Forgot to mention. Watch out for well made instruments of resonant materials that actually generate an audible volume of unplugged sound from the strings and neck heard just above the fretboard but behind, yes, behind your fretting hand while you strum a few barre chords. Only one of my gtrs does this noticeablely and its a hand made custom which nonetheless is a bolt on, not set neck. You have to crane your neck a bit to compare the volume of resonance behind vs. in front of your fretting hand to do this but it can be a telling result. Neither of my USA Fenders are remarkable in this respect, although they both sound good plugged in. Just another little test of materials and build quality.

Cheers,

John