Can't decide between two axes! Help me choose one!

[SilverScreen19]

I'm typically an acoustic player and play mostly original singer/songwriter type stuff.  Acoustic Folk Rock is where I live, however recently I'm looking to start putzing around with an electric guitar. I don't currently have one and I'm hoping to just pick up a cheapo no-name because frankly I'm really broke. I'm not into epiphones or squires because I'm of the mindset that if you play an epiphone you really just wish you were playing a gibson and if you're playing a squire you really wish you were playing an American Fender... although please don't take offense... they do make some fine quality instruments.  I'm really just looking for something very low priced and fairly unique that will play at a passable quality.  I also want it to look as bamf as possible for the price range.
 
I've narrowed it down to two choices that are very pretty and really don't seem to be of terribly low quality.  I've read some reviews and apparently both play better than squires and possibly epiphones as well.
I'm a bit stumped!

My two choices are:

the Raven West 570-T (Telecaster copy) price: $300 
http://www.ravenwestguitar.com/570tkd.html
...and...
the SX ISIS CUS 24 NA (PRS/Musicman Axis inspired) price: $200
http://www.rondomusic.com/ky1cus24na.html

Which would you pick and why??

[Steven]

For 300 bucks you could get a pretty nice Ibanez. Or a Kramer. I know both of these companies nice, cheap guitars for electric beginners. If you already have acoustic expierence than playing electrics will come pretty easy to you, because of the lighter gauge strings, neck size.

[SilverScreen19]

Thanks for the input! Yeah, I've looked at kramers and ibanezes and they are both a bit too  looking for my style. Although I AM a fan of the Ibanez artcore series.  From what I've heard and seen of them they are very nice! Any opinions on my two choices above? Maybe something similar in price and look?  I know I'm not paying for a look and sound IS the most important thing... but hey... I do have an image to uphold   

[sourgrapes11]

if you''re setting your sights that low i would reccomend this
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3839704/Trail/searchtext%3EGUITAR.htm
don't know what the shipping costs from the uk would be   

[SilverScreen19]

Sourgrapes.... THAT'S PERFECT! Everything I've been looking for. Thanks man. haha
Do you think those choices suck that bad? I'm open to new ideas, serious suggestions?

[Steven]

if you''re setting your sights that low i would reccomend this
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3839704/Trail/searchtext%3EGUITAR.htm
don't know what the shipping costs from the uk would be   

Thatts a nice one. I like the Steve Vai hand grip there.

All seriousness I like the ISIS better personally.

[Steven]

I know more about the rockish guitars. You can get a nice Dean or Jackson or Ibanez or Kramer. And with 300 dollars you can get a very nice guitar in each of these brands.  Honestly Epiphones and Squires are two great choices aswell, and there are people who prefer an epiphone over a gibson and a sqier over a Fender. And not just for price.

[Glassy]

Keeping the budget at $300, I'd check out the Agile guitars from Rondo. They've gotten good reviews. Larry (the forum admin) has at least one of their guitars (can't quite remember if he's got another), and likes it. Everything I've played from Rondo has been superb for the price though. I have a Brice bass which is truly amazing for what I paid. I know a kid who got a Douglas SG knock off, and it's the nicest $150 guitar I've played. I don't know about SX, and I've never heard anything on them. The other company you linked I've never even heard of.
 
Any one of these catch your eye?
http://www.rondomusic.com/product792.html
http://www.rondomusic.com/tc730.html
http://www.rondomusic.com/hawkeramberquilt.html
http://www.rondomusic.com/tc6302tsduncantb.html

Don't restrict yourself to just those guitars. Have you tried anything out at shops?

[SilverScreen19]

Agile, Douglas & SX are all pretty much the same thing.  They're all the Rondo knockoffs and I've heard only positive things about all of them for the price range.  Apparently they play as well as some "name" guitars priced at two or three hundred bucks higher, although I'm not sure whether or not to believe that. Those Agile tele's are pretty much similar in quality to the raven west tele from what I can see and from the reviews I've read.  The one with the Duncan seems nice!
I've been checking out the shops although every time I head over to guitarcenter my eyes go to the super expensive prs guitars or american telecasters.  I also really like larger-bodied semi-hollows although I've yet to find a decent one in my price range.  I'm a singer who has only played acoustics and in front of a live crowd I'm a 12-string rhythm kinda guy.  That's where I'm comfortable at the moment.  I don't wanna drop a lot of money on a nice electric until I feel like I can get a good sound out of the thing.  I'll start small and when I'm content with my progress with my soloing and get comfy flying around the blues scales and such, I'll upgrade to something nice. I just want something I can have fun on for a while. I appreciate all the input thusfar, keep it coming!

[Vintage MR]

Agile, Douglas & SX are all pretty much the same thing. 

And they're all rated highly by those that have played them. If shipping to the UK didn't cost so much, I would own a few by now based on specs and reviews alone...

[SilverScreen19]

anyone ever hear of the Eastwood line of guitars?  Nice prices and from what I hear they play well.

[maaik]

Personally, I'd recommend the Tele-type.  Those tend to be good workhorse guitars with a good clean sound and more along the lines of what you might need as you develop as an electric player and start to figure out what you're looking for with your sound.

I kind of had the same background--I played acoustic for years--originals mostly--and finally got ahold of a Squier Strat (luckily, it was a decent quality guitar), but it took years working both on my own and in bands to A) figure out the kind of sound I was going for and B) how to go about getting that sound.  If you're primarily a rhythm player and keep it pretty clean, yeah, I think something with single coils is for you.

But yeah, play before you buy!  And if you pull some random thing off the wall and it feels and sounds great to you, then what kind of guitar it is shouldn't really matter.  The name on the headstock don't affect the tone.

[Zencat]

 The SX PRS copy.  But find one to try first, same with the other guitar.