Exactly true of all beginners!
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It isnāt an issue even with Mini, it sounds great.
Absolutely. To each their own, of course, but for me 80% of the time itās one of the hardware presets on my Spark that you can access without an app. And the rest 20% Iām using one of the few premade tones I like. More than enough for pretty much everything I can manage to play.
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Keith at Five Watt World has a nice video where he gives 15 pieces of advice in 15 minutes in honor of realizing heās been playing guitar for 50 years. Anyway - one piece he offers is to spend a bit more on your first guitar to ensure a) that itās a decent playable instrument that can grow a bit with you, and maybe more importantly (my words, not his) b) you like it enough that it inspires you to pick it up as often as possible.
I think that last part is good advice for most of us. As long as itās a functional thing, be it a guitar, amp, or a pair of knitting needles, you have to like them enough to want to use them. If the only guitar you can get is one your Aunt Mildred picked up at the Shop 'n Save, well, then bless you for having an Aunt Mildred, but youāre also probably not going to be super excited about taking it down off the wall to practice. Or maybe Iām just showing my snobbery for nice(r) things.
This is the most important point, in my opinion. Do you know what scale length you want? Or any stuff like that? If you do, then great, otherwise forget about all of that nonsense and choose with your eyes. The only somewhat important thing here can be a pickup choice, itās better to have at least one humbucker if you want to play something heavier. Other than that it doesnāt matter until you know what you want exactly.
Well, without giving anything away, I do like the idea of the shorter scale length of les pauls, but I think the neck on the strat is maybe more comfortable? I am only 5ā7" and have the hands of a junior high schooler, so I read a lot of articles about scale length, nut width, and fret board radius recommended for smaller statured folks. I know, I know, anyone can learn to play any guitar, Django Reinhardt only fretted with two fingers, I know. Possibility isnāt probability and I went to do all I can to set myself up for success.
You will notice scale length a little when you start to realize your fingers have never had to stretch as far as you think they should be able to. After you work on that a few months, it wonāt make AS much of a difference.
Best thing is go for comfort. How does it feel when you pick it up and hold it approximately correctly. Is it heavier than you like? How does it feel with a strap? do the strap buttons poke you in an uncomfortable way? (SGs do this to me!)
Holding the neck probably wonāt mean much to you yet. Are the fret ends sharp and sticking out? can your hand slide easily up and down the neck or does it feel sticky if your hand is not totally dry?
For your picking hand, I think that how the bridge feels under the heel of my hand is important. It should not be poking and I should be able to move toward the strings and away from them without obsticle. My shoulder should not be too far lifted or out front.
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I wouldnāt get too hung up on scale length.
Iāve got multiple scale length guitars, and yes, there is a noticeable difference when playing them, but you soon get used to whatever youāre playing.
The bigger difference is the physical size of the neck, of which there is no real suggestion, other than trying out different guitars/necks. Iāll play whatever, but some people prefer slimmer necks, whereas others prefer fatter necks.
Personally Iād say buy whatever shape of guitar you like the look off, or have always wanted.
My first proper guitar was a Strat, for the sole reason Iād always wanted a Strat as I thought it was ātheā guitar to have.
I have since bought a PRS SE singlecut (wanted something with humbuckers, but couldnāt bring myself to get a Les Paul!), a Taylor GS Mini (due to a previous shoulder injury, a GS Mini is the largest bodied guitar I can manage without causing shoulder pain, despite preferring the sound of bigger acoustic guitars), built a Telecaster (wanted that classic Tele twang sound), and treated myself to a PRS S2 McCarty 594 for a significant birthday.
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Iāve played the standard/common Fender and Gibson scale lengths over the years and not had any great difficulty, and Teles are probably my all time favorite guitars. However, within the past couple years I discovered that I enjoy playing guitars with 24" (610mm) scale lengths, like Mustangs, Jaguars, and Duo-Sonics. That scale length is a joy to play, in my opinion (not just for the spacing of the frets, but also the way the strings bend).
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This thread has gone full āforum modeā. Lots of detailed answers and (valid) arguments for a pretty simple question! 
The reality is that most of the modern small amps are great for at home. Youāll probably be fine with any. But you should check out the Fender modelling amps, every time someone switches to a Fender GTX or similar they donāt tend to go back. 
I have a tele with a thin profile neck, and typical fender scale length (25.5"). I found the typical Gibson necks very chunky but the scale length (24.75") is nicer. My fingers are on the short side - scale length makes a difference, and I struggle with fret reach at times on the fender scale length. Jag & Mustang scale length is even better.
I reckon my next guitar Iāll be looking for a sleek/fast neck, with Gibson or shorter scale length. Itās worth playing a few different guitars to see what you like the feel of.
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This for sure! Gibson necks vary a lot - Iāve had a 60s Gibson neck that was pretty thin, Iāve got a 59 now which is quite chunky, I have owned a 58 which was a real handful (but I liked it).
The other thing to think about is nut width. Something like a Squire classic vibe will have a 1.65 inch nut, a more modern fender will likely have 1.685, Gibsons can go wider still.
Scale length, profile, nut width etc all make a difference and trying to guess what will work for you āon paperā isnāt ideal - so as JK says go try some out and see what feels nice to hold.
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Thereās also the compromise between the Strat/LP by splitting the difference and going for a PRS with 25".
Get a guitar you like the look and feel of. Scale length, pickups, neck shape and size - those are all details. At the end of the day, if you like how a guitar looks and how it feels in your hands, youāre going to be happy playing that guitar and will play it more and thatās all that matters. For my friend that meant a black Epiphone Les Paul. For me that meant a dark red Schecter Hellraiser Extreme super-strat. You donāt have to spend a lot - mine was $420 used - but get something you like.
As for the amp, Iāll add my opinion. I have a Boss Katana next to a PC with an audio interface, studio monitors, and multiple amp sims with countless digital amp and cabinet models of really nice gear. I plug into the Katana 95% of the time. The amp sims are fun and all, and useful for recording, but for playing for fun Iāll take a physical amp with physical knobs any day.
If you primarily like clean tones, the Fender Champion modeling amps have great clean tones, are simple and easy to use, and are really nice amps. Boss Katanas are more versatile, but I think the Fender Champions have better clean tones. For something really small, the Yamaha THR amps are great. Iād personally take all of those over a Spark. The Spark amps arenāt a bad choice, but are more app-connected/reliant than Iād like, and I think the others are easier to use and sound better.
Good luck!
Feisty thread. 
On the topic of a simple home office amp Iād be tempted to go with Hiwatt Leeds 25R combo or head.
They are all analog MOSFET amps, have a real spring reverb, an FX loop, a 10" speaker, and it is ridiculously affordable! Iām seriously thinking about buying two just so I can play in stereo.
These little gems have a Fender like clean and take pedals very well.
The OP has quite a sizeable budget but wants a good quality sounding set up that can be played well at low volumes. Given @TheMadman_tobyjenner ās suggested proportional split of the amp / guitar budget I wonder whether the the Fender Princeton Tonemaster would be a good option, if not too bulky. I havenāt heard this amp but people say itās a great sounding amp but because itās a model of the 68 Princeton that another poster mentioned, it has an attenuator and apparently attenuated tone is good. If the OP is into jazz then as I understand it this is a good clean sounding amp. I think that there was a review on that pedal show, but I may be wrong.
@Majik mentioned the Orange crush 35 rt which is the amp I have in my apartment and use every night. I like that amp a lot and I think the sound quality is really excellent on the clean channel and it has a 10ā speaker. Itās also a super simple amp speaker combo. However, it cannot be attenuated and I have to say that at the volume I think that this amp starts to really shine is just a bit too loud for an apartment with no attenuation possible. I also find the dirty channel is not nice at low volumes but I,m scared to turn it up too loud to find where it gets good, which I,m sure it will. My neighbours are very polite and say they canāt hear me playing, but I find that very hard to believe and sometimes I really feel sorry for them (especially when I sing 
) and so I have to use the amp at levels where I donāt think that the tone is optimal.
Itās always also worth looking for used gear. Sometimes you can find a great deal. I have a Vox Valvetronix 50vt which is about 20 years old. Itās got a 12ā speaker, models of different amps (some of which are really nice) and a low power dial for low volumes. Effects too. Itās a lovely sounding amp and I only paid 50 Swiss francs (about Ā£40). I prefer the sound to the Orange but itās a little large for my apartment so I keep it at my house in France.
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A simple question from a new member who only joined one week ago - with a supplementary about overall budget and an electric guitar purchase too.
Yet it has become fractious, shall I say. And overly long and complex.
Roland lives in Sā¦E. Michigan where there are several cities and Chicago itself isnāt so far away I guess.
So for opportunities to go to a store to get hands on with a guitar and hear some amps doing basic amplification things could and should be very simple.
I was hoping for $1,500USD done and dusted
That budget is extremely healthy - way more than you need to spend.
Look for a small and simple solid state amp up to 15 watts. For simplicity, avoid those with hundreds of presets and overwhelming modelling options.
A few options (I opted for a Guitar Center near to Detroit.
Yamaha THR5 $210
Blackstar ID: Core $150
For a guitar, choose a classic, ever popular type.
Fender Stratocaster $599
Epiphone ES339 $549
Keep it simple.
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