Stefanong's got a good point... the guitar is the foundation of your playing.

An amp with lousy tone is not fun to play with, but a guitar with lousy playability is even worse - especially when you're just starting out.

Hey, we all b!tch about our tone (or lack thereof) and think (at least for me... ) that a better sounding amp will make us sound better. Let's get real, an amp is not going to improve your chops/touch/technique/feel etc.

A guitar with good playability can help you improve your playing by generally making it easier for you to play. Some plywood knockoff guitar with a neck thicker than a baseball bat can make your life hell - and when you're starting out, you're life is already hell! No joke... we've all been there!

Go for a microcube (decent tone, decent price) and a guitar that's easy to play... the sub-2k Ibanez guitars are a good example of decent priced guitars with good playability. It's not an LP, and it won't sound like an LP... but at least you get humbuckers and a semi-kick@ss neck that will make your first few months of playing bearable, and the next year or so a dream...!

Ok lah, I gotta admit there's a distinct anti-LP, anti-tone-snob, pro-ibanez, pro-roland bias in the above post...