This phrase is often used when someone wants to say; it ain't the gear, it's how good a player you are.

& indeed, I have found that as I (slowly) get better, my gear sounds better.

But, I'd like to dive a little deeper.

When I am learning something, I first am trying to hit the correct notes, then make sure that I have the timing correct, & after I am on relatively solid ground with the basics I start thinking about how it sounds. This is where the fingers really come into their own. Fingers are really quite subtle instruments. The tone & sound are greatly affected by slight variations of pressure, a microseconds worth of lingering, a bit of upward pressure on the string etc.

Those little things are what give a player his or her voice. Guitar playing is really a conversation between the fingers & the gear. I don't doubt that you can change the ability of the gear to listen to & respond to what you have to say. I've seen that with small tweaks of my own gear, but if you're fingers are speaking in a hamfisted way, your gear will only hear hamfistedness.

What I want to say is pay attention to the fingers, try the same thing over & over with slight variations & listen to the sound & feel. Then you'll say. D@mn, this cheap piece of shit sounds GOOOOOOOOD!