I just picked one of these up
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guita...lectric-guitar
Its a very good guitar for not a lot of money.
No thick gloss finish, a nice thin, flat finish with a very comfortable neck. Light weight, short scale guitar with good frets. I could see upgrading the pickups as it's a bit bright sounding, but the neck pickup sounds real good with the tone rolled back to about 4. I can't believe I'm recommending an Ibanez, never been a fan, but this hollow body feels real good. Definitely worth checking out.
Good luck with your search.