In a video interview with Gibson, Sammy talked about what he likes about the Les Paul: "I've always been a Les Paul, Gibson player. For some reason, the necks, the way they sound, the weight of a Les Paul is important when you're throwing that big rock pose, and the guitar is hanging down hard. You got a light guitar and you throw the pose you feel the guitar bouncing around, Les Paul's like - bam! So it's got a really macho thing. It makes you just feel rough and tough playing. It's like driving a muscle car for me. The Les Paul's like a muscle car."

In that same interview, Sammy spoke about using a Gibson Explorer on his early albums: "I love an Explorer because on my 1979 Danger Zone front album cover, I had this Explorer on the cover. I played an Explorer half my pre-Van Halen years - I was an Explorer player. I had this wonderful Explorer. It was one of the first remakes I think - it was the first remake of the Explorer. I still have that guitar, and I used it on all those albums, on Danger Zone, 'Love or Money' - the song 'Trans Am' [which is actually from the album Street Machine.] That album was done with that Explorer."