Hey, I really started getting into guitar when EVH first came on the scene. I like love the rock of the 70's, but I try to be objective about the tone. Just because I like a song doesn't mean the guitar had great tone. In fact, I think tone has evolved and improved over the years. My favorite tones are in the 00's through today. I love Andy Timmons current tone better than his earlier tone. I can say the same about JP, Steve Vai and Satriani.
We're all tone chasers - right? So, I hope all of our chasing has improved upon tone. Otherwise, we have wasted a bunch of time and are stuck in the past.