I’ve been doing a lot of research and looking around for my first guitar purchase. (I say my first purchase because my first is an eBay squire by fender from a decade ago that got beat up by a teenager long before I took my first baby steps on it...)

I’ve gotten to the place where I am pretty sure that now that I have listened, learned, and started to dink around a little myself, I want:

- Solid Body

- Body shape like either Les Paul / Telecaster or Stratocaster

- Either Humbucker and 2 single coils OR 2 humbuckers (bridge/neck)

(Looking for a little bit of versatility but leaning towards rock.)

- Looking to spend $500 or less

- If I were to get my druthers on aesthetics it would be flamed maple, quilted maple, or burled in a deep blue or gradient to deep/dark blue.

- Getting a few guitars in my hands while shopping around, I’ve realized being a big guy learning guitar, thinner bodies are easier for me to keep in the right position and are more ”playable” for me.

The thing I am hanging up on, it seems like the Ibanez S621QM checks all the boxes, with the “standard” profile of the body being pretty much exactly what I want. But finding one in stock at $499 or less has been a challenge.

1) Any ideas?

2) Any models given the above that I should definitely double check before I pull the trigger?