play Eddie Van Halen. Conversely, if Eddie Van Halen plugged my guitar into my amp he is STILL going to sound like Eddie Van Halen. Tone really come more from your fingers, how you hit the fretboard, and your picking technique. So the summation in my opinion is it doesn't mean that just because you hear a bad guitar tone that the player is not necessarily a good player but I'm pretty sure if you hear a great guitar tone you can rest assured you are listening to a great player