The Perpetual Guitar Thread

[pauli]

If you had $5,000 to buy one guitar and one guitar only what would it be? I was thinking about a PRS something. What would you buy?

$5k, for one guitar? Something hand built to my specs, and the other $3k in cash as case candy.

Right now, since I've been daydreaming lately, those specs would be:

• five string baritone (ADGCF, plus or minus a whole tone)
• 28.6" scale
• maple/walnut/maple neck
• rosewood fretboard (maaaaaybe richlite)
• 42-45mm nut
• 20-22 jumbo SS frets
• five string bass bridge, 16.5-17mm spacing
• SD Sentient/Nazgul 7-string pickups for neck and bridge, SD passive soapbar 5 string middle
• controls - toggles for the pickups, master volume, PTB circuit
• Mustang-ish body, probably, with all the curves and carves possible
• gloss black body and headstock, white pickguard

edit: tuners. it would also have tuners.

 

[S2pidiT]

At $5k for a single guitar I would also go custom, but I don't have specifics in mind... I would no doubt over-research like I always do.

If the $5k had to be used on a pre-built guitar... I would buy an Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay Special 5 H (or maybe HH, why not have the second humbucker?) bass.

 

[Backstop]

Question for anyone with experience taking a guitar to a small time repair shop. About 10 weeks ago I brought an old Martin acoustic in. The diagnosis was that it probably needs a neck reset or something along those lines. The guy quoted me $300 or $400 and said he'd contact me before doing anything more costly. Also that it would take about a month since he had a backlog. I called him after about 5 weeks of not hearing anything and he immediately knew who I was on the phone without even looking anything up. He sounded apologetic, but really stressed out and said he could get to it "soon". That was about 5 weeks ago. How concerned should I be? Or is this pretty normal?

Edit to add. This guy appears to have been in business for at least 10+ years and has lots of positive reviews.

Honestly that sounds like either he's doing this as a side job and his real job got busy, or he's having some kind of crisis, or he's just spacing out like I do when my work backlog is big.

I don't think you'd be out of line if you called and asked for the guitar back, or said you'd like it back unless the work is done by x date. Either way I wouldn't be paying anything now.

 

[S2pidiT]

If you had $5,000 to buy one guitar and one guitar only what would it be? I was thinking about a PRS something. What would you buy?

Wait... Are you running a $5k guitar giveaway?

 

[beeblebrox]

If you had $5,000 to buy one guitar and one guitar only what would it be? I was thinking about a PRS something. What would you buy?

Like everyone else, I'd probably go custom. I'm really loving my PRS SE Custom 24, but it's just not... perfect. So: PRS double cutaway, 22 fret (so the neck humbucker is in the right place), stainless steel frets, the PRS trem with with the Engl Hardtailer already installed, custom controls (5-way blade switch, vol/tone, killswitch, coil tap switches) in a customized position (slightly farther away from "normal," as my picking hand is pretty wild). Something in a brilliant transparent purple with a flame maple top.

Easily $5k.

 

[invertedpanda]

Custom slim body electric tricone resonator.

 

[timezon3]

$5k is simultaneously a lot for a guitar, and not a lot once you start talking about custom stuff. I dunno man, I'm not even sure I'd want a $5k guitar though. I honestly feel like my Warmoth (~$1500 in parts) is pretty much perfect for me, with the exception of the finish, and the only reason the finish is not that great is because I did it myself instead of having Warmoth do it, which probably would only add a couple hundred.

 

[anuj]

To fill a need, a 5 string fretless short-scale multi-scale bass. Especially if Rob Allen would build me one. Else there's a couple builders I'd reach out to.

For nice things for the sake of having nice things: something built by Sugi. Probably a Strandberg J with TT frets. Or an Ibanez J Custom.

Or one of the more nicely appointed EB/MM Kaizens. Or perhaps a headless multi scale Aristides.

I wouldn't need to spend nearly that much on a custom guitar to my spec - and kinda already have that.

 

[Derp Derpus]

Another Gibson ES-355 Stereo with Varitone to replace the one stolen from me 19 years ago. My insurance company couldn't find a replacement at the time. I do have a few guitars worth well over $5000 in my small collection. 1956 Telecaster I got for free in 1989, 1957 Strat I paid $250 for in 1987 (it was disassembled but complete) and Hubert Sumlin's 1970 Les Paul Custom he signed to me and gave me as a gift in 1987 (I was his guitar tech and driver 1987-2000 or so). The Fenders need massive neck work and no longer leave the house, I still use the Hubert guitar on special local gigs. It plays like a hot knife through butter and sounds incredible with the stock pickups straight into a 1965 Fender Super Reverb at any volume.

 

[Case]

You can get some great used deals, and unlike with my instrument (keys), it's pretty easy to see if you got a lemon or not

My band's guitarist has a guitar collecting problem, he has showed up at gigs with a different guitar quite often (to be fair, he sometimes sells off something to fund it!) Last friday, he showed up with a PRS custom 24 that new would likely be close to $4500, he got it for $2500 at Guitar Center. GC is great for used because you have at least a month to return it to a local store for any reason. Anyway, this thing is pristine, I checked it over and if he hadn't mentioned it was used, I would not have thought it so.

Sounded great at the gig and stayed in tune great (my big pet peeve with his Les Pauls even though they sound great). We do a lot of outdoor shows and there are big humidity swings even for the indoor ones, so I get that stringed instruments are up against it...

 

[Companion_Noob]

For 5K, a nice Les Paul Custom and a good tube amp.

 

[timezon3]

I bought a car to match my guitar lol. I've jokingly called the Warmoth supernova inlays "Subaru" inlays before, and now I own a Subaru. In purple-ish even!

 

[Backstop]

Pretty cool coordination!

 

[invertedpanda]

Alright, so, yesterday I learned what the cause was for my nerve problems. I've got Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (Type 4F).. Which basically means my nerve problems are permanent, and I may have more issues in the future that could also potentially impact my ability to play guitar (but it won't outright kill me, at least).

So, even if I get my arthritis dealt with, I'm pretty much never going to be able to perform again, because I just don't have the ability to feel fully what I'm doing.

Not all is lost, however!

I can still hopefully do studio work - at least for a while - and I decided earlier this week to say "Fuck it, let's change up genres then."

Instead of cutting my final-farewell-to-my-old-livelihood straight blues record with all my songs I used to perform as a busker, I'm going to go with a blues/hip-hop fusion.. Because with that I won't be doing full 3-6 minute long guitar track takes (which are easier for me to fuck up now than it used to be), and will instead go with a hill country style cut into loops (think Galactic or Brother Ali).

And now that I'm about at 98% respiratory-health again (after having a reaction to the nerve pain meds we were trying out, lol), I can start writing and recording a new record (haven't decided if I'm going EP or full-length yet).

So, my broken body is pushing me to do new things, and I'm getting excited about that. Also, I do have my first rough recording of most of the blues tracks I did many years ago that I could theoretically release, but.. Not sure yet if I want to. Maybe as a free sort of B-sides sorta thing or something.

It gets better (and worse), though.

My grandma died a couple weeks ago (couldn't go to the funeral because I was having the aforementioned respiratory issues), and apparently she had a collection of guitars nobody knew about.. And I'm getting one. It's a hollowbody Kay-built Tru-Tone with 3 pickups. That's all I know; assuming it's this, but won't know until my dad brings it up. I've missed having a hollowbody, and this is relatively good timing I suppose, as it'll give me more tonal variety in the studio.

Anyway, sorry for the bit of a downer, but I really am looking more on the lighter side of things (especially finally having a goddamned diagnosis after 9 months of getting stabbed, siphoned and shocked - literally [EMG + nerve conduction study] - to figure shit out). I live for the fresh challenge, and this will be a fun one.

 

[timezon3]

@invertedpanda Condolences on the loss of your grandma. Did she play? How did she end up with a collection of guitars nobody knew about?

 

[invertedpanda]

@invertedpanda Condolences on the loss of your grandma. Did she play? How did she end up with a collection of guitars nobody knew about?

She did play, but the crazy thing is, I never heard her play (guitar, at least; Piano, yes, guitar, no). I heard my Grandpa play, though. It's just weird.. Any time I was around my Grandma she was usually busy being responsible; Doing things around the farm, the yard, the house, tending to me when she babysat me, fixing food, canning, etc.. I just have no idea when she would've had time to play, but according to my dad she did.

We've always had a pretty musical family, though, on that side (although my mom's side is also musical - my mom in particular is an amazing operatic-style singer). Most of the kids did music in some form; Dad plays guitar, one aunt sings, and another plays piano, organ, and accordion.

 

[zyyn]

Followup to a followup (about a guitar my mother in law gave me a while back after her husband died). I finally got the old Martin Dreadnought back from the repair shop today. It's in perfect playable condition with a nice setup now. Apparently it didn't need as much work as it initially appeared. The neck was crooked because it spent 20 years in a closet with strings on and tightened. But it turns out the neck is a bolt on. The reason it took so long was the guy got slammed with school instruments due to the time of year. He was very apologetic about the delay and only charged $150. He said this work would normally be $225 and his initial estimate was $300 to $400. The first guy I showed it to said it would be $1000+ and to not bother. Anyway that turned out better than I expected in the end. Now I've got this book called "Fingerstyle for Noobs" to work through. I'm pretty excited to try a new thing.

 

[Cool Modine]

Sweeeeet.

 

[GirgleMirt]

Anyone here interested in the Helix Stadium?

Btw, not for me because $ vs needs, but new gens of modelers are coming out these days, crazy time to be a guitarist! So much options vs 20-30 years ago, and the quality vs cost is out of this world!

For L6 HS, I've watched a couple of clips, and I really like the Hype and the Focus mode, which basically gives you four five presets (center + 4 touchscreen corners), but which allows you to click anywhere and get 'in-between' sounds. That's fantastic, anything which simplifies and accelerates the process of tweaking and easily getting the tones you want, huge win in my book. Even a big help for newbies who don't necessarily know what all the settings do, don't want to get a PhD in Helix, and just want to get good quick tones.

There's also been the paradise software, but, parenthesis, it's 'amazing' how ALL (or so many) of the guitar gear channels ALL release the SPONSORED videos (hype) at basically the same time... (buyer beware). But, for their cabs, they opted to have just 1 IR per cab. I actually prefer that to the tedious Line6 Mic + cab, which is nearly impossible to wrap your head around, as the different types of microphones and how moving the mic position will affect the tone isn't very intuitive.

The combinations of ~100 cabs and more than a dozen mics, I don't think that's the optimal way to tweak tone. I mean, we have EQs, so that's something that we don't need cabs & mics for. And I just wish there was a more intuitive way to configure cabs. By for instance determining a few simple settings such as, Ex: Clarity, Creaminess, Smoothness, Attack, Compression, etc. Some sort of way to use terminology to categorize 'cab/mic sound', and rather than configuring specific brands and models of cabs and mics and mid positions, which aren't intuitive or logical, you either know what they sound like or you don't, and how they sound will depend on mic+cab+mic_distance+mic_on_off_axis, which again is a hugely complex formula that nearly impossible to precisely predict... If instead you could just tweak your cab sound via intuitive settings, that would be so much better!

 

[GirgleMirt]

Also I rounded my pedal board (head rush looper, kokko OD & DST) with a kokko compressor ($20) and Mosky ISO-10 power supply ($40) from aliexpress sale. As I used often compressors on my Pod Go, an external pedal saves an effects block on the Pod Go, and as compressor is a bit of a simple effect, buys me a bit more flexibility, which in all honesty I didn't need, but whatever, at that price, is there any reason not to get one?

Amazon has its own equally cheap pedals, and they're not bad, I remember watching this clip, and although the guy claims he could hear differences, I don't recall hearing significant differences, and I doubt that if I played a clip and asked "Is this the $20 or $350 pedal", even amongst pros you'd get a ~50% correct guess rate. Not the same knobs/options and all, but boy, no reason not a Kokko/Amazon/other budget comp if you don't have a compressor pedal!

Oh, and the Mosky ISO-10 works great, no noise with 7 pedals. There's even cheaper power supplies, but mixed reviews and all, so don't think they're worth it.

The Kokko compressor works well, but my first impression is that it might not compare favorably to PGO compressors, probably mostly tweaking/settings, but fact that you have to manually change its dials since its settings aren't saved in PGO patches, meh! (Though physical pedal dials is nicer vs PGO editor or PGO) It's a bit like the Kokko OD & DST, they're ok'ish, but personally I find more interesting options with PGO. It's definitely not bad, definitely usable and does its job, but after the fact, quite a bit useless if you have PGO imho, lol (modelers FTW!)

 

[GirgleMirt]

Anyone made any black Friday or other purchases?

Oh yeah, I had went to buy that Ibanez AZ standard a few months ago and was pretty disappointed... The neck felt like a baseball bat, not slim or Ibanez-like at all, its action was high and there was tons of buzzing, the tremolo arm seemed to be a few mm too small and there was lots of wiggle when you used it, which just felt ultra cheap. So sadly that AZ wasn't for me.

I kept an eye open for maybe something with Fluence PUs, headless or 7 string, but nothing caught my interest. Maybe I'll eventually break down and get a Premium AZ or Pro Pacifica or something...

Or PRS? There were some nice playing ones, but no SSH, mostly HH or those slim Narrowfield PU or NF3, supposedly one of the best selling guitars of 2025 (PRS SE NF 53 was #3 best new selling, different guitar...). The Studio SE has a humbucker on the bridge, so probably bit better for me, guess I'd need to try those too... :/

Best selling gear of 2025 according to reverb: https://reverb.com/featured/2025-bestselling-gear-complete-lists

 

[anuj]

FWIW, all AZ necks - essential, standard, premium, prestige - are the same fat spec. I love em, but if you go in expecting a more typical Wizard or similar Ibanez neck, you’ll be disappointed.

That said, the speed of the neck is a function of the player, IME. I find my hands are a lot more comfortable playing fatter necks.

Have you played any Charvel DKs? They come in HSS, and have slightly more Strat-like necks.

 

[GirgleMirt]

Ha.. Yeah, they had one or two Charvels in the price point but I really wasn't blown away, didn't seem at the same level as the PRS and others for the cost, seemed more like a budget/beginner guitar than the others. (aesthetics & design)

The PRS S2 are big $$ so no go, the SE studio maybe, the position 4 seems to sound a bit single coil, hard to tell exactly for the NF3 PUs... Shrug..

 

[VirtualWolf]

Anyone made any black Friday or other purchases?

I bought a couple of Neural DSP plugins during their sale (Archetype Misha Mansoor and the Morgan Amps suite), as well as a Superior Drummer expansion (Fields of Rock).

I also forgot to post that I bought a shiny new guitar back in October, the (takes a deep breath) Fender Made In Japan Hybrid II Telecaster.



And one of my Christmas presents this year was Fender's "Telepath" wireless system and oh man I wish I'd gotten one of these earlier. Even when I'm playing through Logic Pro and so still need a physical cable to plug my Shure earphones in, just not having that extra cable from the guitar makes such a difference.

I'd love to get an equivalent for being able to go wireless with my earphones too, but all I could find was stuff like Shure's AUD$1500 professional kit for actual gigging which is way overkill for my needs.

 

[VirtualWolf]

I'd love to get an equivalent for being able to go wireless with my earphones too, but all I could find was stuff like Shure's AUD$1500 professional kit for actual gigging which is way overkill for my needs.

So apparently the key term to use to is "wireless iem". Turns out there are a quite a few around, and I've ordered the XVIVE U45 5.8GHz system for just over a quarter of that Shure system's price, heh.

 

[GirgleMirt]

... sound a bit single coil, hard to tell exactly for the NF3 PUs... Shrug..

Just found 2 clips comparing the NF3 pickups, and they seem quite close to single coils. Pretty sure I'll grab a PRS Studio SE Standard instead of the Studio SE. Satin finish neck on Standard is a plus, likely more important than the other advantages of studio (aesthetics, set neck, maple top, etc.). Not a big fan of the colors and pickguard, but not a big deal, ~25% cheaper too.

Spoiler: clips

View: https://youtu.be/-XssInvquO0?si=sXrVWvZ-GAy5H8kJ&t=107


View: https://youtu.be/VAQvYHoYuS4?si=ruXPMIXVjxr2qCkX&t=503

Thing is they both have a "wide thin" neck... Apparently not as chunky as an Ibanez AZ, but bigger than I'm used to.* Kinda used to slim necks so I'm guessing that wouldn't feel perfect, but shouldn't be that bad, guessing I'd just get used to it eventually.

But yeah, seems that a lot of people really like those narrowfields pickups; interesting innovation in guitar technology, but surprising it wasn't done (or popularized) earlier.

* that's what she said

 

[VirtualWolf]

So apparently the key term to use to is "wireless iem". Turns out there are a quite a few around, and I've ordered the XVIVE U45 5.8GHz system for just over a quarter of that Shure system's price, heh.

Bollocks, I completely missed that this is mono-only.

 

[anuj]

Aww, I was gonna mention it earlier (compared to the Shure system). Couple folks in my band have that unit. I have the Sennheiser (and it's stereo), and a couple folks go wired stereo. I've had to run mono when playing shows through not my gear, and .. man, I dunno. I couldn't do it anymore, heh.

 

[VirtualWolf]

Yeah, fortunately the place I bought it from has a 30-day return policy so I've sent it back. The other 5.8GHz systems seem to all be eye-crossingly expensive if they do stereo, or you have to go with a 2.4GHz system which I'd be very hesistant to use given how crowded that tends to be.

 

[Penforhire]

So I have a gear or GAS-related question for you experienced and technical players.

I am a noob, trying to hang in learning guitar until I get past harming my own ears. Still working on memorizing the fretboard and faster simple chord changes. I am three-odd months into this attempt. I gave up on acoustic sooner than that in frustration years ago. I played trumpet since high school, ending when playing pro was not fun enough during and after college (so I know what music is supposed to sound like). I am learning on electric this time (Squier Strat, self set-up and is not perfect but reasonable) for the easier fretting and a desire to create so many tones I admire. My tastes are broader than any one genre or vintage amp.

All of my practice is so-far unamplified. I can hear the strings just fine. I do have an inexpensive Fender Champion solid state combo amp/cab but adding volume doesn't improve my sound. I promised myself I'd investigate pedals and/or modeling after I reach some self-imposed proficiency. I am guessing that will be around six more months if I don't give up again.

That doesn't stop me from reading and YouTube-ing widely about modeling. I'm that sort of 'prepper' in most things, needing to work through obsessions before settling down. I feel I will continue down a solid-state/modeling path rather than tube amps (for variety and cost reasons). I am not aiming at rack mount or fully PC-driven (yay for GarageBand though, works a treat through a Scarlett 2i2 and back to headphones), mostly pedalboard style.

That long pre-amble is just to ask if you were me, starting fresh and caring about sound, where would you spend your hard-earned money? I'm not interested in the noticeable sounds of low-dynamic range or weak modeling. As with most of my purchases, I'd rather 'spend once' and be happy longer. My ear is still training. I will sit down with anything I am interested in to hear it for myself. I know the longer I wait the better choices there are. New releases (say from the NAMM show each year) are evolving.

I see market leaders in modeling include Kemper, Line 6, Neural DSP, and Fractal Audio. Fender has an entry (Tone Master) but seems expensive unless Fender tones are what you're after. I see a middle ground occupied by Boss, NUX, IK Multimedia (Tonex series seems interesting, maybe combined with a Fractal VP4 for FX?), Headrush, Hotone and others. Am I ignoring anyone that should be on my radar? I can't say I'll be buying most expensive (e.g. Stadium XL, FM9) but I could see buying something like a used Quad Cortex Mini, FM3, or such. Obviously I don't have enough existing gear to make my own IR's have any value but I see the wide world of IR's from others.

What are your recommendations, what your own ear says you'd recommend to others? Am I doomed to be prowling for a 'real' spring reverb, rotary speaker, Hell's half-acre of boutique pedals, NOS amp tubes, and multiple cabs? Or is the state of the art, modeling into FRFR speakers, near "good enough?" If so, whose ecosystem should I consider or avoid?

 

[invertedpanda]

I ended up stopping at a Line 6 Spider IV combo many, MANY years ago and being perfectly content. I have a handful of pedals, and do want to re-acquire a Boss FZ-2 Hyperfuzz (still kicking myself for selling that).

Line 6's gear is good. I've heard Fender's amps with modelling (wanna say it was one of their valve line), and they tend to be good, too.

Are they top-shelf, end-all-be-all solutions? Nah, but that's not what the gear is about. It's about having something that gives you a decent sound to enjoy.

My Line 6 amp has done the bedroom practices and multiple live shows, and I've had no complaints. Of course, that was a long time ago; my body is too broken now to play live, but honestly the average person just isn't going to care as long as you don't get stupid with your tone.

And, as far as learning goes: Try to keep your signal as "dry" as possible early on, as things like distortion can in some ways mask mistakes (although certain types can actually amplify them too if you're not careful). Skip heavy reverb, delay etc, too when just practicing and developing technique. Those tones are for when you're just having fun for having fun's sake, or performing

Using an electric w/o amplification is also less than ideal; you're probably missing some tone indicators of mistakes (especially if the action isn't flawless). Most good modelling amps have a headphone out, so make use of it.. I'd also suggest - if you want to spend a little extra money - getting both closed back and open back headphones. Closed back for the isolation, open back for a more accurate tone reproduction (closed back tends to be bass-heavy).

Also: A looper pedal is great for fun as well as practice.

 

[Flipper35]

I have a Strat Squire (Made in Malaysia) that sounds great. I have a DigiTech RP80 that does well for me, but it is old and they have gone out of business and back. Go to a shop and test drive some of the pedal stuff with your headphones.

Started life with a DoD pedal and Crate CR112 amp in the early 80s so my ears may not be as discerning as yours.

 

[Penforhire]

Thanks for the thoughts.

Inverted, I do have headphones but only closed style and not strictly flat response (HD280 Pro, MDR7506, and ER-4 in-ears). I hadn’t considered I might be missing some issues (beyond my pickups) without amplifying the signal. I can use them through the amp or the 2i2. I totally get the need to stay dry for practice, part of why I wasn’t amplifying.

A looper is an early expected buy, though I dabbled with Garage Band and it seems usable that purpose as well.

I read Line 6 has been good about long term support. Of course the Variax end of life seems a mark against that (and I don’t really understand why that line ended). I don’t have any strong feelings about owner Yamaha, other than knowing they make decent pianos and trumpets (Bach Strad’s for life!). Some other vendors get knocked for how they treat customers or legacy equipment.

Flipper, mine is from the Cort factory (HSS Bullet model). It is still better than I am. Fret ends are sharp, not rolled, but I haven’t had any problem staying away from them. I get a little buzz if I pick super hard, the weakest part of my setup. I figure an upgrade guitar is part of what I will reward myself after I improve, if not just upgrade the Squire parts instead. The Strat shape just sort of calls to me. I can’t explain why a Les Paul, SG, Tele, Jaguar, etc. doesn’t do it for me as much visually.

 

[anuj]

Any of the Neural offerings are great. If you want an entry point, the Boss Katana:GO is wonderful with headphones.

If you want something all-in-one, you can't really go wrong with a Yamaha THRII of whatever size your budget's good for. I have a couple of those scattered across places I'm at regularly (work, folks' place). My gigging is all Neural driven (quad cortex for the big stuff, mini cortex for the pickup board). I use Fender FR-10s for making modeling make sounds in a room when I need it. Shit's bulletproof.

(At home I have the tube gear/amps, etc hooked up permanently in my studio).

 

[VirtualWolf]

Any of the Neural offerings are great. If you want an entry point, the Boss Katana:GO is wonderful with headphones.

Big +1 for both of these (though I'm using Neural's plugins with Logic Pro, I don't have any of their actual hardware).

 

[Flipper35]

Thanks for the thoughts.

Inverted, I do have headphones but only closed style and not strictly flat response (HD280 Pro, MDR7506, and ER-4 in-ears). I hadn’t considered I might be missing some issues (beyond my pickups) without amplifying the signal. I can use them through the amp or the 2i2. I totally get the need to stay dry for practice, part of why I wasn’t amplifying.

A looper is an early expected buy, though I dabbled with Garage Band and it seems usable that purpose as well.

I read Line 6 has been good about long term support. Of course the Variax end of life seems a mark against that (and I don’t really understand why that line ended). I don’t have any strong feelings about owner Yamaha, other than knowing they make decent pianos and trumpets (Bach Strad’s for life!). Some other vendors get knocked for how they treat customers or legacy equipment.

Flipper, mine is from the Cort factory (HSS Bullet model). It is still better than I am. Fret ends are sharp, not rolled, but I haven’t had any problem staying away from them. I get a little buzz if I pick super hard, the weakest part of my setup. I figure an upgrade guitar is part of what I will reward myself after I improve, if not just upgrade the Squire parts instead. The Strat shape just sort of calls to me. I can’t explain why a Les Paul, SG, Tele, Jaguar, etc. doesn’t do it for me as much visually.

I will never give up my Squire. It plays/sounds/ the best and is most versatile all my electrics and fits so nice. (Most expensive I have is a high end Jackson I inherited). The pickups in it are pretty hot and it can get pretty crunchy if I want it to. It is also getting played enough that it will need new frets soon. ('82 model year)

My daughter just went to play several including a Les Paul, SG, Tele, Mustang and a couple others. She did not like the Mustang at all, it is too small for someone that learned bass guitar first. She did not like the neck on the Tele but the sound was good. The LP she liked OK, SG was alright but is definitely on the not to buy list. She never got above the $2000 price range so that limits some of the more subtle things you could experience. She still likes a Strat the best, but keeps saying we already have some. Told her get one of the others (LP, Tele if she can get used to the neck) and take one of the Strats when she moves out.

TL/DR - Depending on your Squire, you could just have a luthier make those minor fixes inexpensively (relatively).

 

[Backstop]

Honestly @Penforhire you might want to grab something inexpensive in a headphone amp to get off the ground, the Boss Katana GO for example as noted, and then see where you are when you're ready to play more "out loud". It's only $100-200 so you're not into it much , and having a good way to practice/fiddle around quietly is still going to be useful even when you're playing arenas across Europe on your fifth international tour.

 

[Penforhire]

I ended up buying a Positive Grid Spark Neo Core (wired version, $127 current sale) plus Xvive A58 wireless system for a slightly more than a wireless Spark Neo (whose wireless is dedicated to headset). Works great after tweaking the starter clean tone by reducing the noise gate, taming the hall reverb, and tweaking the equalizer (just to taste, not awful if left flat).

Weird how much noise gate their default starts with. Cut off way too much. Far too artificial. I am tempted to remove it from the signal chain entirely but left it at very low-effect settings for now.

I understand this is not representative of a higher end multi-FX but works well for quiet, portable, amplified practice. Headset is comfortable for over an hour, clamps my head perhaps more than necessary, and is reasonably isolating. I do not notice the extra weight of the A58 wireless receiver. The BT channel lets me stream audio from my PC or tablet (from on-line video lessons) simultaneous with the guitar signal FX chain. Have not tried direct music streaming (integrated Apple Music in the Spark App) or backing-track-with-chord-display yet, nor messed with the AI tone generation.

 

[beeblebrox]

Picked up a Firefly acoustic guitar recently:

Spoiler

It's an inexpensive copy/knockoff of the Taylor K24. Laminated koa back and sides, solid koa top, Fishman setup. After tweaking it, it plays like a $1k+ guitar, easy. The only thing I have left to do is replace the tuners (I want gold locking tuners, and these stock tuners are... sloppy. Cheap, and sloppy.).

But for sub-$300, I have zero complaints. Zero.

 

[Flipper35]

The laminate is used on guitars approaching $1000 so that would not be a concern really to me as long as it sounded good. The way they do the bracing on the solid wood top is more important in my opinion.

Looks way above its pay grade as well!