Here's one that is a little better on the pocketbook.
It's the AX series. Specifically the AX125. I put this one on here because it has a hip shot, but we'll get to that later.
This here guitar runs around $300.
This is a nicer version of the AX120. Both are made in Korea, but that's not all bad. They are both very simplistic, and advertised as everything you need without all that stuff that you don't. I find that interesting, since it's one of the few guitars out there with these weird features like a hip shot, and they also make a "7 string" version. BTW- don't get a 7 string.
The pickups (ah3, ah4) are not much more than decent, but they are humbuckers, and will distort well.
The "hipshot" is the long chrome thing on the body near the low E string. It is designed for those who want to down tune thier low E string (usually to D). You just flip the swich and it's already there. You flip it back and it's back to E. No stopping and tuning. Great if you want to play Creed tunes.
Actually, one of the first guitars to carry a hip shot was Eddie Van Halen's personal guitar the "Wolfgang." If you don't like the "hipshot" idea, you can just get the AX120. If you want a nicer one without the hipshot, there is a version out there with a quilted maple top. (AX220QM) It looks beautiful, but isn't much better of a guitar and runs an extra $100. There is also a "Prestige" model, (AX1220) that is made in Japan and is decked out with all the niceness that you can imagine. It probably runs around $1,000 or more.
