The quest for the "Perfect Tone"

I have been playing guitar for nearly 16 years and only over the past 2 or 3 have I started to take a really keen interest in how I sound, not just how I play... I have tried so many different guitars, and I have to say - I LOVE the sound of a Les Paul running through a hot tubed fender... early breakup of the tubes, thick, warm and rich tone from my fingers to the speakers, and I can throw anything at it, I can lower the volume and play clean, or crack the volume and it just sings with sustain.

All that being said, I already have a Les Paul, so the other day I picked up (another) strat, I think it is my 5th or 6th... and it sounded pretty good through my little practice amp at home (also tube) but when I took it out and ran it cranked, it just turned me off of strats again. When I played it, it was played through a custom amp, that had been dialed in for strat tones... now... not so much, I kinda felt that it sounded like someone farted in a can, and amplified it. It may have been the amp, I don't know, I was playing through a really small tube amp dimed out... this weekend I am going to attempt it again through a vintage Fender Super Reverb, lets see how this pans out...

So far, the only fender guitar that I have really fell in love with for tone is a tele. I LOVE the way they sound, it is almost as thick as a les paul, but if I want it to go into a snappy clean lead, all I do is flick a switch...

What is the perfect tone? I have no idea, there are discussions, forums, pages, and hours of conversation debating it. I know that when I am happy with the way that my guitars sound through my amps, with no effects in between - then I think it will be perfect... until my next big find... What is your perfect tone? How did you acheive it? The closest I have been so far to my tone is a les paul with a P90 through a 69 Fender Super Reverb..... though the Traynor YCV80 was a CLOSE second.

Keep on plugging...and I want to hear about your perfect tone!!!