Sims Custom Shop, Sims LEDs, L.E.Ds, Respray, Body Shop, Bodies, Scratchplates, Lasers and Pickguards by Martin Sims. this luthier made the neck for me, but he wont put the ibanez logo on the headstock. not cheap though.
i recomend something like an alesis io-2 its a good qulity interface and portable so its perfect for a laptop. getting the right type of mic for what you want is also important, for vocals in a studio environment i recommend a Rode NT1A Studio Condenser Microphone. its good for the price...
Sony MDR-7506 Stereo Headphones these are pretty good for a home studio setup, good for monitoring and mixing. they are a bit more pricey then your budget but if you searrch around you can pick them up for around your budget.
i take a lot of inspiration from obvious guitarists like Dino Cazeres and dimebag. but lately i have been really enspired by Fredrik Thordendal and Mircea Gabriel Eftemie.
yeah just do it yourself, its not to difficult if you spend some time on it. you dont even need to strip it down, use 250grit paper to sand over your existing laquer and paint from there.
seems quite a few people like modding there 7's on these forums, so i thought i would share my current project with you all. this is just a photoshop rendering of what i would like it to turn out like. so far: guitar: ordered (2day wait) Neck: ordered (7 week wait) paint: bought tools...