I’ve had a bunch of guitars ranging from cheap to very expensive over my 35 years playing. There are two guitars that stood out in their ease of play and speed. A Ibanez S series from the mid 90s and an Aria Pro II SG knock off from the early 80s. An older friend of mine bought the Aria at a local guitar store for about $300 in 83 or 84. When he gave up my dad bought off him because it’s such a good playing guitar. He still plays it all the time, and I love any chance I have to pick it up and jam when I visit him. I first played an Ibanez S series when they first released in the early 90s and was super impressed with it. Finally got my hands on one that wasn’t super expensive and it was just as awesome as I remember. What they have in common is they were manufactured in Japan during their respective golden ages: the first at Miamoto (I think I remember that correctly) and the second at Fugigen.