Many choices abound for buying electric guitars, and the old ones are getting rare. Should I buy a "new" one, an old "non mainline" brand??
A "relic?" A "signature?"

Keep one or two perspectives: am I buying it for collectability? to play? to impress my friends?

My advice, and purely for the player, is buy one that makes YOU want to play it.

If it sounds good, and plays good (to you) that is the best motivation to buy it. Tweak it to get it where you want.

I own everything from vintage 50's Gibson Les Pauls (and 50's Gibsons are great) ... I was lucky enough to get some that were "unoriginal" and therefore cheap, but they sound and play beautifully. I like "played" guitars. One that was "under the bed" for 50 years may be collectible, but probably won't play and sound as good as a well worn one. I prefer worn frets to brand new ones.

Guitars are not fine ornaments, they are musical instruments, so playing them should be more important than a rare custom shop color.

I personally think 80% of the TONE is in the neck (not the swamp ash body) but, sure,  body, + body hardware do have influence. Brass bridges sound brighter (Tele twang) ... steel ones more Strat-like (especially with cast steel blocks.)

Check a Danelectro with a masonite body... it still sounds good. If the tone is good, a pickup will enhance it. Poor tone won't be made much better by an expensive pickup. Some really cheap, microphonic pickups actually sound very good. Like matching tyres to a car, it is the match, not the individual parts that matter. But, yes, there are some fine, well crafted pickups that sound good too!

I also have a $28 pawn shop special (early Japanese) which sounds and plays great. One of the good things about it is that it doesn't sound like a Strat or  Tele. (No one wants to steal it, either). I have many fine Fenders, but the job of this guitar is to sound different, have its own voice. Sure, if you play as well as Jimi, then go find his gear/replicas, and see how close you get to his tone. But why?

Remember, THAT tone was recorded: mics, amps, recording desks, tape recorders, and outboard equipment (compressors, reverb...) so his equipment is just the starting point of what you hear.

The world isn't looking for a replica Jimi, but maybe looking for someone who can succeed him.

I also own very new models (eg. Joe Perry Gibson, which is a fine new guitar) but I didn't buy it to sound like Joe.

As it happens, the guitar has a pretty good 50's Gibson vibe, and is a lot cheaper than most of the replicas.

And a Clapton Strat, that sounds and feels a lot like a 50's Strat without the price tag.

I have a beaten up 50's Les Paul Junior that sounds better than most others I have played, (especially a "mint" one I tried that was 7 x more expensive).

I have a 61 Strat, resprayed, unoriginal pickups, but it sounded 80% better than any of the real, original vintage ones in the shop when I compared them on the day I bought it. I also have Japanese, and other "cheap" Strat models, or ones that people "diss" ... which in fact are excellent FOR PLAYING MUSIC!

I have collectible 60's tube amps, but most gigs see me playing a little solid state Peavey because it sounds good, especially in the total mix of other instruments. I tried lots of speakers, and ended up with some obscure local ones from the 60's and the 70's (mostly found on junk piles) that sound better than the "legendary" re-issues.

I can create "legendary" sounds in my living room, but stage performance is something else. A great performance (no, not necessarily mine!) played through ordinary gear is a lot better than a lacklustre performance played through great gear.

There are also plenty of exceptions to the rule. You might find a thin rosewood board Tele or Strat (like the early 70's) that sound more "maple" because the board is thin....so don't assume that there will ALWAYS be a big difference because of the woods...or just because it is maple it will have an "exact" sound.

So, by all means buy a colour or finish because you like it, and find features you like (I personally find a one pickup, two knob Junior perfectly versatile) but beyond anything else, find one that makes YOU want to play it, and keep a perspective on creating your own style and sound.

Nice story about Clapton being asked to jam at a gig where he had none of his own gear, his tech said "no way" (eyeing off the "crappy" gear.) Eric gets up, tweaks a few knobs, and Presto! sounds like Eric.

Yes, a great deal is in the fingers, so understand your own fingers before you invest in trying to be someone else.

Play a LOT of guitars (no two Les Paul sound absolutely identical..) and educate your ear. Some Les Pauls sustain but have no attack tone, others have really fast attack, but don't sustain... not necessarily a fault, but a matter of which you prefer.

Warm to the sounds that make you want to pick up the instrument and play, or write, by and by all means take in the "knowledge" that others give, but at the end of the day, it is you and your instrument.

Some info just isn't on the web, and some things you need to discover for yourself.

I've just started playing around with inexpensive 70's "Hondo" guitars...
one has become a favourite...(the Les Pauls have a "semi hollow" top area that gives them a great sound...
I just coupled mine with mini-humbuckers).

Remember too, that when Hendrix bought a guitar, he didn't buy a "vintage" model, he bought pretty much new, stock standard instruments.

The great Ritchie Blackmore mostly played those so-called horrible
"3 bolt" Strats...and when Clapton bought his Les Paul it was a mistake, he really wanted a gold-top with P90s like his hero played, but "unfortunately" he ended up with one of those late 50's sunbursts....and a Custom....

Then SRV and Clapton didn't buy an "off the shelf" Strat, they put together the parts they wanted to tailor an instrument, and in those days, the parts weren't particularly valuable.

So, what do you want out of a guitar?