What I think about stuff: Electric Guitars

 Fender Stratocaster, Fender Mustang, Fender Telecaster...

They are all the same guitar, the only slight differences you hear are because of different electronic, different pickups, and different bridges with different breaking angles.

Gibson solidbodies are even less different from one another, SG vs Les Paul vs Firebird, all the same guitar, just different swag.

Now hollowbodies do sound a bit different than solid bodies, but only when played acoustically or with very low output pickups. Take a Gibson ES-335 and a Les Paul, put the same hot rodded pickups, they will sound the same through an amp. Put them your grandfathers Alnico II's, and maybe they will sound a bit more different.

I think electric guitar marketing is bullshit, especially when they talk about "tone woods". I believe you can make an acrylic guitar sound the same as an aged tone wood guitar, as long they have the same nut, bridge, scale length, and pickups. And hey, if they sound slightly different, who gives a fuck?? 

Electric guitar players love to philosophize whether they should trade their Les Paul for an SG, or their Ibanez AZ to a Fender Stratocaster or a PRS Silversky. What they don't want to realize is that neither will make them better, since they are all the same guitar basically. I was once in this rabbit hole, but really I was just stuck creatively, and Gear Acquisition Syndrome kicked in, and I spend thousands, and my musicality just got worse, since I was never fully satisfied.

I stopped playing electric guitar because I started to understand how ridiculous I was getting on this gear mania, I was tired of spending money, and my frustrations kept rising. I was deep in the rabbit hole, my old cheap and beat up classic guitar saved me. Honestly I think I'll never own another electric guitar, but maybe I'll buy an archtop guitar one day, with no pickups of course. 

Any guitar can sound how you want it, if you know what to modify/change. To me the fundamental of guitar tone is in the setup, string height, nut material, bridge material, scale length, and only then the pickups and amp. But really the whole tone is in the pickups and amp. Body design and tone woods IMO are so overrated. It's crazy how expensive electric guitars like a Les Paul can be. It's just a slab of hardwood glued up. 

I think real musicians realize how futile the whole "brand" and "tone wood" mystique is. Just play a guitar you feel comfortable with, any tone will be good as long as you play good.

I've had different guitars, from very cheap to very expensive (most expensive was a Gibson ES-335 figured top, because I was convinced the figured maple would sound better... Bullshit). What I've learned is, the best guitar is the one that has the better setup/playability. If you're thinking about "that tone", and tone woods, and body design... You're just wasting your time... Get a cheap guitar made in Asia, spend good on a pro setup, put some low output pickups on it, and buy a digital amp modeler. If you play metal, get an even cheaper guitar (could be made of plastic), and the cheapest amp modeler you can find. 

90% of electric guitar players are the worst kind of spoiled brats, a disgrace that really stain the guitar as an instrument, and brands capitalize on their phantasies of becoming rock stars, and they love it. Electric guitar tone is like 5% on what makes a good tune/album, just pure snobbery. Change my mind.