Also play the electric without amplification. If it sounds thin and wimpy it’ll translate over when you plug in. When you buy a guitar send me an e-mail and you can jam with the band I play in.
Owl,
I recommend you pluck a little on any Yamaha guitar that you come across. They are cheap and, like any instrument, it can last a long time if you take care of it.
I had a cheap, US$200 Yamaha bass which I used for playing funk music that was still crankin’ out loud and clear after years of slap bass. Though it is unrelated to this topic, Yamaha keyboards are very affordable and durable.
Ibanez makes a nice little semi-Gibson SG copy that is nice, but the sound is weak being mostly trebly on any pickup combination.
A Fender Strat would get my highest recommendation, though my custom-made Telecaster - with both Strat and Tele pick-ups, a flaming maple neck, crushed pearl fret dots and pick guard, and a tobacco sunburst finish - was so much better. 
But a custom job isn’t a realistic option if you’re looking for something affordable, so ignore the last half of the previous sentence.
Just check around at different music shops, you may be able to find a second-hand Strat at a cheap price.
Regardless, as you likely know, just make sure the neck is not warped and the internal wiring isn’t screwed up on any guitar you want to buy.
You can tell whether or not the neck is bent by looking at the action (the distance of the strings from the fretboard). If the height of the action significantly increases as you move down to the smaller frets toward the pick-ups, don’t get that guitar.
You can make sure the internal wiring is not screwed up by plugging it in and turning nobs, of course.
I don’t know about Owl, but this thread has been very helpful to me. I’m ashamed to say that although I’ve been playing for over 30 years, I didn’t know half of this stuff.
When I got to Taiwan, I didn’t bring a guitar. After awhile I felt that I needed one so I went down Roosevelt Rd and checked out some shops. I wanted a classical, but didn’t see any name brands. I just played a few, made sure the neck wasn’t warped and the sound was good. I ended up getting one for about 4 or 5 thousand. It’s been pretty good for me. It doesn’t have a very bright tone, but it’s good enough for an old country boy.
Now I have a hankerin’ to go 'lectric.
Richardm
I used to have a Gretsch just like that one. Bought it off this massive man who rode Harley’s… went round to his house after answering a classified, and was confronted by about 20 Harley guys having a massive porn and prawn evening - you know - beers, porn, BBQ etc. Anyway, the guy selling the guitar was incredibly nice. After I bought the guitar, he took me across town to his mate’s house/warehouse. This mate was a small bespectacled Japanese fellow living in this very large, fully renovated warehouse. We talked about guitars, had tea, and then he produced 5 photo albums FULL of guitars. To cut a long story short, all the guitars were his, he was a collector and had over 1,000 guitars catalogued and stored in temperature controlled rooms in his warehouse. Needless to say I nearly died when I saw all his gear. He couldnt play a note but apparently had one of the top collections in the world.
The guitars I recalled the most were:
- 5 (yes 5) 1959 Les Pauls
- every year Fender Strat and Tele made from the 50’s and 60’s in EVERY colour they produced them
- several 1959 Flying V’s and Explorers
- heaps of Gretsches
- walls of old Fender, Marshall, Vox amps
- etc etc
Turns out the Harley boys were his bodyguards.
Was quite a day for this little black duck.
Thanks everyone! This has been extremely helpful! If anyone wants to jam–let me know. I only have a year’s playing experience, but hey, I guess you have to start somewhere.
You can Jam with me and twocs on Sunday afternoons provided you have an electric guitar.