The good. Artist are decent to deal with. And you can return for refund if you don't like it. Not to many etailers/retailers in AU will do that for you.

That guitar, Artist Cherry58 is currently out of stock and the (imported) price has gone up substantially for the next shipment. No surprise. Happening with local stock other brands as well. Blame COVID.

The quality of Artist's house brand guitars like the one you selected is [u]very good[/u].

Thomann do similar to the Cherry58 for around the same price inc shipping (approx), but with Roswell LAF pickups and a Pau Ferro fingerboard. HB35Plus or this if you prefer the chunkier traditional neck profile.

Locally, Ibanez (Artcore) and Epiphone in the ES-335/9 style clones abound, but you'll be looking at the AUD$900-$1k mark for either of those. Lower segment Artcores from about $550. In that segment, I don't think much of Epiphone's pickups or or overall BQ for the money, so I prefer the Artcores. But their AF, AG, AK (full hollow), vs AM & AM (semi-hollow) is a minefield but you'll have to wade the yourself. Here's the Ibanez variant of that Artist Cherry58, the Ibanez Artcore AF93FM, with an Ibanez price tag.

I like this one. Different bridge & it's not a doublecut, but I could rough it. Here's Ibanez's website spin on it. Hard to go wrong with any of the Artcores for the style of music you want to play really.

Looper. Simple or more sophisticated, there's not a huge difference in price if you buy smart. I've got both. A KOKKO SOS mini (TC Ditto clone) and NUX Loop Core (BOSS RC3 clone) If I had to have only one, I'd buy the NUX again.

Amps. Minefield of brand blindness where personal bias abounds. Pick one. This website may be of assistance. Shane plays a lot of blues, his love. He speaks highly of this Artist amp. Solid value too, but higher than your target pp, and clearly overkill for your apartment.