With $400 to spend, I strongly recommend looking around for a good used guitar. Spend a few hours poking around the Harmony Central User Reviews postings. You can get a lot of insight into what a particular model is like by reading what people who actually own one have to say about it.

I went back a few months on this forum and came up with the following threads. There's plenty more where these came from!

New Guitar Dilema

budget guitars

The worst equipment? (You need to know what to avoid, as well as what to look for)

which guitar?

need help buying my first electric!!!

NEED ADVICE ON A PURCHASE

Buying my second guitar... I need some help!!!

help on guitar buy

Since this is the Gear forum and all...(a listing of gear some of our members use)