andrewjbryson
Cort , Ibanez, Jackson, etc
If I was you, I would be on the hunt for a 2nd hand MIM Strat and
eventually (when youre ready) upgrade (p/up, etc)
by the way Im also from East London , and Lee Gold is a great music store.
You could probably also pick up a good quality Cort Electric for that price range...
Good luck
clinton
Hi
My 2 half pennies....
Keep in mind that stock Fenders and Stock Epi's have VERY different feels.
I have an original Gibson Les Paul and the neck and playability is completely different to my Hotrodded MIM Strat.
(also MUCH heavier....MUCH MUCH MUCH heavier)
Play both and see which feels right to you. Pickups are easy to change. You said you are looking to play clean leads so on the pickups there is only really 1 choice for me and that is single coils which will give you that classic hollow chimey sound. UNLESS....you are going to play JAZZ clean lead in which case it would be better to go with Humbuckers because they give a better bass heavey treble light jazz tone.
But like I said, generally pickups are able to blur the lines between genres quit well so rather start with how the guitar FEELS andmake that your most important choice.
C
FatBoy
I wouldn't chuck Squier right out the window, I have one and I am very happy with it. Thing to note is that they have different ranges, most people associate the Squier name with the cheap ass "Bullet" series which is like a 1K guitar and is purdy crap.
Have a look at the Standard Series, or better yet the Vintage Modified series, I was pleasantly surprised!
