any audiophile guitarists out there?


be curious what guitar setup you have, and does anyone know if a Single Ended Triode guitar amp is out there? --my fender blues jr is 15watt, and will blow me out of the room, so power isn't an issue.

gibson sg into fender blues jr, celestion greenback driver, and lava cables (yes, cables made a difference)
128x128rhyno
Kijanki,
I would suggest that you go to a local guitar shop and play a Fender Strat or a Tele or a real Gibson Les Paul; Once you pick up one of these and play a few notes, you may re-consider. If not, well so be it, you will then notice that one of the nice things about good musical equip is that it holds its value very well. I would expect that you should be able to get back most, if not all, that you paid for the Martin, as an example.
Anyone ever try this dumb trick - before you were old enough to know better, of course - cutting a guitar cable and rigging it to RCA jacks and then running it through a hi-fi amp? I'm fairly sure those old speakers were never intended to be played directly with a distortion pedal.
Daveyf - Martin is probably the only one that is worth more used than I paid for new - everything else would be a loss. To me Martin and Les Paul (Silvertone made by Samick is decent) are part of history and I really enjoy having them. Strats, having longer scale, have a little bit better definition but I don't mind. McCartney played this super short scale Hoffner before he got wise and switched to long scale Ricekenbacker (starting with Penny Lane).

Samick makes 500,000 guitars a year. Epiphone, Gretsch, Bennet, Washburn are made by Samick. Completely automated and pretty good quality. Often price difference is only name on the headstock. My Silvertone looks and sounds the same as Epiphone (might be same guitar). Gibson is of higher quality but for 10x the cost.
Kijanki, One of the things that I have learnt over the years of playing is that it is FAR FAR harder to get a good sound out of a poor instrument than a great instrument... Which is why I suggested that you go and play a couple of good instruments. You may be able to get a better feel for what your abilities are ( which might make you decide to keep playing) and you may also be able to hear the improvement in the sound quality that the instrument gives off. Personally, I can easily tell the difference when I put on new strings and the quality and/or the gauge of said strings. To me, even string type and gauge makes a HUGE difference in my sound. As a beginner, a good instrument is even more important IMHO ..:0)
I might a beginner but not to instrument itself. I can appreciate presence, projection, sustain, separation and tone of good guitar. My lessons were to play classical notation but I've played guitar for a long time (on and off). As for strings - the best so far I found are:

Classical: Galli Strings Genius GR45 Titanio (Incredible!)
Acoustic: John Pearse Phosphor bronze light
Electric: Ernie Ball slinkies regular (lime)
Bass: Ken Smith Rock Masters medium.

I've tried pretty much most of available strings. Galli Genius Titanio are amazing - not only incredible sounding but also not breaking and lasting forever. John Pears is always good and Ernie Ball is common knowledge between professional players. Ken Smith Rock Masters are something special - superb definition.

As for tension - It doesn't make much sense to use light for electric guitar or bass but light for acoustic often makes sense. Regular tension not always plays better. Lower tension sometimes brings more sound (too much stress lowers vibration). Light tension also minimizes effect of "top loading" (wood deformation). Best for classical is normal tension with possibility of higher tension on G,B,E if guitar sounds better (not always).