Have played on and off since I was 12, with varying levels of intensity/seriousness. Recently picked back up lessons. We're working on blues because my blues soloing after a while hit a ceiling I couldn't blow through with the twang of a Clapton-y vibrato. So I've been working on stuff and spent hours yesterday raging on my acoustic in true 12 bar blues. Still stuck in my head.
I want to upgrade my guitar, but it probably won't be a while. Most of my life I've played a blue Squier. 5ish years ago upgraded to a Gibson Les Paul Future Tribute (and replaced the self-tuning thing). Any ideas what I should look for in upgrading now? Both guitar and amp. I was looking at those Fender American Professional II's. Might be a little out of my price range, not sure. But I want to get something good that'll last me a while (in both durability and enjoyment).
I don't know about the
hardware of an upgrade, but you might consider a semi- or even full hollow-body guitar. Like a Gretsch 5420T shape or maybe an ES-335 shape. Those would offer new sounds I would believe compared to the two you have. Gibson is kinda high but an Epiphone clone 335 might be good. I'm sure you could find a good used one on Guitar Center's used section or over on Reverb.com. At one point there were a TON of 5420s.
If you've followed this thread much you'd see I'm kind of obsessed with an older brand, DeArmond. That may be due to the brand myth, but I like them. There's currently a used DeArmond x-155 (hollow-body archtop) sunburst with two humbucker pickups and a case for about $550 at GC (there was an estate sale in CO and someone dumped about 10 DeArmonds at the local store. Yes, I actually called the store to ask wtf was up with all those DeArmonds lol. It's nice to know there are others like me out there). You can hear demos all over YouTube but they're more or less for jazz/blues. The x-155 specifically I mean. And being hollow, you can play it closer to acoustic volumes without an amp. Not quite, but easier to hear than a solid body. DeArmond also has a Starfire/Starfire Special, modeled after the Guild Starfire V and III, respectively, but that's a bit higher on the price range. You might find an actual Guild Starfire not much higher, but the DeArmonds carry that mythic production history, so people are always looking for them. Anyway, those guitars went out of production in the very early 2000s but you can find tons of commentary and reviews on them if interested. I'm not going to claim that you can't find better quality today for similar or close price ranges, but I have to preach the DeArmond gospel whenever I can.
I've been passively looking for an amp for years and have narrowed it down to either the Fender Blues Deluxe or Fender Hotrod Deluxe. Both are too loud for my bedroom playing needs so I'll continue watching from the sidelines on that front. Maybe look into the Line 6 HELIX lines? There's a wide range of price per needs there (Line 6 HX Stomp all the way to the Line 6 Helix Floor or Rack) and you can simulate most any amp and effects combo you could imagine. Each pedal board will be a paired down version of the Helix board, but worth looking into being portable, quiet with decent headphones, and pretty good for sound quality. Search 'blues tones on Helix" or whatever option if you consider it. You might be surprised by the sounds.
I'm sure I'm way off point, but figured I'd get the conversation moving some