The Dirt - Better equipment? Haven't thought of that too much, but hell yeh I guess that's why some equipments are dearer than others. To be honest I never took time to learn the techincal side of guitar playing, although I do believe it'll make a difference especially with sounds. So I'm completely clueless when it comes to getting "that" sound. But I'll try those settings on my amp (Cheap beginner Peavy :))

SLY - Its just those higher frets... they get quite narrow resulting in unwanted harmonics sometimes hehe. I'll perfect it soon and get the sound soon after some skinning ripping exercises. ;)