i always loved this guitar tone, and out of random i found out what was used to get that tone.
from steve lukathers website:
Hey Luke, what did you use for a distortion/overdrive in Hold The Line with Toto?
Luke: Just my 1973 Les Paul DeLuxe thru a Fender DeLuxe with HEAVY attititude as Jim Keltner and others were watching expectiing the "kid" (at 19) to throw down. Hahaha.
Straightforward rock sound
Sunday 15 August 2004 10:55 by Seth Forster
Hi Steve. I recently recorded an album with my band and during the sessions I asked the producer for any tips on "that Steve Lukather rock sound like Hold the Line". He pulled out Completion Backwards Principle (The Tubes) on vinyl and played Talk to Ya Later and I spent an hour trying to approximate that sound and just couldn't get it. Any tips? Also, I love my straightforward rock guitar sound during live shows and practices, but it never sounds the same in the studio. I'm using a Crate VC30 and a Les Paul Special or Ibanez RG550 or my '52 reissue Telecaster or G&L S500. I also have a MusicMan 112RD for the Fender Amp sounds. I'm not trying to steal your sound, but I'm stumped by the lack of transfer from live to studio sound.
Luke: Man... You gotta dig where that sound came from and the fact they did ONE track on a 24 track analog machine... it was the late 70's early 80's. There was NO "pro-tools" nor an unlimitied amount of trax to cut on. As I remember (It WAS THAT era, hahaha) I played thru my old Fender Deluxe and a my 1959 sunburst Les Paul. One take. I wanted to do another cause I thought my last note of the solo was flat but... they didn't want me to do another as they only had ONE track for me and to lose it meant, IF I fucked it up, there was no point of return. You can steal my sound... shit I stole my sound from EVERY great player I looked up to. Still do! I Played Larry Carltons 335, THE one... Kid Charlamagne etc... THAT one... It did NOT give me those skills. Wish it did. Hahaha.
Luck have it, I have had a great and interesting career.
I have played thru Eddie's rig, Jeff Becks' guitars, Vai, Satch, Landau and on and on... we ALL sound like US playing thru another rig, funny enough, wishing we were playing thru our own! Hahaha.
It's great to have the best tools... dont mean you can build a house with them! Just play and have fun. You WILL grow as a player!
http://www.stevelukather.net/QuestionAnswer.aspx?id=567
