Hey dudes,
I want to buy a new guitar in the next 6 months (I'm getting tired of this Squire Strat). The Squire is NEVER in tune for more than 5 minutes. My guitar teacher also thinks that I could be ready for one in 2-3 months. Plus, the Squire is just single coils which don't sound really cool at all. Palm mutes sound like a joke on this guitar. Also, strings buzz a lot on it as well. The guitar is "fine", just very cheap. It's lasted me 3 months of lessons and a few years of collecting dust, so I think it's been used. I plan on still keeping the Strat as a backup, however. Actually, it was a VERY expensive guitar, since the stuff that came with it was absolutely worthless.
You guys pretty much know what kinds of music I want to be able to play one of these days. Can you guys recommend a fairly affordable (around 400-800) guitar? Cool design? Nice pickups? Etc...
500 is the sweet spot.
I also want to know if I should upgrade amps (although I just got a Fender 15-r).
Also, please don't recommend any "Signature series" guitars.
I don't want people to associate me with having the guitar of Dimebag, Zakk, or Mustaine. It's really lame and I always laugh when I see guys who think that they are badass with Dime's guitar (which is seriously overpriced anyway). If possible, I'd also like a 24 fretter.