I was at a local GC the other day. I wanted to hear a Vox VT18 that they had for sale there, used. I grabbed the nearest guitar, which was a Fender Squire of some sort. I made a sort of milestone for myself, when I managed to tune the guitar (relative to itself, I have no idea if the low E was really E). Farting around a little bit, I was thinking, this Squire is quite nice.

My friend and coworker was messing around with a Shecter Tempest. I grabbed it from him and, it was cool. But for actually playing it, the only thing I really, really noticed different was the tuners. The tuners on the Squire were awful. The tuners on the Shecter were smooth, easy and awesome.

But if you put those tuners on the Squire, I'm not sure the playability would be much different. I can get the action as low as I want with pretty much any guitar I own and I have 5 cheapie electrics (ranging from a $45 EPi strat to a $200 MK Patriot Q). Playability (for a n00b liek me at least) relates more to the string diameter than anything else.

I'm not a good player. I'm learning. But I've taken apart about 6 guitars now. I've replaced pickups, built a pedal, and replaced pots and switches, filed a nut. If you get a good neck and body, I don't really see much difference other than preference for looks. For example I hate the pointy headstocks of Jacksons and LTDs, so I will never own a guitar with that headstock.

Electronics can be swapped/replaced. Tuners, nuts, and bridges can be retrofitted. Frets can be filed. Sustain can be augmented with a compression pedal. If it's tough to play, put on lighter strings.

I just can't see any reason to care about brand, manufacturing origin, or price.