I’d like to hear some opinions that might help me. I have a classical guitar background and after a few months of playing around with electrics, I’ve decided to get into the whole electric thing properly. I play mainly blues, some jazz and rock (nothing heavy). I use a pick and like finger-picking too. I enjoy a full-bodied, mellow tone and was initially intending to go for a semi-hollow but am now considering more options. I am prepared to invest in a guitar for the long-term so I’m not looking at cheapies, but my max budget is around $1k (AUD).

I don’t want a guitar that is a copy of something else (like an Epiphone Dot etc etc) even if the imitation is a good unit in itself. If I’m spending $1k I shouldn’t have to settle for an imitation. I’ve looked at a couple of Gretsch guitars (didn’t like the tones), an Epiphone Swingster (want a smaller body) and a few others.

So far I have three potential guitars on my list:

Epiphone Wildkat – small semi-hollow, P-90s, Bigsby. I really like the look, and at around $700 (in Australia) this guitar would allow me to buy a new amp as well (I only have a little Fender prac amp at the moment).

Fender Strat Highway One HSS – never liked Fenders before (just aesthetically) but a salesman suggested I try one and to be polite I did. I was blown away. Felt so nice just to hold, before I even played it. And then to hear the tones you can get out of the thing – amazing. This particular USA Strat is around $950 in Aus (apparently its been discontinued, so the low price is probably to clear remaining stock).

Gibson LP Studio Faded – haven’t played this yet (only seen reviews & youtube demos) but apparently it’s a sweet unit. Available here for a little over $1k if you shop around and get pushy.

Given my preferences and intended genres, what other guitars would you suggest I look at?