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Craig was asking about  what really affects the sound of a guitar, finish is a very small factor next to neck and pickups. Also with nitrocellulose expect your clean look to start looking tired in a few years, not a problem if you go for the relic mojo vibe. I think here the difference is 60s players who wanted a guitar to look good a long time (but were disappointed until poly came along) and todays buyers who will never play the newly nitro coated guitars that much (or in a smokey, sweaty club now we're smoke-free and aircon-ed).

Neck is crucial. If you offered me the choice between a 60s body and a 60s neck I'd take neck and bolt it onto a modern body every time. There's another key factor, often original Fender bolt-ons were a bit iffy but players shaved them, shimmed them until a great fit resulted. Likewise any guitar neck, nitro or poly, feels sticky/glossy to start with. Playing naturally smooths this finish and you get that 'like butter' effect. Some try and use steel wool but it's not as subtle. I suspect a nitro will wear in sooner and I'd look for a good satin finish in either.

All too easy to get hung-up on these visible signs and forget the pickups and wiring. Now here the truth is vintage controls did very little for the sound. Brian Setzer called the tone on his Grestch the 'mud dial' and let if fall inside the body. Most 60s Precision basses have a tone control that is horrible in the last half. Here modern pickups and pots give you more options. You can have hotter pickups than were ever available in the sixties or get subtle single coils just like the period. You just have to know what you want first.

The MelodyMaker was meant to be Gibsons' cheapest guitar, to lure penniless kids away from Silvertone or Danelectro. It's was probably still expensive next to Sears catalogue brands though. It's had several incarnations and opinion differs as to how good any of them were.

The Junior was meant to be a lighter 'student' version of the Les Paul. It has many big name supporters such as Mick Jones of the Clash.

I don't think Gibson understood their market when they issued these guitars. Blues and rock were pretty fringe styles in the 50s, 60s...

The thing about both styles is the guitar isn't an important instrument, it's bass that makes them. In disco the classic bass groove is the octave lick, the guitars are often working fifth chords in the mid-neck with a sweet funky sound.

Reggae is highly varied and the upstroke thing doesn't apply all the time. Reggae bass grooves tend to pump a basic note then flourish quick, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-baba-dit-dah-dump. Again the guitar has to provide supportive licks and lines without getting in the way of the groove.

Both are about feel and maintaining a rock solid rythmn. Obviously in rock nobody aims for a sloppy beat but in reggae and disco the notes have to be just so for the funk to happen.

1) It's just a phase, you'll return to the electric when you're ready.

2) Are you in  a band? The solid electric is built to cut-through a band mix. Once you're playing with others you'll understand it's charms more.

3) Maybe it's just  not your band instrument, have you ever thought of bass?

4) Maybe you have voicingitis. The trouble with electric is two similar (to the audience) songs can demand markedly different settings. So when you're practicing things don't sound right. Getting a routine for working effects is another guitar skill. You may need to get into multi-pedal devices. Ah, the relief when I got into bass and was free of voicing concerns ;-)

5) Don't think a traditional semi will be a halfway house. They handle like an electric, not sure about the new hybrid guitars though.

It's tricky with comparisons Gecko, it needs a real gearhead to have both pedals since they do the same job. Your best bet is to find a shop that stocks both and try them in store.

Scales are exactly the kind of thing tutors are good for Wibble. How my bass tutor and I laughed when I attempted 'Help Me Rhonda' using minor triads throughout...

Scales sound boring and music (particularly piano teachers) teachers often drill you through them without giving any idea of what they are there to do. In guitar scales are the key to soloing, harmonic fills and lead lines. That A minor pentatonic you mentioned is behind hundreds of rock solos and once you learn it you can shift it along the neck for any key. Learn the basic shape practise going up and down it, then get fast and turn up the gain. Suddenly you're soloing for real.

Of course it's easier to make up your own free-style solo. Getting the ear and picking apart how big rock hits go together is much harder (dorian... locrian... modes... fear..) but a good tutor will help you. Let them know the songs you have been attempting and what is blocking you and they may hand you a working version a few sessions later.

Wibble try checking out your local colleges that do evening classes. Most places have a beginners guitar class. The great thing about these is you get tuition but also meet others who are struggling with chords etc. The regular weekly class helps give you something to practise for and knowing others are doing the same is a boost.

Teaching yourself is fine but to quote Jimi Hendrix it's a room full of mirrors. All you try are songs you think are worth doing. A tutor can surprise you and take you out of your comfort zone. Sometimes that's annoying but often they are trying to nudge you on techniques and bad habits you aren't even aware of.

The tubescreamer is a box you plug in to get a soaring bluesy sound. Maybe that poster was suggesting it was more like a treble-booster. Alot of subtle overdrive devices do a bit of both really. Tubescreamer should give you the Stevie Ray Vaughn sound. There are many original models and many clones. Ideally I'd lug your guitar and amp down to the shop and try the boxes with the drive pedals on sale. However...

"a good clean overdrive that won't taint the amp's tonal quality" suggests to me something more like Blackstar's Drive pedal or Comet's Hyperdrive. Look for pedals with a real tube in for a subtle slight overdrive. Tubescreamer's use germanium transistors so tend to be more strident. It's a huge market.

Also check out the pot of your Epi. The classic  LP pot is a 500k one, if your Epi has a standard 250k pot then think of changing that too to go with the pickups. Also are you trying for the P-90 or the humbucking Les Paul sound?

Au contraire Doug, I'd expect guitar pickups on a bass to be weak giving a woofy growl not  nice defined notes.

Bass pickups on a guitar will create lots of drag, the magnets in them will 'hold' the guitar strings damping down the notes. What note you do get will be at a high level so will overdrive very quickly.

Remember also that alot of basses are active so you already have +10-15db of signal over a regular guitar anyway.

Russ, bass pickups respond to all frequencies just as guitar pickups do it's just that guitar amps hugely boost the mid-range. The bass notes you hear have lots of components you'd think of as guitar range, if you get a bass amp with a graphic equalizer you can play with this. Cut everything except bass frequencies and you've got a dull thudding, only allow the treble and you've got a bright 'Duane Eddy' sorta twang. Bass amps cover all frequencies evenly like a hi-fi but if you connect a regular guitar to them it'll sound thin and wiry, also the bass amp inputs are often trying to detect passive/active levels which could be another reason for Dino's bad sound.