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OK, first off there are the cheats, things that sound like solos but are really;

a) collections of chords played up and down the neck with attitude, see 'The Sonics'.

b) one note wonders, see 'I Can See For Miles' and Neil Young's 'Cinnamon Girl'.

If you've gotten your finger picking up to speed you can play real fast this way but it doesn't sound right, trust me I've tried but it's not rock'n'roll.

Real soloing could be said to be scales played up and down the neck really fast. There's  more to it than that, begin with Ralph Argesta's 'Blues: Jam Trax' book and CD combination. This is at least fun and if you keep at it you'll get faster. Look for this month's 'Guitar Techniques' magazine, not sure if this is UK only but this issue screams 'Play Faster!' on the cover and has exercises in legato playing which is at the heart of speed solos.

You'll get more value for money by steering clear of big names like Guild and Martin, checkout Tanglewood, BlueRidge, Seagull. Of course if you like that classic American vibe then go for it, there's no substitute :-)

I have to disagree. To me it's always sounded like a variation on vibrato and stereo/echo effects. Great for that late sixties psychedelic one-off effect but not really a serious sound at all...

I get the impression that shops do alot of restringing and repair work (particularly electrics) more so than making guitars to comission. Certainly make sure you have made several guitars of all the main types before calling yourself a luthier. Tuition also appears to be a big moneyspinner these days if my local store is typical.

Guitar stores have alot of bases to cover, first there need to be cheap Squire type instruments for parents/kids, then you need some to die for Fender/Gibsons (preferably some kind of rare limited edition) for the middle-aged male who is more collector than player. Then you need something mid-priced that plays nice even though the name isn't well known for people like me.

You also need to get the atmosphere right so that nervous customers aren't intimidated by metal players at the back but genuine players feel your store has got something for them. It's a tall order but hundreds of local shops do real well at it.

Both amps you've show are modelling amps so both will do the metal thing. Your real question is therefore which recreation of overdriven circuits sounds best to you. There are lots more amps out there, check out anything Marshall as these are usually hi-gain.

Have you already got a Line6 Pod, Behringer Vamp or similar? These have amp modelling without the speaker box so you can use them to 'audition' the amp sound you want - good cheap way to mess around with every sound going on headphones without committing to the full amp. Pocket Pod is great value this way.

If you want versatile avoid one-trick ponies like the current Gibson MelodyMaker which is a punk rock tool and not much else. Likewise lightweight strats with puny pickups will give you a trash surf sound but not much else. Fat strat's do have alot to recommend them, particularly the SSH combination.

However buying a guitar can't be stripped down to a simple technical purchase equation. There are emotions at work, things like colour and shape. If you don't like the colour or an instrument is too showy or just isn't you then you'll just end up not playing or selling it sooner. A big ole Gretsch can give a rockin sound but for alot of people they're way too countrified.

When I'm going round guitar shops instruments speak to me like my current bass, no looker and a one-trick pony soundwise; but it's a great one-trick. Suits me...

Actually RL, electric gets you callouses in new places! Most solo techniques rely on covering a fret with a whole finger so you tend to get hard skin lower down. Bass will do the same, unless I'm doing something wrong! (meaning to book some bass tuition soon and have this dread feeling they'll say 'Ah you're playing bass like a guitarist, my my we have alot of bad habits to unlearn...tsk tsk')

If anyone asks you 'how easy is bass to play' you answer 'how dull would you like me to play?'. Bass is a support instrument and you can just plunk away at the root, on some songs this is just right, but otherwise it is dullsville.

Problem I've had is finding good bass tutor books, alot start by throwing theory at you, more so than regular guitar. I hate this kind of 'country style lick', 'funk style groove' approach to learning. Give me real songs to get my teeth into. To this end I bought the Bass Tab White Pages, amazing value but alot of the songs are quite elaborate, real bassists choice stuff (Elvis's All Shook Up is very a very good practiser though).

My current beginners songs; Louie Louie, Hang On Sloopy, Little Honda, You're No Good and if you really love musicals Summer Loving from Grease!