What is a good but inexpensive option for a second guitar?

The Les Paul will only have humbucker pickups which are great for rock but not so great for clean sounds. A guitar with a mixture of humbuckers and single coil pick ups would be more versatile. Have a look at the Ibanez RG. As for the tuning, most guitars will go out of tune in a couple of days so there is probably not that much wrong with your squier. I am a full time guitar teacher and we tune every guitar at the beginning of the lesson and some during the lesson. If its cold outside and warm inside the tuning will go off when you bring the guitar inside. Guitars are made of wood which moves a little with temperature and the strings will stretch as you play. I have a buying guide on my website which may interest you.

Well, first of all, a guitar, even a high end one, rarely stays in perfect tune between playings. Any good guitarist will tune their guitar each and every time before they play. Even if only a quick, spot check tuning. A guitar is not like a piano, that stays in one place and there fore stays in tune for months or even years. A guitar is moved around constantly. Between the sheer motion, combined with frequent changes in temperature, will cause even the best guitars to be out of tune. Truth be told, with all the guitars I have had, and do own, the one that holds it's tune best is one of the cheapest guitars I own. It's a Galveston flat top cut away, with an imitation fishman. I paid $125 for it new. Unless there is a major change in temp or humidity, or if it gets bumped being put down, or while not being played, it's usually pretty much on. But, even as reliable as it's tuning is, I always spot tune it before I play. If you can't spot tune a guitar that generally stays close with the 5-5-5-4-5 fret spot self tune method, then you need to work on your musical ear, before you worry about buying another guitar. One of my strat's is a squire and so is one of my bass guitars. I have no problem keeping either in tune. Squire's aren't bad instruments. The biggest shortcoming they have is their pickups. I changed the pickups in my squire strat, and found no problem with the pickups in my squire J Bass. If you want a really nice clean sounding guitar, look at the Ibanez arch top that is very similar to a Gibson 335 dot. They play and sound great. If you want a strictly solid body, I would recommend the Les Paul Custom by either Gibson or Epiphone, or the Gibson SG/Epiphone G-400. Any of these would suit your playing. The Ibanez and Epiphone guitars suggested are in your price range new, and the Gibson's in good used. Really, you need to go to a real local music store (not guitar center) and play everything they have, both new and used, that is within your budget. It's not the price or the name on the headstock that matters. It's how a guitar feels in your hands and how it sounds to you that will make or break it being a great guitar for you. I have been playing since 1975. I have played a lot of expensive guitars that ended up being total crap, as well as many "cheap" guitars that totally rocked. Just as "the proof in the pudding is in the eating", "the proof in the guitar is in the playing". xx

I still think one of the best deals out there are the Mexican Made Fenders for $499. http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Standard-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=501158 http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Standard-Telecaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=501166

u will need glue, elastic bands,scissors and a guitar cardboard cut out. good luck u can accessories with glitter and various paint and stick pasta on it 2 .its very cheaply cheaply :) quality all depends on how well u make it

how about you walk to a music store and play around with the guitars and see what ones you like.....obviously going to be more useful than yahoo answers

an ibanez rg would be good but it usualy comes with 2 humbuckers just like a les paul but a bit more versatile i would also take a look into jackson guitars esp/ltd and if you want them to sound really good with a cheap alternative id pick up the emg 81 bridge 85 neck combo and have them installed in total your prob looking at 500$ to make it sound like a 2k guitar, just make sure its not a ply pressed wood body check for alder bodies or aganthis this is gonna be your best bet.

The Les Paul will only have humbucker pickups which are great for rock but not so great for clean sounds. A guitar with a mixture of humbuckers and single coil pick ups would be more versatile. Have a look at the Ibanez RG. As for the tuning, most guitars will go out of tune in a couple of days so there is probably not that much wrong with your squier. I am a full time guitar teacher and we tune every guitar at the beginning of the lesson and some during the lesson. If its cold outside and warm inside the tuning will go off when you bring the guitar inside. Guitars are made of wood which moves a little with temperature and the strings will stretch as you play. I have a buying guide on my website which may interest you.

an ibanez rg would be good but it usualy comes with 2 humbuckers just like a les paul but a bit more versatile i would also take a look into jackson guitars esp/ltd and if you want them to sound really good with a cheap alternative id pick up the emg 81 bridge 85 neck combo and have them installed in total your prob looking at 500$ to make it sound like a 2k guitar, just make sure its not a ply pressed wood body check for alder bodies or aganthis this is gonna be your best bet.

how about you walk to a music store and play around with the guitars and see what ones you like.....obviously going to be more useful than yahoo answers