SX used to be very good.
Lately their newer issues haven't been that great, guess due to the word of mouth they begun pushing the output of the factory.

If you're sure you'll be taking it seriously, I would suggest a slightly larger amp, the extra headroom would be really nice.

CK Music has their sales on year ends you might wanna check Vox Valvetronix amps there, see which would fit your budget best.

As for guitars, SX Strats should do a pretty well, just you have to pick them out properly, you know, since the QC isn't all that tight. I'd also suggest you stay away from the maple fingerboards with ash body SX strats, by word I heard the "maple" fretboards are actually plastic =|

But if you'd opt for a better guitar instead, I would say a Pacifica would have a more consistent result, pairing it with a microcube would fit the 1k budget I guess.

If you'd push your budget a little, you can probably have both a Pacifica and a Vox valvetronix, but keep in mind of the models of the Valvetronix, on of them caters to more vintage sounding amps, the other one (XL-model) for gain hungry people.
The newest model should be able to cater everyone with 32 amp models, but of course, it has a much heavier price tag.

Hope that helps. Cheers.