but right now I'm building a new engine/swapping my transmission and building a new fuel system for my car
Sweet! What are you building? Cars are my other hobby too!
As far as what guitar.... it really depends on what you like to play. If you like a really thick sound, that strat isn't going to cut it. Conversely, if you like a spanky clean sound a-la Dire Straights, you don't want a Les Paul (or anything else with humbuckers).
That being said, I've been really impressed with Carvin's offerings as of late. You get a lot for your money, features that you normally wouldn't be able to afford. A friend of mine bought a 7 string from them, I believe it was $550. It plays like a dream and sounded GREAT. I wouldn't have expected anything is that price range to play like this instrument did; it played more like a high end Ibanez than a $500 guitar.
If you like Stratocasters, the Mexican line really are pretty good. One of the people I'm in a band with plays one, and it gives my American strat a run for it's money. It doesn't quite have the same growl my American strat does since my guitar has Texas Specials, but it does sound quite nice and "strat-y".
I also have an Aria that I'm VERY impressed with. As of right now, it's my favorite guitar actually. Mine is a bit of a hard rock/shred guitar, but it plays wonderfully. It can be set up for very low action with almost no fret buzz, it's great! They make all types of guitars, though, so you might want to check them out if you can find a dealer near you.
Linear Mode
