ok, so now, these people are saying that it's you that makes your tone, not your gear, well this is partially true... but of course, if you give steve vai a crappy guitar, he'll sound good still, but if you give him a great guitar then he'll sound better.

now, owning a JEM won't make you sound as good as steve vai, but it'll make you sound better then you do right now.

now that that's out of the way, I'd say go for a new amp first, I got a fender FM212R for $300 after playing for about 8-9 months, and I love it! perfect gig amp, amazing clean sound and the distortion really isn't as bad as most people will try to tell you. especially since there are two drive modes, one gain mode (more drive) one that I use on solos and just times when I need that edge. and a normal gain mode (drive) that is good for rythm work. unfortunately this amp is LOUD, much too loud for practicing at home in your room... I play gigs for around 40-50 people with the volume at 3!!! but I'm just saying, I think an amp gives better tone for the dollar then a guitar...