If a guitar and sage gear advice from one of the world’s greatest players hadn’t already given Tremonti superior bragging power, Eddie’s final parting gift did.

“He gave me a kiss on the cheek and walked right through all the people clamoring for him again,” Tremonti continued. “He did that for me?! He had his kid and his wife with him and knew he’d get caught up by everybody, but he took his time out because he gave a shit about his products and passing on knowledge.”

Eddie was a famous supporter of other talents. Mötley Crüe’s latest recruit, John 5, recently recalled playing through Eddie’s rig after being invited to the band’s rehearsals. He also helped shape Def Leppard’s Hysteria with a single piece of advice.

Elsewhere in his Classic Rock interview, Tremonti discussed another peak moment in his life and career, reflecting on the moment he felt he’d officially made it.

“When we started playing arenas it was like: ‘Alright, this is what I’ve dreamt about my whole life,’” he says. “I remember specifically being in an arena and opening up a guitar case that had my signature guitar, my PRS Tremonti model, like, ‘I can’t believe I have a guitar with my name on it with the best guitar company in the world.’

“We were just college kids from Tallahassee, Florida. We put all our money together from college to buy gear to go on tour and start from the bottom.

“We were a college band that got signed to a brand-new label, and none of us knew what we were doing. We got lucky to be surrounded with a bunch of hard-working people that wanted to make this thing happen.”