Tone deos come from your hand but I'd like to amend that the hands (plural). How you fret, how you pick and when you pick and all of that drive the sound. Let face it, an unplugged electric guitar sounds almost the same whether or not it's a cheapy knock off or a really expensive Les Paul. Playing unplugged, you can tell the great player because their sound still comes through the playing.

I like to think of the equipment as a sweetener. Granted, I love me some sweetener!