I am very afraid. I, too, have a '79 LP and an '81 Special. The LP WAS my #1, now the Special is. The Prince of Darkness and I have even MORE in common.....could it be......
Anyway, Citrus is right - tone is in the hands. If I played EVH's guitar through EVH's rig, I'd sound like a feeb. If I played Eric Johnson's guitar through Eric Johnson's rig, I'd still sound like a feeb. I will sound like a feeb no matter what I use.
But I'm OK with that. It sounds like me.