Yesterday, I did something that I never thought I would ever be able to do with my "rig": I found a tone that I really liked! It's so beautiful, I'm having so much more fun with the guitar now that I actually like the sound of what I'm playing. How did I get it? Simply by switching pickups for the first time in ages! :D I've always played with the neck pickup on my Strat, because I've always thought that the bridge pickup had too bright a sound. Yesterday, I came up with a novel idea - why not try the middle pickup for a change? One flick of a switch, and voila!
I also turned the "Low Mid" on my little amp all the way up, and brought the "High Mid" up to 7. It sounds so much better than it did before, I can hardly recognise it. It's got a sound that's smooth enough for a great rhythm sound, with just enough definition for a really nice jazzy lead, given a bit more volume. When I plugged in my effects unit, I was just as pleased! The tone sounds fine with all kinds of effects, including wah and phasing. The Blackface amp model on my RP80 makes it sound bright enough for jazz-funk and pop, and the Fuzz Distortion model makes it sound a lot like Eric Johnson's tone.

So, there you go - a case in point to prove that you don't need expensive equipment to get a nice sound!