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Some people are all about pickups or amps or pedals or guitars, there is so much out there and so many combinations for a great tone.
Everyone has a recipe for getting a good tone.

Here is my recipe
Mosrite or tym guitar both have mosrite style hot pickups
Proco Turbo Rat on a clean setting and lots of treble (it makes my mosrite pickups sound like a ric...kinda and more responsive)
crother hotcake for an crunch sound (not too much just past 12 on the drive)
boss "fender reverb" pedal (reverb all the way and the mix & tone down)

the rat & reverb is always on and the hotcake gets turned on sometimes.
then i like vox amps .... they sound great.

Whats your recipe for a good tone?

Let me mention just one or two facets for great tone. Now remember, tone is highly personal but I like my guitars' action to be as low as possible (musically speaking i.e. not killing the sustain alltogether). It gives that extra 'twang'
As for amps, I like tube Fenders (or Fender types) and if I could only play like Gerry Mcgee, I'd use a good Marshall!
Last year though, I discovered the tonal wonder of the Boss GE-10 Graphic Equalizer http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... Ht6oveoG4#! and when tweaked in the right way, get those early Shadows' Vox AC 15/30 sounds! (I snagged a near-perfect vintage Boss GE-10 from ebay France, last year)

Great tone is mostly in your hands the way you play NOT the tools you use.I'ld say it's 90% the player 10% the guitar& amp.

Mid 60's Hagstrom II and 1975 Twin Reverb.
JIm

jtr654 wrote:Great tone is mostly in your hands the way you play NOT the tools you use.I'ld say it's 90% the player 10% the guitar& amp.

I'll have to disagree with this comment. Although I have several guitars and and a handful of amps. each have their proper place tone wise. Although most any musician will 'play' the same on basically any guitar through any amp, the tone it projects will not always be the same.

When playing surf music I get a certain tone that is generated through my Bandmaster, outboard reverb and Jazzmaster guitar. I cannot get that same tone with my Stratocaster or Les Paul playing through my 57 tweed Deluxe, nor through my Vibro Champ, yet I'm using the same hands.

My recipe starts with the setup, nut, and bridge, and finishes off with technique on the fretboard. I set the neck with between 4 and 6 thousandths of an inch of relief at the ninth fret. This allows nice low action with good sustain. For my own guitars, I make brass nuts with polished slots, and ensure that the bridge has a good solid connection to the body, preferably with a lock-down feature on the studs/saddles.

As to technique, with the action set to where you want, practice pressing down on the string just hard enough to get a clean note. If you press too hard, you will deflect the string into the fretboard, distorting (sharpening) the note, and possibly even causing a buzz. It takes some time, but when you can play consistently with only the finger-pressure required to make clean contact with the frets, your guitar will sound much better, with improved sustain.

I use a Roland Cube 80xl, a nice versatile amp, that, when needed, can run my 4x12 cab without even breathing hard, or the Ampkit app on my ipod for use through a PA. My favorite guitar changes, depending on the style being played, but they are all set up the same, so I don't have to adapt my fret-contact technique.

Guitars most often used:
HitchHiker with tremolo...Country, and old Rock
Hagstrom Select Super Swede with Seymour D's...Rock, Blues
Hagstrom Viking Deluxe...Jazz, soft Rock
Hagstrom II with Jazzmaster tremolo and Seymour D P-rail pickups...Wailin' and screamin'

For me it depends on what I'm feeling like. I'm not a surf player so the tone I'm after is different as I play predominantly Rockabilly, Rock and Country.

Currently I play my Gretsch 6118T Annie through a Vox. It works very well for all three depending on my pedal arrangement. I've been GAS'n for a Vox Night Train and plan to build my own cab for it.

My Mosrite Celebrity sounds awesome through a Vox AD15 modeling amp. I didn't like it through my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I think the AD15 with it's tube preamp and solid state circuitry works very well for it.

For the most part I don't try to emulate anyone's tone and strive to create a tone that is pleasing to my ears. The exception being that I really like the sound of SRV recordings and would love to have a Strat that can do that.

jtr654 wrote:Great tone is mostly in your hands the way you play NOT the tools you use.I'ld say it's 90% the player 10% the guitar& amp.

I would agree 100% with that if we were purely talking playing style or 'guitar appeal', if you like. With all the best equipment at my disposal, I wouldn't come close to the groovy sound/vibe of a Nokie Edwards, for instance. Talking about Nokie, he would still "sound" groovy, even on a broomstick
Not meaning to be harsh jtr654, I get your point but the recipe for great tone -within the context of this thread as I understand it- is merely the basic raw ingredients that (can) go towards making up the batter for the desired musical end product, according to mood and taste

OK you can ajust any Tube Amp ( Fender/Marshall/Vox /ECT.) to the sound you want to hear. Danny I' m sure I could get a close sound out of your Bandmaster +fx with each of the guitars you mentioned. I'll agree that a closedback amp/cab won't have the same sonic properties as a open combo. I'll change My comment to any good or better guitar through a good or better tube amp + what ever FX I use I should be able to get my tone or close.The reason even with the same setup people will sound vastly different is the way we play.

I knew this would generate a lively, diverse series of answers